House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., gestures for Democrats to stop talking during a vote on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
As my RedState colleague Bonchie wrote yesterday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) became the first Senate Democrat to “fold like a cheap suit” and demand House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) finally send over the articles of impeachment that she’s been withholding ever since the vote was taken last month.
Since Murphy’s call, and since the news broke that Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had the votes to proceed with the Senate’s impeachment trial on his terms, other Senate Democrats are lining up to wave the white flag as well – with some even telling Pelosi to either send them now or don’t send them at all.
The Politico reports:
“The longer it goes on the less urgent it becomes,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). “So if it’s serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn’t, don’t send it over.”
Several other Senate Democrats also showed their impatience with the Democratic leaders’ current strategy. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday morning that Democrats “should move on” and turn the articles to the Senate and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said he’s “ready” for the trial to start.
“We need to get folks to testify and we need more information … but nonetheless I’m ready,” Tester said. “I don’t know what leverage we have. It looks like the cake is already baked.”
“I respect the fact that she is concerned about the fact about whether or not there will be a fair trial. But I do think it is time to get on with it,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
There are also concerns among Senate Democrats that further delays will negatively impact the Democratic senators who are running for president:
But some lawmakers said privately they are worried this sparring match with McConnell is no longer viable, worried about the political ramifications of dragging it out into the Democratic presidential primaries.
[…]
And several Senate Democrats said publicly that the pressure campaign has outlived its usefulness.
“We were ready on the day the articles were voted, to conduct the trial,” added Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who otherwise praised Pelosi for putting a focus on process over the past three weeks. “At some point it’s appropriate to send them and in effect pass the baton to senators who are going to continue to insist on witnesses and documents.”
Even CNN is noting Pelosi is losing Democratic senators when it comes to her delay tactics on sending the articles of impeachment:
CNN panel: Pelosi is “losing members of her own party” as she delays sending impeachment articles to the Senatehttps://t.co/eVBhMA6hxD pic.twitter.com/FqWfO4xYXu
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 8, 2020
But weren’t we told Pelosi’s strategy was masterful or something just days ago? Interesting how that has all of a sudden changed.
Of course we knew this happening was inevitable, because when it comes to running a tight ship in the Senate, there’s nobody who does it better than Cocaine Mitch. And that’s especially true when it comes to the issue of the impending Senate impeachment trial:
Speaker Pelosi wanted leverage — leverage — to reach in to the Senate and dictate our trial proceedings to us. Now I’ve made clear from the beginning that no such leverage exists. It is nonexistent.
And yesterday we made clear it will never exist. https://t.co/8OHSWZmXzQ
— Team Mitch (Text MITCH to 47360) (@Team_Mitch) January 8, 2020
Your move, Madame Speaker.
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