Live from Washington, D.C. on Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy welcomed weekly guest One America News Network’s Neil McCabe to the show to give an update on the never-ending “impeachment zombie apocalypse.”
During the third hour, McCabe explained his view on Nancy Pelosi’s strategy in holding the articles of impeachment and how she may hold them until after the primaries.
Leahy: And as is always the case on Tuesday, we are joined now by my very good friend. A correspondent for One America News Network in Washington, D.C. A military man in the Army Reserve, Neil McCabe. Welcome, Neil.
McCabe: Hey Michael. Happy New Year to you and your family and all the listeners. I really enjoy coming on and I look forward to a great 2020.
Leahy: You know, you’ve been a big hit here because usually when you’re on, we get a lot of comments. And they’re almost always positive, Neil. (Laughs) Almost always.
McCabe: I get a lot of comments too. Most of them start with “hey buddy!” (Leahy chuckles)
Leahy: So Neil, impeachment fever is going on again and the Democrats keep saying the same old thing. When is this thing going to end? What’s going on here? What’s the process?
McCabe: As I’ve said before. this is the “impeachment zombie apocalypse.” (Leahy laughs) It never ends. In fact, I was just talking to our DC Bureau Chief here John Hines who does the bulk of our Capitpl Hill stuff. And I am between the White House and Capitol Hill. But he focuses on Capitol Hill. We’re just sort of teasing it out.
Nancy Pelosi could literally not give the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a year. She can hold onto this thing because at the end of this session then the articles of impeachments are null and void. Because no Congress can obligate a future congress.
What we saw with Brexit and some of the other things in England is that a previous Parliament will pass something and even though it hasn’t been completed yet, it’s still an ongoing project. But in our Congress, hey, when the new Congress is elected it’s a clean slate. And so Nancy Pelosi, I really think she wants to hold onto them until that gap between the end of the primaries and the conventions.
Because at that point, you’ll have a presidential candidate and you won’t be stepping on top of people. The question, of course, is, those House Democrats. There are 31 in districts that Trump won in 2016 but there are 24 House Democrats who won their seats by less than five percentage points. And if you think about it Mike, 2018 was a wave year for House democrats and if 24 of them are in by the skin of their teeth…
Leahy: Yes.
McCabe: Well, what are they going to do when you have these 12-15 million who vote Republican who didn’t show up for the mid-terms? They’re going to show up for Trump. So I mean there’s a lot of people who are going to be in trouble. People aren’t necessarily motivated for a Republican congress, but they are motivated to re-elect President Donald Trump. And while they’re there, they’re going to vote for the Republican.
Leahy: It’s interesting that you mention those 24 districts where they squeaked by. About seven of those 24 are out in California.
McCabe: Absolutely.
Leahy: What’s interesting about this Neil. I’m going to tell you something that I just discovered talking to Christina Botteri our Chief Technology Officer, about traffic at the Tennessee Star. About 2/3’s of our traffic comes from Tennessee but the second-largest state where people read our stories is in California. Isn’t that interesting? They typically are in those districts that are the marginal districts.
And part of the reason is because in California there are literally no conservative news outlets. And it may also be some people in California are wishing perhaps that they might move to Tennessee. So I find that interesting and it kind of fits with a little bit of what you’re talking about.
Those 24 districts, in addition, now it’s the dirty 30 that Democrats that represent districts that President Trump won in 2016. What’s going to happen? Can you put on your Nostradamus hat?
McCabe: Yeah, or we’ll go crystal ball.
Leahy: When will Nancy Pelosi deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate?
McCabe: I think it’s going to be after the primaries.
Leahy: So late March, early April?
McCabe: Yeah.
Leahy: So here’s the next question. If she holds onto the articles of impeachment, what will Mitch McConnell do? What will the Senate do?
McCabe: Well he’s just going to continue having a blast. Everyone talks about these judges that the president has put on the bench. The president is naming none of these guys. The president doesn’t have a list. And this list is coming from obvious places like the Federalist Society.
Leahy: Yeah, conservatives.
McCabe: But basically Republican senators are the ones naming their former law partners, their college roommates and their contributors to these judgeships. There’s no movement in all in getting administration people confirmed. But Republican senators are having a blast putting their pals on the federal bench. And they’ll just keep doing it.
Leahy: I’m kind of the view that Majority Leader McConnell has said we’re going to take this up in January. I’m kind of the view, but it sounds like you aren’t, that if Nancy Pelosi does not send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Mitch McConnell will say, well we’re going to conduct a trial anyways. Do you think that might happen?
McCabe: No. They don’t want a trial. Culturally, senators don’t like hanging around Congressmen right? (Leahy laughs)
Leahy: They’re superior.
McCabe: Senators don’t like Congressmen telling them what to do. And they think they’re noisy, unruly and insane. (Leahy chuckles) But this isn’t partisan. It’s institutional. Every senator has their projects and looking to get things done. Cyberwar. Everybody’s got their own pet projects.
They can’t get anything done because of the yahoos on the other side of the capital. (Leahy laughs) Believe me. The Senate does not want a trial. It’s like no one. There are five Democratic senators running for President. They don’t want a trial because you have to sit there. The rules say you have to sit.
Your only day off is Sunday. And so every day you have to be in session six days a week until the issue is resolved. So you can’t like table the impeachment trial. It has to happen right away. And so you have this weird thing right? It was so important to get rid of this guy. But then they actually don’t want to take the next step.
Leahy: So now no hurry.
McCabe: Because they’re probably going to lose.
Leahy: Neil McCabe, the Washington correspondent for One America News Network. Again, on the very last day of 2019. I hope you have a great celebration this evening.
McCabe: Take care, Mike.
If you don’t already have One America News Network, call your local cable provider and watch One America News here in Nashville, Middle Tennessee.
Listen to the full third hour:
– – –
Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 am to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
