the only real hero here

[handmade34]

is the whistleblower... people can give accolades to Fiona Hill and Yovanovitch and anyone else, but many knew there was something rotten... there are a lot of people who should have talked a lot sooner

[gratuitous]

1. And a changed political landscape

Without the 2018 wave, powered by citizens all across the country, who installed a Democratic majority in the House, none of this comes out. Couple that with unrelenting pressure on that newly-installed majority from those same citizens who put them in office, and the landscape becomes much more amenable to a whistleblower to come forth with some confidence that their report will be taken seriously and investigated.

[dameatball]

2. I think we sometimes forget about the point you are making. When someone is pretty sure that the

information they have will be buried and never see the light of day, that can make a difference in what they do. All of us would like to think we are braver and nobler than that, but I'm not so sure we all are. 2018 has made a difference and there is a crack in the dam.