July 28, 2019

Back in the Bush years, I attended an event with the late Ellen Tauscher, then the congressperson for my district. I was full of the self-righteous anti-war anger that many of us felt back then. I didn't want to make a scene, but I asked her some pretty pointed questions about why there had been no movement on impeaching George W. Bush. She may have been a little more patient with me because I had done some work for former congressman John Burton, of whom we were both very fond. Maybe she was happy I didn't launch into one of John Burton's patented foul mouthed tirades (which I am absolutely capable of). She floored me when she told me that she had only taken a handful of phone calls saying that they supported impeachment. Most of the calls she got were about concerns about the war, Social Security being privatized and infrastructure around her district. From my time with Burton, I know this is true. We liberals, so convinced of the righteousness of our stance, almost never make our voices heard in the halls of congress. We go to protests, we sign petitions, we put bumperstickers and lawn signs out to make our voice heard, but when it comes to talking to our elected officials? We assume they know what we want them to do.

I'm sure that when Congressman Van Drew starts hearing from more of his constituents less about opioid deaths and more about protecting democracy from the Russian puppet in the White House and demanding that he exercise his constitutional duty to check emoluments violations, obstruction of justice, and other crimes, he'll see the wisdom to attending to it. Is it a craven political calculus rather than the moral and correct thing to do? Sure. That's the way it works in DC. They are NOT leaders. They are representatives. THIS is what they're hearing inside the Beltway and from consultants and pundits and the media. And if they're not hearing from us to support impeachment, they think they are representing us by not pushing it.

So this is your job for the next month. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. If you are thinking to yourself, "Well we elected them to do this for us," and you think your job is over, you're dead wrong. In a democracy, your job is NEVER over. You don't have the privilege of voting every couple of years and then sitting back and expecting politicians to do what you want. Even if you live in a Republican district, make a call or three. They are supposed to be keeping track of calls and concerns. Talk to your neighbors and ask them to make calls too.

Don't ever assume that impeachment is something that should happen because it's the correct thing to do.

ABC's "This Week" — Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Will Hurd, R-Texas; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Panel: ABC’s Matthew Dowd; former Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.; former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, D-Chicago; Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC’s “The View”; Democracy for America CEO Yvette Simpson.

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer. Panel: Helene Cooper of The New York Times; Rich Lowry, editor, National Review; former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D-Va.; and Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Democratic presidential candidates Julián Castro and Marianne Williamson. Panel: Joel Payne, Democratic strategist; Eliana Johnson of Politico; and Ed O’Keefe of CBS News.

CNN's "State of the Union" — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Nadler. Panel: former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich.; former Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah; CNN host Van Jones; and David Urban, former Trump strategist.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief, The Economist; Niall Ferguson, senior fellow, Hoover Institution; Richard Haass, president, Council on Foreign Relations; H.E. Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan ambassador to the United States (2018-present); Eric Topol, author of “Deep Medicine.”

CNN's "Reliable Sources" — Susan Glasser of The New Yorker, Caitlin Dickerson of The New York Times and Andrew Marantz of The New Yorker; Amanda Carpenter, author of “Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us”; Carla Minet and Luis Valentin Ortiz of Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism.

"Fox News Sunday" — Mulvaney; Andrew Yang, Democratic presidential candidate; Leonard Leo, vice president of the Federalist Society. Panel: Karl Rove; Donna Brazile; Ben Domenech, of The Federalist; and Juan Williams, co-host of “The Five.”.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

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