#the lindberg line model

[the-delta-42]

#lindberg 1/1080 #clevelandclass #lightcruiser #usshouston #usshoustoncl81 #modelship #modelbuilding #lindbergmodel #thelindbergline #thelindberglinemodel #lindbergusshouston #worldwar2 #worldwarII #wwii #ww2

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[the-delta-42]

#thelindbergline 1/1200 #imperialjapanesenavy #yamatoclass #battleship #ijnyamato #yamato #worldwar2 #worldwarII #ww2 #wwii #modelship #modelbuilding #lindberg #lindbergmodel

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[kallyever]

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[koinodancesite]

“Roman ~My Dear Boy~”

Release date: May 12, 2004

Oricon Weekly placement: 4th

B-side: “Fine Emotion!”

Members: Ai Kago, Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno, Eri Kamei, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Kaori Iida, Mokoto Ogawa, Mari Yaguchi, Miki Fujimoto, Nozomi Tsuji, Reina Tanaka, Rika Ishikawa, Risa Niigaki, Sayumi Michishige

“Roman ~My Dear Boy~” is the first Morning Musume single so far to straightly play with rock music as a template. The closest the group has got with the genre thus far has been “Koko Ni Iruze!” but the brass-focused ensemble for that song more resembled ska. The brass is not lost in the 2004 single with the sax playing a honking riff in between the chorus, yet the garage-rock guitars and blown-out drum kit ultimately steal the show.

The hired personnel for the single suggests arranger Shunsuke Suzuki may have had more than a few bands from a past decade in mind as inspiration for the sound of “Roman ~My Dear Boy~.” The guitar tones don’t feel too different from ‘90s outfit Lindberg, whose Tomohisa Kawazoe plays bass for the single; it draws close to the shiny riffs of the band’s big hit “Imasugu Kiss Me.” Suzuki also looks to the ‘80s: Barbee Boys saxophonist Konta is responsible for the honking riff, and Rebecca’s Akio Dobashi is on keyboard duty. A female vocalist stands at the center of all three bands -- a fitting mold to apply for Morning Musume’s take on rock music.

Ringing bright yet slightly deflated, the guitar tonally captures the mood hanging over the single. “Hey, let’s have a dance, my dear,” Hitomi Yoshizawa opens the song with a boyish affect to her voice, not unlike the otokoyaku character in “Mr. Moonlight ~Ai No Big Band~.” The rest of the group joins to console a girl heartbroken from her failed first love. The members borrows the energy of the sturdy rock music behind them to present themselves as a role model for emotional toughness.

The message of “Roman ~My Dear Boy~” is driven by a classic Morning Musume mentality. The group only invests a single line to the issue at hand, dismissing it as a petty problem: “don’t cry, it’s OK, an ephemeral first love doesn’t ever go right,” they begin. They instead try to convince singledom isn’t nearly as devastating as it seems. While the group fills in peppy aphorisms to spread optimism for life after heartbreak, they also put in effort to prove they are more than just talk. The members directly address the girl, easily a stand-in as the audience herself: “No matter how weak you get/ I’ll protect you/ This is nothing/ Ride on, ride on,” they sing.

Morning Musume take on a more of big-sister role in “Roman ~My Dead Boy~,” and the song builds the most personal connection with the group’s fans so far. While other singles sounded as though they saw through problems other than their own, this one not only directly talked to you but also willingly offered a helping hand. Rock music established a sense of cool for the group, but they aspired in “Roman ~My Dear Boy~” to be idolized for more than just what appeared on the surface.

[6]

[khalilhumam]

The coming COVID-19 baby bust: Update

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/the-coming-covid-19-baby-bust-update/

The coming COVID-19 baby bust: Update

By Melissa S. Kearney, Phillip B. Levine In June of 2020, three months after the COVID pandemic began in earnest in the United States, we wrote a report suggesting that the public health crisis and associated recession would result in 300,000 to 500,000 fewer births in 2021. Six months later, we have been asked several times if we have an updated estimate. We have revisited the issue and stand by our initial prediction of a large reduction in births. Based on our previous methodology and a labor market that improved somewhat more quickly than we anticipated, we place more emphasis on the lower range of our original estimate, likely closer to 300,000 fewer births. However, additional factors that we did not incorporate into our model – in particular, ongoing school and day care closures – might very well mean a larger reduction in births than that.

Corroborating evidence

It will still be several months before birth data will become available that will enable us to count the “missing” births. Additional survey evidence has come out, though, since we released our initial report that supports a coming baby bust. Corroborating evidence generated since our June report supports our prediction of a baby bust next year. A survey conducted by Laura D. Lindberg, Alicia VandeVusse, Jennifer Mueller and Marielle Kirstein of the Guttmacher Institute reveals that that 34 percent of American women have either delayed their plans to have a child or reduced the number of children they expect to have as a result of the pandemic. A different survey conducted by Francesca Luppi, Bruno Arpino, and Alessandro Rosina shows that European women similarly report that they plan to postpone giving birth or have fewer children. Levels of sexual activity have also fallen. In one survey (conducted by Justin Lehmiller, Justin Garcia, Amanda Gesselman, and Kristen Mark of the Kinsey Institute), almost half of adults surveyed report a decline in their sex lives. In another (conducted by Devel Hensel, Molly Rosenberg, Maya Luetke, Tsungchieh Fu, and Debby Herbenick at the University of Indiana), those with young children and, particularly, those with school-age children report the largest declines in intercourse. One way to gauge individual behavior is to examine what they search for in Google; these data are available through Google Trends. A study by Joshua Wilde, Wei Chen, and Sophie Lohmann based on these data supports our prediction of reduced fertility. The authors report that searches for pregnancy-related terms, such as “ClearBlue” (a pregnancy test), “ultrasound,” and “morning sickness” have fallen since the pandemic began. Based on the reduced searches for pregnancy-related terms, the authors of that study forecast a reduction of births on the order of 15 percent, an even larger drop than what we forecasted.

The pace of the economic recovery

In the six months that have elapsed since our original June report, labor market conditions have improved more rapidly than experts were predicting back in June. A key element of our forecast for declining births was based on our empirical analysis that found that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a one percent drop in the birth rate. We applied that estimated relationship to the expectation of a seven to 10 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, which was in line with Federal Reserve expectations. From today’s vantage point, it looks more likely that unemployment will have risen by around 5.5 percentage points in the year following the start of the pandemic (April 2020 through March 2021) from 3.5 percent to roughly nine percent. This estimate is based on observed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for April through November and assumes little change in the next few months. Using this revised expected change in unemployment, we would predict a 5.5 percent reduction in births from the unemployment effect alone. Applying that to the number of births in 2019 (3.75 million) suggests 206,000 fewer births in 2021. Our original forecast also incorporated an additional reduction in births coming from the anxiety and social conditions associated with the public health crisis. We incorporated this into our forecast by examining the experience of the 1918 Spanish Flu. Back then, every spike in the death rate attributable to the flu was associated with a dramatic reduction in births nine months later. We relied on that evidence to increase our forecast based solely on labor market conditions by one to three additional percent, or another 38,000 to 114,000 fewer births. The public health crisis has unfolded much as anticipated in the spring and similar in magnitude to the 1918 experience. That pandemic led to 408,000 deaths in the year after it began. Currently 290,000 deaths have occurred as of December 8 and 539,000 deaths are forecast to occur by April 1. The population of the United States is three times as large today as it was in 1918, but medical care has significantly improved, which should have reduced the death rate for a similar level of disease. We see no reason to alter our forecast based on these data. Combining the updated impact of the recession with our earlier additional impact of the public health crisis indicates that we should expect a baby bust in the range of about 245,000 to 320,000. Yet there are reasons to believe that our July prediction might understate the impact on fertility. Ongoing school closures are putting tremendous strain on families that may reduce their willingness to have more children. Restrictions on public gatherings and social encounters might mean fewer new couplings that could lead to pregnancies, intended or otherwise. The extended nature of this crisis also is likely to create large structural changes in the economy; a sizable share of the jobs lost will be permanent. The longer the duration of the income loss that workers expect, the more likely it is that delayed births will never happen. We did not attempt to make any predictions based on these additional factors because we had no previous context or data from which to draw empirical conclusions. It will still be several months before data will be available on the number of post-pandemic births that we can use to begin to assess our forecast. In the meantime, we have revisited our prediction based on the most recent evidence available. As of now, we stand by our prediction of a COVID baby bust of around 300,000 fewer births. But the longer the pandemic lasts, and the deeper the economic and social anxiety runs, it is feasible that we will see an even larger reduction in births with an increasing share of them averted permanently. The authors did not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. They are currently not an officer, director, or board member of any organization with an interest in this article.

[the-delta-42]

I #modified my #thelindbergline #ijnzuikaku #ijnyamato #hmskinggeorgev and #hmsdorsetshire into convertible waterline/full hull #models #modelships #lindberg #worldwar2 #worldwarII #ww2 #wwii

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[stone-cold-groove]

The Lindberg Line “Scuttle Bucket” model - 1964.

