In a silent show of resistance, Nancy Pelosi stood behind Trump who was basking in the glow of corrupt Republican adoration and tore his speech to shreds.  It was brilliant.  Have a look:

So it starts.  Two nights ago the right-wingers were all aflutter, excitedly posting that everyone should be sure to watch Hannity because he was going to drop the bomb on Biden and his son, Hunter, even predicting that Biden’s campaign was “cooked” and over.  What was the “bomb”?  The same old warmed over bullshit that Hannity always peddles.  Take whatever Trump is doing, turn it upside down, change the names and label it a Democratic scandal.  Never mind that the only sane person at Fox Noise, Shephard Smith, inoculated against their viewers earlier in the day telling his viewers that “this is not about Biden, it’s about the phone call.” How correct he was.

When news broke last week that there was a whistleblower complaint against Trump about this conduct in a call with Ukrainian president Zelensky, Trump hitman Rudy Giuliani went into full meltdown, shouting about some fictional corruption of Joe Biden.  That narrative the fell apart when news broke that Trump had ordered the freeze of some $400 million in military aid to Ukraine to put maximum pressure on Zelensky to force him to investigate the Bidens.  So, to be clear, Trump used the full power of the US government to damage his US political opponent.  When caught, his cronies have desperately tried to flip the story around that Trump wasn’t really trying to get Ukraine to open a fake investigation on Biden, but really trying to get Ukraine to clean up its own corruption (which coincidently happened to suddenly include Biden and his son Hunter).  It’s nonsense, but as we’ve discussed, totally predictable.

Then Nancy Pelosi happened.  Yesterday afternoon, in a serious speech to the nation, Pelosi announced the beginning of a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump.  The shift in politics was seismic.  To pile on Trump, word then got out that he had called Pelosi yesterday morning wanting to “work something out” about the whistleblower report that she’s demanding.  It’s reported that she told him that his people should follow the law.  That call to Pelosi was the tell that Trump has figured out that he’s screwed the pooch.  He’s in real trouble and that fact has finally penetrated the narcissistic fog within which he hides.  You can tell he knows just based on his speech which he barely got through and the remarks he made to the press prior to the speech.  He’s told so many lies that he can’t keep them straight, and is picking up the pace of lying trying to worm out of this one.  To wit:

1. Earlier this week, Trump admitted that he talked to Zelensky about Biden, but his first excuse was that it was to get Ukraine to crack down on corruption (supposedly Biden’s), and said that was why he was withholding the $400 million in military aid.  Yesterday he changed his story, saying he withheld it funding because European countries weren’t paying their fair share.
2. Trump is lying about European countries not paying.  The EU has already provided $16.5 billion in economic support of Ukraine after Russia’s attempt to annex the country.  Additionally, NATO has an active program in place to support Ukraine’s defense efforts.
3. He then said he’s leading in the polls.  That’s a blatant lie since he actually trailed Biden in recent polls by about 15 points nationally and trails Biden in the swing states.  He’s even trailing Warren nationally, even though he’s leading her in some swing states.
4. Then he said that since he’s leading in the polls, the only way “they” can get him is impeachment, which has “never happened before”.  See Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, and Andrew Johnson.
5. Lastly, Trump said that he put no pressure on Zelensky about Biden, but that Ukraine should clean up its corruption that Biden had supposedly engaged in.  He continues to lie about this even though the prosecutor in Ukraine that replace ousted Viktor Shokin (who actually was corrupt) publicly stated that there was no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe Biden or his son Hunter.

For this tsunami of lies, the Washington Post awarded Trump 4 Pinocchios this morning.  Predictably, the Noise Machine is desperately trying to distract from yesterday’s disaster by whipping up “the Democrats did this,” “Joe Biden did that,” “Trump’s been investigated since he was born,” blah, blah, blah, but you can tell that the entire machine is on its heels, at least at this moment.

Will the system work and end this long national nightmare?  I don’t know yet, but you can feel the seismic shift in  our politics.  I continue to believe that as the cost of Trump goes ever higher, the Repubs will jettison him and throw him to the wolves.  We’re far from that yet, but you can see his iron grip starting to weaken.  Ousting him can’t happen too soon.

Say what you will about Nancy Pelosi, but she is seldom wrong.  Yesterday, the Noise Machine went nuts when she said that Trump was trying to goad the Dems into impeaching him.  The Noise Machine went nuts for one reason, and one reason only:  she’s 100% correct.  Think about it:  The latest ABC News/WaPo poll found that 55% of voters definitely will not vote for Trump; further, 85% said they were going to vote in 2020.  High turnout is death for all politicians Republican.  Trump’s approval is hovering at 39% to 41%.  All these numbers are terrible for him. Terrible.  I would say that Trump’s chances of getting re-elected now are low, unless the Dems are stupid and run HRC again in 2016, which is not going to happen.  Biden, if he maintains his current intensity, will slaughter Trump, especially with a vibrant younger VP like Harris or Hickenlooper.

