Dear MoveOn member,
Let's talk about impeachment.
There's more than enough evidence to begin an impeachment inquiry to remove Donald Trump from office.
The three previous impeachment inquiries in the House (involving presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton) rested on less evidence than is already publicly known about Trump—and on issues far less serious than the Trump team's possible collusion with a foreign adversary to win the election and Trump's subsequent attempted cover-up.
But impeachment is a political process. Republicans will support impeachment only if they think that they'll lose their jobs by enabling Trump's transgressions. And even if it does take Democrats until the 2018 elections to take back control of the House and pass an impeachment resolution, we have to start pushing now and be ready to go the moment we take back power.
That's why I was thrilled that last week MoveOn joined the call for Trump to be impeached. We need MoveOn to help build and sustain a massive amount of pressure on vulnerable Republicans to impeach Trump. It's not going to be easy, but the very future of our democracy hangs in the balance.
So I have a simple request: Will you join me in chipping in $5 a month to MoveOn to help give them the resources to ramp up and then sustain their efforts to impeach Trump?
Yes. The work starts now to impeach Donald Trump.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
I hear some progressives say, "But Mike Pence is just as bad as Trump."
Yes, Pence is ultra far-right. As a progressive, I disagree with him on absolutely everything. But we know what to expect from Pence, and we can fight him on the issues. He's not the irresponsible and unpredictable man who currently sits in the Oval Office. (And, anyway, getting to the bottom of Trump's web of lies and cover-ups could very well take down multiple people in the White House, including Pence, or in the case of a Trump impeachment or resignation, leave a greatly diminished, compromised, lame-duck Pence in his stead.)
And some Democrats in Congress say that we have to wait to pursue impeachment until Democrats take back the House in 2018.
Rubbish. It's absolutely the reverse.
The path to winning in 2018 (and thereafter) begins with Democrats in Congress showing the American people that they have the courage and backbone necessary to take back our nation. It means calling for the impeachment of Trump and holding politically accountable every single person in his administration and in the House and Senate who have enabled his disgrace of a presidency.
And it's not clear America can wait for the midterm elections, followed by what's likely to be a long and drawn-out impeachment investigation, followed by a trial in the Senate. Just look at the damage Trump has done in just 149 days as president. We need to act now.
Plus, I'm in the camp that the "right" time to impeach isn't about when it's feasible in Congress … but about when the person in the Oval Office has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and recklessly and repeatedly violated the Constitution.
And here are the added benefits of starting right now: If MoveOn campaigns now for impeachment, there's a real chance we can derail Trump's disastrous agenda by eroding GOP congressional (and public) support.
It's go time on impeachment.
Please. Say you'll join and stick with the long fight ahead to impeach Donald Trump by chipping in $5 a month starting now.
Yes. The work starts now to impeach Donald Trump.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
MoveOn staff just briefed me on their plans for their impeachment campaign, and I'm impressed. Their plans include the following:
- Exposing and shining a spotlight on the hypocrisy of Republicans who cover up for Trump and his team—with a particular focus on the 23 Republicans in districts that voted for Hillary Clinton last year.1 These lawmakers are vulnerable when they run again next year, so much so that one, Representative Carlos Curbelo of Florida, took care to point out to the media that he was "the first Republican to mention impeachment."2
- Continuing to drive down Trump's popularity. Already, Trump's unpopularity is at a record high, not far from where Nixon's was at the time of his own resignation. The fact is that when Trump is an albatross around the neck of Republican politicians, they will turn on him, making impeachment a political reality as well as a Constitutional necessity.
- Urging Democrats to demand the truth—matching the passion I'm seeing in the grassroots base.
I know that impeachment won't happen quickly. It's going to take a strategic, painstakingly executed campaign—hallmarks of MoveOn's excellent organizing. Eddie, will you join me by making a donation of $5 a month to MoveOn to make this happen?
Yes. The work starts now to impeach Donald Trump.
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "These 23 Republicans hold congressional districts that voted for Hillary Clinton," Daily Kos, February 6, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/10712?t=29&akid=184872.10220574.aeHX81
2. "Republican Carlos Curbelo Wants You to Know He Mentioned Impeachment First," NBC News, May 31, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/10540?t=31&akid=184872.10220574.aeHX81
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it MoveOn needs your ongoing support, now more than ever. Will you stand with MoveOn?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
No comments:
Post a Comment