Dear Friends,
Impeaching President Trump is a patriotic necessity, one that every American regardless of party should support. As Trump’s behavior becomes ever more brazen and erratic, every American needs to voice support for the impeachment process per se and do everything possible to encourage Republican lawmakers to join in removing Trump from office quickly. I say this without having any axe to grind against the President or the GOP. Unless the political class unites around the goal of removing him from office, our nation will have no future and the GOP itself will wither and die.
It’s clear from the papers that President Trump sought to coerce the Ukrainian government to come up with dirt that would harm a political opponent while helping the president’s own election chances. Some people, like Senator Rob Portman, have temporized, saying that the president’s action was unwise but not impeachable. Portman is wrong because if the President’s behavior is allowed, our entire election system will become a farce. It will become a farce simply by allowing the President to continue on this way throughout the 2020 presidential campaign. Where does his conduct leave every other candidate, Democrat or Republican, who runs for office but plays by the rules? His lawless behavior is an affront to everyone else who has legitimately won an elective post. Publicly inviting foreign governments to meddle in our affairs, as Trump has done, demonstrates a resolve to defy–rather than defend–our written and living Constitution.
Personally, I am outraged at the development of a corrupt set of transnational relations that a sitting president is hoping will lessen his dependence on American voters. The president bets that he can hold on to power by conjuring up a climate of public opinion that degrades every other public figure and undermines confidence in our once-efficacious and illustrious political system. The damage that he is inflicting on his own party, on the nation, and on blameless public servants is mounting daily. If the American public cries out loudly for impeachment, Republicans will listen.
No one but former Senator Jeff Flake has the guts to admit how many enemies Trump has within his own party. (The Arizona Republican, speaking to USA Today last month, estimated that 35 GOP senators would vote to remove Trump if the vote were private.) Think of all the honorable people Trump has dismissed and humiliated, the Tillersons and McMasters of the world. Where are they now? If I were Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell, or Marco Rubio, I’d be working furiously behind the scenes to dump Donald Trump and expel him from the Republican Party. If the Senate GOP hangs with Trump, the senators will go down in history as the group that destroyed our nation through inactivity. If, though, they turn against Trump, the GOP will save the nation from a very bad man, and the party’s prospects will brighten again.
I am not a firebrand. Frankly, I wish this whole terrifying mess Trump is causing would go away. But he really is turning into a political Lucifer, destroying the “natural order” of the government and aspiring to a kind of power at odds with what the Constitution envisioned. This morning the Times reports his decision to spurn cooperation with the House impeachment inquiry, branding it “illegitimate” and “partisan,” whereas if he has done nothing wrong one would think he would be eager to clear his name. Congress definitely has the right to gather information prior to charging Trump with articles of impeachment, and no amount of bluster will take that right away.
Again, I entreat every patriot to get behind impeachment as loudly as possible and to urge the House and Senate to see it through. Perhaps massive pro-impeachment rallies are the way to go.
RELATED ARTICLES:
George Will, “The Spiraling President Adds Self-Impeachment To His Repertory” (10 Oct 2019)
Thank you! It’s just amazing how so many remain in denial about Trump, including the emperor himself.
Many of us want to believe in the goodness of our government, so I think it can be wrenching to wake up to the truth that the president is “going bad.” With the Ukrainian disclosures, it’s evident.
Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds is more tragic evidence of his vicious, self-aggrandizing tendencies. This is exactly the sort of president the founders worried about when they endowed the office with so much power and prestige.
Susan, I am always happy to read your letters. But as usual I must disagree. I feel those in government with a clean unconscious support our president because he is draining those who do not. I only wish a person with Donald Trump’s honesty and integrity would be elected to the governorship of my state.
Dave, I can’t think of a single thing the President has done to diminish government corruption, can you? I would love to believe that the US had a reformer in the White House, but it isn’t so. Instead, evidence is mounting that the President has a personal agenda at odds with his sworn fidelity to the Constitution.
Congress has taken many disciplinary actions against its own members over the years. Both Republicans and Democrats have been removed from office (in both House and Senate) for wrong-doing. We might want the rules of politics to be different, but I think Congress has done a fair job of policing the political class and removing bad apples (including many hailing from my own state of Illinois, from Aaron Schock to Dan Rostenkowski).
Impeachment isn’t something any of us, or any party, should take personally. President Trump and his administration should comply with the process and have faith that if he has done nothing wrong, his name will be cleared when the process reaches the Republican-controlled Senate.
