Impeachment Eve and Vote 2019

Lined up along the street

Norristown, PA, 17 December 5:10-6:45pm - It had been drizzling all day, it was a few days short of the Winter Solstice, so it got dark early, not super-cold, but chilly enough to wear full winter jackets and it was a weekday! By my count, we had over 100 people at the mid-point of the rally. Overall, there were over 600 gathering all over the country totalling tens of thousands of demonstrators.

initial gathering

Gathering was small at first around 5:15pm.

People gathered from around the country in some pretty awful weather conditions. Had an FB friend ask about counter-protests. Nah, we had a few people shout nasty things from passing cars and a fellow was astonished that we'd be protesting the President to begin with. He filmed us with his cell phone. Probably thought that would shame us. Heh, nope!

rally

Washington DC, 18 December 8:24pm - The vote to impeach was successful!  "The House voted 230-197 to charge Trump with abuse of power and 229-198 to charge him with obstruction of Congress." Interestingly, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has been accused of being a Russian asset, voted "Present" as opposed to "Guilty." Is she trying to run as a spoiler third-party candidate or is she just trying to position herself as a  centrist candidate who's between the two parties?* We'll see, I guess.

signs
Chanting from the protesters.

Washington DC, 18 December 9:23pm - Speaker Pelosi does not commit to any time for transmitting the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. In response to Republican accusations that she's trying to extract concessions in return for transmitting the Articles, she claims she just wants to see what the Senate plan for the President's trial is. As the Senate Majority Leader has not outlined a plan for the Senate to conduct the trial, the Speaker has no reason to rush getting the Articles over to them. McConnell tried to suggest, simultaneusly, that the Democratic case against the President was weak, while at the same time, that "There’s only one outcome that is suited to the paucity of evidence," that is, to NOT hold a serious trial.

sign
Denver, 19 December 12:30pm - A radio host is fired for a truly disgusting statement. He had said that "the 'never-ending' impeachment process makes 'you wish for a nice school shooting.'” His firing restores my faith in humanity at least a little bit.
Somewhat relevant to the President's impeachment, Acting Ambassador Taylor, the Ambasador to Ukraine, was dismissed today. Reportedly so that Secretary of State Pompeo doesn't take the chance of appearing in the same photo with someone who is a genuine patriot.


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*Gabbard put out a statement. As a blogger suggested earlier, she appears to be seeking to position herself in the political center. Reading it, I reacted to this sentence: "I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting President must not be the culmination of a partisan process..." 1. The Republican Minority on the Intelligence Committee had every opportunity to speak out! There was plenty of time during which they could have made a case that the President was innocent. On 26 September, Ranking Member Nunes spoke for seven minutes with no interruptions at a time when a large audience was listening. 2. The President put out a six page letter during which he told everyone what was on his mind. No, the alleged "partisan" process did not prevent Republicans from making a case for the President's innocence.

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