Pelosi Pushes Impeachment Along, Tehran In Turmoil, Debate Night

Gary Bauer

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Pelosi Pushes Impeachment Along
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this morning that the House of Representatives will vote tomorrow to send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the U.S. Senate. The House impeachment managers will also be named then.

What is this impeachment thing all about again? It has something to do with a brief phone call between President Trump and the leader of Ukraine, a call Trump knew that several White House officials were listening to.

This is the left's attempt to legitimize its ongoing efforts to overturn the last presidential election ten months before the next presidential election because Pelosi, Schumer and Schiff just aren't sure any of their candidates can beat Donald Trump.

So while a phone call is being used to justify impeachment, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on what the president has accomplished.

• In three years, the Trump Administration has created more than six million new jobs. He has shown that free enterprise really does lift all boats because unemployment rates for blacks, Hispanics and women are all at record lows.
• He has reoriented trade policy so that preserving American jobs is the top priority while ending communist China's exploitation of our markets. Median household income is the highest it has ever been.
• Under Trump's leadership, we have begun rebuilding the American military after eight years of neglect. We have restored the U.S. alliance with Israel. We have taken out ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iranian terror master Qassem Soleimani and Al Qaeda leader Hamza bin Laden, Osama's son.
• Every day more of the border wall gets built, reinforcing our national sovereignty.
• Each week, his conservative judicial appointments, now numbering nearly 200, bring the federal courts closer in line with the Constitution and the values of the American people.
• He has advocated for the sanctity of life unlike any president in history.
• Against the wishes of the GOP establishment to avoid the so-called "culture war," Trump has not hesitated to use the bully pulpit to defend our values whenever progressive ingrates offend our country, our flag and our law enforcement officers.

But there's that dang phone call, so none of that matters and we'd better throw him out of office. That's left-wing logic for you, and I'm confident that most Americans will reject it at the ballot box this November!

A Tale Of Two Stadiums
I still have a burr under my saddle about the disrespectful reaction the president received from some in the crowd at a stadium here in Washington, D.C., during the World Series.

But when the president walked out onto the field at last night's college football championship game, he got a very different reaction. The crowd roared with cheers and applause. One side of the stadium was chanting, "USA! USA!," while the other side was chanting, "Four More Years!"

Unfortunately, the always angry left is furious that actor Vince Vaughn dared to speak to the president and shook his hand last night.

Tehran In Turmoil
Protests against the Iranian regime are continuing, even amid reports of violent government oppression. Yesterday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a statement putting Tehran on notice. In the statement, I am quoted as saying:

"I am deeply concerned for the welfare of religious minorities in Iran amid the government's already violent response to the current protests. The United States must closely monitor Iran's treatment of religious minorities as protests continue and speak out strongly against any attempts to target these groups."

There are additional cracks emerging, as a number of news anchors at official Iranian media outlets announced their resignations. One journalist, Gelare Jabbari, posted on her Instagram account, "Forgive me for the 13 years I told you lies."

The Trump Administration's policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran is clearly working. For proof, look no further than this New York Times headline: "Iran's Grim Economy Limits Its Willingness To Confront The U.S." The article notes that Trump's sanctions have decimated Iran's economy, "which is now contracting at an alarming 9.5 percent annual rate."

Our European allies are also stepping up the pressure. Reuters reports that Britain, France and Germany have "formally triggered the dispute mechanism in Iran's nuclear deal," accusing the regime of violating the terms of the 2015 deal.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson seemed open to replacing the Obama deal with a new "Trump deal" that actually prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Debate Night
Six Democrat candidates will take the stage tonight for the seventh and final debate before the critical Iowa caucuses. The debate will take place at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and will air on CNN at 9:00 PM ET. The participating candidates include:

• Former Vice President Joe Biden
• Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar
• Sen. Bernie Sanders
• Billionaire activist Tom Steyer
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Tonight's debate could produce real fireworks as the candidates are sharpening their attacks and time is running out for some of them to breakout of the pack. It also comes amid a number of major shakeups in the primary campaign.

Yesterday, Sen. Cory Booker dropped out of the race, citing the upcoming impeachment trial among several reasons. (More on that below.) ulian Castro and Marianne Williamson also dropped out recently.

It also comes as Bernie Sanders appears to be surging in the polls. He's leading in Iowa and California, and he's essentially tied for first place in Nevada and New Hampshire.

But Sanders is really blowing out the competition when it comes to fundraising. According to the latest reports, Sanders raised more than $34 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, followed by Buttigieg with $25 million, Biden with $23 million and Warren with $21 million.

Needless to say, the "Sanders Surge" is sparking panic within the Democrat establishment. (Here, here and here.) In fact, some commentators are credibly arguing that Nancy Pelosi's impeachment stalling strategy is really all about sandbagging Sanders and boosting Biden right before the Iowa caucuses.

Buttigieg & Iran
It strikes me as strange and disturbing that Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay candidate for president of the United States, has not found the time to condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran, which maintains the death penalty for open homosexuality.

Buttigieg has viciously attacked Vice President Pence because the vice president opposes same-sex marriage. But he has shown no such vitriol toward the Islamist homophobes who run Iran and who are on their way to getting a nuclear bomb.

Will any reporter question him about this blatant hypocrisy? Or will it just remain one of those many unanswered mysteries?
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Gary Bauer (@GaryLBauer)  is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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