Farmer Dave-I read your comments about T.Rump with great sadness and astonishment. I just can’t believe that you would want someone like him to represent the United States as Prez, with all the horrid and consistent lying he has been doing since taking office. T.Rump is a man without ANY integrity or honesty at all. He is totally unhinged, deranged, and delusional, not to mention erratic and unpredictable. He has no idea of truth, and therefore has NO friends and is mistrusted throughout the world. His word is not to to be trusted: his word is not his “bond.”
He betrayed our allies–the Kurds–, who nobly fought beside, and shed their blood along with, OUR troops to defeat ISIS. By a large majority, the House of Representatives passed a measure repudiating his disgusting decision. Mitch McConell, head of the Senate majority, wrote a long op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week calling Rump’s decision to do that, and I quote,”a grave strategic mistake.” Rump is not a man of honesty or integrity; his ugly actions, tantrums, and decisions clearly show that.
Yes, if Trump can engage and ask for foreign help, what is to stop others running for Congress or the Senate? Gee, then think, the White House and the above-mentioned would all be beholden to foreign leaders. T.Rump enjoys seeking friendships with other psychotic leaders–like Putin, Erdogan, and Kim from North Korea–while ditching and ridiculing our traditional, old-time friends.
George Will made a similar point in an editorial published today. If Congress’s power to investigate the president is “illegitimate” as Trump claims, then every subsequent president can violate the Constitution with impunity.
Read it here.
Farmer Dave, how do you feel about Trump betraying the Kurds and then saying “they didn’t help us at Normandy”? . . . Those Kurds fought beside American soldiers for years helping us defeat ISIS…..Is Trump’s betrayal an act of honesty and integrity?
Susan, I believe he is doing very well. President Trump is deeply involved in the slow process of undoing several decades or more of government overgrowth and overreach. WOTUS overturned, EPA budget down 31%.
I enjoy that he calls the major news media for what they have become. He is not exposing them; he is vocalizing what any intelligent person has known after listening to the news for many years.
I read the transcript of his conversation with the Ukrainian President. He did nothing wrong in that call. There were no Soprano type innuendos.
If Congress follows correct process I have no doubt the President will co-operate. Just because a few radical congressional millionaires are very vocal is not reason to play their game. What President Trump may be doing is akin to saying “put up or shut up”. His actions in this have violated no rules. He knows a bluff and how to deal with it.
US politics has become more like a soap opera than groups of public servants protecting our interests. I voted for Donald Trump in hopes he would support me and my posterity. He has through his actions become my greatest supporter. If the chance to do so occurs I will ask him to do a second term.
Best wishes, David
David, The president is a bad apple. Millions of voters and hundreds of politicians cast votes for him and have given him the benefit of the doubt. He promised changes that a complacent political establishment lacked the stomach for and was not going to take on. Yes, the political system will still have many problems once Trump is gone. But he carelessly violated all kinds of federal election laws, counting on everyone being too afraid of him–or too dependent on him–to object. His gamble nearly worked. I am sorry to see that so many in Congress are cowards. They seem to be unable to recognize a Constitutional crisis unless it hits them in the face.
I sure hope the GOP will desert Trump ASAP and move on. Sadly the Democrats are in a state of terrible disarray, so much so that even if Trump is removed the GOP could run someone else and defeat the Dems. It’s all awful, but the republic will be no more if the House and Senate fail to remove Trump.
Susan, what election laws were violated by President Trump, or maybe by Donald Trump candidate? If any were violated, I am not aware of it and would vary much like to know.
I support oversight of all members of our elected [government] including the president. We know what congressional salaries are. I want to know how most congressmen are millionaires whose fortunes were accumulated after being elected. No matter which side of this discussion a person is on, we can possibly agree that government agencies are effected by nepotism, favors, and the buddy system. Not just federal but including city, state, and county.
Donald Trump, possibly the most effective dealmaker in history, has been elected to the presidency; he is not a member of government status quo. He was not elected by any special interest group. I’ve not seen an action by him that is contrary to what he has promised during the ’16 run up. Here in my corner of the world our economy is booming, wages are up, crime is down. It seems that way to me. In foreign affairs (a main presidential function), I applaud his actions to date. Historically USA spoke softly and carried a big stick–before Vietnam. I see no reason to keep our southern border open while sending young Americans to fight and die protecting other’s borders around the world. NATO, UN, NAFTA all are adding to the giant sucking sound described by Ross Perot as our jobs and money [being] sucked away by those interests. President Trump is having a good effect on those agreements.