[oldmotors]

All through Volvo’s long history as a fully independent automaker, it got the most out of every design and rarely pandered to fashion, leaving older models on sale until organic demand faded or costs got too high. The Volvo 544’s Circa-1943 styling (updated in 1958 from the old 444) might have looked dated in 1959, but it was a high quality car with very good driving dynamics - it sold reasonably well into 1966. It was also an unlikely, but frequent, racing competitor in the 1950s and 1960s. This car is a #LeMons racer, which won’t please everyone, but is totally in line with the 544’s history. - The 444/544 are often compared to the 1942-48 Fords, but the car was a mixture of American themes and ideas from the German Hanomag 1.3L. It should come as no surprise that Volvos of the 1930s and 1940s have a strong transatlantic influence - Swedes loved American cars and Volvo recruited designers who’d work in the U.S., among them Ivan Örnberg from Hupp, Edward Lindberg (lead on the PV444) from Studebaker, and Carl Lindblom and Olle Schjolin (designer of the Pontiac-like PV60) and from GM. - Sweden was neutral during the war, but the 444 was developed in 1943/44 with an eye to postwar austerity. The Light, cheap, Hanomag, built only for a year before the war with its potential largely unexplored, was an excellent benchmark - Volvo actually stripped one down to see how everything worked. The 444, heavily influenced by the Hanomag’s construction, became Volvo’s first unibody, its first modern 4-cyl, and its first car built in quantity and for export. It’s solid construction, independent front suspension, and durable, strong fours (the B14/B16) made it a crisp handler and practical. - Imports to the U.S. started in 1955 with the 444, and it wasn’t long before the Swede became an unlikely SCCA favorite doing battle with MGAs and TR3s, a situation bolstered by the introduction of the evolved 544, now with four speeds. The biggest change came in 1962 with the B18 engine and 12V electrics, making the car quite modern to drive if not look at. The “Tetanus Onset” team 544 debuted in 2017 and is a ‘63 544, and it’s still competitive at 57, so there’s hope for us all. (at Sonoma Raceway) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8R1iEPlVzG/?igshid=1a861u6rxd3f9

[plusorminuscongress]

Picture This: A Century of Air Travel in Pictures https://ift.tt/2EIX8Ey by Melissa Lindberg

It’s that time of year when many of us are getting ready to head to the airport and hop on a plane en route to family and friends for the holidays. Air travel, like many modern conveniences, is a perk easy to take for granted despite its relatively short history. A visual trip through the collections of the Prints & Photographs Division illustrates some of the developments in air travel over the past century.

Tony Jannus & Albert Berry, between 1910 and 1915. Photo by Bain News Service. https://ift.tt/2UYLaeP

In 1914 Tony Jannus became the first person to pilot a scheduled passenger flight, from St. Petersburg to Tampa, Florida. Taken sometime between 1910 and 1915, the photo above shows Jannus on the left, seated next to Albert Berry. Berry incidentally takes some credit for another first – he was by many accounts one of two thrill-seekers to successfully pioneer jumping from a plane!

The photo below, taken to mark the 25th anniversary of the first commercial flight, shows a model of the Benoist plane flown by Jannus. The relatively primitive design of passenger planes operating in the 1910s may provide some perspective for those of us used to complaining about the discomforts of air travel today.

Model for silver anniversary of commercial aviation. Washington, D.C., Dec. 29. New Years Day will mark the 25th anniversary of commercial aviation. The first passenger air line was established between St. Petersburg, and Tampa, Fla. with Tony Jannus, a Washington, D.C., boy, piloting the plane. Paul E. Garber of the U.S. National Museum has secured this model of the original Benoist plane, which was used on the first flight, for the national Aircraft Collection of which he has charge…, 1938. Photo by Harris & Ewing. https://ift.tt/2PQ4yqM

Contrast the open cockpit of the Benoist with the spacious interior setup of this restored American Airlines Douglas DC-3. The model was used by American, TWA, United and other airlines in the 1930s and 1940s, and could travel from the west to east coast in about 15 hours. So, roomier seats, but a longer journey than we’re used to in 2018.

Passenger cabin of the Flagship Knoxville, a fully restored DC-3 aircraft at the American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum on the campus of the American Airlines Flight Academy, at the southern end of DFW International Airport near the world headquarters of American Airlines, 2014. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith. https://ift.tt/2UYLABV

First lady Eleanor Roosevelt is pictured below adding some detailing to a new Douglas airliner in 1940.

First Lady christens new fleet of airliner. Washington, D.C. January 4. Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Putting the finishing touches on one of a new fleet of Douglas Airliners put into operation today by the Pennsylvania Central Airlines, 1940. Photo by Harris & Ewing. https://ift.tt/2PTraXc

Mid-century travel posters used by airlines to advertise their services made air travel look glamorous. They also illustrate the arrival of jet passenger travel in the 1950s and 1960s. Amazingly, some of the planes depicted on the posters from this period start looking a lot like the ones we fly today — note what appears to be a Boeing 707 jet on the Braniff International Airways poster as compared with the propeller-driven Lockheed Constellation on the TWA poster. Somehow I don’t think the plane shown on the Braniff ad will be a far cry from the one I plan to board next week!

Los Angeles – fly TWA!, 1950s. Poster by Bob Smith. https://ift.tt/2UYsdsJ

Chicago, Braniff International Airways , 195-. https://ift.tt/2POZCSU

Learn More:

See additional images of Jannus in action, as well as a dramatic shot of a plane being pulled out of the water.

Browse additional posters made for Braniff International Airways.

View photographs of airports documented by photographer Carol M. Highsmith.

Fans of early aviation may want to read about and view the Wright Brothers Negatives

[daleisgreat]

The Fast and the Furious

Yesterday I caught the latest film in the worldwide hit Fast & Furious franchise, The Fate of the Furious. To get a little a little bit it in the right mindset for it, I went and watched the original 2001 film, The Fast and the Furious (trailer) a couple days prior. I own all of the films, but the second installment which I detest, and as luck would have it all but the last couple were still in my backlog. I may as well cover them all(minus 2Fast) for the blog, and I think I will try and knock out a couple of the earlier movies right away before revisiting the later films down the line. Additionally, since I always kind of embraced these films in a lighthearted ridiculous kind of way, I will be a little looser with my entries for these films and will run down my highlights from each film in a bulleted list kind of way. -Quick plot synopsis for those unfamiliar with the first film: The late Paul Walker portrays undercover cop Brian Connor. There is a street car gang stealing hot ticket Apex DVD players from trucks, so Connor goes undercover and joins Dominic Torreto’s (Vin Diesel) gang that also consists of his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), his tough-as-nails girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) computer hacker whiz Jesse (Chad Lindberg) and lifetime meathead bro Vince (Matt Shulze).

-I vividly recall my sister treating me to this film at the theater for a graduation present since it hit theaters a Friday or two after I graduated way back in 2001! Initial memories of the film were that it seemed like the coolest thing ever with all the crazy special engine closeup/NOS turbo special effects and all the bedazzling of the street cars with neon and underglow. -I also specifically remember thinking coming out of this thinking that Vin Diesel was the coolest dude ever with him having the silent, deadly charisma and perfect chilling delivery of classic lines such as “It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winnings’s winning!” and the quintessential “quarter mile at a time” speech of the film which transpired in my favorite scene in the picture. Those thoughts quickly changed when Diesel skipped out on the sequel in favor of duds like The Pacifier. I also recall Paul Walker’s BS wavy hair and as the ultimate cornball with his epic so-bad-its-good delivery of classic lines such as “I need two cans of NOS…tonight!” He gets much better in later films thankfully. This is also the only film series I can tolerate Michelle Rodriguez in since she goes on to play the same badass stereotype in all the other films she is in and is insufferable as a result. This was the first time I was exposed to her here however and she is the perfect complement to Vin Diesel’s character.

-Johnny Tran (Rick Yune) is the stereotypical Asian gangster for the film. He has history with the Toretto gang and it all comes to a head in the film’s last act after some deadly fallout after a race that transpires at the Race Wars event. He is actually a pretty compelling villain and one of my favorite antagonists from the series. Speaking of races, if you have not seen the earlier Fast films, than I have to be the one to break it to you that the earlier films primarily revolved around the underground street race scene and it was not until Fast Five when the films fully evolved into “best drivers in the world pulling off insanely unbelievable heists.” -The truck heists were only a small backdrop to the street racing in the film, but the final truck heist scene features a lot of great stunt work and practical effects. Watching the extra feature interviews it was cool to see that a lot of the street racing and truck scenes were primarily shot with practical effects and very little CG work. Obviously that would flip with the latter films in the series.

-I got a good feeling the younger crowds are going to scoff at the soundtrack for this film, but for me this film hit during my coming of age years and thus a lot of it resonates with me still today. Reliving it does have a really good blend of (then) modern rap, hip/hop and metal. Fans of Ja Rule, Saliva and Limp Bizkit will not be disappointed! The SWAT montage scene being accompanied by Dope’s “Debonaire” is another favorite scene in the film of mine, which has a great culmination of Tran’s father giving the ever-dreaded “disappointed parent hand-slap of doom!” -I forgot to mention I am reliving these films with a special commentary track. Giant Bomb is my favorite videogame website and they occasionally do movie commentaries. Longtime readers here may recall that is how I re-watched Rocky IV. Experiencing this film again with the Giant Bomb crew was an ideal experience for me, since they re-watched all seven films over the past few months leading up to F8. Host Alex Navarro is the well-versed lore-master of the Fast franchise and provides plenty of wisdom for casual Fast fan Vinny Carravella Fast-newbie Dan Ryckert. Dan bombards Alex with too many questions, but Alex wisely knows what to clue him into as the movie progresses. Also experiencing Dan state why he avoided the movies all these years only to make a complete 180 and end up loving this film about an hour in was very entertaining to listen in on. As always the GB guys are a riot and have plenty of wise cracks along the way that made rewatching this a lot of fun. If you want to give their commentary a listen then head here to download the track. -The BluRay is jacked with a ton of extras. Most of them are carried over from the DVD release but there are a couple new HD extras too. Dom’s Charger is a quick four minute look at Dom’s ride and how they found that model for the film. Quarter Mile at a Time is a 10 minute-eye opener on the origins of drag/street racing and how it lead to NASCAR/F1 and modern street racing. That is all for new extras. There is a little over an hour worth of assorted extra features carried over. Of them I would suggest checking out the deleted scenes, as there are a few good ones that director Rob Cohen justified why they did not make the final cut. Making of Fast and Furious is a thorough breakdown of the cars, races and cast for the film and provides a lot of detail on what I referenced earlier on how the stunts were done. Make sure to check out the six minute short film, Turbo Charged Prelude which has no dialogue and is essentially Connor going rogue from the cops and travelling across the country to Miami to setup for the sequel, 2Fast, 2Furious. Finally, Rob Cohen is on hand for a solo director’s commentary, but as I previously mentioned I opted for the Giant Bomb commentary instead.

