What exactly are the House Democrats doing with their articles of impeachment? It appears they may be trying to give the 31 crucial members of their caucus facing reelection in districts President Trump won in 2016 an easy way to vote “no” and still look principled.

Given the outlandish, and at times ridiculous, rhetoric from the likes of Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, and Nancy Pelosi, a final vote on impeachment has always been inevitable. There is simply no way that they could ever have afforded to walk back their stance after taking such an extreme stand.