Action 127 – IMPEACH!
Background: We all remember that Trump was impeached twice during his first term. But the Senate did not get the 2/3 vote needed to convict (both of Maine’s senators voted to convict). (1) So, here we are today, with the most brazenly corrupt and vindictive president in our history, vastly enabled by a compliant Supreme Court, a Congress full of sycophants and cowards, and a fourth estate (the “free” press) that is not doing its job. What do we do next? Prepare to impeach again, but this time, convict and remove from office.
To “8647”, the correct remedy in the Constitution is impeachment. (2) Impeachment is not the same as a legal proceeding. It is essentially a political act, wherein the first of the three branches (the one closest to “we the people”) determines that the President has acted so egregiously that we can no longer trust him with the job of faithfully executing the laws of the nation. Every fully informed adult voter in this country would agree, unless they are afraid of retribution, or personally profiting from Trump’s continued tenure in office. So, ask yourself, who is opposed to impeachment, and why? Ignorance, cowardice, or corruption?
On April 28, four Congresspeople introduced a new impeachment resolution. (3) The politics surrounding this effort would make an interesting script for a movie, if embellished somewhat to provide for more drama about the heroes and villains. In a nutshell, the story goes like this:
· The Resolution, listing 7 grounds for impeachment, was introduced by a little-known Congressman (Shri Thanedar, D, MI) who is an immigrant from India. He is a PhD chemist and serial entrepreneur who has had his share of business successes and failures but remains committed to protecting the opportunity that life in America offers. (4)
· Of the three additional sponsors, two are Black (Kweisi Mfume, D, MD and Robin Kelly, D, IL) and one is Jewish (Jerrold Nadler, D, NY ) – 3 more well educated members of minority communities. (5)
· The Democratic Party did not jump on board with the Resolution; on the contrary it was effectively killed due to party politics. (6)
The lack of a bipartisan impeachment resolution is a shameful reflection on the elected representatives in both parties. They took an oath to uphold the Constitution. (7) Every day that passes without an effort to impeach Donald Trump is a day they are violating that oath.
Action: Write to our delegation. Demand an impeachment resolution. If they don’t like the one that has been proposed by Thanedar et al, tell them to write one of their own, and line up cosponsors. Give us something in writing that we can promote across the nation. In other words, show some leadership.
Contact:
Senator Susan Collins: Email: www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins/form
Phone: (202) 224-2523 (DC office), (207) 945-0417 (Bangor office)
Senator Angus King: Email www.king.senate.gov/contact
Phone: (202) 224-5344 (DC office), (207) 945-8000 (Bangor office)
Representative Jared Golden: Email: golden.house.gov/contact
Phone: (202) 224-3121 (DC office), (207) 249-7400 (Bangor office)
Representative Chellie Pingree: Email: https://pingree.house.gov/contact/
Phone: (202) 225-6116 (DC office), (207) 774-5019 (Portland office)
Urgency: Start beating the drum now. It may be faint and distant, but it is going to get very loud, if Trump’s voters start feeling the effects of his policies and rightfully attribute it to his gross mismanagement. Don’t wait for the dictator to start a war in order to cement his power, as the history of authoritarianism suggests. (8)
Extra Credit:
(1) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/majority-of-house-members-vote-for-2nd-impeachment-of-trump and https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-9/ALDE_00000035/
(2) https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-1/ALDE_00000282/
”impeachment is at bottom a unique political process largely unchecked by the judiciary”. In case you don’t know, “86” originated as restaurant lingo for being out of something on the menu, so the waitstaff should take it off the chalk board, e.g. “86 on the cherry pies” from https://genius.com/Louis-jordan-boogie-woogie-blue-plate-lyrics. 47 of course is the 47th President, Trump.
(3) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/353/text
the seven points are here: https://thanedar.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-shri-thanedar-calls-for-vote-on-trump-impeachment This is not the only straw in the wind. Texas Libertarians are also fed up: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-impeachment-resolution-issued-texas-2060344
(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shri_Thanedar
(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kweisi_Mfume ;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Kelly ;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Nadler . Ms Kelly seems to be the only one of the four who has not been the subject of significant opposition research.
(7) "I, _(name)_, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." ( Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 424 .)
(8) https://www.cato.org/commentary/how-dictators-come-power-democracy and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship See also the writings of Ruth Ben-Ghiat.