So called “gun violence” is a major problem inflamed by the inaction of congress. There are so many things that can be done to prevent these mass killings by deranged children yet the only thing that gets done is lots and lots of talk about incrementally depriving legal, tax paying, working, law-abiding citizens of their constitutionally protected, natural right to keep and bear arms. I have no concern that President Trump will back any of these unconstitutional missteps.
It is my hope that President Trump will be in office long enough to tackle the political indoctrination problem in our schools and universities, and the matter of public employee unions before he leaves office.
Impeachment: I think Nancy has figuratively “spit into the wind” and will fail in her position because of it. Claims of wrongdoing by President Trump to date have all been unsubstantiated claims generated by political opponents and echoed by news media.
Dave, the US is sliding down into a state of mediocrity, no question about it. Many urgent public issues are being neglected. And I agree with you that Congress is failing the people because its members have succumbed to partisanship–or are, at least, fanatically committed to keeping up its appearance. We’re about to learn how many of our elected officials remember that their duty is to something higher than partisan advantage or their own personal comfort.
The purpose of the House impeachment inquiry is to draw up defensible charges as to what the president has done wrong. So it would be presumptuous of me to answer your question. But inviting or seeking to entice another government to help one win re-election is illegal. If it weren’t, our elections would be meaningless, because the outcomes would no longer reflect the people’s will.
https://www.businessinsider.com/laws-trump-could-have-broken-ukraine-whistleblower-case-2019-9
Besides, the standard for impeachment is broader and need not be based on the issue of whether Trump broke a law. The Founders provided for the impeachment of federal officials in cases where their peers judge their behavior to be unworthy or negligent of their office. The idea of a high crime pertains to what is expected of a person occupying a “high” office. (Hence Clinton’s impeachment, which essentially hinged on his lying about having had an intern give him a blow job in the Oval Office.) Was his impeachment ridiculous? Or did it accomplish something, in that he was called to account for demeaning his office and behaving in a way that was unworthy of it? Even though impeachment is clumsy, I do believe it works in the way that the Framers intended it to. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_crimes_and_misdemeanors)
I am sorry you can’t see that your hero isn’t worth admiring. Unlike President Jackson, who was outrageous yet revered the Union and the Constitution, Trump cares for nothing but manipulating your sentiments for the sake of remaining in power.
Susan I believe these times are not the times of past. Please review this link.
https://www.google.com/search?q=mexican+cartel&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE7ei23rzlAhWTsZ4KHcvxCMAQ_AUIESgB&biw=1536&bih=748
Or search for “Mexican cartel” in news.
This is our neighbor to the south. They do not have the capacity to produce civilized society in Mexico unless we help. Venezuela has collapsed and resembles a middle eastern country as to living conditions. The biggest help we can provide is to stop the flow of money from illegal drugs and such across our southern border. The only action our congress has taken in the past is whatever is easy and does not upset the status quo. President Trump, being outside the political correctness controls of the Washington beltway, is moving in the right direction. Not by illegal actions; instead by draining the Washington swamp, supporting us first, and seeing to our security. This is not the United States dreamt of by those who freed us from British control, nor is it the “Good ol USA” of the postwar years. As countries over the world rise and fall, I wish for ours to remain strong, respected and honorable. I think President Trump’s actions are in support of my wishes and the wishes of a majority of Americans. If there are any illegal or unsavory actions made by him, I wish to know about it. What I have heard so far are whines and complaints from millionaire career politicians as the water recedes.
Interestingly, we share many common dreams for the US. I agree with you that many Latin American countries are melting down, and that their deteriorating condition is sobering and impacts the US. I also agree that our Southern border should be completely controlled, and that everyone in our country should be known to the government and have some kind of status. It makes me terribly sad to think of anyone living in the US in fear–no one should be in the shadows, because that makes for a situation where people can be mistreated and exploited without legal recourse. It’s shameful that Congress and the president haven’t managed to collaborate on this and make a deal that everyone can live with. (So much for Trump being “a great dealmaker”–it very much depends on your definition.)
Likewise, I think continued US supremacy depends on standing up to China on every front. I also agree with your assessment of the futility of many of our foreign military initiatives and endless wars. I want a smaller and more efficient (but still strong and active) government and military. The US needs a smaller budget, clearer goals, and a much smaller administration. It needs to invest more in its own resources and people. Trump is on to something, in that making the US a stronger and more well-integrated sovereign nation is the way to restore American prestige. But throwing over the Constitution and its protections isn’t the way to go. Trump is against the very expertise and continuity that the US needs to remain a safe, stable, and respected country. His attacks on other talented and public-minded officials are uncalled for. Such comments bring shame on us all and weaken the bonds that are necessary for our government to run effectively. When Trump began disparaging people like Rex Tillerson (an Eagle scout) and Jeff Flake (let alone John McCain!), I wrote him off. He’s a boor and I am embarrassed to have someone like him representing our country.
