Democrats plan to poll test whether to push for Trump's impeachment

Democratic strategists are planning to find out if calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment will work in the left's favor by poll testing the public on the subject, McClatchy reported Thursday.

A handful of Democrats have floated the idea of impeaching Trump following a New York Times report that Trump allegedly urged former FBI Director James Comey to discontinue an investigation of former national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn. Comey reportedly wrote in a memo about a meeting with Trump that the president said to Comey of the Flynn investigation, "I hope you can let this go."

Democratic Party operatives, McClatchy reported, acknowledged that they were caught off guard by how fast impeachment became a relevant issue and said that they now fear the political blowback that could occur if it's not handled correctly. Party operatives said they expect Democrats, as well as candidates and party organizations, to begin conducting focus groups on the subject of impeachment soon.

So far Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) has actively called for Trump's impeachment on the House floor. Democratic Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro told MSNBC's Chris Hayes that if the reports about Comey's memo are true, then Trump obstructed justice and impeachment would be warranted. And Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif) declared that Democrats cannot be afraid to talk forcefully about impeachment, Rolling Stone reported.

Not all Democrats agree with Waters. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told the Times  that “no one ought to, in my view, rush to embrace the most extraordinary remedy that involves the removal of the president from office.”

McClatchy reported that most Democrats have so far taken the same cautious approach as Schiff, and Democratic strategists emphasized that independent investigations will be the focus for the Democratic Party in the coming days, not impeachment.

Republican Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) is the only Republican at this time who has suggested possible impeachment for Trump if the allegations of interference in the FBI investigation of Flynn are true.