After unwieldy town hall meetings -- Democrats face a dilemma on impeachment

Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats during a conference call last week that the impeachment of President Donald Trump is a waste of time and constituents in Democratic districts seem to agree.

Members of Congress have been on recess for the past two weeks, and town hall meetings didn't yield much support for Congress to hurry along with impeachment proceedings. In Congress, the House would vote for impeachment, and the Senate would do the actual investigation. Given the Senate is headed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) a legitimate investigation isn't likely, even with special counsel Robert Mueller's report as a guide.

It's unclear if that's why Pelosi suggested to members to hold hearings and an investigation in their chamber, but it's likely. Some members on the call demanded impeachment, but Pelosi shut the idea down, saying that the public

A New York Times piece Sunday observed Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) and a few Pennsylvania leaders held town hall meetings over the weekend. They had questions about healthcare, immigration, voting rights and the 2020 primary contest. Very few asked about impeachment, however.

“It’s not a top half-dozen. It may be down at the No. 12 spot” in terms of priorities, said Porter.

Still, Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) said he didn't come to Washington to be the popular Democrat.

“I swore an oath to the Constitution,” he said, “not to protect and defend the Democratic Party.”

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Friday showed the response to the Mueller report is that nearly six in 10 Democrats support impeachment proceedings, but six in 10 independents do not.

“We are going to do our work, but we’re not going to do it haphazardly,” said Rep James Clyburn (D-SC) during an ABC appearance Sunday.

Democrats have an impressive agenda if issues they are working to pass, but McConnell isn't likely to bring the issues up for a vote in the Senate. The Senate leader explained that he refuses to vote on a bill Trump won't sign. To make matters worse, McConnell may see progress on issues in the House as a sign Democrats are getting work done for the people, while his chamber is not.

McConnell could ignore the progress of legislation that passes the House as a way of making it appear as though Democrats are only focusing on hearings. If he goes that route, however, it could backfire with Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate highlighting a "do-nothing Senate."

Read the full Times piece here.