Authored by ‘Allahpundit’ via HotAir.com,
Something to bear in mind the next time Pelosi starts burbling about how “prayerful” this process has been for them.
Apparently Jesus told her to start focus-grouping battleground states to find the way forward.
Chris Wallace passed along the info to Fox viewers this morning…
Chris Wallace on “how political” impeachment is: House Dems changed messaging after focus grouphttps://t.co/6fnpkZ5E4w pic.twitter.com/NsbU3hhHsj
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 15, 2019
…and WaPo reported on it last night:
Several Democrats have stopped using the term “quid pro quo,” instead describing “bribery” as a more direct summation of Trump’s alleged conduct.
The shift came after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee conducted focus groups in key House battlegrounds in recent weeks, testing messages related to impeachment. Among the questions put to participants was whether “quid pro quo,” “extortion” or “bribery” was a more compelling description of Trump’s conduct. According to two people familiar with the results, which circulated among Democrats this week, the focus groups found “bribery” to be most damning. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the results have not been made public.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a House Intelligence Committee member, kicked off the effort to retire “quid pro quo” from the Democratic vocabulary during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he said “it’s probably best not to use Latin words” to explain Trump’s actions.
It makes me laugh to think of Dems needing a focus group to explain to them that “bribery,” a concept even kindergarteners grasp as wrong, is a bit more effective than “quid pro quo” when trying to turn public opinion against the president. That’s so elementary that I assumed they switched to bribery in their messaging for legal reasons, because it’s an impeachable offense specified in the Constitution. No more hiding by the GOP behind the vagueness of the term “high crimes and misdemeanors”! Pelosi was about to put them on the spot: This is bribery, son. It’s right there in black and white in Article II. If the facts are there, you must vote to remove.
But no, turns out she and Schiff needed a group of average joes to officially confirm that bribe sounds worse than some Latin term known mainly to lawyers.
I’m surprised Trump hasn’t highlighted the focus-grouping on Twitter yet.
Not only does it underline that impeachment is a political process, being run by people who stand to gain electorally by investigating him, but it leaves Democrats open to the claim that they’re not just tweaking the terminology based on public opinion, they’re tweaking the actual charges. If the facts, which haven’t changed materially since this started, told a straightforward story of bribery all along then why was the less definitive “abuse of power” cited until recently as the core claim against POTUS?
Ah well, doesn’t matter. Probably no one is watching these hearings who hasn’t already been persuaded one way or the other already:
Lots of Democrats are watching, no doubt because they’re psyched to see Trump formally accused of wrongdoing by witnesses. Lots of Republicans are not watching, either because they don’t want to see it or because they’re not going to be convinced by some Democratic production. Maybe the numbers will move for Trump’s Senate trial, when the stakes are higher and the GOP is in charge.
If I were Pelosi, I’d be worried about those independent numbers, though. It stands to reason that they’re the most persuadable voters out there. It’s one thing for partisan Republicans to skip the hearings but if indies are tuning out too then whose mind is to be changed by them? No one’s. As they’re increasingly coming to realize.
via zerohedge
All these dems sitting at the edge of their seats sure love disappointment over and over - when are they going to learn not to trust their leaders
DemoRats cannot win an Honest Election….Period
@George, So what was legal about the 2016 election?
Dems are winning a lot lately when it’s an honest election. Pay attention.
i,am not one to use the term suicide , BUT the DUM O CRATS still believe EPSTEIN committed it BUT what they don,t recconize is that are being MURDERED BY CLINTON and PELOSI . and thank god for that
When you set out to kill the king, don’t miss.
Adam shifty is on the campaign trail shouting how they will remove trump and send him back to his golden throne - his words.
Objective eh?
Kinda sad to see the Democrat party fail into oblivian. Been a comedy of errors SO fun to watch. Eric Trump will win in 2024, Ivanka will win in 2032. My youngest granddaughter will be studying the lost and forgotten Demonrat party when she is in hi school.
Sounds loke you’re in favor of a monarchy. 8 yrs of the orange blowhard, then 8 yrs of his idiot 2nd son, followed by the ding-a-ling who’s “responsible for creating 14M jobs”. Where? In China? You left Dummy Jr. out of it.
Hey Dave, no oblivion coming for the Dems. Following the blue wave of Nov 2018, there will be a blue tsunami Nov 2020. People are fed up with the GOP do nothings for climate, election security, gun violence, women’s rights. fair taxes, health care and immigration.
When one narrative isn’t working Adam just Schiffs to a new one.
