Tom’s Tidbits- It’s time for you… YOU… to Judge

Whether you were born here or naturalized, no matter your political beliefs, regardless of your age, race, income, gender identity, or natural origin… if you’re a Citizen of the United States of America then a huge obligation just dropped in your lap. The Special Counsel’s report was delivered months ago, and now we’ve finally heard Mueller’s testimony on it. No new information will be coming out. We’ve got all we’re gonna get. So what’s the obligation of every Citizen now? To Decide. To Judge.

While many people are quick to claim the benefits of Citizenship (or deny them to others), only a microscopic minority are as eager to claim the obligations. A ‘Citizen’ of a country is more than a ‘resident’, and active participation in societal issues is just one of the obligations. Any resident can have opinions, in fact no human can avoid it, but Citizenship demands educated opinions based on informed consideration of issues. And even more critically; a Citizen is sometimes required to put those personal biases aside (as much as humanly possible) and act in favor of the Country as a whole.

The Special Counsel’s report demonstrated a coordinated and ongoing attack on our electoral system by an adversarial power, as well as a series and pattern of (at least) inappropriate and (arguably) illegal acts by a sitting President and his team. Just as lawyers argue for their clients regardless of guilt, partisans of every stripe will make self-serving cases from these facts regardless of actual truth. That’s what they do, it’s what they’re doing, and only gullible idiots take these partisan arguments at face value. It’s no secret I have very definite, very, very negative opinions of Trump and I’ve been very loud about them. But I’m also a Citizen, so I’ve been willing to put those opinions aside and wait while the Justice System I believe in methodically and all-too-slowly sorted fact from fiction. That part of the process is over. For me, and for every individual Citizen, the question has been called. It’s time to decide.

One frequent warning about impeachment is that it could empower Trump and ensure his next election just as it did for Clinton. I think it boosted Clinton because Citizens (particularly voting Citizens) saw his impeachment as the end of a Republican political witchhunt that was shabby and cynical from the beginning. Trump supporters obviously feel the same way this go-round, but does America as a whole? The question has been called. It’s time to decide.

For our Representatives, too, the question has been called. Nancy Pelosi has waited for a silver bullet to wake up America to Trump’s outrages, something guaranteed to remove him for office with no risk to her or her party, leaving no blood on her hands. It’s not coming. She can’t keep waiting for “more investigations” or “additional confirmation”. If she aspires to lead, then the time to lead is now. The question has been called. It’s time to decide.

Mitch McConnell has reaped windfall political benefits from a President eager to put Party over country. He’s gotten everything he could possibly want while the taint has attached to Trump. Yet even Mitch (possibly) has some stunted love of country, some remaining shred of respect for the Rule of Law that hasn’t been consumed by greed, cowardice, or self-interest. He can’t hide any longer. The question has been called. It’s time to decide.

Democrats are loud about impeachment and most may even mean it, but it’s much easier to say when impeachment is ‘out there’ somewhere; harder to do when the reality depends on their vote. Political wisdom says even if the House impeaches Trump he’ll be cleared in the Senate, and that might be true, but it underestimates the Republicans. The Senate has a 51-49 Republican majority, and though there are loud partisan Trumpets there are also Republicans of integrity. They’ve either had the luxury (or been forced, depending on their bent) to stay quiet. An impeachment vote would put them on record if the behavior of this president is something they’d accept from a Democratic president, or should even continue to accept from this one. Democrats and Republicans have mutual interests in avoiding impeachment, and even the most non-partisan must rightly consider the impact on the country of such a drastic step. But the time for dithering is over. For our Congress as a whole, the question has been called. It’s time to decide.

Republicans have accused Democrats of wanting a “second bite at the apple’ and told all America it’s “time to move on”, but these and other tropes pretend the process is (or was) over. It’s not. Other investigations are continuing, but one way or the other the process of investigating the President for collusion and obstruction is only ending now. Regardless of partisanship NONE OF US WANTED TO BE IN THIS POSITION, but we are. Action depends on our Representatives but we can’t avoid our own obligation. It’s up to Citizens to rise to the challenge of the name; to Judge, as objectively and fairly as humanly possible, what outcome serves both Truth and Justice.

Like it or not, the question has been called. Our obligation as Citizens means all of us must Decide. ALL of us must Judge. Now.

Make a great day,

aaazTomSignature