Watch out, Ari Melber: looks like your guest host is taking her moment in the sun to outdo you when it comes to Trump Derangement Syndrome.
On his show The Beat, fill-in host Yasmin Vossoughian had Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee as a guest and, of course, Jackson Lee is a member of the House Judiciary Committee which — once Dems take over in January —would be in charge of any impeachment proceedings.
When Jackson Lee suggested that Republican support for a bill that would protect the Mueller investigation would be "putting country over party" and that the GOP must undergo an "internal assessment" about "whether they will put country first," Vossoughian shot back: "Congresswoman, are Democrats putting country first by not pursuing impeachment?"
Translation: the right, the patriotic, thing for Democrats to do is to try to impeach President Trump. Not going after Trump would be not "putting country first."
After Jackson Lee insisted that any impeachment should be bipartisan, Vossoughian fretted: "I'm sure there's a lot of people ou there thinking right now, bipartisanship is not going to be an easy task, considering what went down in the Oval Office earlier today and we're be talking about that coming up."
Even for MSNBC. this was hyper-partisanship at its most stunning. You know a host is—way—out there when she manages to suggest that Jackson Lee, and Dems in general, would be unpatriotic for not trying to impeach Trump.
Below is the full exchange (click "expand"):
MSNBC's The Beat
12/11/18
6:22 p.m. Eastern
TEXAS DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE: So, I guess my answer would be, it is all in the internal assessment that Republicans have to make whether they will put country first. I guess what they would argue is that they would have to see the fingerprints of President Trump on any of these actions. But I think his fingerprints may be nearby because if you are listed in an indictment of Mr. Cohen as Individual #1, having directed the individual to do what he did, and to do it to ensure that thespmen discoveries would not come out before the 2016 election date in November 2016 that seems to me to be worthy of assessment. Maybe not coming to a final conclusion, but we don't even have comments from Republicans saying that this is troubling to them, let's get more facts, let's support the Mueller investigation being completed and last point is, why can't we get the Senate to put the bipartisan bill on the floor that protects Mr. Mueller as he continues his investigation? That would truly give a sign of putting country over party.
YASMIN VOSSOUGHIAN: Congresswoman, are Democrats putting country first by not pursuing impeachment?
LEE: Here's the issue on impeachment. I think the American people understand -- they've heard the word so much. They know it is a constitutional function of high crimes and misdemeanors. They know anyone who or any party, any majority that gains in that, if we are in the majority, in this instance it would be Democrats, is that it would have to be bipartisan. It was bipartisan in Watergate when Republicans recognized that the nation could not continue to function. Democrats are going to wait for the Mueller report, and we're going to investigate as our duty requires us to do. That's what the Judiciary Committee is going to do. By those hearings that we may have, then facts of more evidence will be presented. For example, to be able to find out who lied and have them under oath and have them before our committee, including some of the very principals that the Mueller investigation is looking at, to get transcripts being released, for us to be able to have access to those. All of that will play into doing our task, our job, on behalf of the American people, which is to ensure the integrity of the presidency, the White House, and this government. Just as we are trying to ensure the integrity of being against any government shutdown.
VOSSOUGHIAN: I'm sure there's a lot of people ou there thinking right now, bipartisanship is not going to be an easy task, considering what went down in the Oval Office earlier today and we're be talking about that coming up. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, thank you.