-I highly recommend watching the original film whether you have seen it or not. It was awesome experiencing it again and seeing how far the series has evolved over the past 16(!) years. Even if you prefer sticking with the newer films, if you are one to pay attention to all the nitty gritty details you will likely pick up on a few references and characters that stay dormant until the later movies that will give you a new look into their origins with the franchise. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, check out this incredible guide from The Ringer that ranks the Fast films along with several supplemental rankings of vital elements of the films such as “Best rapper cameos” and “Best Dom one-liners.” Very thorough, but is well worth your time to take in. Now if you pardon me, I am going to go off to a corner in my room and jam out to Saliva and Limp Bizkit. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Creed Dirty Work Faster Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Hercules: Reborn Hitman Ink Interstellar Jobs Man of Steel Marine 3 & 4 Mortal Kombat The Replacements Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Wild The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Days of Future Past

[multi-fan-dom-madness]

JaxCon 2017

Wow. Just wow. I’ve not stopped internally screaming since I stepped foot in the hotel where the convention was being held. That feat becomes much more ridiculous the further away from JaxCon we get, but then again, I’m always screaming about something. So, without further ado, here’s how JaxCon 2017 went down in the eyes of a first-time conventioner. (Sidenote: what even is the term for a person who attends a convention? Is there a term? Because there should be if there isn’t already.) (Another sidenote: I have literally 13 other videos, one of which is Matt and Rob doing imitations, which is always hilarious, so if you want those just lemme know. Now keep reading :P )

THURSDAY

I went to this convention with my mom. It had been a high school graduation present for me last June, so for months and months I’d been dreaming about what it would be like, what would happen, who I’d meet, what I’d say. I can confidently say that no amount of daydreaming (or even dreaming in general) can prepare one for the atmosphere and the pace of a convention. We rolled into Jacksonville around 8 o’clock, but by some cruel twist of fate, we did not end up eating dinner until after midnight. Thank Chuck god for early registration. I went to bed after reading a mind-numbing 30+ pages of my Colonial America history textbook. Yay me.

FRIDAY

We were up early, on account of my need to take care of some homework before the weekend’s shenanigans got underway. But as soon as work was finished, we were ready to roll and boy, did things roll. After a quick exploration of the vendor hall, I made the spur-of-the-moment decision to buy photo ops with Rob and Richard (separate). My mom looked surprised, I guess because after all my antics about how much I love Lucifer, I went with God. Anyways.

As much as I love J2, I can proudly say that Rob and Richard made my top 5 favorite things of the con. Aside from being utterly adorable awesome, the men are geniuses. I mean, who else stands in front of a full convention hall and declares, “We love KoC!” (And if you don’t know how to pronounce it for whatever reason, it sounds exactly the way it looks.) Friday would also begin the weekend-long trend of referencing “lumbersexuality,” as well as the entire cast’s undivided support and admiration of the Women’s Marches occurring all over the country.

First panel of the day was the lovely Alaina Huffman (Abaddon). She’s so pretty!!! And funny!!! And amazing!!! Unfortunately, none of my photos of her came out any kind of decent, which really sucks, because she is really beautiful. She talked about her background in modeling and how she became an actress. But by far my favorite quote from her was:

“You guys write porn about us. It’s weird.”

Apparently she had either been sent or had found (I forget which) a fic in which Abaddon was with Dean, who was wearing a very nice pair of pink panties. Props to whoever wrote that.

Next up was Death himself, Julian Richings. Apparently none of my photos of him turned out decent, either. Regardless, I think the best part about his panel was his uncanny ability to sound like either Ron or Harry from Potter Puppet Pals depending on how he was talking. In his “I’m from England and this American stuff is all new to me!” bit, he sounds like Ron. When discussing why he gets cast as the “bad guy” in certain productions, he is able to imitate Harry as he lists the two things necessary for a villain: cheekbones and an accent.

He also told his concussion story, which apparently had kept Rich up the night before. I don’t have video of it, but if you can find it, it’s pretty hilarious. Long story short, he was running to catch a bus/trolley/some form of public transportation when he ran headfirst into one of those clear bus stop walls, knocking him over backwards. Forehead bleeding, concussed, a knot the size of an egg where he hit the glass. He’s a crazy old guy, but he’s got great energy. I admire that.

Jason Manns. Unf. What can I say about Jason Manns other than he was unexpectedly and wholly attractive and so sweet. He’s honestly such a nice guy. He told us how he tried using his Apple Watch to scan his airplane tickets. Someone said he was being hipster. He replied, “It would be hipster if I did it right. It was much more dad the way I did it.” Basically, he was trying to scan a ticket at the wrong gate, holding up a line of people, and only after about five minutes of confusion the airport people realized what was going on.

Someone asked him something about how he gets his lyrics/writing to be the way he wants them. The two things he said that stood out to me were:

“Art is not perfect.”

&

“Not trying to be perfect is the way to get it closest to perfect.”

Simple advice, really. Hard to put into practice, though.

He sang “Stand by Me” and then the question right after that was about what song he thought fit his life, and he said, “I wish you would’ve asked that before I played that song, but um, I’d like to think that Stand by Me would be that song for me.”

I got to ask him a question!!! Excitement!!! Here’s the gist of what happened: I asked what it was like working with Jared and Misha on the Christmas album a few years back. Jason explains that he enjoys collaborating with a lot of people and makes the point that those two are some of the busiest guys you’ll ever meet, so he had about two hours to record their songs. Ends with, “Somewhere in that long rambling attempt, did I answer your question?” Cutie. (I’d embed the video but Tumblr only allows for 5 videos. Sigh.)

He also sang two songs with Rob, but for whatever reason only one of the videos actually works, and it’s the better of the two songs anyways (in my opinion, at least), so enjoy that:

Oh, and as a follow-up type question to mine, someone else asked about the Christmas album as well. They wanted to know why he chose to switch the traditional gender roles in “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” His answer?

“I think we can all agree it’s kind of a rape-y song.”

He also wanted to recreate the original scene that that song was choreographed to, but it never happened. There’s always hope, though!

Last came Gabe Tigerman, who was filling the space that Emily Swallow was supposed to be in. (Kinda bummed she didn’t get to make it, but hey, Gabe was hilarious so I guess it worked out alright.) He got asked if he would ever go on a ghost hunt with Chad Lindberg. He rejected the idea right away, because Chad is always talking about how he got scratched by like, a demon, “but it’s fun! You should come!” or how something followed Chad home, “but you should come!” Gabe was like, 

“I don’t like ghosts, and maybe that’s close-minded of me.”

On the subject of Chad - someone asked Gabe what he thought his character Andy’s personal heaven would be like. He started out describing a very Scooby-Doo-esque scenario in which Ash and Andy would just drive around heaven, and then it turned into a discussion of a fanfic he’d seen involving Ash and Andy (or Chad and Gabe, I don’t remember which to be honest). After about five minutes of recounting this fanfic experience, he stops and goes, “I just learned a lot about myself, wow.”

He also recounted his college road trip for us, which was one of the funniest stories I’ve heard in a while. If you haven’t heard it, go look it up. It’s about the world’s largest groundhog (which turned out to be the world’s largest groundhog statue) and the world’s only 5- and 6-legged cows. Seriously. Just YouTube it. I’m cracking up writing about it.

And that was it for Friday’s panels. But there were autograph signings by Richard, Gabe, Alaina, and Julian and we did those. Since they were pretty much on schedule that day, we got to have our autographs personalized. My name is kind of a weird one - Rhiannon - and at first I was only going to have them put “Rhi” simply because it’s easier to write, easier to spell, etc. But I changed my mind and put my full name.

Richard looked at it, started writing it, and when he got to the second “n” he freezes and goes, “Wait. Did I do that right? That’s a lot of n’s.” 

PSA: If you have not yet noticed, Rich has some of the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something because I’ve also seen Jensen’s eyes up close. Fuck, man. Sunlight through whiskey, indeed.

Anyways. Gabe looked at my name and held up a finger as he spelled it out. “R-H-I-A-N-N-O-N. Is that right?” The volunteer at the table asked my mom, who was behind me, where she wanted him to sign her thing. She said he could sign it wherever - hell, he could draw a flower for all she cared. He looked up and grinned and said, “Oh, you’re getting a flower.” And he drew one for her. 

Alaina didn’t even blink at my name, just wrote it out like she did it every day. She told us that her kids all have unique names, and that it was because of her ex-husband, but she was like, “Really, you want to give our kids weird names? Okay, John.” She’s so cute, I love her.

Julian looked at it and asked, “Is it Welsh?” My mom and I both answered that it was and he asked what it meant. My mom said something about how it means goddess, water nymph, witch - and that I embody every single one of those. (I’m flipping my hair right now. Bow before me, peasants, I am your goddess.)

