Kickaha Loc: Nebraska

The President is chosen by the states not by a national popular v**e. The Democrats lost. Instead of preparing for the next e******n, they have spent the last 3 years trying to overturn the last one. I don't believe the loser should roll over and die. They should put aside hard feelings and do the business of the country (this applies to both parties). When you lose, you study what happened. What you did right, what you did wrong. You also study your opponent. After doing that, you develop your strategy for winning the next time. Just complaining that the v**ers were too stupid to make the right choice is setting yourself up for another loss. There were allegations of fraud and e******n i**********e by both sides. That at least indicates an area were they can work on bipartisan solutions.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Good points...

I would like to add...Both parties should be more concerned about running the nation than winning e******ns...

Can you imagine what an e******n would be like if all people had to go on were listed platforms and past accomplishments

alabuck Loc: Tennessee

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Good one, CD!

I’m sure Mexico would gladly purchase for the Gadsden Purchase area and Alta California (from the Mexican Cession), for same amount that we paid them. What, a total of $25 million? Then, they’d add back-on what they owed us at the time of the Mexican War, about $25 million, and charge us “back-rent” for our use of their property since we “acquired” the land via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago, in 1848.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Impact had no idea about any of that...

I just remember reading that California was purchased... Kind of like Alaska

alabuck Loc: Tennessee

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“...our primary job will be to make Obama a 1-term President.”

Said by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shortly after Obama win the 2008 p**********l e******n.

For the first two years of Obama’s presidency, there were no significant investigations into his administration that focused on him. Once Republicans took control of the House in early January 2011, though, that changed.


Fast and Furious
The first issue that prompted such an investigation was a failed operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in which the bureau allowed illegal gun sales near the border with Mexico in hopes of tracking where the weapons would end up. The operation was largely unsuccessful, and one weapon that was sold was found near the scene where a Border Patrol agent was k**led.

Fast and Furious was presented as an example of the Obama administration’s acting to cover up its mistakes.
(All time spans for the investigations listed below refer to the first public hearing or public announcement of the formation of an investigation through to the final report issued by a committee.)

House Oversight Committee, February 2011 to July 2014. Then chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Oversight launched an investigation into the operation aimed at determining what had happened and what administration officials knew about it. In July 2011, the committee released the first part of a three-part report assessing what it had learned.


House Oversight, October 2011 to June 2017. In October 2011, as part of its investigation, the committee subpoenaed materials from the Justice Department, then led by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. While the committee received some of the material it sought, Holder’s did not provide additional documents, resulting in a protracted fight and his eventual censure by the House. The third of the three parts of the Oversight probe focused on this fight and was released only after Obama — and Holder — had left the government.


Solyndra
One of Obama’s focal points as president was to bolster jobs associated with renewable energy. That included making loans through an established Energy Department program that acted as investments in clean-energy companies, including a California-based solar panel manufacturer called Solyndra. It collapsed, defaulting on its loan from the government — although the loan program overall ended up earning a profit for the government.
The investment was presented as an example of “crony capitalism,” an investment made at Obama’s behest to favor a particular company.


House Energy and Commerce Committee, February 2011 to August 2012. The final report on the investment found that the administration did not allow the company to fail earlier than it did, choosing instead to restructure the loan, resulting in heavier losses.


B******i
By far the biggest target of congressional investigators were the twin attacks on U.S. facilities in B******i, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012 — shortly before the 2012 e******n. How the attacks resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, was a subject of intense scrutiny — aimed first at Obama’s administration and, as the 2016 e******n neared, at Obama’s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.



Five House committees launched investigations shortly after the attacks took place (and mostly before the 2012 e******n).

House Armed Services Committee, September 2012 to February 2014.

House Foreign Affairs Committee, November 2012 to February 2014.

House Intelligence Committee, September 2012 to November 2014.

House Judiciary Committee, September 2012 to April 2013.

House Oversight, October 2012 to September 2013.

These five committees released a joint preliminary report in April 2013. Most of the committees continued their work beyond that point, the result of which included broadly rebutting many of the conspiracy theories flying around in conservative media and still, believed by many of Trump’s followers, to be true. (Talk about not accepting they lost the presidency to Obama, fair and square and without any help from a foreign country.)
Two Senate committees, then controlled by the Democratic majority, also launched probes.
Senate Intelligence Committee, October 2012 to January 2014.

Senate Homeland Security Committee, October 2012 to December 2012.


But the most notable and influential investigation came with the formation of a select committee of members of the House to investigate the attacks.

Select Committee on B******i, May 2014 to December 2016. The most important finding from the select committee didn’t relate directly to the B******i attacks at all. It was this committee that uncovered Clinton’s private email server, the existence of which prompted an eventual FBI investigation and played a key role in Clinton’s losing the 2016 p**********l e******n. The committee concluded its work shortly after the campaign ended.


IRS targeting
There were hints in Obama’s first term that the Internal Revenue Service was applying special scrutiny to certain political groups that were hoping to form 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations.
The House Ways and Means Committee began seeking information on the subject in June 2011 but never released a formal report summarizing its findings.
But it wasn’t until IRS executive Lois Lerner admitted publicly in May 2013 that the IRS had singled out certain groups — including some that identified as tea party groups — for additional questioning that formal investigations got underway.


