Back when Democrat Bill Clinton was facing impeachment over an actual crime he committed in office– perjury – for his own political benefit, Nancy Pelosi urged abandonment of the effort for the good of the Republic.

In retrospect, her GOP colleagues would have been wise to heed her caution, though such was their fervor that they pushed forward, and eventually were punished by voters, losing their House majority and their speaker.

It is rare in history that we see such parallel cases with the shoe being on the other foot, and the lessons learned the first time ignored.

My guess is that Pelosi knows that impeachment over Ukraine is doomed. That’s why yesterday she said that other controversies could be part of the impeachment push. She is thus confirming that Democrats are following through on the promises from Maxine Waters and others before Trump was inaugurated that he would be impeached. They are merely looking for an excuse, and the failure of the Russia hoax, followed by the impending failure of the Ukraine hoax, demonstrates conclusively that this is the case.

All of this makes Pelosi’s 1998 words on the costs to the Republic of impeachment all the weightier. Expect to see this video reappear in campaign ads next year if the Dems actually impeach President Trump.

Photo credit: C-SPAN screen grab

Hat tip: Roger Luchs