Like going to court for a speeding ticket and it gets changed to drug store store holdup.
the rats are a joke TRUMP 2020 , 2024
First let me say that I am a STRONG supporter of term limits for ALL elected officials! But I actually believe there should be a special dispensation for Pres. Trump granting him an EXTRA term to make up for the ones the conniving Demmunists have mostly WASTED with their “resistance” BS, I hope all this blows up in their evil little faces BIG TIME in the 2020 elections!
Democratic Sh#t Show costing the American taxpayers money. What a waste of time.
There is only so much funding on budget to support the DOJ. While the demonorats spent $37M on the Mueller investigation, this decreased funding available to investigate and defend based upon real facts and not cherry picked innuendo that fits the narrative. Now schiff will be burning the available dollars by dragging out the inquiry which disallows legitimate investigative processes to proceed due to declining funding and manpower obligated to the direction t hug e farce is proceeding. This is another Saul Alinsky move called overload the system.
I see you ignore the millions spent by the GOP investigating Hillary. 4 different investigations on Benghazi with no evidence ever found that she was responsible to mention only 1. The orange disaster and his chief of staff have admitted he was withholding approved funds to get foreign influence ona political rival. But I guess if you’re RepubliCANT, that’s okay.
lol, heck with the way Obama and Hilary DESTROYED evidence, and what we see now as the Deep State (State Dept, CIA, FBI) involved in their personal wealth in foreign affairs, no wonder the REAL information on Benghazi didn’t get out.
Regarding the Ukraine funds, heck I guess you are a typical Liberal who thinks there is a Money Tree out there, that it’s ok that $1.8 BILLION just POOF disappeared. I would want to know this, and it’s connection to corruption before giving more HARD EARNED TAX PAYER DOLLARS to a foreign entity.
But it’s the Republicans right? Nah, the only Republicans that are involved are the RHINO type who feel that playing the Liberal game gets them a piece of the pie.
What difference does it make now? LOTS!
GOD BLESS PRESIDENT TRUMP! GOD BLESS THE USA!
A focus group ? Really!!!! The Hydra DEM’S.
Society 2.0 This group is corrupt as all hell. SCHIFF and the rest of these liars will fall hard. Pay closely to what is really going on in our great country
Yeah and I think smug little Chris Wallace is the one conducting these focus groups, asking them “What sounds worse”, “quid pro quo” or “bribery”, “a show of hands, please?”
Little Chris as was his Father are COMMUNISTS.
In part the article says republicans aren’t watching because “they don’t want to see” ….. what a Joke !! We All don’t want to watch because this is a Vile Attack & Witch Hunt , Again thanks to these Sick Democrats !! I turn the channel whenever some Scumbag like Juan Williams or Chris Wallace , or any of those other Loosers are on !! GET OUT AND VOTE THESE DEMOCRATS OUT OF OFFICE IN 2020 !!
They are Poison , and Do Not play by the Rule of Law . Our Founding Fathers did Not intend to have partisan Hacks who Do Not serve We the People !! God Bless America And President Trump !!
RepubliCANTs also don’t watch because they might learn some unwanted truths that would make them question the orange turnip. They have their preconceived ideas and don’t want to hear anything that might contradict their beliefs. God forbid they be open to the least possibility of changing their “minds”.
Here’s the bottom line to this B.S. the Democrats have pulled. If this moves to an impeachment trial, Republican’s will have their rights restored where they can subpoena, call, and question any witnesses of their choosing. Schiff and the rest of his lynch mob will have no control over the proceedings, can’t coach the witnesses, can’t stop them from testifying, can’t silence the Republicans, and with testimony coming forward about Joe Biden’s corruption - “Quid Pro Quo - aka extortion during the Obama mistake, there will be a real crime to investigate and hold those accountable for. Whoops! There goes their front runner. The Whistle Blower - Eric Ciaramella will also be forced out of hiding and to testify. As soon as he realizes he can go to prison right along with those who set this up, he will spill the beans - this is what Schiff, Pelosi, Nadler, etc…are so terrified of. Of course; they will try to throw Mr. Ciaramella under the bus, claim that he is lying, that he mislead them, etc…but it will all come out in the wash. We as the American people will then demand justice and hold every single one of them accountable for treason, conspiracy, espionage, money laundering, and every thing else they have done.
The Democrats are nothing less than a bunch of Bubbleheaded Nit Wits.