After that we had a bit of a break, so we ate dinner and then sat around for like an hour and a half before the karaoke party started. Once it started, it was great. We had Matt Cohen and Rich dressed up quite hilariously-

And if you haven’t heard about it yet, this is where Matt’s moose knuckle comes into play.

His mustache kept falling off and he had glue running into his mouth, poor dude. He and Rich were great, though. They made all the karaoke participants run in front of the stage whenever there was an instrumental break in their song. They were joined by all the people who had panels that day, as well as Rob, Jason Manns, and his college buddy Hayden Lee. Look at these precious friends.

Somewhere in the midst of practically screaming the words to all the songs, I realized I had a much bigger crush on Rob than I originally thought. It was one of those odd moments where you can feel yourself slipping down the slope of “oh god they’re really great I love them” and I’m still sliding down that incline. I’ve had like five Louden Swain songs stuck in my head for the past couple days, send help.

Anyways. Somehow the people singing karaoke went from nice classic rock to Toxic and Hollaback Girl and shit like that. It was weird. But a good time.

SATURDAY

Explored the vendor hall some more after we had breakfast. I found this shirt-

which I thought was great. Should’ve got it - I was a Friday person - but I didn’t. Oh well. Next time. After the vendor hall we had to go sit in the ballroom for the opening bit by Rob and Rich. They talked a little about the Women’s Marches going on all across the country, but veered off course when Rich missed the second “r” in Rob’s name, calling him “Robbit.” (Rob replied by calling Rich “Richad.”) One of them mentioned the similarity to The Hobbit. They called the Shire “the Squire” and “Hobbitville” and said,

“We’re not the tallest guys but we are the tallest Hobbits.”

One of them (I think Rob? Correct me if I’m wrong) spoke as a Hobbit in a high voice. Rich was like, 

“In the new Trump America, Hobbits have high voices.”

They talked about deporting all the Hobbits in the country, building a wall around the Squire, etc. And then somehow the topic moved onto Rich’s ice cream van. If you can find a video of this, please please PLEASE watch it. Funny shit. My favorite interaction to come out of it, though, was:

Rich: I do have a van.

Rob: Don’t...don’t get in Richard’s van.

Rich continued the trend of calling Rob “Bobbo” which I will never ever let go of. If I ever get around to writing all the Rob fic ideas I have now, he’s being called “Bobbo” at least once in all of them. Sorry not sorry.

I don’t really remember much else from their introduction on Saturday except Rich proclaiming,

“We are all parishioners in the High Church of the Holy Dick!”

To which I had to “woot!” in agreement because, I mean, c’mon. I’m totally a part of that now.

Jim Beaver was the first panel of Saturday morning. According to him, the elixir of life is Dr. Pepper, which I wholeheartedly second. Early on, he was asked a question pertaining to what he was recognized most for, Bobby or some other character. He said,

“A lot of people recognize me from prison.”

And when everyone laughed:

“I used to do outreach programs, what did you think I meant?”

He was asked how he prepared for the scene where Bobby dies, and he said, “I just...pretended I was dying.” He also said that during that entire scene, Jared was twisting his toes so it was a bit difficult to act like he was dying when that was happening. Towards the end of his panel, someone asked him what he would rename vampires. His answer:

“What’s wrong with callin’ them vampires? ... Toothy fang buddies.”

So now that we have a new name for vampires, I expect you all to adjust your lives accordingly. Petition for Twilight to be remade specifically for the purpose of replacing every instance of the word “vampire” with “toothy fang buddy.” (I’m laughing at my own idea, but just imagine: “Say it. Out loud.” “A toothy fang buddy.” Dear god I crack myself up.)

After Jim, it was Mark Pellegrino. Though his entire panel was extremely entertaining, the only things I wrote down had to do with what Lucifer did in the cage with Sam, Adam, and Michael as well as pre-release. To the first one, Mark said that the last time he answered that question, he’d been attacked on Twitter for merely suggesting that they were all getting it on, basically. So he changed his answer to, “A perennial game of strip poker.” (Someone write the fic.) In answer to what Lucifer did before he was freed from the cage, he said,

“Whatever he was doing with the others, he did with himself. Take that however you want.”

Somewhere in the panel, someone asked him how they could go about showing that they were a Supernatural fan without looking like a Satanist. Mark basically told the person to think about what other people think and say, “Fuck ’em.” Middle fingers all the way. Who cares what they think? Solid advice.

After Mark went off-stage, there was a bit of a break during which Rob was signing some things and the Misha photo op was going on. I had that photo op, and it was my first one, and I honestly don’t remember much about it, but here’s what I do remember.

I remember going upstairs to the room where they had the photos set up. As soon as I saw Misha, that was it, I started freaking out almost as bad as the girl in front of me. But the closer I got, the more I calmed down, mostly because he’s really tall and I was so focused on that I forgot why I was nervous. Like, I’ve seen posts about how he’s actually a normal-sized human being but damn, you don’t realize just how tall he really is until you’re about 10 feet away from him, starstruck.

When it was my turn, I just kinda forced the words out past the residual nerves and asked, “Can we do back-to-back with our arms crossed?” He gave a little nod and that was that. I looked up at him right after and thanked him. (My internal monologue at this point was something like: “holy shit this is Misha Collins his eyes are sO BLUE WHAT THE FUCK.”) As soon as I walked away I started crying, but I calmed down pretty quickly. Here’s how that op turned out:

Right after that, we had to go back downstairs for Mark Sheppard’s panel. I knew going into it that he has the tendency to make fun of the people asking the questions, but my mom did not know and so the first person he messed with she looked at me like, “What the hell???” But Crowley is one of her favorites and she soon was in tears laughing so hard. Just some quick interactions:

Fan: What’s it like being the King of Hell? Mark: I don’t know, I’m an actor who plays him.

A fan in the crowd hands him a rose. Mark: *to the fan asking a question* Yeah, I got a rose, you can go home now.

A fan dressed as Castiel is asking a question. Mark interrupts to ask who they’re dressed as.  "Um ... Castiel?” “Who’s she?”

A fan has their question written on their phone. Mark looks at it and says, “Will Crowley ever be the King of Hell aga- go away.”

After a fan calls him pretty: “I haven’t been called pretty in a long time. But it’s nice, and I appreciate it.”

He also stopped to play with probably every baby in the room. He’s such a dad, it’s so cute. 

After that was another break, so we were going to eat lunch, but as we were walking through the vendor hall, Louden Swain came out to their table to do a quick acoustic performance. Jason Manns and Hayden Lee joined them. We got lucky; we were able to be at the front of the crowd, close to the table, so that was super cool. In order, the songs are called “Night Light,” “Revolution,” and “Stowaway.” Here’s the full performance:

Afterwards we were also lucky enough to catch Jason and he was kind enough to take a quick photo. Like I said, real sweet guy. Also very big and I mean that in the best way because he made me feel small and I could get used to that. I did get used to that, actually, by the end of the con. I’m 5′2″, I can’t really feel anything but small. But anyways, Jason was great and he’s adorable. 

Not long after that was my photo op with Rob. He’s such a cutie oh my dear lord. I was one of the first maybe 20 or 30 to take a photo with him. When it was my turn, I asked, “Can you hug me from behind?” He was like, “Yeah!” (So cute, ugh.) After, I turned and thanked him and he said, “Thank you.” Maybe had a hand on my back/shoulder? I don’t remember. I was freaking out too much. He’s seriously attractive and I still can’t handle it.

Next was the panel with Rob, Rich, and Matt. Very first question was about the train story, so we got a super abridged version of that. Someone else asked if they could do their impressions of each other.

My favorite part of their panel was when Rob was asked what he would do to Rich and Matt if he had God’s powers for a day. Someone suggested making them make-out. Rob laughed and then gave his answer. I didn’t get the full quote, but this is basically the gist of it:

“I’d make Rich my go-get-me guy. You know, like, I left my bag in my room, go get me it. ... And Matt, Matt would be my body guard. ... And then I’d make them make-out.”

Rob was also asked how God would come back to the show. He said, “Sam or Dean would be praying, and I’d just walk around the corner, eating a bowl of cereal in my boxer shorts. ‘You called?’”

Look at these cuties.

Misha was the last panel on Saturday.

I didn’t realize until making this post that Misha’s feet are off the ground. Dorks. Anyways, the four big things I remember from him are:

House lights come up. Misha looks out at the audience and says, “Wow, this is almost as many people as were at Trump’s inauguration.”

A man asked a question but started with, “She said she’d hit me if I didn’t come ask you this.” Misha went on to interrogate the man about his marriage to this “she” only to find out that the woman in question was the man’s daughter. Misha’s face was priceless.

He was asked which bad habit of his he didn’t want his kids to inherit. He went on a rant about technology, and as soon as he finished, his phone rang. It was his mother-in-law, but when he called her back she said she hadn’t tried to call. She was so cute to listen to.

Someone asked about his internship at the White House. He said he expected it to be much more political, but they had him licking stamps all day. He told us, “I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t fun, I don’t like licking stamps’ - which is not entirely true. They’re kinda tasty.”

Me too, Misha, me too.

After that was my photo op with Rich. I was a little less nervous for this one than the previous two, but I mean it’s Richard Speight, Jr. of course I was excited. I got up to him and said, “Hi!” He said, “Hi, how ya doing?” to which I replied, “Good! Can you hug me from behind?” (I’m so original, I know.) He was like, “I sure can!” And like the other two, I thanked him afterward and he said thank you as well, one hand on my back. Squee!

