The resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on Thursday was either a "Soviet-style sham scheme" or a "vindication of the US constitution".

It all depends on which party you asked.

Take for a hint that it passed 232 to 196, with zero members of Donald Trump's Republican party voting in favour of the measure. (Two Democrats from right-leaning districts voted against it to protect their re-election chances.)

Let's be clear here: this wasn't a big, high-stakes resolution. It's not the actual articles of impeachment which will determine whether the President will be impeached and tried in the Senate.

No, the resolution was about the process of taking the impeachment inquiry into the public arena.

It defines the procedures for holding public hearings, allowing the White House to respond to evidence and drafting the actual articles of impeachment later. It will also allow the transcripts of some of the private depositions to be released to the public.

The rules, which were drafted by Democrats, are consistent with how other House investigations are conducted.

The Democrat-controlled House voted almost entirely along party lines, with all Republicans opposed. ( Reuters: Tom Brenner )

"This resolution affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry," Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wrote in a letter to her colleagues this week.

The vote won't have an effect on the outcome of the impeachment inquiry, but the partisan rhetoric surrounding the vote offers some insight into how the next few weeks of investigations could play out.

By agreeing to release the evidence to the public, the Democrats are broadcasting their confidence, saying that there is a "there" there.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are dismissing the evidence as fake news or avoiding discussing it altogether.

Instead, they're attacking the process

The investigation into a July phone call between Mr Trump and Ukranian President Volodomyr Zelenksy has so far been carried out behind closed doors.

US President Donald Trump's impeachment woes began during a phone call with Ukraine's leader in July. ( Reuters: Jonathan Ernst )

Congress issued 23 subpoenas over the course of 37 days, with the White House attempting to block many of the witnesses from speaking with Congress.

But a dozen depositions have gone forward, and the House has leaked bits and pieces of them:

Top Ukranian diplomat Bill Taylor said he personally believed that Mr Trump withheld military aid directly in exchange for an investigation into his political rival's son's company

Top Ukranian diplomat Bill Taylor said he personally believed that Mr Trump withheld military aid directly in exchange for an investigation into his political rival's son's company The National Security Council's top Ukraine expert said he tried to omit sections of the call with President Zelensky as the White House released a partial transcript last month.

The National Security Council's top Ukraine expert said he tried to omit sections of the call with President Zelensky as the White House released a partial transcript last month. A former US ambassador to Ukraine said she was unjustly fired after Mr Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, questioned her loyalty to the President

The Republicans, led by the President himself, have mostly responded to these allegations not by denying them outright, but by focusing attention on the process, saying that the way in which those allegations were extracted was inherently unfair.

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They claimed that the Democrats were acting illegally by launching the investigation without first holding a formal vote to outline its parameters.

This argument was attractive, in part, because there's little precedent for how an impeachment inquiry should work.

In the cases of both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, the results of a big investigation were made public first and served as the spark that led to impeachment.

In the case of Mr Trump, it was nothing but news reports about a whistleblower's allegations.

The Democrats argued there was no constitutional mandate, saying a formal vote must be held before an inquiry could begin. They took the case to a federal court, which ruled in their favour.

So no vote was necessary — but the Republicans kept pushing.

They stormed a secure document viewing area to conduct a sit-in, fuelled by fried chicken and pizza.

Forty out of 53 Republican senators signed a formal resolution saying the Democrats violated due process by holding interviews behind closed doors.

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After a month of ongoing arguing and investigating, the Democrats are trying to undercut the Republican messaging by passing the resolution.

But there's a deeper reason than just Republican appeasement.

Democrats think they have public opinion on their side

According to an aggregate of polls collected by FiveThirtyEight, support for impeachment outweighs opposition by roughly 5 percentage points.

Donald Trump described the impeachment proceedings as the 'greatest witch hunt in history'. ( Reuters: Leah Millis )

It's a narrow margin, but one that's only been growing since news of the Ukranian phone call first leaked.

There's no question that support varies by party. Over 80 per cent of Democrats support impeachment, while support among independents has increased by 13 percentage points, to roughly 46 per cent.

Meanwhile, roughly 11 per cent of Republicans report similar feelings, a number that's barely budged in over a year.

Hence why the Republicans are pivoting to a new defence-by-attack strategy.

The Republican talking points may sound familiar

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 50 seconds 50 s US House Republicans say the Democrats are abusing their power

1. The resolution is still unfair …

… because it prevents Republicans from subpoenaing witnesses without majority approval. Democrats say the process they've laid out is consistent with how all House investigations are conducted.

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2. It's too late anyway …

… because the evidence is already "tainted" as it was collected behind closed doors.

The Democrats point out that Republicans, who hold minorities on each of the six committees conducting the investigations, have been present and active in every closed-door hearing.

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3. The Democrats are only doing this because they're sore losers.

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"Democrats are trying to impeach the President because they're scared they can't beat him at the ballot box," said Republican House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy.

"It's not only an attempt to undo the last election, but to influence the future one as well."

The Democrats say it's about protecting democracy and the US constitution.

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If all this sounds familiar, you're right. The talking points haven't changed since the days of the Russia investigation.

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As the public gets the full view of the testimony in coming weeks, chances are that we'll keep hearing those same points. But we'll also hear directly from the witnesses.

The question will be whether Democrats can turn the new public evidence into a case that's compelling and clear enough for the American public to grasp.