Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

“Loving your country does not mean lying about it’s history.”

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

People are weird.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment Inquiry / You know what to do

You know what to do

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The Senate switchboard number is:(202) 224-3121

Politely give your opinion on the value of witnesses to your Senators and thank the ones who are making good choices for having made those choices.

Reader Interactions

85Comments

  4. 4.

    karensky

    Just called Toomey’s office and very politely asked for him to vote to call witnesses in the impeachment trial. Young person I spoke with was polite as well.

  7. 7.

    James E Powell

    @Betty Cracker:

    Never liked her. Never understood why other Democrats do

    And what the hell is with Joe Manchin? Is he worried about his re-election chances in 2024?

  10. 10.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Betty Cracker: It’s a little less damaging than the lede is – she basically says “We’re 9 months out, maybe we should just let it go to the election”. Nor is she necessarily ‘leaning’ towards acquittal.

    Which is a stupid fucking thing to say, but she’s not saying Trump is innocent.

    I’m one of those Democrats who thinks Feinstein isn’t nearly as bad as her rep sometimes is, but this was stupid and unhelpful.

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: LOL, I bet they are! If you click through, she doesn’t say she’ll definitely vote to acquit (LAT doesn’t claim that either), but she does say this:

    “Nine months left to go, the people should judge. We are a republic, we are based on the will of the people — the people should judge,” Feinstein said Tuesday, after the president’s team finished a three-day presentation in his defense. “That was my view and it still is my view.”

    Not helpful since the Democrats’ case is predicated on the FACT that if Trump is allowed to extort foreign powers to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election, the “will of the people” doesn’t mean jackshit.

  13. 13.

    MJS

    @zhena gogolia: The story is much less problematic than the headline. It’s actually quite appropriate for any Senator to say, “I haven’t made up my mind yet”, which is what it looks like Feinstein and Manchin are saying. Now, if they’re actually thinking that there is reason to acquit, that is problematic. But giving the appearance of impartiality, and that you’re considering all of the “evidence”, is fine.

  14. 14.

    Mary G

    @Betty Cracker:

    OH MY F*CKING DOG.

    She is dead to me, and I called her DC office immediately. Of course the mailbox is full, as was the one in her LA office. I got the voicemail in the San Diego office and left a furious message, though I managed not to curse. What an idiot

    Even to suggest waiting is enough to make Twitler and McConnell dig their heels in and stonewall witnesses and everything. Democratic cover is their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

  16. 16.

    mac8

    Sen. Portman?  Huh.  And here I thought my phone calls to him about impeachment were falling on deaf ears.  Good motivation to keep calling.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    @MJS: If she’d said “I haven’t made up my mind,” that wouldn’t have been problematic. Undermining the House Dems’ entire case by pretending that free and fair elections are possible when a corrupt kleptocrat is trying to rig them is…distinctly unhelpful.

  20. 20.

    MJS

    @Betty Cracker: She’s all over the place:

    “What changed my opinion as this went on,” she said, is a realization that “impeachment isn’t about one offense. It’s really about the character and ability and physical and mental fitness of the individual to serve the people, not themselves.”

    First she said nothing has changed, then she talks about what changed her opinion. At the end of the day, regardless of her blather, I would be completely shocked if she voted to acquit.

  22. 22.

    Princess Leia

    "The LA Times
    misunderstood what I said today. Before the trial I said I'd
    keep an open mind. Now that both sides made their cases, it’s clear the
    president’s actions were wrong. He withheld vital foreign assistance for
    personal political gain. That can’t be allowed to
    stand."

    Guess those calls worked!!

  23. 23.

    Betty Cracker

    DiFi clarifies:

  24. 24.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I haven’t read the LATimes article yet, but I suggest reading it before flipping out. Both Dan Drezner and Lindsay Beyerstein have said that’s not what it says.

  26. 26.

    Kent

    @MJS: I fail to understand why people like Feinstein feel compelled to bloviate every time a mike is thrust into their faces.  I mean shit….all she had to do is ‘no comment’ on impeachment and she sails right through.  But no, her ego had to place her at the center of the story.  For Fuck’s sake.

  27. 27.

    Anotherlurker

    @zhena gogolia: I just tried to get thru to Sen. Feinstein, twice. Both times, after holding for 3 minutes, my call was dropped.

    I would like to think that her switchboard is blowing up with calls from outraged constituents.

  29. 29.

    MJS

    @Kent: No, you nailed why Feinstein, et al feel compelled to bloviate – ego. It’s also what keeps them hanging on to important positions well past their sell-by date.

  30. 30.

