I was wrong about the wisdom of impeachment. Go for it, Dems!

Time in this age of Trumpism is a lot like "dog years." It passes seven times (at least) more quickly than what I've been used to in every other presidential administration.

Only last Sunday -- which now seems like two months ago, rather than only two days -- I was opining to a friend at our usual get-together at West Salem's Urban Grange coffee house that I hoped Democrats would take the advice of Nancy Pelosi and make the 2020 election an impeachment of sorts.

I said the Dems should tell voters, "Here's the horrible stuff that Trump has done. We're going to leave it to you to carry out what amounts to impeachment, by voting him out of office in November 2020."

That made sense to me then. Now, I'm all in on impeachment.

As is Pelosi, seemingly, since today she announced that the House is beginning an impeachment inquiry into what Trump has wrought during his scandal-plagued presidency. 

Notably, his attempt to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate non-existent wrongdoing by Joe Biden's son, Hunter, during his stint on a board of directors of a Ukraine corporation. Also, the non-existent wrongdoing by Joe Biden when he urged that a prosecutor be removed who was failing to look into genuine cases of corruption in Ukraine.

The Washington Post has a great story about how Rudy Giuiani worked mightily at this attempt to smear Joe Biden and hurt his chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

And the New York Times has a cogent analysis of why Trump's self-admitted attempt to get a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election has pushed Pelosi and other Democrats over the impeachment cliff. Or at least, the impeachment inquiry cliff.

For months, dozens of House Democrats anxiously avoided even the mention of impeaching President Trump — right up until the moment that they demanded it.

The sudden embrace of an impeachment inquiry by previously reluctant House Democrats — most notably Speaker Nancy Pelosi — is attributable to one fundamental fact: They believe the new accusations against Mr. Trump are simple and serious enough to be grasped by a public overwhelmed by the constant din of complex charges and countercharges that has become the norm in today’s Washington.

In contrast to the murkiness of the special counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump, Democrats see the current allegations as damningly clear-cut.

His refusal so far to provide Congress with an intelligence official’s whistle-blower complaint as required by law, coupled with the possibility that Mr. Trump dangled American military aid as a bargaining chip to win investigation of a political rival by a foreign government, strikes them as a stark case of presidential wrongdoing.

They consider it egregious enough that they expect many Americans who had been cool to the idea of moving to oust the president to recognize the imperative for the House to act.

Makes sense. 

The Mueller report didn't have enough impeachment octane in it. Sure, Trump obstructed justice. But he does that all the time, and it would have been too easy for Trump and his cronies to say "there was no underlying crime to obstruct." Which is true, though legally obstruction doesn't require a crime.

Now, though, Trump appears guilty of having blatantly done what the Mueller report danced around: an attempt to collude with a foreign power to influence an election. And it is clear that Trump himself was behind this attempt, not people in the Trump orbit.

This indeed is a much stronger basis for impeachment, which is as much a political exercise as a legal one. It's telling that few, if any, Republicans are defending what Trump said to the president of Ukraine.

Sure, they aren't criticizing Trump to the degree that they should. But the fact that the Senate voted unanimously to urge the release of the whistle-blower complaint to Congress shows that Ukraine is a more compelling Trump scandal than what Mueller investigated.

I deeply respect Nancy Pelosi's political acumen. Her willingness to get on board the impeachment train shows that she feels this has a greater probability of leading to Democratic victories in 2020 than defeats.

Of course, Pelosi could be wrong. If there's anything predictable in this Age of Trump, it is that nothing is predictable. Impeachment proceedings are full of high drama by their very nature. With Donald Trump involved, the drama will be on steroids. 

I've read several scary books about the Trump presidency. The best, which also could be termed the worst, is How Democracies Die. I say "worst," because the authors presented persuasive facts about how the United States is heading in the direction that leads to autocracy.

To me, that's the most compelling argument for the House to impeach Trump. The Senate won't go along, almost certainly. But the point isn't to remove Trump from office. Hopefully that will happen courtesy of the voters.

Rather, a strong message needs to be sent that the American people aren't going to sit idly by and watch while Trump destroys both written and unwritten norms of presidential behavior. We the people aren't going to tolerate brazen attempts to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. Nor are we going to tolerate stonewalling of legitimate oversight by Congress into Trump administration wrongdoing.

My prediction, or at least my hope, is that impeachment will turn out to be a political plus for Democrats.

But even if it isn't, we have to contemplate which of these scenarios is more disturbing: (1) Trump wins re-election with few checks upon his worst instincts, or (2) Trump wins re-election after a spotlight has been cast on his sordid efforts to undermine our democracy.

Of course, best of all will be if Trump loses his re-election bid. I just believe we need to think of what would be the very worst political scenario, then work to mitigate its worseness.

Comments

[Skyline]

Of Course, President Trump will not be impeached.
But just for fun, let's go into the imaginary, dope altered, clueless, liberal world, and see how things turn out.
Remember; liberal "solutions" equal failure. That is set in stone.
WELCOME PRESIDENT PENCE!!!
100 times more pro-life than President Trump.
GREAT JOB, Liberals!!!
You people are smart ones, you are!!!
HA HA HA HA HA !!!!!!!!!!

[Jack Holloway]

Brian --

With respect to the crimes and misdemeanors of the Biden family, you might want to take a look at this:

Biden Family Misuses Federal Office for Million$ in Payoff$
https://theduran.com/biden-scandal-explodes-ukraine-fracking-money-laundering-bank-of-china-payoffs-video/

And not just in Ukraine -- China, too.

(The added title is mine, not from the site)

[tucson]

It must be just overwhelmingly frustrating for the Left and their arm, the mainstream media, to not be able to get Trump. Developing any nervous twitches and skin rashes lately? You guys just can't get him. He survives all your attempts. He's still here thriving. Why? Because when Trump's opposition looks at events and information their view is clouded by rabid hate for the man. You can't think rationally. Your bloodshot eyes can't see clearly. So, anything you do is based on a foundation of hate and nothing else. Nothing concrete. Nothing real. Certainly nothing impeachable.

Now, as with the Muller report, you are once again forced to use twisted imagination to read between the lines of the current transcript to find hints of an impeachable offence because there is none apparent. Your hopes have been dashed once again. You're not going to get him! You have failed once again! That must really suck.

I understand your fear that the only chance of winning in 2020 is to smear and stain Trump or hope for a recession that will hurt most Americans including yourself. It's all you have because in the realm of policy and ideas you have nothing to offer but draconian measures that America will not accept, and you know it.

It will be Trump for five more years.

[Skyline]

GREAT overview and summation of the current situation, Tucson!!!
American power, righteousness, and leadership in the world TRUMPS cockamamie liberal self hatred and societal decline.
AMERICA FIRST!!!
Thank you, President Trump!!!

[Mel Renz]

"One wonders: Do Democrats blinded by hatred of Trump ever wonder how that 40% of the nation that sees him as the repository of their hopes will react if, rather than beat him at the ballot box, they remove him in this way?" (impeachment)
-- Pat Buchannan