January 24, 2020

The Sound, Fury, and Predictability

If you are a Republican, the first week of impeachment meant the Democrats were unserious clowns, out to launch a coup against the duly elected President of the United States. The President’s team was diligent, thoughtful and proficient.

If you are a Republican, the first week of impeachment meant the Democrats were unserious clowns, out to launch a coup against the duly elected President of the United States. The President’s team was diligent, thoughtful and proficient.

If you are a Democrat, the first week of impeachment meant the President’s team was a cast straight from the island of misfit toys, unable to make a coherent argument — and the Democrats were veritable geniuses. Impeachment, and your view on impeachment, is all in the eye of the beholder. Republicans think it is a scam, and Democrats think it is necessary.

In 1998, the roles were reversed, including in the press. Major media figures during the Clinton impeachment thought it would be a waste of time to hear from witnesses. Now, many of the same figures think it is vitally necessary. In 1998, Republicans thought the future of the republic depended on it, and Democrats thought it was a partisan coup. Guess where they stand now?

The most significant difference is that in 1998, Republicans got more Democrats on board than Democrats have gotten now against Trump. That is very notable, if for only one reason. There are 22 House Republicans leaving Congress. Half of them, at least, hate the President of the United States. They blame him for their districts turning against them. They blame him for their loss of power. They blame him for their departures. But the Democrats got precisely zero of them to vote their way, while the GOP picked up a seat in Congress with a Democrat turning Republican.

If House Democrats cannot get the Republicans who hate President Donald Trump and no longer have to fear his voters to go for impeachment, getting two-thirds of the Senate to go along for their ride is going to be an impossible task. To be clear, the President should not have done what he did. It was wrong, and any Republican who says otherwise lacks the intellectual honesty to acknowledge they would be demanding Barack Obama’s head if he had done the same.

But is it impeachable? I think, with the nation less than a year from an election, it is not. If the President were in a second term and incapable of being held accountable by the voters, or early in a first term, the conclusion could be different. But the conclusion here is that the President did something wrong, and his staff knew it — but it is in the open and he will face voters in less than 11 months. Likewise, Democrats failed to call key witnesses they could have called to build a better case, such as former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Instead, they tried to hide behind the courts and endless delays, but they never even wanted to pick the fight. The reality is that the courts would have accommodated the Democrats and rapidly expedited the fight. The Democrats chose never to go that far and now want the Senate to do the House’s job.

Impeachment is a partisan fundraising tool for both sides at this point. Democrats have managed to help the President unite the Republican base while uniting their own base. There can be only one winner, and it will be Trump. Democrats will take their loss and turn it into a public relations and fundraising victory with their base. Relying on an overly biased and sympathetic media, the Democrats will cast doubt on the 2020 election, savage the GOP and make a case for taking back the Senate.

In less than a month, the nation will move on and have other things to focus on. Time will advance, the President will be on the ballot in November and voters will care about something else. This is historic. This is the third presidential impeachment in American history and only the second in living memory. Its ending is a foregone conclusion. It distracts from more important things. It will do nothing but make Americans more cynical as the ties that bind us fray just a bit more.

COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.