"Impeachment Helps Trump & Dems Don’t Care"
The Jimmy Dore Show (December 21, 2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzT-vIRGtw/

[Shows tweet by Margaret Kimberley]

No one who supported Trump in 2016 will change their minds because of impeachment.

Jimmy Dore: "I do you one better." [shows own tweet]

In fact it will boost his poll numbers & help him get re-elected. If you’re cheering on impeachment, congrats. You’re a tool of the establishment.

Jimmy Dore: “And that’s not hyperbole. You are."

Ron Placone: “I think it’s going to push some people back to him, too. People who were kind of like, ‘This guy, I don’t think I’m going to roll the dice again. Oh, maybe I will now.’”

[shows tweet from Joe Biden is a Racist]

Sorry guys. I just can’t be with you on this one. At worst, it energizes Trump’s base. At best, it works to uphold the myth that an “opposition party” exists in America. Pyrrhic victory.

[shows tweet from doctoreebes]

The Democrats aren’t bad at politics.” They’re on his side. Why else would they approve his $750 billion military budget, extraordinary spying powers, and confirm his lifetime federal judge appointments?

Jimmy Dore: “The Democrats are not opposing Trump. They are not bad at politics. They are CHOSEN to do this. And what is “this”? Whatever the establishment wants. So the establishment doesn’t want the Democrats to oppose Trump’s judges, his war budget, or his NAFTA, or his spying powers, anything. So they can PRETEND to oppose him with impeachment. And so if you’re supporting impeachment you’re doing exactly what the establishment and the donor class want you to do. Because it’s a head fake. It’s like she says: “It works to uphold the myth that an opposition party exists in America. Which it doesn’t. I know my good friends on the Left are pushing this, but you can’t get around that. That’s a fact. And if you want to impeach Trump it’s because you are an emotional child when it comes to Trump.

Ron Placone: “On a small side note, there’s something interesting about the number 750. 750 billion is the Pentagon budget. 750 thousand are the people who lost their food stamps.”

Jimmy Dore: “Right. Where’s the rally for that, Ron.

Ron Placone: “No kidding, right? But there is also a kind of assurance here for the Democratic establishment should they not regain the White House in 2020. Because it’s going to look bad for them if they don’t, but they’ll be able to wave their arms and say, “We impeached the guy. Come on. We’re doing all these things.”

Jimmy Dore: “Americans are racist.”

Ron Placone: “And they’ll be able to blame the voters again.”

...

Jimmy Dore: “I’m sorry. I can’t vote for Trump boosters. I can’t push people who are this fucking stupid politically. I can’t do it.

[shows a clip of Krystal Ball (host of rising]

Krystal Ball: “The way the presidential candidates have approached impeachment has actually been pretty telling. In particular, there has been a stark difference in the approach of Sanders and Warren. To be sure, both support impeachment, but Warren jumped in head first, full “hashtag-Resistance” style, and Sanders gets off the topic as quickly as he can, making clear that Democrats must stay focused on the issues voters actually care about : like Health Care, Climate, and Student Debt. But of all the candidates, Tulsi Gabbard has taken the most unorthodox approach. Soon after the initial transcript of that call between Trump and the Ukrainian president was released, we had a chance to speak with the Congresswoman, and here’s what she had to say.

Tulsi Gabbard: “I think that when you step outside the bubble here in Washington and you get to where most folks in the country are – look, I’m not a lawyer – but I think that when most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president that won an election in 2016. And instead, what I think, what most people will see is, hey, this is another move by Democrats to get rid of Donald Trump.”

Krystal Ball: “Now, Tulsi later decided IN FAVOR of the impeachment inquiry but she has continued to express concerns about the divisive nature of the process. The media will willfully misunderstand her motives, but it makes perfect sense that Tulsi would be wary of the way that the Trump Era has turned Democrats into unquestioning worshipers of the National Security Blob. I’m personally wary as hell of that. And of course, tacit in Pelosi’s conservative impeachment is endorsement of their aggressive, unaccountable, imperialist approach to foreign affairs. So it comes as no surprise that as we sit here on the morning of that scheduled House Impeachment vote, Tulsi remains publicly undecided on impeachment though explicitly supportive of censure. At a campaign event in South Carolina, she explained: “I’m taking this time for myself to be able to review everything that has happened and all the information that has been put forward, and all the factors that go into figuring out what is the best action to take for our country and for democracy. It’s not a simple or easy decision to make.” Indeed. I’ve got to say, it takes real courage to think for yourself and try to honestly weigh the issues involved. There aren’t many who honestly appear to be doing so. Most of the centrist Dems who are publicly weighing whether to vote yes or no on impeachment are doing so under pressure in districts where Trump is relatively popular and impeachment not so much. But Tulsi has nothing to gain from resisting the hashtag-Resistance. Her Hawaii district is deep blue and the skeptical view that I hold along with a number of other Leftists is admittedly not particularly popular among a Democratic base that has been relentlessly misled and outright lied to by cable news and their own party leaders. If she were to commit Democratic Party heresy and vote “no” on impeachment, she would no doubt be subjected once again to a round of slimy attacks questioning her patriotism and love of country. The latest round of neo-McCarthyist smears practically write themselves. No doubt, most of the public, presented with those smears and dismissals will just be left with a sense the Tulsi is “problematic,” a word that I absolutely hate because it is usually called into action whenever you find a person “inconvenient” but you are too lazy or dishonest to explain exactly why. But for those of us who are looking for courage in our political landscape wherever we can find it, whether you agree with where she actually lands or not, Tulsi’s principles are something to hold onto. One of the small patches of ground not poisoned by complete cynicism and corruption, where maybe, just maybe, a new Democratic party could take root, one that would have the moral authority to hold a corrupt and amoral president to account, one with a vision bold enough to re-energize their base without having to convince them that their opponent was Nixon and Mussolini and “Oh, we’d never say he’s Hitler but maybe he’s just a little Hitleresque.” Today is not a proud day. It is not an auspicious day. It’s a day to get through so that, hopefully, we can all move forward.”

Jimmy Dore: “Wow. She’s a smarty-pants."

Ron Placone: “Yes. I thought that was a pretty accurate assessment of what all went on."

Jimmy Dore: “My favorite part of what she said was maybe if we get more people like Tulsi maybe she’ll create a ground that we can build a new Democratic party on. One that actually has the moral authority to impeach a president who is breaking rules and committing treason. Right now the Democrats don’t. She’s 100% right. Hey. Maybe she’s a Putin Puppet, too.”

Ron Placone: “May be. That has got to be looked into."