next week is a vote of conscience. we will not use the whip on the republican side. this is something that each member should approach as an american based on their oath to uphold the constitution. i would hope that s the way it would be dealt with next week. that was newt gingrich, then the house speaker in october 1998 just one week before the house voted to launch an impeachment inquiry against then president bill clinton. nbc news reports tonight that congress is considering canceling its upcoming two-week recess in order to move forward on the impeachment inquiry. here for more on how the process will work, charlie savage. his story tonight is titled how
it is very different from 1998. and from 1974 as well when the full house voted to start the impeachment inquiry into richard nixon. that is something that s ambiguous about what nancy pelosi has done here. it s more of a political act than a legal act because she is unilaterally saying okay, we re now doing an impeachment inquiry but she s not putting it to the house for a vote and recall for the last month or two the house judiciary committee under chairman jerry nadler has already been saying they ve been doing an impeachment inquiry, an investigation and court papers and the like, and republicans have been saying it doesn t count if the house doesn t vote for it. we re a little bit in uncharted waters here. at the end of the day the constitution does not say there has to be a resolution. it doesn t say there has to be a committee investigation at all. it can do whatever it wants. and at the end of the day an article of impeachment may or may not come to the house floor and it takes
on some of these republicans, even though the house doesn t vote on this, the injection of these issues into the race will, i think, impact on these midterm elections in some of these purple house districts. so, you know, it is going to be a major, major item of discussion throughout the fall. but, let me press you on this, because what can democrats do as a practical matter? when you say it seems faded, it seems we ll have a big political debate, what can democrats do to actually functionally pushback on this nomination? well, look, i think that the implications are more for the election than they are for the nomination itself. i think that democrats are going to demand that chuck schumer do whatever is in his power to try and delay the outcome of this vote which is? and put maximum pressure he has all kinds of tools as his
the republican party said we need to stop talking to ourselves and stop being exclusionary and they were supposed to learn these lessons. do they take those lessons let me now take the other side. this is a vote that could have passed the house on october 1. this is a fact because he s so intimidated by that caucus. the contrast to thomas o neill don t bring up the republican agenda we control the house and reagan said elections have consequences. they brought up and lost and came back and fought it again. it s inexplicable to me why the house doesn t vote. there s nothing wrong with a vote. john meacham, thank you very much. john s book, thomas jefferson the art of power is coming out
the house isn t going to vote for it at that point. the house doesn t vote for it. every republican stands up and says we are not going to fund obamacare. what they do then is this. they send over a continuing resolution for the pentagon and for veterans affairs. then they say, harry, do you really think we ought to attach obamacare to this continuing resolution? break it down into the separate departments and send them one by one to demonstrate to the country what is the truth. republican republicans want to fund the government, not medicare do you mean obamacare? obamacare, yeah. i admire their courage and spirit. what they do not seem to have thought through the strategy and political communications of what they have been doing. so the house could break up the continuing resolution into several continuing resolutions and if they send it just a