Embarrassingly, Pelosi And Hoyer Led Most House Democrats Away From Impeachment... Here's How A Cross Section Of House Candidates Responded

In 2018, corrupt conservative, Darren Soto, pretended he was a progressive during his primary battle with Alan Grayson. After he won, he stopped pretending and admitted he's a member of the right-of-center, Wall Street owned and operated New Dems. Yesterday, like virtually all the New Dems, Soto voted against impeaching Trump. It reminded me on one of Grayson's brilliant TV spots which focused on impeachment. Watch closely. The point is simple: "I'll vote for impeachment; Soto won't." And Grayson was... clairvoyant? The other conservative Grayson ran against years ago, Daniel Webster, also voted against impeachment yesterday, but at least he has an excuse-- he's a Republican racist, just like Trump.

Briana Urbina is a progressive Maryland attorney and activist taking on Stony Hoyer who's at the very heart of the problem with congressional Democrats."Steny," she told me right after the vote,"is nothing if not consistent. He has the courage to call out Democrats he disagrees with but won't stand up for his constituents in the 5th district of Maryland and our party by voting for impeachment."

Eva Putzova is running against a Hoyer ally, "ex"-Republican state legislator, now a Blue Dog, Tom O'Halleran, who no one imagined would vote for impeaching Trump. "I would have voted to impeach the most dangerous, unstable president this country has ever seen," Eva told me yesterday. "He has committed impeachable offenses and it's the duty of our Congress to hold him accountable. Today's vote in the House indicates a lack of leadership. My opponent was on the wrong side of history. Again."

Another Hoyer ally, corrupt New Dem Gregory Meeks, is in a Queens district that overwhelmingly favors impeachment. But Meeks voted to kill Al Green's impeachment bill. Shaniyat Chowdhury, just back from captaining a championship rugby team in Australia-- winning the Emerging Nations Rugby League Cup-- told me that "Meeks has been talking about challenging Trump the last three years and concluded it with cowardly voting against impeachment. Our country does not need anymore lip services from false prophets who claim to do one thing and their actions speak for another. Trump is a bully. Congress is supposed to stand up to him. Voting to not impeach a president who is clearly unfit to run a government, undermines our democracy. It sends a message to our kids that bullying is okay. It is not okay! There are consequences to bullying, and we need elected officials who will have the courage to stand up to the face of bigotry without politicizing ethics and the people of this nation."

Mark Gamba is also up against a reactionary Hoyer ally, Oregon Blue Dog, Kurt Schrader, who had no problem in voting to table Al Green's impeachment proposal. Unlike Schrader, Gamba felt Congress has a duty to hold Trump accountable for his perfidy. "Donald Trump," he told us this morning, "is the most dangerous and deranged president in American history. His continued presence in the White House only serves to cause our country to become more divided. More angry. More dysfunctional, and, frankly, weaker. All logical efforts to remove him from office must be explored. Clearly, deep strategy must be considered when both houses of Congress will not engage in this process. However I believe that members of Congress are meant to not only represent their people, they are meant to lead. Leadership sometimes requires bold action, something thin on the ground in Washington DC,  particular amongst the status quo corporate Democrats and almost all of the Republicans."

The more I look at this list of Democrats who voted to let Trump off the hook yesterday, the more I realize that they're all Steny Hoyer allies. Stephen Lynch, another New Dem, is the worst member of Congress from Massachusetts. Brianna Wu is working hard to beat him in a primary. Last night she said, "I wish I could say I'm surprised by Rep. Lynch's vote to table the impeachment resolution today, but I'm not. This is a man who just recently said that bringing impeachment hearings would just be Democrats 'blowing off steam.' Apparently, the rule of law means nothing to him. Trump publicly invited foreign intervention in our elections. Is that not treasonous? The Mueller Report found 10 examples of possible obstruction of justice by this president. What more does the Democratic leadership and Stephen Lynch need to begin to hold Trump accountable? Lynch is worried about the possible political ramifications of bringing impeachment proceedings against Trump. I am concerned with the rule of law in this country and making sure that Trump is held accountable so lawlessness does not become a precedent for the presidency. Politics be damned. The House must begin impeachment proceedings NOW."