As soon as that was done, we headed back downstairs for the next round of autographs: Mark Sheppard, Matt, Misha, and Mark Pellegrino. These went quick, because they were running a little behind schedule, so no personalization on these, sadly., except from Pellegrino Mark Sheppard asked me if I was having fun, to which I replied, “Yes! Very much fun.” There’s that wonderful English I was talking about earlier. Matt said he was going to take his two year-old to Disney Land in Cali. Misha didn’t say anything. Straight faced the entire time. Was a little unsettling. But I suppose that’s Misha. Mark Pellegrino was super nice. The woman in front of me shared a name with his mother, and my mom was like, “I bet no one in your family has her name” (”her” meaning mine). He kinda laughed and said, “Nope.” He wrote “Love you!” on it but at first I thought it was “fuck you!” and honestly I would’ve been happy either way.

We finally ate dinner. And then it was the Saturday Night Special with Louden Swain. We all got kazoos and glow sticks! We also raised over $5,000 just in the ballroom alone, for a total of more than $70,000 overall. It was nuts. When Misha announced it towards the end of the show, he got quiet and went, “Holy shit.” The show itself was amazing. I’m just going to put a few of the videos, but know that they also sang “No Time Like the Present,” “Whipping Post,” “Fare Thee Well,” “Wagon Wheel,” “Juliet,” “Amazing,” and some others (not in that order but you get the idea). The only thing I will say is that between songs, someone yelled that Rob gives good hugs. He asked, “What was the question? Free hugs?” The fan repeated their statement and Rob grinned really big and said, “Oh! Thank you. I- I like to give hugs.” Could he be any friggin’ cuter? (The answer is yes. So much yes.)

Superman - Rob and Rich

She Waits - such raw emotion from Rob. He’s a beautiful singer. Fuck. (Sidenote: after this song he got really quiet and got that 50-yard stare and I just. I love him. Precious man.)

Medicated - ft. the best kazoo solo ever (please listen to all the comments Rob makes because they’re hilarious. And so are Rich and Pellegrino trying to smoke their kazoos. This is also where the “Goddammit I love you” comes from.)

And that was the end of our Saturday night! Well, sort of. I'm pretty sure when we got back to our room I went and read some fanfiction, and my mom was like, “What are you reading?” After a long pause, I answered, “Fanfiction.” I read a bit more and then my mom told me to go to bed and said something about it being weird that I was reading porn in the same room as her. I believe her exact words were, “That’s kind of fucked up.” In my defense, only one of the five quick fics I read were porn, as she put it.

SUNDAY

First thing Sunday morning was the J2 Gold Panel. And yes this is when Jensen was asked the Destiel question, I don’t wanna talk about it, don’t ask me about it, just stop with it. It happened, now move on.

Jensen said that on set, whenever Jared doesn’t want to laugh out loud, he just hums. Straight up hums.

Someone asked them what Jared and Jensen would tell Sam and Dean and what Sam and Dean would tell Jared and Jensen. Jared replied, “As Jared, I’d tell Sam that there’s probably some demons in Hawaii. And as Sam, I’d tell Jared to watch out for Ruby.” Jensen answered, “As Dean, I’d tell Jensen to enjoy his blissful domestic life. As Jensen, I’d tell Dean to oil the freakin’ hinges on the car doors.”

I think after that was the Jensen photo op. I was shaking before I even got in line for it. As soon as I got in the room and saw him I started to tear up, but I held it together. About 60 seconds before it was my turn I decided I was just going to hug him - and I planned to say that - but once I stepped up next to him all I managed was, “Hi!” Damn his hair. Damn his height. Damn his eyes which were more hazel than green thanks to the shirt he wore. Just damn him. I don’t remember much except he was warm. I don’t even remember if I said thank you. As soon as I walked away, that was it, I started sobbing. Full on sobbing, with big fat tears and everything. Cried for probably half an hour, not gonna lie. He’s a beautiful human being.

lOOK AT HIS TONGUE THOUGH OMG.

Once I calmed down, I redid my make-up and then we walked the vendor hall one more time so I could get a Louden Swain t-shirt (and also bought their new album, No Time Like the Present - go listen to it, it’s great). Not long after that was my photo op with Jared. I was less nervous for this one - must have gotten it out of my system after Jensen. Jared was so cute. And so, so, so very tall. When it was my turn I asked him, “Can you use me as an armrest, for the height difference?” He was like, “Yeah!” I managed to sneak in a quick hug right after and good GOD his back muscles, you guys. So firm, so defined. Anywho, this was my favorite op of the weekend.

He’s so tall that his knee is bent even with his arm on my head. Amazing.

Right after that we ran back downstairs for the Louden Swain autograph signing and I talked to Rob!!! He’s so cute!!! No hesitation, I said, “I’m writing a story about you for my creative writing class.” He said, “Oh really?” and I was like, “Well, not you, more like God, but same difference, right?” My mom jumped in with, “She’s meeting you in an elevator.” I stepped to the side at this point as he had passed along the CD they were all signing, didn’t catch what he said (or even realize he said something until I noticed he was still looking at me). “Pardon?” I asked. He said, “That’s a good idea. Good luck!” and wINKED and I still haven’t come back to life from that yet. I’m a ghost now. He’s so goddamn pretty. Such blue eyes and a cute smile and I just. *buries face in hands*

Anyways. Jim Beaver had a Sunday panel. Here’s some of what stuck with me:

“I write pretty well when I get around to writing.”

(on kissing Mark Sheppard) “...it was like kissing a dirt sandwich with stubble. No, it was the most romantic day of my life. ... I don’t lose as much sleep over it as Mark Sheppard does. I’m not as needy as he is.”

“You’re asking me to be creative up here, which is more than I’m willing to do.”

(after answering about a Bobby and Rufus spin-off) “You guys would be there for an episode about a can of corn that was in an episode.”

“I really hate to disagree with the current administration, but there is actually a thing such as facts.”

After Jim, it was Jared and Jensen’s main panel. 

Honestly the main things that stuck with me from this were that “Pudding!” was written as Sam's line, and that the grenade launcher scene wasn’t scripted. 

Oh, and we sang Happy Birthday to Clif after the last question.

Mark Sheppard’s Sunday panel was the last thing before autograph signings. I was working on homework for most of this panel (and by homework I mean my God story), so the only things I caught were:

“Lumbersexual? Sounds like a back issue.”

&

“Word of the Day: Lumbersexual.”

After that Rob and Stephen sent us home and then the only thing left was the J2 autograph signings.

Oh, boy. We got Jensen first, and now that I had a little more time (because they really do rush you through the photo ops) it really hit me just how goddamn pretty he is. Obviously he’s an attractive guy, but in person? With the hair and the jawline and the lips and the eyes? Some lucky person ahead of us in line got the full force of the lip bite. Oh, to be that fortunate. Sigh.

Anyways. We get up there, in front of him, and after he asked how we were doing, my mom said something along the lines of, “I just wanted to thank you, because this show is the reason she is who she is, and her dad hasn’t always been the best dad, but you guys have kind of been like stand-in fathers for her.” She was tearing up and I just nodded in agreement and Jensen was smiling so soft at both of us - smile lines in full effect (did I mention he’s pretty?). I jumped in here and gestured to her crying and said, “She wouldn’t stop making fun of me earlier for not being able to say anything but ‘hi’ at the photo op.” That made him laugh and he looked at my photo and was like, “Look at that smile though!” Then he looked back up and grabbed my hand (*internal screaming intensifies*) then my mom’s and said that he loves hearing stories like that from fans. And that was that.

When we finally got up to Jared my mom had calmed down - like me, she got it out of her system. I had two things I wanted Jared to sign: my photo op with him, and this:

It was a chalk piece I did at a local street painting festival in February 2016, and I got so many compliments on it just for the quote alone. So I stepped up to the table and the first thing Jared said was, “I like your shirt.” I handed the AKF photo to him to sign and he got this big grin on his face and asked, “What’s that?” My mom and I both were like, “That’s you!” He said, “I know that, but what is it?” I explained what it was, then gave him a smaller version of it, saying, “That one’s for you to keep.” He looked at it, looked at me, and said, “Wow. This is amazing. You’re amazing.” Gave me a high five (his hands are so huge, damn). My mom said, “You’re amazing” and Jared replied with, “Well, that’s only because I get to be around amazing people all day.” He put his copy of the photo in a little box with other things people had given him, then when he turned back around he grinned again and said, “Fuck that’s cool.”

So he signed the AKF one, then my mom again explained the impact both he and Jensen have had on me and how “she fell in love with the show and the characters and then with you as people and as fathers, because her father isn’t always around.” Jared said, “Well thank you for being part of the family.” I was like, “No thank you.” Because seriously, without them, none of this would be possible as a fandom. Then he went to sign my photo op and said, “Now I feel bad for putting my arm on your head.” We laughed and said it was perfectly fine.

My mom asked real quick if he could write out “always keep fighting” for the tattoo I’m going to be getting, and the people at the table were like, “You only had two autographs” or whatever but Jared immediately said, “No I’ll write it. My handwriting is horrible, though.”

And that was it. I’m still overwhelmed by it all. Meeting them has been my dream for years. It doesn’t really feel real. But hey, Jared said I’m amazing and Jensen held my hand and Rob winked at me (and liked my tweet!!!), so I’m happy. Can’t wait to see what surprises the next go-round brings. But until then, stay lovely.

(If you’ve made it this far, congrats! I apologize for the ridiculous length. But while I have you here, if you have any fic ideas/requests, my inbox is always open.)

