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Oceanside Pier, thirty seconds

Monday, January 25, 2021

Impeach or not to impeach, that is the question...

As much as I loathe Donald Trump, I am pretty agnostic about all this impeachment business. One of the things they teach you in martial arts is to never draw your sword unless you are prepared to lop off a head. And I don't see a Trump conviction in the Senate, no way no how. We know who might vote to convict and it is not enough. I see no reward for a Pyrrhic victory here. 

So who gains from an impeachment without a conviction? Donald Trump. He can then say that he faced a partisan house and won twice and that it is all a hoax, etc. He gains politically from what is coming down the pike.

The man will live in infamy as one of the three worst Presidents of all times, a man who fomented an insurrection and left office as he presided over it, in the most crass and classless way possible.

We are now in a political arena where a Mitch McConnell is facing off against a Lindsey Graham, Cheney against McCarthy, the Republican party is cannibalizing itself. What did Napoleon say, something along the lines of, when your opponent is doing himself in, don't interrupt him. As much as I want to punish the bastard, this will only give him needed cover. And he has wounded the GOP for the foreseeable future.

An impeachment without a conviction will just give the right more chances to whine about how they are getting cancelled and persecuted. Funny how the people who screamed libtard and snowflake for four years are such fragile and persecuted humans.

John Bolton, no friend of Trump no matter what his political inclination is, has another view of the matter. I may be wrong here but with the current political division and landscape, I fail to see a win here. Tell me why I am wrong. And please don't fantasize about a whole bunch of John Cornyns and Barrassos suddenly seeing the light, it ain't ever going to happen.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/535789-state-level-republicans-wracked-by-division-after-trumps-loss

JeffN said...

I would say no. Technically, he's already been impeached twice. He just hasn't been convicted by the Senate.

Biden should turn his new DoJ loose on Trump and the whole crime family, plus send signals to state AGs that he will do whatever he can (legally) to support their state-level prosecutions.

That allows the Senate to do the best it can to enact Biden's agenda, as opposed to being mired in Trump bullshit for months.

Finally, I think DC insiders overestimate how punishing they think their impeachment action would be. Trump's legacy is already a raging dumpster fire. Being convicted by the Senate won't materially add to the dumpster fire. But a few Senate leaders are looking for revenge in the name of accountability. Let the courts bring Trump to accountability. They've got more teeth.

Jon Harwood said...

At this point the question of whether to impeach or not is moot, Trump has been impeached a second time. This forces an impeachment trial for better or worse. I don't see how one could have avoided impeachment after the attack on the capitol building. Sadly though, there don't seem to be any easy wins moving forward for either side. Conviction is intended to remove a prez. Trump is no longer prez., so what's the point? If the point is to prevent Trump from holding office, I'm not sure that matters. He will go on because that's what he does. He will either be a martyr, banned from office or a potential future prez. who has toasted his credibility and electability.

I should hide behind a brick wall after saying this, but the best outcome would be for Biden to pardon Trump but that looks to be politically impossible unless some unforseen event occurs that changes the situation.

It is lose, lose all round.

Anonymous said...

It's the principle of the thing. We have to put it on the record that an attempted coup resulting in deaths is an impeachable offense. I don't know if they can make the vote anonymous, but if they can, they should. He'd be impeached in a flash. ~ Diane O

Blue Heron said...

All good comments.

Sanoguy said...

I agree with Jeff N..... one of the things that would come with an impeachment conviction by the Senate is, with a simple majority of the Senate, they could prevent Trump from ever being elected to a Federal position. That, I believe, is important.

Also, if any President does something terrible at the end of their term, they should be held accountable. If not they knew they would not be held accountable, Presidents could really run amuck at the end of their term.

Blue Heron said...

Fine Sano, but you have to read the tea leaves. Conviction is not possible, so what are the consequences of a failed attempt?

Sanoguy said...

Good question about consequences of a failed conviction... I think the trial needs to take place with the evidence made public... it may change some minds and the evidence made public can be used against him should try to run again. Some effort has to be made to hold him accountable!

Anonymous said...

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-impeachment-trial-vote-sees-too-many-gop-senators-dooming-ncna1255764