ISSUE #1: REALISTICALLY, CAN TRUMP BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE THROUGH THE IMPEACHMENT PROCESS? No. Next question.
ISSUE #2: THEN WHAT IS THE POINT OF THE EXERCISE? To gather facts and make them public; to set an appropriate standard for future presidential behavior; and to send a message to Trump and all foreign powers that Congress will respond forcefully to illegal meddling this time.
ISSUE #3: HOW BROAD WILL THE INQUIRY BE? There are two ways to handle impeachment: either confine it to the Ukraine question; or load all of Trump’s abuses of power on a train and see what happens. The leadership appears to be going with the first option, which makes sense, because it will result in a much quicker resolution.
ISSUE #4: WHY THE NEED FOR SPEED? Do you really want impeachment dominating the 2020 election campaign? It would only benefit Trump.
ISSUE #5: IS TRUMP THE INEVITABLE WINNER HERE? Not necessarily. Yes, impeachment will fire up his base, but they’re pretty fired up already, so that doesn’t matter much. The real question is how the swing voters will react. If the House approaches the issue in a sober and moderate way, and the facts look bad for Trump, the ultimate winner could be the Democratic nominee. Anything that looks like a completely partisan witch hunt, on the other hand, will clearly benefit Trump. Democrats, be forewarned.