I was opposed to impeachment until his outrageous actions vis-a-vis Ukraine became known. He is merely playing at being a patriot–don’t be fooled. Put your energies into finding younger and more virtuous people who can grow into effective reformers and party leaders.
Hey Farmer Dave-I do enjoy exchanging political views with you, but, gee, I sure wish you would stop turning a blind eye to the consistent way Rump lies and lies, and lies again. He sure does love to talk tough, but never forget what a yellow-bellied coward he was when he was drafted to serve our country in a time of war (during Vietnam). He was a FIVE-time draft-dodger, having his rich daddy pay off corrupt doctors (FIVE times) claiming–totally falsely–that his cowardly son had “bone spurs.”
When it was time for me to sign up, I did. My dad drove me to the draft board and proudly watched me sign up. In my family, there is a long and proud tradition of serving our nation in times of war. Every male member, on my mom’s side and dad’s, served, either in the Pacific theater or Europe. My dad was a cryptographer at an air base in Italy; my uncle won a Bronze Star for bravery while fighting the Nazis in France. One of my cousins’ grandfathers was a spy for the OSS (that was the precursor to the CIA) in Thailand and Burma gathering intelligence on the Japanese. My uncle lived to be over 100, got a handwritten note from Obama thanking him for his service.
I know another vet who for 40 days fought fearlessly in the Battle of the Bulge against the Nazis; that was one heck of a bloody awful fight. He is now 95 and has nothing but contempt for Rump’s talking tough and being a yellow-bellied coward. Most living vets do despise him, especially since our yellow bellied Prez has betrayed the Kurds. How can any of our allies ever trust him???
Rump is not a patriot: he cares only for himself, enriching his companies, and having his children use the clout of his name to gain contracts all over the world. Rump ALWAYS cheats, lies, and deceives; he is not a Christian at all. I think, and many, many others do too, that he is some kind of anti-Christ, an agent of Satan. The devil ALWAYS lies too; deceives and cheats, and makes false promises.
Farmer Dave, I just wrote a lot; I hope you will read this and contemplate some.
Harley. I signed up to be drafted; two weeks later the draft ended. I did enlist a few years later; later still my son did, and my grandson has just completed his four years’ active duty. During WW2, my father, four uncles enlisted. One uncle made multiple jumps and two glider landings behind enemy lines in Europe. They all came home after, raised families and died at old age. WW2 was a war; in war there is an enemy, and the enemy will win or we will win. Vietnam was a police action. Overall, it did not matter much to life in this country if we won or lost. And we lost. We are still losing. A friend died about two years ago from Agent Orange exposure and a neighbor is suffering still from it. I dated a woman once who had two children and her husband was killed in Vietnam. She and her children are still suffering from that police action. How many blood lines ended in Vietnam?
What I want is a strong military that is prepared, well equipped, and does lots and lots of peacetime training. But I don’t really care that in the Middle East they have been at war over bread crumbs since before recorded history. Supporting those wars with troops is not worth a dozen or more veteran suicides per day.
I voted for Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush. Of those three only Ronald Reagan really benefited our country. But I voted by choosing the one I thought best for the job. Last election I voted for Donald Trump. I did so because there was no other competent candidate. I listened to his words and thought “At least he talks a good talk”. Three years in and he has made every effort to honor his campaign promises. It appears he thrives on the stress that ages presidents so rapidly.
Harley, think about this. He is beyond any doubt getting things done past presidents have been unable to do. Back in George W’s time, a resolution to build the wall was passed by congress yet no wall was ever built. He is working through the hidebound, business-as-usual, get-nothing-done Washington Bureaucracy. He has gotten the EPA budget reduced by 31%, overturned WOTUS. We need him in there as long as he continues to reduce government and government regulation of our lives.
In love and war, there are rules that most people follow to some degree; in politics, there are not. When I hear Nancy Pelosi calling the president a liar, I know she is lying because that is what our US politics has become. “Politicians are liars”. It is hard even for an honest person to hold office because everyone thinks they are lying.