Best of all, if the DEMented DEMmunists are so foolish as to actually PASS a bill of impeachment, the Senate will be able to subpoenea ADAM SCHIFF-for-brains and FORCE him to testify UNDER OATH. And if he DARES sit up there UNDER OATH and LIE by claiming he doesn’t know the whistleblower and hasn’t talked to him, when the “whistleblower” contradicts that story on the stand, send his sorry, corrupt, LYING fanny to PRISON for about 30 YEARS for perjury and SUBORNING perjury from witnesses. That sounds fair-that’s the kind of sentences THEY and their pet Obama-appointed judges are handing out to Trump campaign staffers for mere process crimes, or NONE AT ALL except the ones they CONCOCTED to punish them for the “crime” of working on Pres. Trump’s campaign
Bribery with the same money the Democrat’s said Trump didn’t give Ukraine. Ridiculous 🤮
Is anyone with an ounce of sanity surprised?
They change the accusation to gain the interest of the limited ability supporters to back up impeachment with their support. The funniest fact is we have proof of the political failed coup on Trump born under Obama’s reign, yet no one in propaganda news, entertainment, press, and magazines give a poop not a single indictment followed? Now we are to support the lunatics elected to the democratic control of the House? We are to change our improved lives to embrace near communism, by voting for lawlessness uncheck as was under Obama, continued open borders costing hundreds of billions in taxes, total destruction of fast economic growth to embrace climate change under a policy to create global socialism, and rewrite our history to suit far leftest politicians and their mindless supporters. “The only thing preventing this insane people utopia is Trump.”
If you needed any further proof that this impeachment BS is NOTHING but yet ANOTHER Demmunist political “hit job” on Pres. Trump. the fact that they’re consulting “focus groups” to determine how best to SELL this steaming pile of BS they’ve cooked up to the public should remove ALL doubt. I hope this blows up in their faces BIG TIME, and every ONE of them gets LIBERALLY SMEARED with the stuff they are throwing at Pres. Trump like the demented poo-flinging MONKEYS they are!
It would behoove these illiterates to look up “BRIBERY” in Black’s Law Dictionary.
That being said, please don’t do that, allow the Democrat-Communist-Islamic-Nazi Terrorist Organization, destroy itself.
these democraps are a waste. they love wasting time and they love wasting tax payer money on their witch hunts. hope it comes back and bits them. i hope the guy running against shiff wins that election. of course he’ll have to overcome election fraud and 5 million illegals voting, dead people and people who no longer lives in the state and their pet voting. i say term limits for these morons. the president is only in office 4 years soowhy are all the idiots in office for life. i hope people wake up in 2020 and get out in full force to vote for conservatives and of course trump/pence.
IMO, the main reason the dems changed from “quid pro quo” to “bribery” is because;
If y’all remember that MIT grad who, like Obama said many times in other countries, stated dem supporters are stupid!
Kinda goes with exactly the author of this article was saying!
They can try to sell it however they want, I’m not buying the crap they’re selling.
The dems can’t even win elections that their own party illegally rigs .
I’m tired of the commie socialists “he said, she said” fake lying and rumor mongering. That’s all they do anymore to keep the pot stirred to cover their own dirty tracks.
Trump CAN remove judges under Article lll section 1 of the constitution where they are NOT acting under “good behavior”….He can also arrest and execute politicians and staff under Article lll section 3 for treason since they have acknowledges that this is a coup and they intend to overthrow a duly elected president….
The focus group is further proof to me that the demonrats are colluding to overthrow the POTUS.
I did not watch the ‘live inquirery’ because it makes no difference to me. If Trump’s name is on the ballot, I will vote for him again.
I don’t really think Schiffty’s goal is to actually impeach the President more than it is to sway the lemmings in society; who might be persuaded at the last minute.
At this point, with less than a year away from another election, the demonrats will do anything and spend any amount of money to wrench back their power-base. They’ve already stated publicly that Trump will be re-elected, and they must impeach him before he can be . . .
But, if they or the Schiffty is actually that stupid to go through with an actual impeachment vote, then the Senate trial can keep the libertard Senators off the campaign trail for weeks; enough to destroy their hopes and dreams of Socializing America.
And, Trump will be exonerated, a bunch of demons will be embarrassed beyond electability, and possibly several arrested.
I doubt few of the currently elected demonrats are blameless in what has gone on for the last 3 years. They are all so like a bee hive under the spell of one queen’s pheromones; acting as one. It’s just not possible that they all don’t know what’s going on, who’s really guilty, who started it all, or how many are actually involved. They’re all protecting each other, because they all know how guilty they all are.
I hope the libertards and un-Americans (like the smug individuals who haunt this site) will have to eat a boatload of rotten manure like what the demonrats have been spreading for 3 years.
I hope 2020 will produce such despair, wailing and gnashing of liberal teeth; that screaming demonrats all over the country will jump on the next plane or boat off the continent.
I also hope Obama and Hitlery will stand trial and face prison.