1. Why bother with impeachment? Here's my thread.

2. First, the House of Representatives needs to collectively make the statement that trying to disrupt the constitutional transfer of power is unacceptable. Trump did this by relentlessly making false claims about fraud, trying to get state legislatures and executive officials

3. to “find” votes for him, and by stoking his supporters to go to the Capitol to “fight.” There is no ambiguity here. He contested the election results in every possible realm. Congress' January 6th count was his last opportunity. And he took it.

4. Second, the House vote enables the Senate to then consider whether to impeach and disqualify President Trump from returning to office and strip him of various taxpayer funded post-presidency privileges, like the luxurious travel allowance.

5. He needs to experience consequences for his actions. At minimum he should bear these ones.

6. Third, a vote on impeachment will force the GOP and their voters to reckon with the actions of some of its members. A significant number of Republican legislators tried to transform the two ministerial processes of opening and counting the states’ electoral slates into

7. processes where legislators & the vp could question the votes’ validity and throw them out on a party line vote. This was outrageous. Now, some of these lawmakers already are experiencing consequences. Various campaign donors have cut them off, and

8. Sen. Hawley lost his book contract because his publisher found his behavior toxic. But those are not sufficient consequences.

9. An impeachment vote will confront those who voted to disrupt the counting of the electors with a high profile choice: repent by voting to impeach, or bear the popular consequences of supporting the President’s attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

10. Note: When particular GOP legislators voted to question and possibly throw out some states’ electoral slates, they could justify it as standing up for voters who questioned the election results. And in doing this they could please the President and their electoral bases.

11. That line of argument does not hold for an impeachment vote.

12. Indeed, the impeachment vote will force these same legislators to answer a different question: do you so love the President that you will excuse his attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power? Any legislators who vote “no” on impeachment can expect to see campaign ads

13. run that calling them out for supporting an amok Executive trying to subvert the Constitution.

14. ~Finito. Let the votes be cast and counted.~