As for Democrats taking on Republicans already, Missouri progressive, Kathy Ellis was surprised to see incumbent Jason Smith vote against impeachment. "Smith," she told me, "has shown us time and time again who he really is-- a rubber stamp for Trump’s damaging policies. It comes as no surprise then that he voted against impeachment, as well as the House statement calling his recent comments racist. Our country deserves a leader who is honest, hardworking, and accepting of all. Racism has no place in our country, especially in the White House and in Congress. It is time for President Trump to be held accountable for his actions and his words. Missouri’s 8th District needs a Representative who understands that and is willing to hold our leaders accountable when they fail us.”

Maggie Oliver's primary opponent, Pelosi lap-dog Ben Ray Lujan, voted against impeachment... of course

The last guy who's ever going to vote to impeach Trump is Devin Nunes, more of an accomplice than just an enabler. Dary Rezvani, the progressive Democrat taking him on this cycle: "He voted against impeachment, he voted against condemning his racist statements. Devin is complacent in a time of pure evil. He said on a local news station today that he has heard nothing from his continuents saying that he should have condemned the statements which is an outright lie; multiple groups have called. His complacency enabled one of the most racist things I’ve seen to date, a "send her home" chant at a North Carolina rally. I am embarrassed that Nunes is associated with the Central Valley. I apologize to the rest of the United States that we have failed in getting him out. Devin must be extremely lonely and Trump must be the only person who gives him attention. Impeachment must start immediately."

Kim Williams is another progressive Democrat running in California's Central Valley. Her target isn't a conservative Republican; it's a conservative Democrat-- Blue Dog Jim Costa, the worst Democrat from California. Costa, of course, voted against impeaching Trump and Kim spoke out about that yesterday: "Instead of making political calculations and weighing whether impeachment might impact the reelection prospects of Democrats in Republican-leaning districts, our House majority failed to do its job. Congress has an obligation to hold this president accountable regardless of the political outcome and especially in the face of such extreme and persistent bigotry. It is especially troubling that our representative, Jim Costa, a conservative Democrat from a safe blue district chose inaction over the community he serves. Unlike Costa, I would have denounced Trump’s white supremacist agenda and voted to begin impeachment hearings."

Like all the Trump-friendly Blue Dogs, Dan Lipinski voted against impeachment. His primary rival, Marie Newman, saw it differently: "I find it horrifying that Congressman Lipinski refuses to condemn the president for the inhumane camps at the border and the absolutely racist marks, so I am not at all surprised he refuses to vote for the start of impeachment proceedings. He will continue to protect Trump."

Mike Siegel didn't even bother mentioning the GOP incumbent-- co-architect of the "babies in cages" and family separation policies of the Trump Regime. Michael McCaul would be with Nunes fighting against impeachment 'til the bitter end. Siegel took a different tack: "Thank you to Houston's own, Rep. Al Green, for continuing to push for accountability for the President. We don't have the full caucus on board yet, but this is a strong step forward toward beginning the essential process of an impeachment inquiry."

Remember, as we said earlier-- there were 95 Democrats willing to do the right thing instead of coddling and enabling the modern-day Nero. In 2020, let's get rid of as many of the enabling culprits from both parties as we can and replace them with more patriotic and wholesome new members of a new Congress. If Pelosi and Hoyer want to fund his concentration camps and block impeachment, they both need to be treated the same as Kevin McCarthy and his Confederate Trumpist team. So lets start with the primaries... by replacing Blue Dogs and New Dems with progressives-- the reason I've included the thermometer on the right. Please don't stand by while the neo-fascist in the White House turns our country into something our fathers and grandfathers and millions of American patriots have fought against.