Reporters and writers who care about understanding the Trump era need to pay a lot closer attention to the role of self-imposed Democratic helplessness. There's a really stunning example of it going on right now. In the sweep of history it's minor but it's incredibly revealing.

If you urge Democrats to impeach before Monday, you'll probably get a bunch of responses shouting at you about the House rules, claiming Dems are moving as fast as possible and that it's impossible to reconvene before then.

These claims appear to be false - there are ways to end the House's recess. Besides, it's strange to claim the Dems are moving with urgency when Pelosi is the one who recessed the House in the first place.

But what's even stranger than these claims is where they're coming from.