The Banter Brief: Impeachment, Impeachment, Impeachment

Welcome to the The Banter Brief, your ultimate guide to the most important stories of the week!

1. Most important story of the week

The impeachment of Donald Trump, by far. Bob Cesca covered this for Subscribers this week, calling it “the most staggering, confounding and purely exciting days in my 30 years covering politics.” Why? Because the president of the United States committed a brazen, clearly impeachable crime on tape that was witnessed by dozens of his own staff, then covered up when they realized how bad it was.

Trump’s staff took the recordings of the president attempting to coerce the Ukrainian president into investigating Joe Biden and his son over to national security server where they were sure no one would ever check. The problem was, a responsible person shocked by Trump’s treasonous behavior, decided to blow the whistle and report the crime. This is big, big news and promises to be the biggest political show in recent history (and that is saying something).

Read more: The Most Staggering, Confounding Days In My 30 Years Covering Politics - by Bob Cesca

Trump's Secret Impeachment Defense: A Broken Press - by Justin Rosario

2. Poll Analysis

Impeaching the president is becoming increasingly popular with Americans, and that trend looks set to continue as evidence of Trump’s wrongdoing emerges:

In other news, Elizabeth Warren appears to be making grounds on Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, topping him for the first time in a national poll (via Reuters):

Warren drew 27% support to Biden’s 25% in a Quinnipiac University poll of Democratic voters and independent voters who lean Democratic, though her lead was within the margin of error.

The results marked a significant shift from Quinnipiac’s prior polls for the Democratic nominating contest to choose a candidate to take on President Donald Trump in November 2020. Biden had been ahead of Warren by double digits since it began polling in March and by 13 points in the same poll in August.

3. Quote of the Week

“My message is that we'll be watching you. This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. Yet I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering.”

- Greta Thunberg, at the UN Summit in New York

4. What to watch on Netflix

Unbelievable

This is a powerful, intriguing series based on a Pulitzer-winning article from US investigative site ProPublica. The series follows a teenage girl from Lynnwood, Washington, who claimed she had been violently raped in her bedroom by a masked intruder. Marie Adler then changes her story after being pressured by her former foster parents and subsequently the police by denying that the attack had ever happened. Years later, similar rapes happen in the surrounding area, and two highly effective policewomen take up the case and hunt for a serial offender.

Adler’s story is an extraordinarily painful one, and the Netflix series is extremely sensitive to the social and gender issues surrounding the case. It is also a gripping crime thriller with powerful female leads, and a must watch for those who love seeing women take on the patriarchy and succeed.

5. Good news

Impeachment, impeachment, impeachment. Regardless of political implication, anyone concerned with the proper functioning of democracy and the rule of law should be very relieved by the House Democrats decision to impeach the president. Will the process hand the presidency to Trump for a second term? Maybe. But history will judge those who stood up for the Constitution kindly, and harshly for those who did not. It is the right thing to do against a president who is now dangerously out of control, and America’s last chance to prove it is a functioning democracy.

See you next week.

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The Most Staggering, Confounding Days In My 30 Years Covering Politics - Bob Cesca on the astonishing path towards impeachment.

Trump's Secret Impeachment Defense: A Broken Press - Justin Rosario on the American media’s immediate failure to cover the impeachment of Donald Trump fairly.

How the Gun Lobby Wants You to React to a Massacre - Rich Herschlag provides a certified NRA guide to reacting to a gun massacre.