So yesterday lived up to its billing. The President was on the airwaves, in meetings with world leaders, from the moment we awoke until the day went into night. He made news all day.
The Democrats released their report in the afternoon and impeachment was on.
The weeks showdown was underway. The lines are drawn. How will those who can be swayed break? I think with the seriousness of the President’s talks and requests for funding his side might be in a good position. The Democrats have to work hard here not to look petty.
Today the contrast goes one step further. We may well have contrasting screens of a NATO Press Conference discussing issues, objectives and plans while the House is holding their own conference on the next steps in the process.
It just doesn’t strike me as a good look for those in Washington.
If they start getting bad press and people turn on them then that exit ramp we have talked about from the outset might look inviting. Running all the way with a partisan vote (and some lost Democrats voting with the Republicans) to move on to the senate, just doesn’t seem right.
If it were me, I would vote to censure and use that phrase we mentioned. We censure this President’s actions, now the people can impeach in eleven months.
One final thought on this today. They (the Democrats) have gotten themselves in a box as I see it. If they fail to impeach they will anger their most fervent base. If they do they may well appear to be petty. That was exactly the position Nancy Pelosi didn’t want to end up in. She may have acted too soon and thought the Ukraine call contained more than she was told.
the ukraine president speaks
Here’s a story from the NY Post that speaks for itself:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied once again that President Trump used nearly $400 million in military aid as a bargaining chip to pressure him to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and Ukraine’s role in the 2016 US election. “I never talked to the president from the position of a quid pro quo. That’s not my thing,” Zelensky told Time magazine in an interview published Monday. “I don’t want us to look like beggars. “But you have to understand. We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness. It’s not about a quid pro quo. It just goes without saying.”
The military aid, which was approved by Congress in January and eventually released on Sept. 11, supports Ukraine’s fight against Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
In the interview, Zelensky was asked about Trump’s claim that he held up the military assistance to ensure that Ukraine was taking steps to combat rampant corruption.
“I don’t need to change his mind. During my meeting with him, I said that I don’t want our country to have this image. For that, all he has to do is come and have a look at what’s happening, how we live, what kinds of people we are,” Zelensky said. “I had the sense that he heard me. . . At least during the meeting, he said, ‘Yes, I see, you’re young, you’re new, and so on.’ ”
In October, Zelensky said he was unaware that the military aid was suspended when he spoke to Trump in July.
“There was no blackmail. I had no idea the military aid was held up,” he said at a news conference.
Case closed? Not for the House Leaders.
in other news
The IG report scheduled on Monday sounds like it will satisfy no one. It won’t go as far as some hoped to accuse individuals of plotting to over throw the President. At the same time it will not clear everyone as others hoped. So what will we get? Arguments from both sides and a turn to the Durham investigation and what he will say and do.
The MSM will attack and say that the “conspiracy that FoxNews drummed up was proven untrue” and they were right to avoid reporting on it. When you hear that think about this. There is some truth in what they were saying in the IG report. What truth was there in their three year Russia conspiracy they reported daily?
Out goes Kamala. The third Democratic candidate, and certainly most prominent to drop out this week. She had that first great debate where she attacked Biden, but it was all downhill from there. We originally thought she would be among the last standing, but she ran a terrible campaign.
We mentioned the fact that Bloomberg News would not investigate any Democratic candidates because Mike Bloomberg was running, but they would continue investigating Trump.
Well now the Trump team has barred Bloomberg’s credentials from covering their campaign events.
You still don’t hear much on it, but Iran has issues. The riots over higher gas prices have resulted in hundreds of deaths. Now comes this report:
U.S. officials cite new intelligence suggesting Tehran’s finances are bringing it closer to a financial crisis, as Iran’s sanction-battered economy is suffering.
Does the administration deserve credit for the sanctions they put on them? You won’t hear that on the MSM.
Speaking of Iran, yesterday (Dec 3) was the 40th anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becoming Iran’s first supreme leader. As noted here many times, this was after we demanded the Shah of Iran to get out. The middle east, never a stable region, hasn’t been the same since.
The Hunter Biden story just gets more interesting. After he was confirmed the father of the baby in Arkansas, the stories started flying, though the MSM avoided them. The latest is she is suing him for child support and Hunter is claiming he is broke and without a job. He was a no-show for an Arkansas court hearing this week. The next day his lawyers resigned.
Oh we would know so much more if this was a Trump kid.
Who is the baby’s Mother and how did Biden meet her? The NY Post reported that Biden was a regular at a Washington, DC strip club where she performed under the stage name “Dallas” around the time that he broke up with his late brother’s widow.