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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIt is too soon to call for impeachment, but it's time to openly call Trump a threat to our Democracy
Last edited Sun Mar 17, 2019, 04:34 PM - Edit history (2)
I'm not trying to be coy, or to play word games. I accept that it is not yet the most opportune time to begin literal impeachment procedures. House hearings need to pick up steam, criminal investigations at the state and federal level need to proceed, and further word from Mueller is awaited. Strategically we should have the discipline to allow all of that to perk a little more, especially since Democrats can't impeach Trump on our own. The stronger the legal case for impeachment that can be made, the harder it will be for Trump's defenders to frame it as Democrats over reaching when we begin the formal process to impeach him.
But the groundwork for successfully impeaching Trump can best be prepared by emphasizing now how much of a threat Donald Trump poses to the very fabric of our Democracy, with or without substantial proof of him having colluded with Russia or any other criminal offense Trump may be guilty of. That is the theme we all must hammer on, and that includes the national media. It took the national media almost 18 months before it was comfortable with boldly describing Trump as a flat out liar. Before that they mostly commented on how often he uttered "falsehoods". It was a short but crucial step for them to start literally calling him a liar rather than simply someone who lied in this or that instance.
Now the media is still stuck in describing how Trump is violating presidential norms, again in this way or that. They talk about how this or that policy of his may not be constitutional, and how this or that policy of his may not be well grounded in facts. They point out times when Trumps goes against the counsel of most of his senior advisors, or never even consults with them to begin with. And they talk about how the constant flood of toxins that he emits serves to divide Americans rather than unite us. They do not however yet talk about him presenting a clear and present danger.
Now it is time to draw the obvious conclusion. Whether or not he is impeached and removed from office before the 2020 Presidential elections, Donald Trump the man poses an existential threat to our constitutional Democracy as well as to our national security. He literally is destabilizing the fabric of our society and unraveling the ties that bind us together as Americans. He is at heart an autocrat with no intrinsic respect for Democratic institutions or the truth. We may have to wait a little longer to impeach him, but we can't afford to wait another day in speaking the truth about the Man in the Oval Office. And by doing so we bring his removal from office, one way or another, ever closer.
shanny
(6,709 posts)Impeachment is richly deserved but must be amply demonstrated to the public at large, and especially to independents and the very small reachable portion of R voters.
Grasswire2
(13,564 posts)The most devastating facts can be revealed without waiting until every T is crossed and every i dotted. The people must know NOW the worst. The Gang of Eight ought to come before the American people and present enough of the truth to shock us -- to scare us out of the "violating norms" and "Trump being Trump" mindset and put us on the path to "Existential danger to us"
Except half of the Gang of Eight would not participate.
How can the tipping point for establishment Republicans be accelerated?
Grasswire2
(13,564 posts)Would you allow us to share it elsewhere, such as FB, with whatever credit you think appropriate and safe for you?
It would be perfect quoted in letters to the editor, as well.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,911 posts)I'm not worried about "credit" either way. I've been posting under my own name for a long time, but I figure there are about 53,000 of us "pundits" out there with a higher profile than mine. What we are fighting matters more than any of us.
onit2day
(1,201 posts)I say this because the public investigation will expose Trump's crimes for the public to see and demonstrates that we are a nation of laws and no one is above these laws. Conviction happens in the senate and may be purely political ignoring completely the criminality of this president. If impeachment proceedings are successful in exposing his crimes then failure of the senate to convict will make senate republicans look like the lawyer who got off a known rapist on a technicality. Senate republicans will suffer the consequences of their treachery if they fail to convict a known fraud, liar and criminal. I say impeachment is a duty, a responsibility and can be successful even without a conviction.
onit2day
(1,201 posts)I believe that the huge public pressure to impeach Bush and her refusal to hold him accountable caused us to lose the House. The thinking was why bother to votes, dems won't do anything about it anyway. Pelosi got more legislation passed out of the House than any other speaker in modern times but sees impeachment as a 'block' to legislating but we can do both and refusing to hold Bush accountable brought us Trump and will let future presidents know that no matter what they do in office they will not be held accountable. I believe impeachment will also win us the senate as we prove to the world we are a nation of laws and you will be held accountable if you break them. If Pelosi does not impeach will be democrats who will suffer most.
Tom Rinaldo
(22,911 posts)And you describe the terms and process well. Tactically (which is one of the prisms this deserves to be viewed through because ultimately "winning" matters greatly) I think we are still a few weeks or months shy of the optimal time to convene formal impeachment hearings, but that doesn't mean we have to remain meek and compliant until that day comes, which I believe is inevitable. Investigations are already underway that are exposing his crimes, even if they are not yet called impeachment hearings. And Trump can and should be called a threat to our democracy today.