In short, the shine is off the fake gold plating, and Trump’s record as a fraudster and criminal is finally beginning to catch up with him, especially with those not in his drooling, Confederate flag wearing base.  Indictments on a number of state and federal charges once he leaves office are a virtual certainty; he will be legally and financially destroyed once he comes out from under his rock in the WH.  His only hope to fight off the wolves at the door is to stay in office as long as possible, and a new term will protect him until he’s too old to throw in jail for the rest of his life.

Because of these facts, Trump’s only chance of survival is to gain sympathy and support from low information voters by fighting off a huge threat.  That huge threat is impeachment by the Big, Bad, Democrats in the House.  So let’s consider what would happen if articles of impeachment were drawn up in the House. First, it takes a majority vote in the House on Articles of Impeachment, and that is not a certainty, especially if Pelosi continues to oppose.  If Trump is charged by a majority of the House, he must undergo trial in the Senate, which requires a 2/3 supermajority to convict.  With current Senate membership and leaders, Trump’s conviction has a zero chance of happening.  Zero.

So, impeachment is exactly what Trump wants.  He wants to play victim on Twitter and national television over a “witch hunt” and “coup attempt”.  That’s why he’s begging for impeachment by blocking disclosure of the unredacted Mueller report, claiming executive privilege.  That’s why he’s preventing Barr and McGhan from testifying.  That’s why he’s ignoring every single subpoena and request for information.  Since beating an impeachment charge is his only chance of winning another term, expect him to continue escalating his attacks on the House, Dems, and all things that are considered good and decent.

Though no other president has deserved impeachment more than Trump, the Dems must not take the bait.  They need to continue bombarding him and his cronies with subpoenas, demands,  requests for information and admonishments, but Pelosi is right.  Impeaching this son of a bitch is the last thing the Dems should do.

As we all know, Trump painted himself into a corner two weeks ago, driving a stake in the ground over his stupid wall notion after being excoriated by RWNJs Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh for caving.  He promised a wall to his mouth breathers, and, By God, he’s going to deliver.  Nevermind that he also stupidly promised that Mexico was going to pay for it.  While normal people laughed at such a ridiculous assertion, his base lapped it up, and now we find ourselves as Americans being held hostage for one of the most ridiculous self-inflicted crises in US history.

The irony, though, is that Trump did get his wall yesterday, and its name is Nancy Pelosi.  Last November, after playing to his xenophobic base, he got trounced and lost 40 congressional seats, even in safely gerrymandered districts.  These 40 new members were sworn in yesterday, and Pelosi started doing what she’s so good at – governing with an iron hand in a velvet glove.  When she gets finished with Trump he won’t understand what hit him, and won’t even see it until after he’s been run over by her.

Trump’s hastily called non-press conference press conference during the swearing in ceremony yesterday was evidence that he’s unhappy that the attention had shifted from himself and that he’s clearly rattled as the ground under his feet has shifted against him.  His baffling 8 minute nationally televised ramble was the first “press conference” of the year for him, and more amazing, the FIRST TIME he’s ever set foot in the WH briefing room.  That’s correct – Trump’s been president for two years, and has NEVER been to the press room until yesterday.

Trump has recklessly careened head on into the wall named Nancy, and he’s going to learn just how hard and high she is.  We all know that his time in the WH won’t end well, and we’ll soon learn how Pelosi is going to help him along to his final downfall.

Interesting posts on my Facebook feed this morning.  There are articles one after the other about how BOTH major political parties are on the ropes.  I give you the headlines:

‘Trump is What Happens When a Political Party Abandons Ideas’ – Politico

and right after it –

Sen. Bernie Sanders – “Democratic Brand is Pretty Bad” – CNN

In recent days, talkers from both sides have been bemoaning the condition of their own parties.  Some are going after their party leaders; some are blaming everyone from the Russians to their political rivals.  For the first time in over a decade, Nancy Pelosi’s job is in jeopardy.  After the Dems were skunked in the recent special elections, younger Dems are publicly talking about new party leadership in the House. Republican senators are openly refusing to support Mitch McConnell’s plan to destroy the US healthcare system.  The only oddity that continues is that the Republicans remain terrified of Trump and his Twitter fingers.

Are we finally reaching a crossroads in political party life?  Deep inside, the Repubs certainly recognize the smoldering ruin of their party after Trumpzilla rampaged through in 2016.  But it’s worse than that – to cling to power, the GOP has abandoned common decency and common sense, appealing to the worst instincts of the ignorant base.  That’s their problem.

The problem on the Dem side is more subtle.  Party leadership is fossilized.  It’s not adapted to the new normal.  Although the vast majority of creative thinkers and visualizers are Democrats, the party has remarkably failed to engage them in dragging the party out of the 1990’s.  The Dems don’t stand for anything – not to say they don’t have the interests of workers, families, and the disadvantaged – they can’t articulate it.  That was Hillary’s well documented problem…she couldn’t connect on that level.  Senate and House leadership now has the same problem.  While the GOP is in smoldering ruins, instead of taking advantage of that weakness, the Dems are arranging furniture and counting noses – no one is leading.

Maybe the voices of the younger generation will get loud enough for the geriatric leadership of both parties to get the message and get out of the way.  Can you imagine what America would be if we had youthful enthusiasm involved?  Can you imagine if political leadership was 50/50 men to women, inclusive of all faiths and ethnicities?

We’re a long way from that, but I can still dream.