Impeach
They’re gonna do it.
The Speaker of the House has officially announced an impeachment inquiry; 181 members supporting it as of 5:44pm cdt.
Some folks might think I am pleased about this because of the things I’ve previously written about Donald Trump being a disgusting human being, etc., etc.
But they miss the point.
This morning, seven freshmen members of Congress — who all served in national security positions for our country — wrote a joint editorial in The Washington Post that sadly expressed they could hold back no more.
Gil Cisneros, Jason Crow, Chrissy Houlahan, Elaine Luria, Mikie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, and Abigail Spanberger wrote in the Washington Post:
“As members of Congress, we have prioritized delivering for our constituents — remaining steadfast in our focus on health care, infrastructure, economic policy and our communities’ priorities. Yet everything we do harks back to our oaths to defend the country. These new allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect. We must preserve the checks and balances envisioned by the Founders and restore the trust of the American people in our government. And that is what we intend to do.”
These members of Congress won races in 2018 in competitive districts that will be hard to defend. They’re called “Frontline” races. All along they have known the political risks of alienating ticket-splitters who support Trump.
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But his actions with the Ukraine were finally a bridge too far.
And THIS is the point. While I believe it has taken far too long for so many to finally favor impeachment, I always understood their hesitation. Still, I thought the ball would keep rolling. And I thought Trump would continue to violate more norms and very likely more laws.
People are who they are.
To be clear, though, I never wanted this man impeached due to my opinion that he is an awful president and an awful man. These are subjective observations. It is our SYSTEM that matters. No matter how broken it is (and I’ve spent years working to describe it and repair it) — we cannot forsake the rules and laws that comprise the US Constitution.
These laws are not to be broken without consequence — for any of us. And that includes — MOST ESPECIALLY INCLUDES, the president of the United States.
And THAT’S the whole point. We are not a monarchy. We are a constitutional republic. Our chief executive does not have carte blanche to do what he or she wants regardless of the law. If we allow that to happen — if CONGRESS allows that to happen, who are we? WHAT are we?
Not the country our founders intended. And that is why at the very least, no matter what happens afterward, the full US House should cast a vote on whether this president should be impeached and subject to trial in the US Senate.
This is how it’s supposed to work.
