Bernie Sanders has just given the best answer on impeachment

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"In the end, the most important thing for me is to ensure that Donald Trump is not re-elected president, and I intend to do everything I can to prevent this from happening. .

"But if – and this is a if – if for next year, a year and a half, by getting to the heart of the elections, all Congress is talking about is to prevent Trump and Trump, Trump, Trump and Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, and we're not talking about health care, we're not talking about raising the minimum wage to a living wage, we're not talking about the fight against climate change, we're not talking not sexism and racism and homophobia, and all the issues that concern ordinary Americans, what worries me is that it benefits Trump. "

Sanders went on to say that he was supporting the House in his investigation of some apparently obstructive Trobe behavior, documented by Mueller, and that once this investigation was complete, he was ready to reevaluate.

That seems to me to be right where the Democrats are heading to 2020. And here's why:

1) Abandoning the conclusions of the Mueller report is unacceptable for the political base of the party.

2) The impeachment will allow Trump to portray himself as a victim of too partisan Democrats who seek to overthrow him because they have lost an election.

3) Republicans in the Senate will simply not abandon Trump in massensuring that even if the removal succeeds in the House, Trump is not removed from office.

Given these three conflicting realities, Sanders' position – we must continue to investigate, but we can not build the entire Democrat cause against Trump in 2020 around the impeachment – is the most judicious place on the plane policy.

Although Sanders did not mention the 2016 campaign or Hillary Clinton's strategy against Trump in this race, it is clear that his position on Trump and the dismissal is influenced by this competition.

In 2016, Clinton's underlying (and sometimes underlying) message looked like this: Trump is awful and you will never vote for him. And I am the only other person to run for the presidency.

Yes, Clinton also talked about politics, but the overriding message was entirely centered on his belief that Trump was unfit to hold a position. And the voters have accepted! Polls at the end of this race showed that just over a third of voters liked Trump, thought he was honest and trustworthy or believed that he had the temperament to be president. But even some of those who did not like Trump still voted for him because they did not like Clinton much – and, more importantly, they had no idea of ​​what she would do differently.

In short, the 2016 race became a personality contest between two people that voters did not like. So they chose the one they thought could make a difference.

Sanders is clearly reluctant – and rightly so – to resume this race. At this point, this part of his impeachment response has really reached an agreement:

"IFor a year and a half, to get to the heart of the matter, all Congress is talking about is attacking Trump and Trump, Trump, Trump and Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, and ourselves. we're not talking about health care, we're not talking about raising the minimum wage to a living wage, we're not talking about tackling climate change, we're not talking about sexism, racism and homophobia, or about all the problems that arise for us. what concerns me is that it benefits Trump. "

This is a correct evaluation. Democrats do not need to convince voters that Donald Trump is neither presidential nor their cup of tea. Most – aside from Trump's unconditional supporters – already believe it. What Democrats have to do is prove to voters that on the issues that matter to them, Trump's policies are dangerous. What about his call to repeal the Affordable Care Act or his decision to take the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement or its policies? radical immigration.

What Sanders argues is that the way you beat Trump is based on politics, not on personality. And that, if Democrats spend 18 months wondering if Trump should be dismissed for his resolutely non-presidential conduct during the Mueller case investigation, they would let the race carry on personalities and not on politics.

There is reason to believe that Sanders is right. At mid-session, in 2018, current President Nancy Pelosi (California) wanted Democratic House candidates to talk about health care, not Trump. The Pelosi mantra was: focus on Trump's policies rather than his identity. And it worked. Health care was by far the biggest voter problem according to exit polls in 2018, and this group voted for 52-point Democratic candidates.

Make no mistake: Sanders knows that by not asking for Trump's dismissal, he's going against the wishes of the most liberal democrats that make up his base. His decision to do so suggests that, unlike his 2016 campaign, Sanders is more focused on winning – the nomination and the presidency – than simply proving a point.

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