Oh, the Democrats are flying high these days. They have taken over the House of Representatives in what was more a blue ripple than a blue wave. But that still represents a significant adjustment to the national stage.
What has a lot of folks salivating is the possibility of impeaching President Trump. That’s because it’s the House of Representatives that initiates such proceedings and then votes to impeach or not.
I understand the desire to save the nation and the world from our president who uses the power of his office to denigrate anyone not agreeing with him and to encourage hatred. He seems to have no sense of duty to all America, only to his America. I think his actions have weakened our land and fostered the destruction of our world.
In spite of this, I believe impeachment to be a terrible idea. I hope with all my heart that the Democrats will not pursue it. There are many reasons.
First, it’s a waste of time and effort that could be applied to actually accomplishing something useful. Suppose the House votes to impeach. Then what happens? At that point the House bows out and it’s up to the Senate to hold a trial and then vote the President’s removal up or down. Last I looked, the Senate will be more Republican than it has been. What are the odds they will choose to remove their party leader? Not bloody likely. Remember, these are the same weak folks who over the last two years have increasingly entered into lockstep with the President.
Second, it would do nothing to reduce the partisan hatred currently racking the country. Just the opposite. We don’t need any more of that. And there is absolutely no reason to take such actions, especially when nothing fruitful would come from it.
Third, if the Democrats really want to increase in strength, they won’t impeach. After all, who are those who yearn for impeachment? They are folks who would endure torture before they would vote Republican. They aren’t the ones who have to be reached in order to build the party. Clearer thinking individuals would be turned off by the senseless impeachment proceedings and the Democratic party would pay for it in the next election.
Now there is an offsetting danger to this last point. Many drooling over impeachment might flip out if the Democrats don’t pursue it. They might, in a juvenile fit of pique, elect to sit out the next election. This is not idle speculation. After all, we’ve seen them do it before. “I’m not going to vote for Hillary because I wanted Bernie.” And look what happened. I hope they’ve learned, but such stupidity is rarely recognized by those exhibiting it.
I do think Congress has the legitimate task of oversight of the president, a task not accepted enough by the former legislators. It’s part of the checks and balances we’re supposed to operate under. So I want the new House and Senate to do that job, although I expect the House to be more attentive. But I don’t want it to be based on a “We’re going to get the President” mindset. I want a reasoned unemotional look at what’s going on.
If, as a result of rational oversight investigations, it is discovered the President truly has committed impeachable offenses, then I might change my mind about it being a bad idea. But only if it’s a true bipartisan effort like it was with Richard Nixon. I doubt such a scenario would ever occur in the current climate, but it is the only one that would succeed, would not tear the country further apart, and would not hurt the Democratic party.
What has a lot of folks salivating is the possibility of impeaching President Trump. That’s because it’s the House of Representatives that initiates such proceedings and then votes to impeach or not.
I understand the desire to save the nation and the world from our president who uses the power of his office to denigrate anyone not agreeing with him and to encourage hatred. He seems to have no sense of duty to all America, only to his America. I think his actions have weakened our land and fostered the destruction of our world.
In spite of this, I believe impeachment to be a terrible idea. I hope with all my heart that the Democrats will not pursue it. There are many reasons.
First, it’s a waste of time and effort that could be applied to actually accomplishing something useful. Suppose the House votes to impeach. Then what happens? At that point the House bows out and it’s up to the Senate to hold a trial and then vote the President’s removal up or down. Last I looked, the Senate will be more Republican than it has been. What are the odds they will choose to remove their party leader? Not bloody likely. Remember, these are the same weak folks who over the last two years have increasingly entered into lockstep with the President.
Second, it would do nothing to reduce the partisan hatred currently racking the country. Just the opposite. We don’t need any more of that. And there is absolutely no reason to take such actions, especially when nothing fruitful would come from it.
Third, if the Democrats really want to increase in strength, they won’t impeach. After all, who are those who yearn for impeachment? They are folks who would endure torture before they would vote Republican. They aren’t the ones who have to be reached in order to build the party. Clearer thinking individuals would be turned off by the senseless impeachment proceedings and the Democratic party would pay for it in the next election.
Now there is an offsetting danger to this last point. Many drooling over impeachment might flip out if the Democrats don’t pursue it. They might, in a juvenile fit of pique, elect to sit out the next election. This is not idle speculation. After all, we’ve seen them do it before. “I’m not going to vote for Hillary because I wanted Bernie.” And look what happened. I hope they’ve learned, but such stupidity is rarely recognized by those exhibiting it.
I do think Congress has the legitimate task of oversight of the president, a task not accepted enough by the former legislators. It’s part of the checks and balances we’re supposed to operate under. So I want the new House and Senate to do that job, although I expect the House to be more attentive. But I don’t want it to be based on a “We’re going to get the President” mindset. I want a reasoned unemotional look at what’s going on.
If, as a result of rational oversight investigations, it is discovered the President truly has committed impeachable offenses, then I might change my mind about it being a bad idea. But only if it’s a true bipartisan effort like it was with Richard Nixon. I doubt such a scenario would ever occur in the current climate, but it is the only one that would succeed, would not tear the country further apart, and would not hurt the Democratic party.
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