    Mandalay

    @Betty Cracker:

    The problem is that the click bait headline (“Feinstein leans toward acquitting Trump“) is not an accurate summary of her position, as stated in the article itself. I read her comments as:

    1. It would be preferable if presidents were elected (or not) through the ballot box rather than through the Senate.
    2. Despite that, she seems to be wavering towards NOT acquitting Trump:

    What changed my opinion as this went on,” she said, is a realization that “impeachment isn’t about one offense. It’s really about the character and ability and physical and mental fitness of the individual to serve the people, not themselves.”

    I think the headline has her position backwards. But she invited it by trying to appear stately and wise, when all she had to do was give no comment at all, or simply say “It ain’t over yet“.

  31. 31.

    Cheryl Rofer

  34. 34.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    I dislike Feinstein.   A deep, deep blue state deserves a progressive representative.

     

    But the Axios reporter who actually asked Feinstein the questions says the LAT story is wrong

     

     

    I think the @latimes has this story backwards. I was the reporter who asked @SenFeinstein these questions. She told me she was initially going to vote against impeachment “before this”
    But when I asked her to clarify, she said she’s changed her opinion

    — Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) January 28, 2020

    The larger lesson is how the corporate media will take any answer and twist it to help Dump and repukes.

  36. 36.

    satby

    The elections in November should be a shit show if clickbait continues to work everyone’s outrage meter so well. Maybe the calls should go to the LA Times and refer to their deceptive practices in headline writing.

  37. 37.

    zhena gogolia

    Is it really necessary for me to keep calling Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal? I think their staff thinks I’m a nutcase.

  38. 38.

    Cheryl Rofer

    I’ve been thinking that a vote to call witnesses will be the beginning of the breach. Once McConnell loses any control at all, some will panic. Having witnesses speak on national television will further undermine him. Then we will find out how many of those Republicans who claim they’d vote for removal if it were anonymous actually have spines.

  39. 39.

    Jeffro

    @Cheryl Rofer: 

    I agree with this take. Once they start calling witnesses, it is all over for trumpov. There will be no reason not to call witness #2, #3, #99, etc.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    @zhena gogolia:  Positive voices can outweigh the negative calls they’re getting. Think of the poor interns. Getting a supportive call has to be uplifting in all this mishegas.

  41. 41.

    Jeffro

    @Cheryl Rofer: The other reason I think calling witnesses will be the beginning of the end for trumpov is that he will utterly lose his s*** and start threatening the very Senators who hold his fate in their grubby little hands.

    A little naive, maybe, but a few of them will finally realize that he really would sell them out in a heartbeat.

  42. 42.

    MJS

    @Cheryl Rofer: That’s McConnell’s version of the bat-signal. It’s telling Trump that there’s unrest, and he needs to fire up the threat-mobile (aka Twitter).

  43. 43.

    Kent

    @Cheryl Rofer: It will never come to that.  If the votes are actually there (and I don’t think they will be) then Trump will just announce he isn’t running for re-election and then spend the next 8 months going on a MAGA victory tour.  Then pardon every Trump clan spawn on the way out the door and leave every other MAGA lackey hanging.

    If he decided not to run for re-election (not resign, just announce he wasn’t running) that would completely take impeachment off the table for the GOP.  It would give them the cover to acquit.

  44. 44.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Cheryl Rofer: While this is true, they may get around this by saying the witnesses (particularly Bolton, who was NSA) will have to speak in a closed and classified forum.

    I would not be surprised.

  47. 47.

    The Dangerman

    Politely give your opinion…

    Honorable (?) Senator, kindly consider removing your cranium from your anal cavity?

  48. 48.

    piratedan

    something else that has bothered me about all of this SHIT, is the following…

    OK, so take it at face value that Guiliani is openly and repeatedly stating that he is acting on behalf of Donald Trump, not President Trump, but Donald Trump…

    so, what business does Donald Trump have going on, in the middle of serving his term as President, when he’s supposed to have divested himself of any and all business interests while serving in the office of President?

    Isn’t all of the President’s business interests supposed to be handled by Eric Trump while he serves as President?

    Ok, so say that isn’t applicable, what possible fucking business does Donald Trump have of a PERSONAL nature with the newly elected President of Ukraine?

    I do not remember anyone issuing 45 with a cape to become an international fighter of corruption or was I sick during that Infrastructure week…..

  50. 50.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    I’ll be making this call for damn sure.

    What might be a problem is I’d bet she’s not running any more.
    I checked, she’s said that the story was reported wrong she’s all in for guilty.

  51. 51.

    Roger Moore

    @satby:

    he’s liable to be prosecuted as soon as he’s out of the White House, so I doubt he’ll announce he’s not going to run.

    If he thinks he’ll be prosecuted the moment he’s out of the White House, he’ll be running, all right: running straight to a country without an extradition treaty.  Russia, for instance.

  52. 52.

    Martin

    Guys, DiFi is not the most wonderful of Senators, but there is no FUCKING way the senior member of both the Judiciary and Intelligence committee is voting to acquit Trump.

