The Democrats are fired up by impeachment. Most Americans aren't.
But even among Dems, it's largely the hard left that is passionate about it. It's why hucksters like Ted Lieu (D - Venezuela) or Maxine Waters (D - Hell) won't shut up about it. But it's much less popular in more moderate areas of the country.
Especially outside California. (It's no coincidence that the loudest and most obnoxious voices calling for impeachment are California pols or that Tom Steyer is spending a lot of money on it.)
That's why even Pelosi had to walk a complicated balancing act between pandering to impeachment-mania and urging restraint. Especially as impeachment looks to be for Democrats what ObamaCare repeal was to Republicans. But beyond the futility of it, much of the country is not on board.
Pledging to impeach President Trump would backfire on Democrats hoping to take back the House of Representatives this fall, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll.
Yes, that's a poll from the notoriously right-wing NPR and PBS.
The survey finds that 47 percent of registered voters would definitely vote against a candidate who wanted to remove Trump from office, while 42 percent would definitely vote for a candidate who would make such a promise. Forty-seven percent of independent voters — whose opinions could be decisive — also say they would vote against candidates favoring impeachment.
In other words, what's good for Lieu might not play so well in the redder and purplish places that Dems want.
The promise of impeachment isn't a winning one even with all Democrats, either. While 70 percent of Democratic voters would back a candidate who favors impeachment, 3 in 10 would either vote against such a candidate (18 percent) or are unsure (12 percent).
There's also a major age gap in those who want to remove Trump through the most extreme measures versus those who don't — 57 percent of voters under 30 support impeachment, but 55 percent of those 60 and older oppose it.
And older voters are also more likely to vote.
Then there's the final factor. The impeachment threat is more likely to mobilize Republicans to get out and vote in an election where they increasingly despise much of the GOP House and Senate.