The liberal media grew increasingly excited at the prospects of impeaching President Trump over the weekend. So much so, that some were outright encouraging Democrats to pursue it. During an appearance on Sunday’s Meet the Press, Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude Jr. warned Democrats that if they didn’t impeach Trump, then they’ll be punished by their radical liberal base.
Before getting to Glaude’s dire warning, program moderator Chuck Todd was perplexed that Maine Senator Angus King (I) was reluctant to back the Democratic Party’s push for impeachment. “But, how do Democrats not do this? I’m thinking about what’s the consequences of deciding, ‘you know, what? Angus King is right, let the voters decide in 2020.’ What are the consequences of that,” he asked Boston Herald chief Washington reporter Kimberly Atkins.
Atkins noted that removing a president from office was a very difficult thing to accomplish because that’s how it’s supposed to be, but they should try anyway: “No! You charge the crime and let the process go through. So, if House members find impeachable offenses, it is not just the right thing to do, it's their duty do – to bring that and let the Senate vote as the Senate votes.”
“I just don't see how the House Democrats resist it,” Todd exclaimed to National Review editor and anti-Trump Republican Jonah Goldberg.
Goldberg noted that since Democrat Jerry Nadler (NY) was going to be heading the House Judiciary Committee come next year, “there are going to be all sorts of hypocrisies and double standards that apply” seeing as he was against impeaching then-President Bill Clinton. “So, the best thing for the Democrats is to at least wait for Mueller to find something of real weight that would justify going to impeachment,” he advised.
Glaude was up next and he was predicting that “we're beginning to seeing it's not going to be a shoe that's going to drop, it's going to be an anvil.”
“And it seems to me, if Democrats do not pursue this, vigorously, they will be, in some ways, held accountable for abdicating their responsibility,” he declared. “It goes to the moral question, the ethical question. Democracy is at stake! And it seems to me, if Democrats don't take their responsibility seriously, they will be held responsible for what’s happened.”
That’s right, according to Glaude, if the Democrats don’t impeach Trump, then democracy was ruined. “We do know he's directed criminal behavior. That's clear. So the machinery needs to start to move,” Glaude concluded before Todd transitioned into a commercial break.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC’s Meet the Press
December 9, 2018
11:00:55 a.m. EasternCHUCK TODD: Let's go to this issue of impeachment. It was interesting to hear Angus King's hesitance. Rand Paul in his own—I think, in his own constitutional way believes there should be no Mueller but if you’re going to do it you’d actually have to do it via Congress. But, how do Democrats not do this? I’m thinking about what’s the consequences of deciding, “you know, what? Angus King is right, let the voters decide in 2020.” What are the consequences of that?
KIMBERLY ATKINS: That's why this lever is there are very few checks on a president. And even the impeachment process, it's incredibly difficult to actually take a president out of office. That's why it's never happened.
TODD: Probably should be.
ATKINS: Exactly. That's done by design. And we're hearing a lot about, “well, there's no way that he's going to be convicted in the Senate, so why try?” That's like saying, “oh, we live in a district where people aren't upset by these certain crimes. We're not going to charge somebody who committed this crime because he's probably not going to be convicted.” No! You charge the crime and let the process go through. So, if House members find impeachable offenses, it is not just the right thing to do, it's their duty do – to bring that and let the Senate vote as the Senate votes.
TODD: I just don't see how the House Democrats resist it.
JONAH GOLDBERG: Yeah, as a political matter, it's just too tempting and the base wants it so much.
TODD: The base might punish them if they don't.
GOLDBERG: That’s right.
[Crosstalk]
GOLDBERG: But at the same time, consider Jerrold Nadler who was on the Judiciary Committee in 1998 who said, “yeah, Clinton may have lied under oath and perjured himself but these were lies about covering up sex. And those, while technically impeachable, do not rise to the level of gravity required for impeachment.” There are going to be all sorts of hypocrisies and double standards that apply. So, the best thing for the Democrats is to at least wait for Mueller to find something of real weight that would justify going to impeachment.
EDDIE GLAUDE: You have four fronts: you have conspiracy, you have obstruction, you have campaign finance, and you have emoluments. And we're beginning to seeing it's not going to be a shoe that's going to drop, it's going to be an anvil. It’s just, when it’s going drop. Right? And it seems to me, if Democrats do not pursue this, vigorously, they will be, in some ways, held accountable for abdicating their responsibility.
It seems to me that part of what—and it goes back— I understand the politics. It goes to the moral question, the ethical question. Democracy is at stake! And it seems to me, if Democrats don't take their responsibility seriously, they will be held responsible for what’s happened.
[Crosstalk]
PEGGY NOONAN: But the responsibility is to do investigations or to move quickly to impeach.
GLAUDE: To move the investigations forward.
NOONAN: Investigations. Well, Mueller is doing the investigation, right?
GLAUDE: We do know he's directed criminal behavior. That's clear. So the machinery needs to start to move.