[clobov]

RENO, Nev. -- Rep. Mark Amodei was not prepared for the backlash from his fellow Republicans when he said Congress needed to "follow the facts" and look into whether President Donald Trump should be impeached.Newspapers declared he was breaking ranks. Conservative constituents branded him a traitor: "I'm Brutus, and Trump's Julius Caesar," he said. In short order, he was forced to explain himself to the Trump campaign's political director, top House Republicans and the acting White House chief of staff. All had the same question: "What the heck are you doing?"As evidence mounts that Trump engaged in an intensive effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Amodei is one of a growing number of Republicans who, while not explicitly endorsing the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, are at least indicating an openness to it. None have said Trump should be impeached. But neither are they defending him.It is a politically delicate but increasingly common approach among independent-minded lawmakers like Amodei, who are working to balance their fear of inviting Trump's wrath -- and that of the party base -- with a deep anxiety that there is more to be revealed about the president, some of it potentially indefensible, and the knowledge that history will hold them accountable for their words and actions.In Michigan, Rep. Fred Upton told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club that while he did not support an impeachment inquiry, "there are legitimate questions" about Trump's interactions with Ukraine, and he had no problem with Democrats' efforts to get more information."We need to know what the answers are," he said.In Texas, Rep. Will Hurd -- who is retiring, and therefore perhaps feeling liberated to speak his mind -- has called on the House to investigate the "troubling" allegations against Trump, though he cautioned against a rush to impeachment. In Pennsylvania, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he thinks law enforcement should investigate. In Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, "I want to know what happened here."In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican whose seat is seen by Democrats as especially vulnerable, also criticized Trump's decision to call on China to investigate a political rival. "It's completely inappropriate," she told the Bangor Daily News on Saturday.And in Utah, Sen. Mitt Romney, who has emerged as a lonely voice criticizing Trump's dealings with Ukraine, and last week called the president's appeal for foreign help investigating the Bidens "wrong and appalling," appears to have company. Before a whistleblower's complaint against Trump was made public, a fellow Utahan, Rep. John Curtis, introduced a resolution calling for the White House to release it, and he has said he is "closely monitoring the formal inquiry."On Saturday, in a warning shot to Republicans who might cross him, Trump lashed out at Romney on Twitter, calling him a "pompous 'ass' who has been fighting me from the beginning" and using the hashtag IMPEACHMITTROMNEY."As they distance themselves from Trump, these Republicans -- some in swing districts in tight reelection races -- are also taking care to distance themselves from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they say rushed into the impeachment inquiry. For the most part they are refraining from directly criticizing the president, who has branded the investigation a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."But neither are they adopting the language of their leaders, whose strategy centers on attacking Pelosi, branding the inquiry politically motivated and changing the subject to Biden and his son Hunter, whose work for a Ukrainian energy company fed Trump's accusations of a nefarious web of corruption involving one of his top political foes. More than a dozen House Republicans have remained silent."It's a matter of following their conscience and saying what they will be happy defending to their children in later years," said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, adding, "Some of them are following the rule that if you can't say anything good about your president, you should not say anything at all."These Republicans still account for a small minority of the 197 in the House. But their comments, at a time when polls show public support for the impeachment inquiry is growing, are the first hint at cracks in party unity. They also offer echoes of the path the party took during the impeachment proceedings against Richard M. Nixon, when even the staunchest defenders of the president eventually abandoned him."My sense is that if there were a secret ballot vote on impeachment it would garner significant Republican support," said David Wasserman, who tracks House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, citing "my private conversations with Republican members of Congress who believe he is wildly unfit to be president. "But, Wasserman added, "They can't say that in public, or else their political careers would be torpedoed by one tweet from the Oval Office."Here in Nevada, Amodei, 61, a garrulous former federal prosecutor who led Trump's 2016 campaign in Nevada, is choosing his words carefully.During a candid hourlong conversation that included a tour of his lovingly restored red-and-white Chevy Silverado flatbed truck (model year 1988 -- the same year he switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican), he sounded mystified at the uproar he created. He votes with Trump nearly 99% of the time, but described himself as a "process guy" who believes in congressional oversight."I just think you have to respect the process," he said. "I think you need to be transparent, and you need to tell the truth."He said he was not a fan of Pelosi's process and said she should have put the inquiry up to a vote of the full House. And he lamented that the word "inquiry" has become politically toxic for Republicans -- a lesson he learned after he shared his views with local reporters, one of whom wrote that he backed the House inquiry but was withholding judgment on whether Trump "crossed the legal line."The characterization was accurate, Amodei said, but it sparked an uproar when news media outlets (including The New York Times) called him the first Republican who had broken ranks to support an impeachment investigation. He quickly recalibrated, issuing a statement making clear he did not support Trump's impeachment."I now know 'inquiry' is a special word in the impeachment thesaurus," he said wryly, "which I'm still looking for on Amazon, but I haven't found."Still, anti-Trump voices within the Republican Party have been emboldened by comments like Amodei's. Republicans for the Rule of Law, the main initiative of the conservative anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together, is spending more than $1 million to run television ads on Fox and MSNBC, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine.The campaign began last week with ads in five districts -- including Amodei's, Upton's and Fitzpatrick's -- and will expand this week to target 12 Republican senators and 15 members of the House."Given where they've been, for congressional Republicans to say, 'Well, we need to see all the facts,' is a pretty important step forward," said Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and a founder of Defending Democracy Together.Polls have shown a steady rise in support for the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with a majority of Americans approving of it. But sentiment is split along party lines. A recent CBS poll found that nearly 9 in 10 Democrats approved of the inquiry, and two-thirds strongly approved, as compared with just 23% of Republicans."Overwhelmingly, Republicans oppose the impeachment inquiry," said Ayres, the pollster. "They want their Republican elected officials to defend the president and protect him from his many enemies."But for Republicans in swing districts who have tight reelection races, like Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, defending Trump at all costs is not an option. In Washington state, for instance, Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, who represents a district Democrats have targeted, has echoed Amodei, saying that while there is not yet evidence of impeachable offenses, for the "sake of this nation, we should all follow a process that does not put conclusions before facts."Here in northern Nevada, though, sentiment runs strong in favor of Trump. Amodei's district stretches south from Reno, past the cattle ranches and casinos that line the road to the state capital, Carson City, and into largely rural areas like Douglas County, where members of the local Republican women's club were having their monthly luncheon last week."I think it's a scam and it's a witch hunt, just like Trump says," said Gloria Darrington, 77, expressing the views of many here when she said she believed Democrats were simply continuing a long-running quest to undo the results of the 2016 election."He lives in a very Republican area, and he ought to be listening to his Republicans," Elinor Lindberg, 83, said of Amodei.Amodei, the only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation, is not in danger of losing his seat to a Democrat. But he is in danger of drawing a Republican primary challenger from the right, and already some well-known Nevada names -- Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general who ran for governor last year, and Danny Tarkanian, a businessman -- are being bandied about.Amodei sounded unworried. He said some Democrats in his district have been thanking him for his open-mindedness."I am a member of the legislative branch -- I defend that institution," he said, adding, "Quite frankly, if you don't believe in the processes of your own institution, what are you doing there?This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8870618 https://yhoo.it/31SY40Z

[myeclecticcollectorblazeus]

