OPINION:
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat from New Jersey, told a Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” audience that his Capitol Hill colleagues were expressing “concern” about the ongoing, never-ending nature of the impeachment look-sees at President Donald Trump — and that worse, word on the street is that “most people” are growing weary with the process.
This is the risk the impeach-at-all-costs Democrats take — ticking off a whole bunch of voting Americans with an expensive, wasteful, waste-of-time witch hunt. And with holidays approaching, this risk grows greater.
After all, former President Barack Obama couldn’t even get the American public to get on board with his silly call to talk up Obamacare at the Thanksgiving dinner table. (Remember that misplaced political strategy?)
Does Adam Schiff really think, in a Trump-fueled economy tailor-made for shopaholics, that Americans will take a time-out from footloose and fancy-free festivities — from eating, drinking and being merry — to consider the intricacies of what this ambassador thought his friend overheard Trump say, and what that diplomat believed the president thought during the course of that conversation? It’ll be like this headline from 2013, “It’s all ho-ho-ho til Obama hijacks your holiday” — only insert Schiff for Obama. Not a good look for the party.
Let’s wrap it up, said Jeff Sessions, former U.S. attorney general, giving long-distance advice to Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a discussion on “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
Yes, let’s.
“What I’m hearing out in the street is with most people, they are kind of tired, kind of worn out, bored, and they really want to move on,” Van Drew said, to host Maria Bartiromo during his Sunday Fox appearance.
And he elaborated by saying his Democratic colleagues were equally worried — “privately” concerned — at the direction, and pace, of this impeachment quest.
This is a real nail-biter for Democrats, to know when to stop.
Polls, at least some of them, may show the momentum for these hearings in the Democrats’ favor. Surveys, at least some of them, may show the American public on board with getting to the root of the impeachment matters. But these are not in-perpetuity polls. Even if they were completely unbiased, even if their results were reported minus the anti-Trump media interpretation, absent the partisan pundit tinkering, the fact is there comes a time when it’s time to put up or shut up. And on that, the 12th hour approaches.
The American public has been patiently waiting for three years for the left to produce its impeachable offense.
It’s hard to imagine entering yet another holiday season, wrapping yet another Thanksgiving and Christmas, entering yet another New Year — and new election cycle — with nothing provably impeachable. Democrats, beware of the backlash. Heed the warnings. Even members of your own party are feeling the fatigue.
The greatest gift the left can give the country this holiday season may very well be an end to the whole impeachment debacle.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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