OPINION: What Will It Take for Democrats to Unite Behind Impeaching Trump?

Many Democrats are arguing harshly that the House is wasting an opportunity to open an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. Their point of support: Watergate-era House Democrats. In their telling, House Democrats were always united in support of impeaching President Richard Nixon.

But that isn’t true. I was there, and in fact initially they were as divided in their approach to addressing President Nixon’s conduct as House Democrats are today about starting an impeachment inquiry.

Liberal Democrat House members in 1973-74 pressed for an impeachment inquiry of President Nixon, but...