Al Green and Friends Celebrate the Impeachment Snap Straw Poll: H.Res.537
Results exceed expectations. Don't be discouraged: Trump fears credible threats of impeachment. His own people are waffling. Protest!
By now most of you will have heard that the House voted 334-79 to block taking up the impeachment of Trump for violating War Powers. Even Jamie Raskin voted to table (block) the bill, despite his recent exhortation of “Evict! Eject! Reject! Impeach! Try! Convict! And start all over!” in front of 80,000 cheering protesters. Fox News spun the results of the snap vote as “nearly 130 Democrats vote to block impeachment.” It’s true, as shown below: Democrats voted 128 to 79 to table, which is to say that a sizable majority of Democrats did not want to impeach.
So why were “removal activist” Jessica Denson, “impeachment sponsor” Representative Al Green, and “impeachment activist” John Bonifaz celebrating on a live stream after the vote? Because it was a snap straw poll only, not a full fledged effort, and 79 votes was above expectations. In Green’s prior Trump impeachment votes in December 2017 and January 2018 he got only 58 and 66.
The “Straw Poll”
The straw poll of impeachment for violating War Powers (H.Res.537), was a hasty, last minute substitute for an existing impeachment bill for contempt of court (H.Res.415). The reason for the switch was that Trump’s alleged violation of War Powers was breaking news that had Republicans, notably Thomas Massie, calling Trump’s actions unconstitutional. Moreover, Trump’s act of war on behalf of Israel in its war with Iran was a betrayal of a very important election promise: “no more endless wars in the Middle East.”
So Rep. Al Green, who had not yet made good on his promise to force a vote on H.Res.415 by June 30th, got with John Bonifaz, and drafted H.Res.537. Green brought it to the Parliamentarian and it was agreed that Green would introduce it and immediately invoke rule 9, knowing that Representative Austin Scott of Georgia would move to table. No debate, no committee report, just a straw poll, really. With that context, 79 votes against tabling was encouraging.
What’s Next, More Patience or More Impatience?
Taken as a whole, Al Green and John Bonifaz stuck to “patience” for the future, to which Jessica gave only a quick nod. I should squeeze in that Bonifaz said that he is now over 700,000 signatures for impeachments and growing. Please sign if you haven’t.
What Jessica stressed was “urgency.” At one point she said that she feels the accumulation of Trump’s power with every passing minute, which will only make it more difficult to eventually remove him. By the end of the meeting, she went to the limit on the issue of urgency and said, “let’s make all future protests, removal protests [JT - “not just impeachment”].” This was after she showed the graphic below of grassroots movements that she was able to get to commit to removal.
At that point, Green said, “Please bring signs that say impeach. That's very important; thank you,” to which Jessica replied, “yes absolutely well I'll let you go for now…” and they exchanged parting niceties. I don’t want to make too much of it, but I will say it felt a little awkward to me. For now, I simply note this.
Next Up: July 17, “Good Trouble Lives On”
The “No Kings” organizers have linked up with “Good Trouble” organizers for a national event on July 17th.
Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we’ll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.
Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, "Good Trouble" is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.
The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. That’s why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities across the country will take to the streets, courthouses, and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.
