 So we've been watching the impeachment proceedings play out now for multiple days and I'll admit this is absolutely exhausting, albeit necessary, because I don't want to live in a two-tier justice system. Like I believe that there really is no justice in the United States and we do effectively live in a two-tier justice system already where the rich get away with committing crimes and poor people get locked up for doing those same types of crimes that rich people get away with. So I think that we need to hold everyone to the same standard and, you know, we can't give people a pass because it's politically expedient. So even if, you know, I would much rather be watching, you know, people debate Medicare for All on the Senate floor, this is necessary. This is something that we have to do, although I do understand the concerns of lefties who feel as if this is going to be a distraction with regard to the media and Democrats will just use this as an excuse to not focus on policy substance. I get it, right, because Democrats by and large are incompetent. But part of the reason why I really support impeachment is because one of my main criticisms of Democrats is that they are too weak in the face of Republican opposition. And when they're finally like fighting for the first time in what seems to be forever, it makes no sense for us to say, actually, don't fight now. When you're finally fighting, actually, don't forget everything I told you. It doesn't make sense, right? And also all the concerns that we were worried about or that some people were worried about with regard to this possibly being a distraction. I don't really think that that's played out. So AOC talked about this a little bit in an interview with Chris Hayes on MSNBC. And she did a brilliant job at really debunking all of these myths about impeachment. And she explained why this is absolutely crucial if we want to live in, you know, a country where we respect the Constitution and the rule of law, like we don't have a choice. We have to hold elites accountable. And also the fears that everyone had about this being a distraction. That really isn't bearing out in reality. So this is what she had to say. You're someone who I think you came to Congress with a very strong vision and agenda. You were clear about that when you ran your primary that you won. And I think there's an interesting sort of debate about this impeachment and about the president that has to do with, you know, is this the best use of legislative time? You've seen some Republicans saying it's not. As someone who has an agenda that you want to pass, right? That you want to see happen. How do you view impeachment in that context? Well, I'm not very concerned about it because we're able to legislate while this is happening. Just yesterday, I introduced our first piece of Green New Deal legislation, which was around public housing and decarbonizing our entire public housing stock in the United States. And so it's not coming at the cost of legislating. Some may say that mass media may cover our proposals a little bit less, but they don't do a great job of that in the first place. So it's, I love you, I love you, but I don't think I'm going to get like a decarbonization like 8 p.m. time slot. So it's okay. I think we're legislating, we're working for people and we're holding the president accountable and it's all possible. And if we don't hold this accountable, then we really erode rule of law in the United States of America. And really what makes America different, when people say, I want to do business here, I want to, I want to write books here, I want to take my family here, I want to raise and be around American ideals, a lot of it has to do with the reliability that people, the right people will be held to account, that there are consequences for doing wrong, for hurting people. And also that this is a fair country where everyone is treated equally. But isn't that as often honored in the breach as not? I mean, one of the things that I think helps him is there's so much cynicism about that exact thing. Well, that's exactly right, isn't it? Because there is a lot of corruption in our society. Big money and big pharma and big oil and big gas have taken over our entire political system. And there are a lot of systemic threats. But that doesn't mean that just because some things are broken, you throw out our entire country and set it on fire. And at its core, the most sacred document in our society is the Constitution of the United States. Everything else is very easily amenable, but this is not. And once we erode the general respect for the Constitution, then we essentially erode respect for the United States of America. And that's what this president has done. So I mean, everything she said there is incredibly important. They're still getting things done. Just yesterday, she said, I introduced our first piece of Green New Deal legislation, which was around public housing and decarbonizing our entire public housing stock in the United States. Yeah, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. I never really understood this argument and I didn't find it persuasive. That impeachment would take up so much time that it would be a distraction. First of all, Donald Trump is president and Republicans still control the Senate. So it's not like we're going to pass very many policies anyway. Not really going to happen. So to