The conscience of the House of Representatives, Georgia's Rep. John Lewis, came to the floor Tuesday to declare that it's time to bring impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.
"Today, I come with a heavy heart," he said, "deeply concerned about the future of our democracy, and I'm not alone." He continued, "We cannot delay. We must not wait. Now is the time to act. I have been patient while we tried every other path and used every other tool. We will never find the truth unless we use the power given to the House of Representatives and the House alone."
"We took an oath," he said, to protect and defend the Constitution, and, he said, "I am afraid to go to sleep for fear I wake up and our democracy will be gone." He spoke of Trump's "disdain and disregard for the law and the constitution," concluding, "I truly believe the time to begin impeachment proceedings against this president has come. To delay or to do otherwise would betray the foundation of our democracy."
With that speech, the outcome of this afternoon's Democratic caucus meeting on whether to move forward with impeachment proceedings is less in doubt. However, expect a delay on making it official until Thursday, when acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire appears before Congress, with or without the Ukraine whistleblower's complaint.