House Oversight, May 2013 to December 2014. Issa’s Oversight Committee was again actively involved in questioning the IRS’s decisions and behavior. It ultimately determined that liberal and conservative groups alike had been subject to additional scrutiny. Despite theorizing in conservative media, no evidence that the White House ordered extra scrutiny of conservatives was found.

Senate Finance Committee, May 2013 to August 2015. The Senate report dealt largely with the IRS’s mismanagement of the process overall.


Oddly, from these committees, no one was indicted, found guilty or forced to serve any time in jail, from these investigations. Again, in spite of all the f**e hand-wringing and lies put out by the GOPTPers and their propaganda machines, not one person was found guilty of committing any crimes. Now, compare that to those within Trump’s circle of “friends” who have been indicted, found guilty and are, or did, serve time. Even Russians were found to have been involved with putting out false info in order to assist Trump in getting elected.

Overall, the above inquiries of the Obama administration totaled over 8,400 days of investigation, from launch to final report. That’s 23 years of probes covering an eight-year administration. And, you say that when Obama was President, the GOPTPers governed the country? The only time the GOPTPers even half-assed worked was when it was time to do a budget. Beyond that, their “governing” was aimed at defeating most of Obama’s initiatives, trying to repeal the ACÁ and refusing to allow him his constitutional duty to replace a SCOTUS who had died.

If that’s a record of governing you want to hang your hat on, go ahead. But, it’s a pretty sorry record and one the public has begun rejecting. Look at the 2018 e******n results. The GOPTP lost the House. I expect them to lose the Senate and the presidency in 2020, too. Enjoy your last year of “governing.”

Trump is claiming he’s “...being persecuted like no other president in history.” Bull crap! Obama, might have had cause to have felt a LOT MORE persecuted.


Even if the Senate acquits Trump, he’ll still be only 1 of 3 presidents to have been IMPEACHED. That’s a moniker that equates to a “Scarlet A” for a politician. But, Trump never was a politician, or so many people claim. He’s a lying, narcissistic con-man. Plus he’s a r****t, a misogynist, a fraud, a t*****r, a sexual predator, and a hypocrite. I could say more but this is enough.

alabuck Loc: Tennessee

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I’m a history nut, among other things. (BS & MA & Ph.D.in American History, BS & Ph.D in Sociology, BS & MA in Political Science, MDivinity.)

Who’s “Impact?”

AB

Kickaha Loc: Nebraska

As you noted, all investigations came about from actions done by the administration or in the case of B******i, things the administration failed to do. Obama's administration did its fair share of obstruction in regards to these investigations. The Democrats seem to be making things up as they go along and have been doing so since prior to Trump taking office. The closest thing to this harassment for Obama was over his birth certificate (which was started by Hillary's campaign). I think Obama let that go on so long because it took the focus off his achievements (or lack thereof). He could have made that go away by simply providing his birth certificate. Trump declassified documents and released transcripts and it still doesn't satisfy his critics.

PeterS

And who's tried on their own?

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Impact = I

Stupid autospelling...

Kickaha Loc: Nebraska

One that immediately comes to mind is the guy who shot up the Republican practice, seriously wounding Rep. Steve Scalise. Can you name a single incident of the opposite during Obama's years in office?

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

2018 e******ns resulted in a higher Senate majority for the GoP.. Hardly a victory for the Democrats...

My understanding is that the party that controls the presidency usually loses seats in the House and Senate...

Awesome credentials by the way

Kickaha Loc: Nebraska

I mean no disrespect to you. Anyone who earned any degree much less multiple degrees deserves credit for all their hard work, but having the resume doesn't always mean that a person will do an exceptional job. As far as p**********l resumes go, George H W Bush was about the best qualified to be president. Unfortunately for him, history will probably view him as a middle of the road president.

PeterS

You think there is an area where bipartisanship can work? I hardly think so. And it was Comey who launched the investigation of the Russians not the Democrats. In fact, you cons had both chambers of the house and presidency so Democrats were hardly in a position to do anything. If Trump didn't have so many of his minions in contact with the Russians and then lying about it he never would have been under investigation by Mueller. Trumps need to lie and only have liars around him is the reason he's under investigation and probably will be under investigation so long as he is president.

The reason Trump is under investigation isn't that we are sore losers but because Trump is a crook who thrives on filth and can only conduct himself in the most corrupt way possible. He had no sooner had put Mueller in his rearview mirror then he once again he tried to enlist the power of a foreign government to aid him in getting elected. Trump is his own worst enemy and would be doing you a favor if he would resign and get out of the way.

PeterS

The Democrats had 26 seats up and they had a net loss of two. Hardly a victory for Republicans. The Democrats turned the house by winning 44 seats and because they won, Trump is being impeached at this time. Victory is always much sweeter than defeat.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Victory is always nice...

Not sure if I'd cheer for a partisan victory...

But I can't say that I'd rule it out either