Dare I say it: what a week.

There are so many things I want to breakdown with you guys: Donald Trump is now the third president in history to have been impeached, the final Democratic Debate of 2019, whatever the fuck the Iowa Caucus is and why we're all hearing so much about it, and, of course, Nancy Pelosi's impeachment fashion choices.

Let's start with the topic on everyone's mind: how ADORABLE was Nancy's coat during her visit to Belgium???

I'm freaking out. She's giving me strong Harry Styles in a Gucci Overcoat on James Corden Doing Crosswalk Concert vibes. This is the most important topic for me this week but I guess we can also talk about impeachment.

I know you've broken it down for us before but I've been busy. Tell us again what exactly is impeachment?

Think of impeachment like a criminal trial: the House of Representatives bring a case against the president, alleging he has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. This is a funky way to say "presidential crimes." Presidents cannot be tried like regular citizens while in office but if they commit a crime they can't just get away with it, so then the House has the power to bring a case against him in which they call witnesses and provide evidence for the record. The vote on Wednesday was the House deciding that, based on the inquiry, they found Trump guilty of both abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress in their investigation. Now, it moves into the sentencing stage in which the Senate can also agree with the House that Trump is guilty (for which the punishment is removal from office) or the Senate can disagree and acquit him (self-evident).

Impeachment does NOT mean President Trump will be removed from office, nor does it bar him from running for re-election in 2020. In the current political climate, it is simply Nancy Pelosi standing before the country, pointing at Trump, shouting "J'ACCUSE!!!!" while the House backs her up with pages of evidence and testimony, and Mitch McConnell just shrugs and smirks while evil piano music plays in the background.

Another way to explain it:

Did anything notable happen during the debates and voting process?

I'm so glad you asked. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), a 2020 candidate and what would happen if that girl you went to high school with never stopped saying she was "socially liberal but fiscally conservative," voted "Present" instead of yes or no. A "present" vote is a vote of abstention and for Gabbard that was meant to reflect her belief in censuring Trump rather than impeaching him (just a reminder: Trump has already been censured for his comments on Twitter implying that four congresswomen of color were un-American. You know, like racism). Gabbard frequents conservative talk shows, notably Tucker Carlson Tonight, and has been called out by other Democrats in the race for attacking her running mates more than she attacks Trump. I vote AY to keeping her out of the Oval Office (please laugh).

Can you give me some statistics? Like how big was this?

Pretty big:
-Trump is only the third president to have been impeached. President Richard Nixon had articles of impeachment against him drafted but he resigned from office before they were voted on by the House. The other two presidents were Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
-Trump is the only president of the three to be impeached in his first term.
-According to FiveThirtyEight (ABC News), 47.1% of polled Americans support removing Trump from office.
-However, Trump has a better approval rating that Nixon did in a similar situation: Trump's current approval rating sits at 45% (according to the most recent Gallup poll) while Nixon's final approval rating was a mere 24%.

I just saw Nancy is delaying sending the articles to the Senate. What the heck is that all about?

Sweet Baby Nance is withholding the articles until she has confirmation that the Senate is going to host a fair trial. As of right now, senators have not voted on what the set up of the trial is going to look like (i.e. are witnesses going to be called? how fast will the process go?) and as such, the House has not named impeachment managers (House reps who defend impeachment to the Senate. Technically, she can hold them as long as she wants. She's doing it right now to make a point about how the Senate hearing is looking like it's going to be biased towards Trump even before it starts.

I said before that impeachment is inherently partisan, but the Senate trial following an impeachment vote is somehow even more so. I'll write up a newsletter just on the Senate proceedings soon to make sure we are all on the same page.

What should I take away from Trump's impeachment?

Most likely, Trump will not be removed from office. Just as Clinton in the 1990s, Trump is going against a Senate where his party holds the majority. Trump also as both Senate Majority Leader McConnell and the senator most in need of a win Lindsey Graham professing their undying love for him as well as already announcing that they will not be impartial jurors when the Senate votes on removal from office. Whether he will be re-elected is really up in the air.
If Trump remaining in office and getting re-elected doesn't bother you, cool. Keep doing you my guy!
If this does, now's the time to step up and act, not October 2020 when the election is around the corner. If you have decided on a Democratic candidate to throw your weight behind, campaign for them! Get involved in their different offices to phone bank or knock on doors. Even if you are not crazy about any Democratic candidate at this very moment, you can still work to help protect the election. Queen of Georgia Stacey Abrams has started Fair Fight 2020 to help mobilize teams in noted battleground states to help fight voter suppression and make sure as many registered voters as possible are able to cast their ballots.

Donald Trump has been impeached because of his attempted interference in the upcoming presidential election. That fact alone -the potential for our election to be influenced by external forces- is horrifying. Regardless of which party you vote for, every American deserves the knowledge that they participated in a free and fair election.

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