I had not thought that impeachment was possible, as it would require 20 Republican Senators to go along, but I am changing my mind.

Events in Syria have alarmed everyone with a sense of... well, with sense. For the longest time any Republican had to go along with whatever Trump did because they were getting what they wanted - judges, tax cuts for the wealthy, government inefficiency - but now he is threatening their "brand". Republicans have always prided themselves on being [falsely] perceived as "strong" in foreign affairs - usually by loads of military spending - but Trump has exposed their flank. His moves with Turkey have been brazenly personal (and corrupt), bone-headedly stupid, dangerously disruptive and have humiliated and physically threatened the military as well as our international standing and national security. Republicans will have a hard time standing for this.

I recognize that the central issues of the impeachment inquiry are corruption and brazen abuse of office - things they rarely object to - but I suspect that they will go along with allowing the inquiry to go forward (making as much noise as they can along the way), yet deep down they recognize how much damage he is doing to the party and are calculating an exit strategy from the Trumpcoaster "Trump-catastrophe". If it happens before the end of the year, they have 9 months to get Pence ready for "prime time." I haven't checked filing deadlines, but I suspect that if he is the party nominee at the convention, that won't really matter.

Their dilemma is whether it is too late to cut bait and how much damage he could yet do as a wounded animal. I'd still bet heavily that their best option is to negotiate a Nixon-Ford style resignation-for-pardon deal, but he'll be hard to convince. A 25th Amendment exit might be hard to orchestrate and would set such a precedent as to be unpalatable. Interesting times, indeed.

A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich