If former Vice President Joe Biden is going to remain relevant in what is sure to be a millennial-dominated Democratic primary, the septuagenarian is going to have to get hip to the times.
For months on end, fellow longtime politician and Washington establishment figure Nancy Pelosi has resisted the idea of launching anything official regarding the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Even now, in her latest escalation, Pelosi has avoided even so much as voting on the subject, preferring instead to launch what she is calling a “formal impeachment inquiry”.
Still, as Biden slips in the polls, it has become apparent that he’ll need to jump on Pelosi’s bandwagon if he wished to remain competitive for 2020.
From a speech in Rochester, New Hampshire:
“You know to preserve our constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity. He should be impeached. That’s not only because of what he’s done. To answer whether he’s committed acts sufficient to warrant impeachment is obvious. We see it in Trump’s own words. We see it in the texts from state department officials that have been made public. We see it in his pulling much of the United States government into his corrupt schemes, individuals within the government, his appointees. But we have to remember that impeachment isn’t only about what the president’s done. It’s about the threat the president poses to the nation if allowed to remain in office. One thing about this president is absolutely clear, and I don’t think anyone can contradict this, he has seen no limits to his power regardless of what the Constitution says.”
He added, “He believes the entire United States government can be corrupted into furthering his personal political needs. He’s even willing to hold Congress and congressionally appropriated aid to a foreign nation hostage to his personal political demands. He believes if he does something, it’s legal, period. And perhaps most importantly, he believes there is nothing we can do about it. He believes he can and will get away with anything he does. We all laughed when he said he could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone and get away with it. It’s no joke. He’s shooting holes in the Constitution, and we can not let him get away with it.”
Biden is dodging a double-edged sword here, of course.
Should impeachment move forward, and should the Republican Party find themselves with the ability to call and cross examine witnesses, there is little doubt that Biden and his son will both escape without an appearance.
