The process of impeaching Mr. Trump is akin to impeaching the Republican-controlled Senate. That statement is not based on legal precedent. Rather, it is based on what we may assert is a philosophical basis; it is not a tangible act as much as it is a theoretical concept.
What do I mean? I mean the final outcome of the current impeachment by the House of Representatives rests on what the Senate eventually does with the facts and historical legal precedents regarding the act of Impeachment.
I am saying that the Senate and its final conclusion regarding Mr. Trump’s impeachment will be as much a judgment upon the Republican-controlled Senate as it will be upon Mr. Trump himself.
The Constitutional requirements for impeachment may have been met by Mr. Trump – if he did require another country help him investigate his domestic political opponent Mr. Biden. His alleged invoking the withholding of military aid to Ukraine for personal benefit does seem to create a form of coercion.
That would be a coercive act to benefit the President, not America. A president cannot hold out a fat military carrot to one of our allies, deliverable only for that country helping investigate one of his domestic political opponents. That is the alleged impeachable offense. That opens up a can of worms
It is said that the Republican controlled Senate will under no circumstances vote for the removal of Mr. Trump: that in order to keep their own reelections secure, they will not abandon him. Notably, should they base their decision on ignoring the logic of a Constitutional requirement, they would themselves be obstructing justice.
Ethically, this decision should not be based on political bias. If the House’s various testimonies document he has violated the Constitution, the Senate is then ethically obligated to accept that fact and authorize his removal from office. Good luck on that.
If the Republican controlled Senate ignores or denies factual evidence, and acquits him, they will be as guilty as he of a Constitutional offense. I repeat, this is all philosophical and theoretical. Opposing legal arguments may question my philosophical approach.
However, here’s an intriguing aside: Recently it has been reported by various media that a movement may be afoot to either discard or rewrite the Constitution. That may or may not be a rational idea. I’m not here to argue that. The Point is does the Constitution still remain the law of the land?
Is all this legal and philosophical knit picking just a waste of time? Is today’s political climate such that our government is no longer based on our Constitution, but quite tangibly upon political loyalty to one party or the other, the American people be damned?
Or, let’s assume the Senate acquits Mr. Trump. May not this impeachment process have served a purpose? It is bringing forth a great deal of factual evidence about how Mr. Trump works. That may conceivably help the as-yet-still-splintered Democrats produce an electable candidate.
If so, the voice of the majority of Americans might be heard again. Both sides would argue about this: Democrats and the Republicans. But we might benefit, us so-often-ignored citizens down here in the trenches.
Another relevant battle inherent in 2020, and immediately beyond, is the coloring of America. The American demographic will soon be a majority of non-white citizens. Although this may be uncomfortable to a lot of white old men and women, it is an irrefutable fact.
One group of people, aligned philosophically close to white nationalists, is said to be battling to make English the mandatory American language, prohibiting other languages in the U.S. that one might argue are skin-color related.
That would likely be a uniquely intriguing political issue to a growing number of Hispanic and Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Because it would directly pit new-minority white Americas against new-majority non-white Americans. A complete shift in the political balance of power in America.
The new color mix is occurring right now. If white Americans try to battle the country’s demographic transition to a multi-colored and multi-lingual America they are going to find they are in a battle against nature itself.
Despite all of the preceding, we might want to note that the economic recovery since the 2008 recession continues. Even wages during this Trumpian era have finally begun to grow. Could it be that Americans down deep in their hearts really like the wildly uncertain mood swings of rampant Capitalism?
Happy New Year! 2020 is upon us. Prejudice-wrenching change is unstoppable. Fasten your seatbelts.
