Democrats: Stop Normalizing Trump and Start Impeaching Him
Trump has committed numerous impeachable offenses. Today I join other writers who have made the case for impeachment. Thre is no reason not to impeach. The House of Representatives now is controlled by Democrats, so they have the power to do it. Republicans would have impeached Obama immediately if he had committed 1% of the offenses Trump has.
The longer the delay in impeaching, the longer Democrats will be normalizing Trump’s behaviors to voters and to media — acting as if what Trump is doing is acceptable. Young people who recently became eligible to vote for the first time in 2016 will be particularly affected, because they haven’t witnessed as much of the normality that occurred in the past as other voters have.
The longer we wait to impeach, the more we will convince new voters that what Trump is doing is normal. No one will have to say it’s acceptable. Democrats acting as if it is will say it all.
I have written elsewhere about the dangers of acting too positively toward one’s political opponent, in unrealistic ways.
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way!” Trump said in his State of the Union address on February 5, 2019.
He apparently fears investigation, which is all the more reason to do it. He’s trying to trick Democrats into being “positive” about him, and thus out of touch with reality. Of course he wants no criticism or investigation. He should have thought of that before committing impeachable offenses.
“Oh but the Senate will not convict him and Trump will play the victim, which will energize his base to come out to the polls in 2020” you may say.
Yes, that will happen and we can deal with that too. Democrats can’t afford to keep rolling over and playing dead, just because if we take action, Republicans will do something in response. The idea that Democrats should wait for the approval of corrupt traitors before they act is ridiculous.
Did we see Republicans stop trying to repeal Obama Care because Democrats could keep it from being repealed? No. Republicans kept trying to get their goals achieved. Voters rewarded them for that in 2016 with control of the federal government and most states.
Do you ever see Republicans failing to take power and use it, just because Democrats would do something in response, and they might feel helpless to respond powerfully? That’s like being in a game of checkers and refusing to make a move because you are afraid you might not know what to do when your opponent responds to your move with a move of their own.
Of course, we should be prepared. If the House holds hearings to bring out evidence of whether impeachment is warranted, impeaches and then sends the matter to the Senate for the trial, maybe the Senate will find Trump not guilty.
However, even if they do, the House could impeach again, on different charges. I checked with some legal experts on this, to be sure. Trump has committed enough impeachable offenses to be impeached numerous times.
Some say that “you only get one shot”, politically speaking, to impeach. Republicans say this because everyone has been letting Republicans decide what is politically possible. Republicans keep deciding that whatever they themselves want is what is politically possible, they have done it, and almost everyone has accepted it so far.
It’s time for Democrats to finally take the reins, and to decide that impeaching Trump as many times as is needed, to finally remove him, is politically possible — and desirable. Republicans routinely do their best to create their own version of reality, and they often succeed, at least to some extent.
Democrats, although we have better ideas, have not been making them become realities in the world as often or as much. Democrats need to try more often and more intensively to create the realities that we want in our world.
Mainstream media will likely side with Republicans. If so, Democrats should protest outside media offices, with signs demanding news coverage that is fair to Democrats. Mainstream media have shown for decades that they can easily get away with ignoring feedback from Democrats. One way to get them to listen is for us to BE the news through protests outside their offices.
Here are some of my further thoughts on what Democrats have yet to learn about power politics and about becoming leaders, not followers.
Who’s Your Daddy? Time for Democrats and Mainstream Media to Get Smart about How to Play the Game of Power Politics
There is much written about the media normalizing Trump. They often do. And they should stop. However, mainstream media, for the most part, are followers, not leaders. If both Republicans and Democrats in Congress act as if Trump’s behavior is tolerable by doing nothing about it, we can hardly expect media or the public to act differently.
Yes, media are followers. They follow ratings and clicks from viewers, listeners and readers. And they follow the political party that rewards them the most for following or that punishes them most severely for not following. Ask yourself “Which party would that be right now?” See the essay I cited just above for my own answer to this question.
What could Democrats possibly gain by delaying impeachment? What laws could possibly be passed — even if the Republican dominated Senate would let them pass — that could make up for the failure to respond to the constant assaults Trump makes on the rule of law? What could make up for his destruction of our nation?
We have a year and nine months until the 2020 election. If Mueller doesn’t get his report out by the time voters make up their minds who to vote for, and if Democrats keep waiting on Mueller, this will make matters worse. Tolerance of Trump’s behaviors for four long years can normalize him enough to help him get re-elected.
Some Democrats have shown more strength and power than usual lately — particularly Pelosi on the issue of the wall and the government shutdown. We should be aware that in 2018 we won a majority in the House of Representatives, after demonstrating and other signs of strength by the Resistance — not after timidly hesitating to protest Trump because Right leaning voters might disapprove. Let’s increase our strength, push the accelerator to the floor and impeach Trump before he finishes destroying the nation.
We in the public need to do our part — in person, not just on line. Some people are already demonstrating and making signs demanding impeachment. However, others are demonstrating simply to vent and complain about Trump — without demands that anyone take any action whatsoever to change the situation.
That is of course their right, but it’s less likely to be effective than making specific demands. If you don’t say what you want in politics, you are probably not going to get it. We focus our power most effectively when we make specific demands on specific people e.g. on the House of Representatives to impeach.
Here are some books about con artists and manipulative people like Trump and many of those in the GOP Congress, for anyone interested.
The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova
The Sociopath at the Breakfast Table by the McGregors
In Sheep’s Clothing by George Simon
Snakes in Suits by Babiak and Hare
These books discuss how to understand and deal with aggressive behaviors. Most such books advise cutting off contact with actual con artists or with anyone so extremely aggressive and manipulative as Donald Trump. To cut off the nation’s contact with our highly destructive president, impeachment is our first step.
During hearings that the House can do before voting on impeachment, Democrats can educate and inform the public on Trump’s offenses and make the case for removing him. This can help Democrats gather more public support for his removal.
Republican politicians and Right Wing media are leading the public in a Right Wing direction — in Trump’s direction. They act as if they don’t care about what the public wants. They lead toward destruction. Visionary progressive leaders can boldly stand up and help us make a U turn here. They’re already beginning. However, almost everything constructive that most of us want now as a nation depends on removing Trump from office first. If we push hard enough and get this done, then we will be able to do what we’ve longed to do for the past two years — to repair Trump’s damage and to go forward toward solving our nation’s problems.
Here’s a good article on what the Constitution says about impeachment and how this applies to Trump’s case.
