December 18, 2019

“The Public Demands It”: Watch San Francisco Demonstrators Hit the Streets for Impeachment

They want Trump out. Will Congress listen?

Camille Squires/Mother Jones

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With picket signs, chants, and a clear message—impeach and remove President Donald Trump—hundreds of protesters rallied Tuesday at San Francisco’s Federal Plaza on the eve of a crucial House vote to impeach the president. The rally, one of over 600 nationwide, was organized by the progressive activist group Indivisible. As they marched from the Federal Building to the office of Sen. Kamala Harris, bundled against the December chill, demonstrators raised their voices and signs against Trump.

At the San Francisco rally, participants said that they hoped to send a message to Congress.

“I want elected officials and the media to see that the public supports impeachment,” said Johnathan Goldman, a demonstrator at the rally. “This is popular. It is both right and popular. The public demands it.”

Goldman, who previously worked for the activist group Swing Left, expressed his belief that impeachment represented a critical moment for the country. “If we don’t stand up and say that this is impeachable, then nothing is.”

Demonstrators rallied outside San Francisco’s Federal Building in support of impeaching President Donald Trump.

Camille Squires/Mother Jones

Others at the event appeared to grapple with a conflict between the gravity of the allegations against Trump and a lack of faith in Congress’ willingness to act.

“I think [impeachment] is the only responsible thing to do. He has so clearly violated both the spirit and letter of the law, every chance he gets, that we have no choice,” said Edna Stoehr, another attendee. She was clear in her reasoning for marching, but less hopeful about the results. “For the Senate, I think nothing will shame them. I think that cynicism and hypocrisy will, I hope, come back to haunt them.”

 

Wednesday’s House vote on impeachment is expected to pass along party lines, leading to a trial in the Senate. A Washington Post/ABC poll found that 71 percent of respondents believed senior White House official Mick Mulvaney and former national security advisor John Bolton should be allowed to testify before the Senate, despite opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 49 percent of respondents believed that Trump should be impeached. It’s the latest in a recent wave of growing support for impeachment.

One demonstrator waved a pro-impeachment sign in the shadow of a U.S. flag.

Camille Squires/Mother Jones

At the San Francisco rally, impeachment supporters seemed to be marching for causes far beyond transcripts and Ukrainian aid. Amid the outrage, there was a sense of exhaustion, and a yearning to return to a less chaotic politics.

“I just hope that everybody can get together and be on the same page,” said Sudi Taleghni, a former Republican who was present at the rally. “I’m really disillusioned by politicians who take their job to mean that they have to be reelected—not protect the Constitution.”

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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