Shame on you
Some members of the Democratic party have been lusting to impeach Donald Trump since the polls closed in November of 2016. The first post-election anti-Trump rally was in NYC (organized by Russian bots) the day after the election. The first impeachment resolutions were introduced in the House as soon as it convened in January 2017. Numerous narratives have been advanced without success. This time, they think they have it. They think the audience is applauding the theater they are presenting . . . finally.
The gavel has been shifted from Jerry Nadler (who was rendered a fool by Cory Lewandowski of all people) to Adam Schiff (who gives new meaning to the term sanctimonious). Adam is smarter and more telegenic, but he has a history of promising the production of smoking guns that do not subsequently appear. The gavel, however, has clout because the requisite 217 votes required to pass an impeachment resolution in the House appear to be there.
The level of partisan rancor has been ratcheted up steadily for the last three years. This turn of the wrench is a huge disservice to our political process.
The vote in the House will be strictly, or almost strictly, along party lines. A significant number of Democrats in vulnerable districts may even vote against. The Senate will vote not guilty along party lines. Our strident divisions will have been deepened. Congress will do no business of any kind (except quietly agreeing to spend more money than the government is taking in) until the process is over. The current schedule calls for impeachment by Thanksgiving and a trial in December. Happy Holidays!
How is Trump liable to respond? He will resist subpoenas. He will take to the courts. He will instruct members of the executive branch not to testify. He will invoke executive privilege, generating more legal proceedings. He will hold serial rallies around flyover country mocking Schiff and Nadler and Waters. He may even call for a march on Washington. I have a vision of a hoard of Harley hogs bearing rednecks with bedrolls invading Georgetown.
Joe Biden will be destroyed in the process. His surviving son is a drug addict who flunked rehab and has a sad history of marital problems and influence peddling. The longer this storm lasts, the greater the scrutiny of his record. He may not have broken any laws (although the China contract looks truly fishy), but much of his behavior does not pass the smell test.
If and when a trial in the Senate occurs, it will be 10 or fewer months before the 2020 election. What will have been accomplished by putting Pence in the oval office for a few months? The Democrats must believe that this process will help them win in 2020. I suspect that the real result will be that Trump will be flying around the country passing out red caps that say EXONERATED. His reelection prospects will have been enhanced. He will have out-theater-ed the Democrats.
In a real democracy, the losers accept the result of an election by assuming the role of loyal opposition. They reverse the results of an election by proposing an agenda and nominating candidates that win the next election. Given the magnitude of our problems, we should be focused on electing a president and congress in 2020 who would make a serious effort to address some of those problems. Relentless efforts to deepen the partisan divide are counterproductive in the extreme. Shame on them!
