In a NY Times op-ed, political journalist Elizabeth Drew writes:
The arguments offered by House leaders, in particular Speaker Nancy Pelosi, against [impeachment] are understandable, including that impeachment could invite a wrenching partisan fight; render the party vulnerable to the charge that it’s obsessed with scoring points against Mr. Trump; and distract Democrats from focusing on
legislation of more interest to voters….
Madison and Hamilton didn’t say anything about holding off on impeachment because it would be politically risky. It’s hard to imagine they’d put political convenience on the same footing as the security of the Constitution. And the Democrats who prefer to substitute the 2020 election for an impeachment fight don’t appear to have considered the implications if Mr. Trump were to win: Would that not condone his constitutional abuses and encourage his authoritarian instincts?…
The Democrats may succeed in avoiding a tumultuous, divisive fight over impeachment now. But if they choose to ignore clear abuses of the Constitution, they’ll also turn a blind eye to the precedent they’re setting and how feckless they’ll look in history.
Two practical objections to Ms. Drew's observations.
First, Madison and Hamilton were among the more pragmatic of politicians. Winning an idealistic impeachment fight against Trump, only for the backlash of Trump extending his destructive presidency for another four years, would most likely not have been among the founders' preferences. What's more, it is just as unlikely that House Democrats could even pull off a successful impeachment vote. There are now too many purple district pols who would not vote to unseat themselves by voting for what would be seen by many independent voters as nothing more than political revenge.
Second, time has already expired for an impeachment vote. By the time impeachment reached the Republican Senate, we'd be well into the late stages of the 2020 presidential season. Time would be up, and an impeachment attempt would have been for naught.
Given those realties, I, for one, would prefer the tremendous moral victory of Democrats utterly crushing Donald Trump in the 2020 election. That would be a judgment by American voters — not just House Democrats — on the abject abomination of the Trump administration.
If House Democrats wish to present themselves as "feckless in history," then by all means, they should defy Nancy Pelosi's political pragmatism.