Let's take a peek at a polling series commissioned by the conservative American Action Network, which measured voters' opinions about impeachment in three Trump-won Congressional Districts that Democrats flipped in 2018. The president carried all three by double digits, and now impeachment is underwater by even more decisive margins:
Conservative group commissions impeachment polls in three Trump-carried Congressional districts that Democrats won in the midterms: pic.twitter.com/pZJfY9NsZC
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 6, 2020
American Action Network has been advertising in the districts of Representatives Anthony Brindisi, Joe Cunningham and Xochitl Torres Small since early November on the issue of impeachment. Our polling finds that impeachment has become an extremely high-visibility issue. Universally, constituents in these districts report having seen, read or heard information about their Member of Congress and impeachment, and the information they’ve received has given them a highly negative view of the impeachment process, strong enough to provoke significant negative reactions when their Members of Congress support it.
By an approximately similar margins, respondents in these districts say their views of any member of Congression who voted in favor of impeaching Trump are less favorable. Meanwhile, writing at the Washington Post, Henry Olsen notices that Trump's approval rating has matched its highest level since shortly after his 2017 inauguration and predicts it could climb higher:
Trump's job approval is now at its pre-impeachment level, the highest mark since February 2017. Watch it go higher soon. My latest for @PostOpinions -https://t.co/RaCxWsBZNa
— Henry Olsen (@henryolsenEPPC) January 6, 2020
As usual, the worrisome fact for Trump opponents is that his floor is pretty firmly established, with his approval rating hovering in the same range despite any number of twists, turns and attacks. The concerning corollary is that even amid a smashing economy and following some important blows against America's enemy's, Trump's average approval still can't hit 50 percent. The public is split evenly on impeachment and removal, with swing state and battleground district significantly more likely to oppose the move. One wonders what they make of House Democrats' astonishing decision to withhold their articles of impeachment from the Senate, in an unserious and unprecedented move that undermines some of their own stated rationales for rushing through the process. And one wonders how these freshmen feel about their leadership's decision to keep the whole issue alive, unresolved, and twisting in the wind.
They're ostensibly trying to pressure upper chamber Republicans to call witnesses and engage in due diligence that they themselves did not achieve -- or in some cases, even attempt. It's true that some Senate GOP members have expressed an interest in what John Bolton may have to say, especially given Bolton's announcement that he'd testify if subpoenaed. For instance:
On my show just now, Sen. John Cornyn suggests Bolton testimony could be “helpful to the president,” says he might “want to know what [Bolton] has to offer.” @GuyBensonShow
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 6, 2020
Sen. Mitt Romney told reporters he would like to hear from John Bolton, but left it up to the leaders of both parties to negotiate when and if that will happen.https://t.co/zVwkdSeH2u
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 7, 2020
Cornyn followed up to make clear that the sequence of hearing from Bolton must fall under the Clinton-era impeachment rules -- starting with House managers/prosecutors making their case based on the evidence they'd collected. After that, the president's team would offer their defense. And only then would there be debate and votes on whether to call other witnesses (in the Clinton trial, none were heard live). It looks like Mitch McConnell has most of his ducks in a row in backing this process, likely rendering the Democratic stunt moot:
Collins ?
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) January 7, 2020
Gardner ?
Murkowski ?
Just need to get Romney on the record and put an official end to the "muh four GOP Senators will save House Democrats" nonsense. https://t.co/RJPvPUkX25
I'll leave you with this:
Bolton has reaffirmed that he would be willing to testify if subpoenaed. However, the House never bothered to send him a subpoena let alone tried to enforce it. This is precisely why the rush impeachment was such a historic blunder. https://t.co/2AzxZGa7Hb
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 6, 2020
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