    Calm down. She said she’d be an impartial jurist and everyone is like ‘OMG, she’s sucking his dick!’.

    Seriously people.

  53. 53.

    Juju

    @Betty Cracker: My mother is nine months older than Senator Feinstein.  My guess is that some of this is age related cognitive decline.  She’s forgotten some details and her staff will set her straight and she’ll come out and “clarify” what she said later on.  Or I could be completely wrong.  I think she should have retired rather than running for her current term.  She will be 90 at the end of her term.

  56. 56.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    a few days ago Schumer sounded kind of gloomy about the way calls were coming in– Claire McCaskill asked him about it in a very insidery way, and it was very useful. Later that day or the next, Angus King said his call volume was high and people wanted witnesses, which I think is bad news for Collins, as is Sara Gideon’s $7.5 million fund-raising report today.

    Anyway… I’d love to get that insider update on calls from a few offices.

  58. 58.

    Searcher

    @James E Powell:

    And what the hell is with Joe Manchin? Is he worried about his re-election chances in 2024?

    As long as he isn’t vote number 34 or 50 to acquit, he can vote however he needs to to get re-elected.

    The most charitable explanation I can give for Feinstein is that she’s worried conviction has a shot, and that the shock of that news would kill RBG outright, so she’s playing the long game.

  59. 59.

    Martin

    @Cheryl Rofer: I’m waiting for an indication there will be secret votes for these things. Public votes are how the GOP is being kept in line. Once the rank and file demand private votes, they’ve lost control.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Juju: i heard some of this audio in passing today, not enough to get upset, but I did say to myself, “Damn, she sounds old”.

    I’ve said for a while the most useful thing DiFi could do at this point is expose some wrongly classified information– older and richer than god, let them come at her. And there is some classified info floating around this thing, isn’t there? From Pence’s security staffer?

    ETA and I’m as guilty of this as anyone, but for the next couple of weeks, I think we need to make “take a breath, read the article, consider the sources” our mantra in the face of tweets and headlines for our own sakes

  64. 64.

    The Dangerman

    The LA Times thing is click bait. They placed all things Kobe outside the paywall…

    …but, worse, they just took their rates from ~8 a month to almost 16 a month. I called to cancel and the operator changed my subscription rate back to ~8. So, I kept it for now (Opening Day for Dodgers not far off).

    Bottom line, the LAT’s bottom line has to suck these days.

  65. 65.

    Martin

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: McCaskill is one of my favorite guests for that reason. She knows how to ask the secret language question and how to explain the secret language answer. Plus, she seems like a blast to be around.

  68. 68.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Martin: she made me crazy more than once, but she was probably the best we’re gonna get out of Mo for a while. I actually thought she might run for president, and if she had pulled it out in ’18, who knows. And she does seem like she’d be good company over a jar or two

  70. 70.

    Martin

    @The Dangerman: They spam called us this morning and offered us a deal for like $10/yr for the Sunday edition. We said sure, but we’re not giving a cold call a credit card number. Can we do this through our account?

    This stumped them, and they gave up trying to get us to subscribe, which kind of tells us everything we need to know about how well they’re run.

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    @Kent:

    I seriously doubt there are many senators who aren’t infused with a bit more ego than necessary for human existence. You are one of only 100 people in the county who are, you had to work a bit and convince people to vote for you because you are worth it, and the media has a microphone in your face pretty often.  I’ve had a live TV camera in my face a couple of times, and I didn’t appreciate it. 

  75. 75.

    Martin

    @Ruckus: Yeah, I like the idea of being a policymaker, but just the idea of running for office makes me want to set myself on fire.

  77. 77.

    The Dangerman

    @Martin:

    …which kind of tells us everything we need to know about how well they’re run.

    I feel for them. Transitioning from the dead tree model to a digital model is no fun.

    They should probably say fuck it and go fully digital.

  78. 78.

    Roger Moore

    @The Dangerman:

    They should probably say fuck it and go fully digital.

    I suspect the print version is still more profitable than the electronic version.  Ads are the real driver of revenue, and they don’t have to fork over a big chunk of their print ad revenue to Facebook, Google, or whichever company handles their ads.  They’re going to hold onto that for as long as they can.

  82. 82.

    Kent

    @satby:@Kent: he’s liable to be prosecuted as soon as he’s out of the White House, so I doubt he’ll announce he’s not going to run.

    He can pardon himself before leaving office.

  85. 85.

    EveryDayIHaveTheBlues

    I called Portman’s DC office twice last week and once this. It’s galling, but I make myself thank him for being our senator, being the voice of reason, reminding him of his commitment to finding bipartisan solutions  and dedication to the truth /*gags and retches violently*/. Of course, he only has a message and VM, no actual people, at least in his Senate office.

    With Brown, I get to speak to an intern and just tell them straight up that I wish he would impeach already. What a relief.

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