RENO, Nev. -- Rep. Mark Amodei was not prepared for the backlash from his fellow Republicans when he said Congress needed to "follow the facts" and look into whether President Donald Trump should be impeached.Newspapers declared he was breaking ranks. Conservative constituents branded him a traitor: "I'm Brutus, and Trump's Julius Caesar," he said. In short order, he was forced to explain himself to the Trump campaign's political director, top House Republicans and the acting White House chief of staff. All had the same question: "What the heck are you doing?"As evidence mounts that Trump engaged in an intensive effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Amodei is one of a growing number of Republicans who, while not explicitly endorsing the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, are at least indicating an openness to it. None have said Trump should be impeached. But neither are they defending him.It is a politically delicate but increasingly common approach among independent-minded lawmakers like Amodei, who are working to balance their fear of inviting Trump's wrath -- and that of the party base -- with a deep anxiety that there is more to be revealed about the president, some of it potentially indefensible, and the knowledge that history will hold them accountable for their words and actions.In Michigan, Rep. Fred Upton told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club that while he did not support an impeachment inquiry, "there are legitimate questions" about Trump's interactions with Ukraine, and he had no problem with Democrats' efforts to get more information."We need to know what the answers are," he said.In Texas, Rep. Will Hurd -- who is retiring, and therefore perhaps feeling liberated to speak his mind -- has called on the House to investigate the "troubling" allegations against Trump, though he cautioned against a rush to impeachment. In Pennsylvania, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he thinks law enforcement should investigate. In Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, "I want to know what happened here."In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican whose seat is seen by Democrats as especially vulnerable, also criticized Trump's decision to call on China to investigate a political rival. "It's completely inappropriate," she told the Bangor Daily News on Saturday.And in Utah, Sen. Mitt Romney, who has emerged as a lonely voice criticizing Trump's dealings with Ukraine, and last week called the president's appeal for foreign help investigating the Bidens "wrong and appalling," appears to have company. Before a whistleblower's complaint against Trump was made public, a fellow Utahan, Rep. John Curtis, introduced a resolution calling for the White House to release it, and he has said he is "closely monitoring the formal inquiry."On Saturday, in a warning shot to Republicans who might cross him, Trump lashed out at Romney on Twitter, calling him a "pompous 'ass' who has been fighting me from the beginning" and using the hashtag IMPEACHMITTROMNEY."As they distance themselves from Trump, these Republicans -- some in swing districts in tight reelection races -- are also taking care to distance themselves from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they say rushed into the impeachment inquiry. For the most part they are refraining from directly criticizing the president, who has branded the investigation a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."But neither are they adopting the language of their leaders, whose strategy centers on attacking Pelosi, branding the inquiry politically motivated and changing the subject to Biden and his son Hunter, whose work for a Ukrainian energy company fed Trump's accusations of a nefarious web of corruption involving one of his top political foes. More than a dozen House Republicans have remained silent."It's a matter of following their conscience and saying what they will be happy defending to their children in later years," said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, adding, "Some of them are following the rule that if you can't say anything good about your president, you should not say anything at all."These Republicans still account for a small minority of the 197 in the House. But their comments, at a time when polls show public support for the impeachment inquiry is growing, are the first hint at cracks in party unity. They also offer echoes of the path the party took during the impeachment proceedings against Richard M. Nixon, when even the staunchest defenders of the president eventually abandoned him."My sense is that if there were a secret ballot vote on impeachment it would garner significant Republican support," said David Wasserman, who tracks House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, citing "my private conversations with Republican members of Congress who believe he is wildly unfit to be president. "But, Wasserman added, "They can't say that in public, or else their political careers would be torpedoed by one tweet from the Oval Office."Here in Nevada, Amodei, 61, a garrulous former federal prosecutor who led Trump's 2016 campaign in Nevada, is choosing his words carefully.During a candid hourlong conversation that included a tour of his lovingly restored red-and-white Chevy Silverado flatbed truck (model year 1988 -- the same year he switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican), he sounded mystified at the uproar he created. He votes with Trump nearly 99% of the time, but described himself as a "process guy" who believes in congressional oversight."I just think you have to respect the process," he said. "I think you need to be transparent, and you need to tell the truth."He said he was not a fan of Pelosi's process and said she should have put the inquiry up to a vote of the full House. And he lamented that the word "inquiry" has become politically toxic for Republicans -- a lesson he learned after he shared his views with local reporters, one of whom wrote that he backed the House inquiry but was withholding judgment on whether Trump "crossed the legal line."The characterization was accurate, Amodei said, but it sparked an uproar when news media outlets (including The New York Times) called him the first Republican who had broken ranks to support an impeachment investigation. He quickly recalibrated, issuing a statement making clear he did not support Trump's impeachment."I now know 'inquiry' is a special word in the impeachment thesaurus," he said wryly, "which I'm still looking for on Amazon, but I haven't found."Still, anti-Trump voices within the Republican Party have been emboldened by comments like Amodei's. Republicans for the Rule of Law, the main initiative of the conservative anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together, is spending more than $1 million to run television ads on Fox and MSNBC, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine.The campaign began last week with ads in five districts -- including Amodei's, Upton's and Fitzpatrick's -- and will expand this week to target 12 Republican senators and 15 members of the House."Given where they've been, for congressional Republicans to say, 'Well, we need to see all the facts,' is a pretty important step forward," said Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and a founder of Defending Democracy Together.Polls have shown a steady rise in support for the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with a majority of Americans approving of it. But sentiment is split along party lines. A recent CBS poll found that nearly 9 in 10 Democrats approved of the inquiry, and two-thirds strongly approved, as compared with just 23% of Republicans."Overwhelmingly, Republicans oppose the impeachment inquiry," said Ayres, the pollster. "They want their Republican elected officials to defend the president and protect him from his many enemies."But for Republicans in swing districts who have tight reelection races, like Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, defending Trump at all costs is not an option. In Washington state, for instance, Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, who represents a district Democrats have targeted, has echoed Amodei, saying that while there is not yet evidence of impeachable offenses, for the "sake of this nation, we should all follow a process that does not put conclusions before facts."Here in northern Nevada, though, sentiment runs strong in favor of Trump. Amodei's district stretches south from Reno, past the cattle ranches and casinos that line the road to the state capital, Carson City, and into largely rural areas like Douglas County, where members of the local Republican women's club were having their monthly luncheon last week."I think it's a scam and it's a witch hunt, just like Trump says," said Gloria Darrington, 77, expressing the views of many here when she said she believed Democrats were simply continuing a long-running quest to undo the results of the 2016 election."He lives in a very Republican area, and he ought to be listening to his Republicans," Elinor Lindberg, 83, said of Amodei.Amodei, the only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation, is not in danger of losing his seat to a Democrat. But he is in danger of drawing a Republican primary challenger from the right, and already some well-known Nevada names -- Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general who ran for governor last year, and Danny Tarkanian, a businessman -- are being bandied about.Amodei sounded unworried. He said some Democrats in his district have been thanking him for his open-mindedness."I am a member of the legislative branch -- I defend that institution," he said, adding, "Quite frankly, if you don't believe in the processes of your own institution, what are you doing there?This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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RENO, Nev. -- Rep. Mark Amodei was not prepared for the backlash from his fellow Republicans when he said Congress needed to "follow the facts" and look into whether President Donald Trump should be impeached.Newspapers declared he was breaking ranks. Conservative constituents branded him a traitor: "I'm Brutus, and Trump's Julius Caesar," he said. In short order, he was forced to explain himself to the Trump campaign's political director, top House Republicans and the acting White House chief of staff. All had the same question: "What the heck are you doing?"As evidence mounts that Trump engaged in an intensive effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Amodei is one of a growing number of Republicans who, while not explicitly endorsing the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, are at least indicating an openness to it. None have said Trump should be impeached. But neither are they defending him.It is a politically delicate but increasingly common approach among independent-minded lawmakers like Amodei, who are working to balance their fear of inviting Trump's wrath -- and that of the party base -- with a deep anxiety that there is more to be revealed about the president, some of it potentially indefensible, and the knowledge that history will hold them accountable for their words and actions.In Michigan, Rep. Fred Upton told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club that while he did not support an impeachment inquiry, "there are legitimate questions" about Trump's interactions with Ukraine, and he had no problem with Democrats' efforts to get more information."We need to know what the answers are," he said.In Texas, Rep. Will Hurd -- who is retiring, and therefore perhaps feeling liberated to speak his mind -- has called on the House to investigate the "troubling" allegations against Trump, though he cautioned against a rush to impeachment. In Pennsylvania, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he thinks law enforcement should investigate. In Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, "I want to know what happened here."In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican whose seat is seen by Democrats as especially vulnerable, also criticized Trump's decision to call on China to investigate a political rival. "It's completely inappropriate," she told the Bangor Daily News on Saturday.And in Utah, Sen. Mitt Romney, who has emerged as a lonely voice criticizing Trump's dealings with Ukraine, and last week called the president's appeal for foreign help investigating the Bidens "wrong and appalling," appears to have company. Before a whistleblower's complaint against Trump was made public, a fellow Utahan, Rep. John Curtis, introduced a resolution calling for the White House to release it, and he has said he is "closely monitoring the formal inquiry."On Saturday, in a warning shot to Republicans who might cross him, Trump lashed out at Romney on Twitter, calling him a "pompous 'ass' who has been fighting me from the beginning" and using the hashtag IMPEACHMITTROMNEY."As they distance themselves from Trump, these Republicans -- some in swing districts in tight reelection races -- are also taking care to distance themselves from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they say rushed into the impeachment inquiry. For the most part they are refraining from directly criticizing the president, who has branded the investigation a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."But neither are they adopting the language of their leaders, whose strategy centers on attacking Pelosi, branding the inquiry politically motivated and changing the subject to Biden and his son Hunter, whose work for a Ukrainian energy company fed Trump's accusations of a nefarious web of corruption involving one of his top political foes. More than a dozen House Republicans have remained silent."It's a matter of following their conscience and saying what they will be happy defending to their children in later years," said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, adding, "Some of them are following the rule that if you can't say anything good about your president, you should not say anything at all."These Republicans still account for a small minority of the 197 in the House. But their comments, at a time when polls show public support for the impeachment inquiry is growing, are the first hint at cracks in party unity. They also offer echoes of the path the party took during the impeachment proceedings against Richard M. Nixon, when even the staunchest defenders of the president eventually abandoned him."My sense is that if there were a secret ballot vote on impeachment it would garner significant Republican support," said David Wasserman, who tracks House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, citing "my private conversations with Republican members of Congress who believe he is wildly unfit to be president. "But, Wasserman added, "They can't say that in public, or else their political careers would be torpedoed by one tweet from the Oval Office."Here in Nevada, Amodei, 61, a garrulous former federal prosecutor who led Trump's 2016 campaign in Nevada, is choosing his words carefully.During a candid hourlong conversation that included a tour of his lovingly restored red-and-white Chevy Silverado flatbed truck (model year 1988 -- the same year he switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican), he sounded mystified at the uproar he created. He votes with Trump nearly 99% of the time, but described himself as a "process guy" who believes in congressional oversight."I just think you have to respect the process," he said. "I think you need to be transparent, and you need to tell the truth."He said he was not a fan of Pelosi's process and said she should have put the inquiry up to a vote of the full House. And he lamented that the word "inquiry" has become politically toxic for Republicans -- a lesson he learned after he shared his views with local reporters, one of whom wrote that he backed the House inquiry but was withholding judgment on whether Trump "crossed the legal line."The characterization was accurate, Amodei said, but it sparked an uproar when news media outlets (including The New York Times) called him the first Republican who had broken ranks to support an impeachment investigation. He quickly recalibrated, issuing a statement making clear he did not support Trump's impeachment."I now know 'inquiry' is a special word in the impeachment thesaurus," he said wryly, "which I'm still looking for on Amazon, but I haven't found."Still, anti-Trump voices within the Republican Party have been emboldened by comments like Amodei's. Republicans for the Rule of Law, the main initiative of the conservative anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together, is spending more than $1 million to run television ads on Fox and MSNBC, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine.The campaign began last week with ads in five districts -- including Amodei's, Upton's and Fitzpatrick's -- and will expand this week to target 12 Republican senators and 15 members of the House."Given where they've been, for congressional Republicans to say, 'Well, we need to see all the facts,' is a pretty important step forward," said Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and a founder of Defending Democracy Together.Polls have shown a steady rise in support for the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with a majority of Americans approving of it. But sentiment is split along party lines. A recent CBS poll found that nearly 9 in 10 Democrats approved of the inquiry, and two-thirds strongly approved, as compared with just 23% of Republicans."Overwhelmingly, Republicans oppose the impeachment inquiry," said Ayres, the pollster. "They want their Republican elected officials to defend the president and protect him from his many enemies."But for Republicans in swing districts who have tight reelection races, like Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, defending Trump at all costs is not an option. In Washington state, for instance, Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, who represents a district Democrats have targeted, has echoed Amodei, saying that while there is not yet evidence of impeachable offenses, for the "sake of this nation, we should all follow a process that does not put conclusions before facts."Here in northern Nevada, though, sentiment runs strong in favor of Trump. Amodei's district stretches south from Reno, past the cattle ranches and casinos that line the road to the state capital, Carson City, and into largely rural areas like Douglas County, where members of the local Republican women's club were having their monthly luncheon last week."I think it's a scam and it's a witch hunt, just like Trump says," said Gloria Darrington, 77, expressing the views of many here when she said she believed Democrats were simply continuing a long-running quest to undo the results of the 2016 election."He lives in a very Republican area, and he ought to be listening to his Republicans," Elinor Lindberg, 83, said of Amodei.Amodei, the only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation, is not in danger of losing his seat to a Democrat. But he is in danger of drawing a Republican primary challenger from the right, and already some well-known Nevada names -- Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general who ran for governor last year, and Danny Tarkanian, a businessman -- are being bandied about.Amodei sounded unworried. He said some Democrats in his district have been thanking him for his open-mindedness."I am a member of the legislative branch -- I defend that institution," he said, adding, "Quite frankly, if you don't believe in the processes of your own institution, what are you doing there?This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2VhzW5T

