“The danger [is] Democrats believing that they can beat Donald Trump on this issue,” @JohnKasich says about the topic of impeachment ahead of Mueller’s congressional hearing tomorrow. https://t.co/7uTIqZSSsG pic.twitter.com/8TiOnJlXA0 — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) July 23, 2019

“Dems are outsmarting themselves on impeachment” said CNN in April; not to be outdone New York Times said “impeachment could endanger vulnerable Dems in red districts.”

Sure, Jan.

Common trope around national media had been “oh jeez Red State Dems will be vulnerable; we just won those seats and want to keep them!”

Idea is bollocks. Here’s just one example: Rep. Katie Porter—rising Dem star from a previously red Orange County district who made a name for herself cross-examining sleepy know-nothing Ben Carson—was attacked relentlessly by GOP’s MAGA cult for endorsing impeachment. How’d that turn out?

Porter was *rewarded* for her leadership with “massive” fundraising numbers, which contradicts all earlier hand-wringing about what impeachment would do to Dems as a caucus. There are myriad other examples of Democrats going gangbusters with fundraising.

Polling spikes in wake of Speaker Pelosi’s announcement

Fundraising is only part of the story. In a speech that will be taught in history classes for generations, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-CA) announced the House was opening a formal impeachment effort. If media scolds were to be believed back in the spring, Dems should be headed to certain defeat and should be careful not to overstep.

Conventional political wisdom has long held that public opinion might take a dim view of impeachment, a key reason that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resisted launching it. (NY Daily News)

not a lawyer but I feel *in my bones* we need #Impeachment hearings to legally compel evidence, testimony and grand jury matters that Orangina Thinskin *is prostituting the courts* to block — Will Knows We Must Block Their Dominionist Coup (@bywillpollock) May 6, 2019

.@SpeakerPelosi if you're listening Dems will be greatly rewarded in 2020 if you pursue impeachment NOW—and you're defending rule of law https://t.co/jDN9kMx059 — Will Knows We Must Block Their Dominionist Coup (@bywillpollock) May 29, 2019

As I predicted in May, just the opposite has happened: leadership on impeachment (I firmly believe bold leadership on *any* issue) has been handsomely rewarded. In one CBS News poll fully 23% of Republicans have seen enough and support impeachment. HuffPost has a pretty good breakdown on Americans’ opinions on this solemn constitutional duty.

House Democratic impeachment effort piercing through GOP cult-bubble on Fixed Noise, Breitbart & Infowars is remarkable on its face. Just goes to show that bold leadership can move opinion—and mountains.

my letter to @SpeakerPelosi 2 days ago called for an address the nation so YEAH BABY #maddow https://t.co/2ObEFENPQY — Will Knows We Must Block Their Dominionist Coup (@bywillpollock) September 25, 2019

Will Pollock is a perpetually crabby New York City escapee based in Midtown Atlanta. He’s a freelance multimedia journalist, media analyst and author of two books (award-wining Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way.

In 2001, Will earned his Masters from The Medill School of Journalism, graduating with highest honors from the magazine sequence. As permanent member of Journalism’s National Honors Society, he’s been active in monitoring, writing and blogging about media and journalism ever since he graduated.

Obsessed with good storytelling and journalistic excellence, Will uses snark, humor and reason to distill dumb shit and make it fun. He’s a seeker/maker of non-consensus news, and helps you cure crankies by finding the nut in every story.

As for-profit media continues to fail us, it’s more important than ever to find reliable sources. Authentic storytelling exists—you just have to look for it. On this blog you’ll get ideas, not ideology. Sass with class. Reporting with rapport. Evidence with a touch of evil. You get the idea.

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