Now back to you, Harley; I do not know if you are just lying like Nancy does or maybe you can provide something to back up your claims? What has President Trump done that is not in the best interest of all of us? By the way, the Kurds shared intelligence with him about the location of al-Baghdadi who was killed yesterday. Please be specific. Thanks, David.
Morning Susan. As this drama unfolds, many things occur to me. National news media seems to have a marathon of speaking against anything President or Donald Trump has done in his life. Yet what they are discussing is all empty of evidence other than, they don’t like him, they want him out of office. My theory of “feed more rope and they will hang themselves” is likely applicable in this case.
If there is a Russian connection effecting corruption in our country it is likely Ukraine is the conduit for it. Shouldn’t our president bring to light any wrongdoing he is aware of? Shouldn’t he request Ukraine, our ally, to investigate anyone connected with possible corruption? Joe Biden is not as of yet a political rival, doubtful he ever will be. So what is this really about? Again it is innuendo and re-parroting of the same old unsubstantiated claims. What about President Trump asking Ukraine to investigate pay offs and bribery? Because it may involve the son of a US official, we should just look the other way? I think not.
The corruption in our federal government, connected to Russian influence or not, needs to be derailed. Donald Trump campaigned on “draining the swamp”. What we are seeing now in the impeachment fiasco is nothing more than the swamp attempting to fighting back. The louder the corrupted are the deeper they are in the corruption.
Dave, look at the comment you have just written. It merely parrots a pro-Trumpian line that some media outlet has fed you. This is not your own thinking–it’s just a bunch of black-and-white judgments about the political class and our government formulated to make you cling to Trump. The big winner in all this is Russia, which is having a field day planting disinformation. “Make Russia Great Again”: is this the base purpose you want serve?
The current crisis recalls a famous statement of Benjamin Franklin who, when asked what kind of government the Constitutional convention had formed, said, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” Having a republican form, where citizens delegate powers to leaders, demands that citizens pay attention and use their reason. We continue to bear an on-going responsibility for sifting through the news and using our powers as citizens to select the right leaders. Over the centuries, the citizens have done a pretty good job. We have had mainly competent presidents and a number of truly outstanding ones. We have also elected many conscientious and patriotic senators and congressmen over the years, as well as some scoundrels and hacks.
The parties used to be the gatekeepers to the Senate and presidency. They would block wannabes who were incompetent or too inexperienced to be nominated. Now that gatekeeping function is gone, allowing a demagogue like Trump to get into the most powerful office in the world. It’s sad that he has gained the trust of so many, who foolishly regard him as a savior when he is really a political Lucifer–the last thing our imperiled nation needs.
The 24 hour news cycle is too much. There is too much foolish and harmful “commentary” and opinionating all across the political spectrum. Writers and broadcasters are responsible for the dissatisfaction and disillusionment that many Americans feel. So many aspects of our government are sound and praiseworthy, but, instead of emphasizing and building on what is good, many Americans are throwing up their hands and disavowing their responsibility to respond to this crisis constructively.
Disavow Trump and feel good again.
Maybe the news media parroting what I am saying to you might make you think twice about it, or maybe my words will cause you to look twice at it.
When Barack Obama was elected to the presidency I was speechless, shocked, that anyone so inexperienced could possibly be elected. He is a “Wallflower” who has charm that affects some the way John Kennedy affected the masses. But when this man was re-elected after four years of progressing socialism by leaps and bounds, I then felt certain that voting is rigged completely and there is nothing short of a civil war that would ever stop the slide into the loss of all freedoms.
After eight years of the Clinton administration, after Hillary Care laying the ground work for socialized medicine, I am certain that I want no one from that camp to be in charge of anything in our country, especially not the White House.
Can you imagine the reactions the framers of our government would have to Obama Care, NASA, a standing military policing the world? The ESA, DoE (education), BLM, USFS. Not because they had no need or understanding of such agencies, but instead because all these things are completely contrary to constitutional law. Those men and women of that era were outside the electric and electronic communication age. They were highly educated and placed all the safeguards into our founding documents they could possibly imagine, yet they knew it was only temporary. All of history shows the natural progression of government is to become corrupted by time into bloated self serving cancer.
Along comes a very successful man who appears to speak truth instead of the politically correct non-sense. I voted for him knowing that the business as usual government would be completely upset. I am thrilled and heartened by his success to date. He coined the phrase “Drain the Swamp”, I cannot think of a better description.
I believe in the capabilities of the individual. Individuals through out history have made all the great inventions and solved the problems, not government or federal regulations.
I think we both are interested in the same results but each of us sees today from a different prospective. Of course I am right.
Why “of course”?