Unless he starts a war in the next week or commits suicide, the most salient factoid in both the history books and in his obituary will be that Donald Trump is the only president to have been impeached twice-- and in just one term, no less-- the only one impeached for being a traitor and the only one impeached with so much bipartisan support. The final vote was 232-197.
Cori Bush made a big impact with her first floor speech today. The white supremacists in the chamber booed her. Normal people applauded.
In the end, 10 Republicans voted with every single Democrat to impeach Trumpanzee. The Republicans who made the move:
Liz Cheney (WY)- Trump won with 70.4%
Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA)- Trump won with 50.6%
John Katko (NY)- Trump lost with 45.3% (2016)
Adam Kinzinger (IL)- Trump won with 56.9%
Fred Upton (MI)- Trump won with 51.3%
Dan Newhouse (WA)- Trump won with 57.8%
Peter Meijer (MI)- Trump won with 50.6%
Anthony Gonzalez (OH)- Trump won with 56.5%
David Valadao (CA)- Trump lost with 43.5%
Tom Rice (SC)- Trump won with 58.8%
Some of these votes were more politically risky and courageous that others. There were also 4 Republicans who took the coward's way out-- by just not voting-- Kay Granger (TX), Daniel Webster (FL), Greg Murphy (NC) and Andy Harris (MD). I asked the congressional candidates Blue America has endorsed so far what they would have done if they were in Congress today.
State Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, who is running for the soon-to-be open seat in Albuquerque, told me that "Going forward, we must always remember to take swift action and hold those in power responsible. We must always fight for a better tomorrow. I fully support the decision made by the House to impeach the current president for incitement of insurrection. In the great words of Representative John Lewis, 'We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.'"
Shervin Aazami who is primarying centrist Democrat Brad Sherman in the San Fernando Valley said that "The House of Representatives took the necessary step of passing articles of impeachment against Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection on our Capitol by white supremacist fascist mobs who were deliberately misled for months by the president about the legitimacy of our election. But the work of the People's House is gravely incomplete. Earlier this week, Representative Cori Bush introduced House Resolution 25, which would lead an investigation into, and ultimately expel, every Republican congressperson who helped incite the insurrection and voted against certification of the presidential election results. As more disturbing details emerge from last Wednesday-- including the fact that Republican members gave guided tours to insurrectionists and communicated directly with their leaders prior to the siege-- speak to the urgency of passing Rep. Bush's Resolution. Alarmingly, some members-- like Rep. Ayanna Pressley-- even had the panic buttons in their offices removed. Eliminating the stain of Donald Trump also requires ousting his seditious enablers in Congress. While I, too, would unequivocally have voted for the articles of impeachment, I am extremely disappointed that H.R. 25 was not passed in tandem.
Colin Byrd, the youngest black mayor in the nation, is primarying Steny Hoyer and he had some very similar thoughts on this. "I would have voted yes on impeachment," he said, "but, to be honest, that's an extremely easy thing for a Democrat to say, at this point. My concern is that it took Steny Hoyer so long to get to this point. I actually called for Trump to be impeached the Sunday before the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. I was very concerned about his call with Georgia's secretary of state in which he pressured the Georgia secretary of state to 'find' enough votes to overturn the 2020 election outcome. Like a canary in a coal mine, I saw danger coming, and I asked Steny to support impeachment then. But he didn't listen. And, even after the insurrection, Steny was one of the last Democrats to support impeachment. Even when presented with the request days earlier, he waited until after people died to do the right thing. Beyond that, he waited longer than other members of House Leadership, including Hakeem Jeffries, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark and several committee chairs, including Jerry Nadler, Maxine Waters, Bobby Scott, Bennie Thompson, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and even Nancy Pelosi. I support impeachment, but that’s not enough. Congress also needs to pass Congresswoman Cori Bush’s resolution to expel the Members of Congress who sought to unjustly overturn the 2020 election outcome."
Also primarying Hoyer is his 2020 opponent McKayla Wilkes. "If I were in office," she told me right after the vote today, "I would have voted to impeach Donald Trump. I am glad to see he was impeached a second time, but he also needs to be removed immediately. The fact of the matter is that we have a history of presidents committing crimes without accountability. This did not start with Donald Trump. From the pardon of Richard Nixon, to the Iran Contra scandal of Reagan, to the Iraq War lies of George W. Bush. Donald Trump absolutely must be held accountable for inciting violence and attempting a coup. Presidential crimes certainly didn't start with Trump, but if he isn't held accountable, they could get worse."
OK, there you go-- everyone I could reach. Whose response did you like most? Let me know by checking on the Blue America congressional thermometer above and contributing $5 or $10 to the candidate who you thought did the best job at explaining-- and who you would most like to see in Congress.