CT Blue

If this be true, then it is further proof that the Democrats have already started wresting defeat from the jaws of victory:

Democratic leaders in Congress reportedly have a contingency plan in place if President Donald Trump fires Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—a decision that was rumored on Friday to be due at any moment. Their brilliant plan: Don’t do anything!

In a meeting with Democratic members, Senator Mark Warner reportedly told his colleagues not to do anything drastic if and when Trump fires Rosenstein, but instead to chill out for awhile, according to the National Journal:

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, told a group of Democratic colleagues on Wednesday that they should adhere to a one- or two-day cooling-off period if Trump fires Rosenstein, according to three congressional sources. Rosenstein met Thursday with Trump amid reports that the White House is preparing an effort to undermine the deputy attorney general’s credibility.

“The first 24 to 48 hours, if and when that happens, we should stay calm; we should do our best to reach out across the aisle and talk to our colleagues and say, ‘Seriously, we cannot allow this to happen.’ Just don’t go immediately to DEFCON-1,” said a member of Congress who attended the meeting but asked for anonymity to discuss it candidly. “We should not say anything—let the dust settle for a minute. What I took from it is it’s better to build a coalition across the aisle than just to come out guns a-blazing saying, ‘We’ve got to impeach him now.’”

via Splinter News

I actually agree that the Democrats shouldn’t necessarily be screaming about impeachment. But I find it amazing that Warner actually believes any good can come by “reach[ing] out across the aisle and talk[ing] to our colleagues”. It has been abundantly clear that his colleagues don’t give a damn about the rule of law, the constitution, or the democratic process. All they care about is maintaining power and enriching the rich. Warner, like so many of his Democratic colleagues, appears to be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. The idea of a “coalition across the aisle” is, in this day and age, absurd. There are no more Howard Bakers or Bill Cohens in the Republican Party. Again, I’m not necessarily saying they should be pushing for impeachment, but the proper response is to get out in front of the demonstrations that are sure to spring up everywhere. There’s really no such thing as leading from behind, and a luke warm response will hardly energize the Democratic base. Rather than “working across the aisle”, the Democrats should be loudly accusing their esteemed colleagues of enabling Trump’s criminality. It’s what the Republicans would do, and it’s about time the Democrats learned some lessons from a party that has managed to take over three branches of government while simultaneously screwing the vast majority of the people in this country.

I should point out that the Democrats, including in this case Jim Himes and Elizabeth Esty, are already doing all they can in another policy area to dampen enthusiasm and convince our base that the situation is hopeless.