say that this is going to distract from talking about policy, not really because the same thing is going to happen that has always been the case. I mean, progressives will continue to be policy driven and corporate Democrats will sit on their asses and do nothing. That's not going to change because of impeachment. So she makes a really great point about that. She also says some say mass media will cover our proposals a little bit less, but they don't do a great job with that in the first place. Exactly. The media is never going to all of a sudden focus on policy unless there is any type of sensationalist value that they're able to, you know, extract from it, right? So they're not going to talk about Medicare for all debates on the House floor unless there's drama. It's an exchange that gets a little bit too heated between people, you know, in Congress debating it. They focus on sensationalism because sensationalism is what yields ratings and ratings is what yields profits because that attracts advertisers. So it's not going to be like, oh, well, all of a sudden they're going to start doing a bad job. They're already doing a bad job, right? So to say they're just going to be hyper focused on, you know, impeachment in the same way that they were focused on Russiagate, look, the media is going to focus on what they believe will get them ratings. And nine times out of 10, that's not what they should be talking about. The substance always gets forgotten about and swept under the rug in favor of, you know, horse race politics and political drama. That's the way that mainstream media operates. So that's not going to change because of impeachment. And I don't find that argument persuasive as well. Now finally, what I think is the most persuasive argument that she makes in defense of impeachment and in defense of the impeachment proceedings that we've been seeing is this is about the principle. Why don't people understand that? If we don't hold this accountable, then we really erode rule of law in the United States of America. Just because things are broken doesn't mean you throw out our entire country and set it on fire. Right. Just because we let elites in the past get away with committing crimes. Just because Donald Trump may get away with committing other crimes doesn't mean that we shouldn't at least try to hold him accountable for this. Now I do absolutely sympathize with people who believe that we should broaden the scope of the impeachment inquiry. It should be focused on the emoluments clause, the hush money payments and the general corruption. Like, of course we should focus on all of that. So I don't agree with the way that Nancy Pelosi is proceeding with this. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that I don't think that the Ukraine call in and of itself is an impeachable offense, because of course this is an abuse of power. You can't do this. If Obama did this, he would have been impeached within two days because Republicans do not fuck around and they never take time to play nine dimensional chess and focus on, you know, whether or not this will affect their chances. They just act impulsively. And even though sometimes that hurts them, overall they've been more effective at winning elections and getting the message out there because they never back down. So we need to make sure that we reinforce the message that Democrats have got to be strong and we actually need to applaud them when they finally listen to us and they try to hold Trump accountable. I mean, we've been pushing Nancy Pelosi for this impeachment inquiry now for more than a year and only now she's finally doing it and, you know, she could broaden the scope of it. But don't tell them to back away when they're finally trying to exert a little bit of pressure on Republicans and Donald Trump because we want them to fight. Democratic Party weakness before is what led to their defeat, right? So being strong in the face of Republican Party criticism, I think that that does matter. So, you know, all of these fears that I think lefties had, some of which are legitimate, some of which I don't disagree with, I think that it is important that we address them. Although, you know, what AOC said here, I think it absolutely makes sense. One of them are persuasive enough to where people on the left should be discouraging this impeachment process from taking place. I mean, it's already basically proving that Donald Trump did in fact abuse power. So he should be impeached for that. When presidents break the law, we should hold their feet to the fire. This should be something that isn't controversial. You know, the right is united in fighting against impeachment. So the left overall should be united in pressing for impeachment. So yeah, I just, I don't understand why some people are against impeachment on the left. I think there are legitimate concerns. I think you can argue about the way that impeachment is being conducted. I think Kyle Kalinsky makes a pretty solid argument as to why Trump should be impeached for a different reason as opposed to this Ukrainian call. But with that being said, to just be against impeachment overall. It doesn't make sense to me as lefties. We should always push for justice. And that means we fight against the two tier justice system that we live in and we make sure that elites like Donald Trump don't get away with crimes that they commit brazenly so.