[supertrendingnewsarticles]

RENO, Nev. -- Rep. Mark Amodei was not prepared for the backlash from his fellow Republicans when he said Congress needed to "follow the facts" and look into whether President Donald Trump should be impeached.Newspapers declared he was breaking ranks. Conservative constituents branded him a traitor: "I'm Brutus, and Trump's Julius Caesar," he said. In short order, he was forced to explain himself to the Trump campaign's political director, top House Republicans and the acting White House chief of staff. All had the same question: "What the heck are you doing?"As evidence mounts that Trump engaged in an intensive effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Amodei is one of a growing number of Republicans who, while not explicitly endorsing the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, are at least indicating an openness to it. None have said Trump should be impeached. But neither are they defending him.It is a politically delicate but increasingly common approach among independent-minded lawmakers like Amodei, who are working to balance their fear of inviting Trump's wrath -- and that of the party base -- with a deep anxiety that there is more to be revealed about the president, some of it potentially indefensible, and the knowledge that history will hold them accountable for their words and actions.In Michigan, Rep. Fred Upton told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club that while he did not support an impeachment inquiry, "there are legitimate questions" about Trump's interactions with Ukraine, and he had no problem with Democrats' efforts to get more information."We need to know what the answers are," he said.In Texas, Rep. Will Hurd -- who is retiring, and therefore perhaps feeling liberated to speak his mind -- has called on the House to investigate the "troubling" allegations against Trump, though he cautioned against a rush to impeachment. In Pennsylvania, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he thinks law enforcement should investigate. In Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, "I want to know what happened here."In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican whose seat is seen by Democrats as especially vulnerable, also criticized Trump's decision to call on China to investigate a political rival. "It's completely inappropriate," she told the Bangor Daily News on Saturday.And in Utah, Sen. Mitt Romney, who has emerged as a lonely voice criticizing Trump's dealings with Ukraine, and last week called the president's appeal for foreign help investigating the Bidens "wrong and appalling," appears to have company. Before a whistleblower's complaint against Trump was made public, a fellow Utahan, Rep. John Curtis, introduced a resolution calling for the White House to release it, and he has said he is "closely monitoring the formal inquiry."On Saturday, in a warning shot to Republicans who might cross him, Trump lashed out at Romney on Twitter, calling him a "pompous 'ass' who has been fighting me from the beginning" and using the hashtag IMPEACHMITTROMNEY."As they distance themselves from Trump, these Republicans -- some in swing districts in tight reelection races -- are also taking care to distance themselves from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they say rushed into the impeachment inquiry. For the most part they are refraining from directly criticizing the president, who has branded the investigation a "witch hunt" and a "hoax."But neither are they adopting the language of their leaders, whose strategy centers on attacking Pelosi, branding the inquiry politically motivated and changing the subject to Biden and his son Hunter, whose work for a Ukrainian energy company fed Trump's accusations of a nefarious web of corruption involving one of his top political foes. More than a dozen House Republicans have remained silent."It's a matter of following their conscience and saying what they will be happy defending to their children in later years," said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, adding, "Some of them are following the rule that if you can't say anything good about your president, you should not say anything at all."These Republicans still account for a small minority of the 197 in the House. But their comments, at a time when polls show public support for the impeachment inquiry is growing, are the first hint at cracks in party unity. They also offer echoes of the path the party took during the impeachment proceedings against Richard M. Nixon, when even the staunchest defenders of the president eventually abandoned him."My sense is that if there were a secret ballot vote on impeachment it would garner significant Republican support," said David Wasserman, who tracks House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, citing "my private conversations with Republican members of Congress who believe he is wildly unfit to be president. "But, Wasserman added, "They can't say that in public, or else their political careers would be torpedoed by one tweet from the Oval Office."Here in Nevada, Amodei, 61, a garrulous former federal prosecutor who led Trump's 2016 campaign in Nevada, is choosing his words carefully.During a candid hourlong conversation that included a tour of his lovingly restored red-and-white Chevy Silverado flatbed truck (model year 1988 -- the same year he switched his party registration from Democrat to Republican), he sounded mystified at the uproar he created. He votes with Trump nearly 99% of the time, but described himself as a "process guy" who believes in congressional oversight."I just think you have to respect the process," he said. "I think you need to be transparent, and you need to tell the truth."He said he was not a fan of Pelosi's process and said she should have put the inquiry up to a vote of the full House. And he lamented that the word "inquiry" has become politically toxic for Republicans -- a lesson he learned after he shared his views with local reporters, one of whom wrote that he backed the House inquiry but was withholding judgment on whether Trump "crossed the legal line."The characterization was accurate, Amodei said, but it sparked an uproar when news media outlets (including The New York Times) called him the first Republican who had broken ranks to support an impeachment investigation. He quickly recalibrated, issuing a statement making clear he did not support Trump's impeachment."I now know 'inquiry' is a special word in the impeachment thesaurus," he said wryly, "which I'm still looking for on Amazon, but I haven't found."Still, anti-Trump voices within the Republican Party have been emboldened by comments like Amodei's. Republicans for the Rule of Law, the main initiative of the conservative anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together, is spending more than $1 million to run television ads on Fox and MSNBC, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine.The campaign began last week with ads in five districts -- including Amodei's, Upton's and Fitzpatrick's -- and will expand this week to target 12 Republican senators and 15 members of the House."Given where they've been, for congressional Republicans to say, 'Well, we need to see all the facts,' is a pretty important step forward," said Bill Kristol, the conservative commentator and a founder of Defending Democracy Together.Polls have shown a steady rise in support for the Democrats' impeachment inquiry, with a majority of Americans approving of it. But sentiment is split along party lines. A recent CBS poll found that nearly 9 in 10 Democrats approved of the inquiry, and two-thirds strongly approved, as compared with just 23% of Republicans."Overwhelmingly, Republicans oppose the impeachment inquiry," said Ayres, the pollster. "They want their Republican elected officials to defend the president and protect him from his many enemies."But for Republicans in swing districts who have tight reelection races, like Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania, defending Trump at all costs is not an option. In Washington state, for instance, Rep. Jamie Herrera Beutler, who represents a district Democrats have targeted, has echoed Amodei, saying that while there is not yet evidence of impeachable offenses, for the "sake of this nation, we should all follow a process that does not put conclusions before facts."Here in northern Nevada, though, sentiment runs strong in favor of Trump. Amodei's district stretches south from Reno, past the cattle ranches and casinos that line the road to the state capital, Carson City, and into largely rural areas like Douglas County, where members of the local Republican women's club were having their monthly luncheon last week."I think it's a scam and it's a witch hunt, just like Trump says," said Gloria Darrington, 77, expressing the views of many here when she said she believed Democrats were simply continuing a long-running quest to undo the results of the 2016 election."He lives in a very Republican area, and he ought to be listening to his Republicans," Elinor Lindberg, 83, said of Amodei.Amodei, the only Republican in Nevada's congressional delegation, is not in danger of losing his seat to a Democrat. But he is in danger of drawing a Republican primary challenger from the right, and already some well-known Nevada names -- Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general who ran for governor last year, and Danny Tarkanian, a businessman -- are being bandied about.Amodei sounded unworried. He said some Democrats in his district have been thanking him for his open-mindedness."I am a member of the legislative branch -- I defend that institution," he said, adding, "Quite frankly, if you don't believe in the processes of your own institution, what are you doing there?This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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