Not a profile in courage: Congressman Peterson

Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District

Our fossil Congressman Collin Peterson of the Seventh District has disappointed his political party by turning thumbs-down on moving forward with ground rules for the House impeachment inquiry.
Maybe it's a case of Ol' Fossil having stayed at the dance too long. Do you suppose he believed Donald Trump, when the president said Mexico would "pay for the wall?"
The House voted Thursday to approve the ground rules. Peterson calls himself a Democrat. A rather expedient one, it seems, as he can sniff that his rural district might be tilting the way of so many rural districts.
The so-called red states seem rural in complexion with many pickups making the rounds still with their "Hillary for prison" stickers affixed. Some of these pickup drivers are known to block electric charging stations as a political statement. I guess it's anti-tree-hugger or something like that. It's in line with the Trump attitude of being as anti-intellectual (or anti-fact) as possible. Peterson does not wish to take on this crowd.
Only one other Democrat voted like Ol' Fossil and that's Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.
We're in the "wild west" of Minnesota I guess. Lots of open, non-descript land. The last election was likely too close for comfort for the veteran handshaker Peterson. Now he's up against a 100 percent Trumpite, last name Fischbach. Trump buried Clinton in the 2016 voting out here. Peterson would be scared s--tless, I presume, trying to contradict that mandate. But why can't he tap a simple sense of conscience? Just asking.
 
Echoing the GOPers
Of all things, Peterson voiced a "process" complaint about impeachment. That's incredibly weak and just reflects leading Republicans' language at this time. Such complaints mean you're groping. But he said at the same time he wants to see all the facts. Isn't that what the current process is about?
One could gag when reading the quote attributed to Peterson about how the impeachment process is "hopelessly partisan." There is no hope for Peterson gravitating to logic. As if the mad dog GOPers are not partisan. GOPers say the current efforts are aimed at invalidating the 2016 election. But wait, if Trump is removed, he'd be replaced by another Republican, right?
We continue to be in "Alice in Wonderland" with the Trump presidency. Sue Dieter who mysteriously disappeared from the Morris newspaper recently, is at Peterson's side now. She's "communications director" though I'm curious what her job really entails. So she has to speak for the congressman's edgy position on the impeachment process.

Ol' Fossil

Republican senators in North Dakota and South Dakota are urging Democrats to end the probe. But what about getting the facts that Peterson says he wants to weigh?
 
Just like the soaps
America has become literally sick with the cacophony of outrageous news reports coming out about Trump every week. You can get drugged watching it all on MSNBC. It's like what people used to say about watching soap operas: you can cease watching a particular soap for a couple weeks and it doesn't matter - you tune in again and it's like you didn't miss anything. Likewise with watching MSNBC throughout the day, or CNN if that's your preference.
The Trump supporters on Fox News seem like total clowns. It seems like "performance art" on Fox. All these channels now know they have a gravy train. I'll turn it on at mid-afternoon on any given day and think, "wow, this is big breaking news," a sense of revelation. Curious thing, though: nothing comes of it, and eventually it becomes a day-to-day drag of nothing happening or getting resolved.
So the Democrats are now seeking to move forward with a meaningful process to get facts that are not tainted by the truly corrupt Trump and his crowd, obfuscating, creating diversions etc. Peterson evidently thinks Trump needs more of an opportunity to do his thing with polluting the process, gumming up the works. Quite the talent for doing that, Mr. Trump has.
Curious how we in West Central Minnesota are so quick to be skeptical of Democrats, to just treat them with a broad and skeptical brush. If you were to sit down with Adam Schiff and others on that side, you would connect with them so much more genuinely than with the Fischbachs of the world. It would be good for you.
The red staters applaud as Trump "tweets" about impeachment as "the greatest witch hunt in American history." A tweet from the greatest cad in U.S. politics, a guy who should have been written off after the "Access Hollywood" tape. BTW has Mexico offered money for the wall?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com