What Went Down On Day 1 Of The Impeachment Hearings

Can I offer a rogue theory while we’re in recess? Maybe the best possible outcome for Democrats is the ability to reconcile the pressure to impeach with the long shadow of the Clinton impeachment, which suggests impeachment will backfire and wind up hurting the party that controls the House. They’re not likely to get the Senate to vote for removal under almost any conditions. So maybe the goal at this point is to move forward with the process and minimize the political damage that would result if the whole thing looked like it was just partisan (e.g. the 1998 Clinton narrative).

We’re 15 minutes into our five-minute break. Reminds me of a line from “The West Wing” when a committee chair says, “We’ll take a five-minute break. Please, let’s keep it to 10 minutes.”

Would like to remind everyone of the mood and framing of the ongoing story after Dems’ questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in his last confirmation hearing. The pundits all spoke about how many blows Dems landed during the break after their round. But by the time GOP questioning was done — and after Lindsey Graham did some yelling — things had shifted, and all of a sudden it was easier to see how GOP would still vote for his confirmation. The press often relies on politicians to make politicians’ rationale visible to them, and then shifts the frame accordingly.