Greetings,
Our country is tired of impeachment and there’s a long way left to go… one way or another. I worry that adding my thoughts to the pile will be boring and that you’ll just stop reading now. If you did, you might be happier! But while the thoughts of politicians and pundits matter, in a democracy the opinion and judgement of citizens matters too. I can’t help it, I feel like it’s my obligation to speak out on the government theoretically operating in my name. I hope you can make room for one more opinion from a fellow citizen watching the circus with you from out here in the cheap seats.
Someone made allegations of an ongoing, possibly impeachable, abuse of power by a president. AS ONE WOULD EXPECT, one set of spin doctors stated a case and another set questioned it. That’s critically important… every assertion must be open to questioning and probing to determine truth. Someone has to perform that role and the Republicans definitely did, but here’s something just as critically important as the questions… the answers. Actual investigation turned up a uniform wall of people and documents supporting every jot and tiddle of the initial allegations, along with much more. But the questioners fared less well. It’s legitimate to ask a question, but if the answer is ‘no’ then it’s time to move on. The vast, vast majority of the Republican’s answers were ‘no’, but the ‘move on’ didn’t happen.
I’m stunned at how short-sighted Trump’s Republican supporters have been. I understand political reality and self-interest, but I don’t understand how the same Republicans who decry Big Government are so willing to give future presidents the powers of a monarch… or dictator. The House just passed a law extending the horrific powers of the Patriot Act… I can only imagine how a future ‘transactional’ president could abuse the power of the NSA to smear a political opponent. Any future president would find the ability to ignore Legislative subpoenas very useful in avoiding Constitutional oversight of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Nixon was proven tragically wrong that “when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal”. No president rules by fiat, but a sober exercise of communally granted power for communal good, constrained by law and the obligation to the country. Unless we let them.
We set high standards in law and custom for public trust, but we also know some people won’t meet (and others won’t even try to meet) those standards. What happens when they don’t? How do we handle it? That’s the question before us, or at least our Congress, right now. They’ll ask their own questions and find their own answers, but this citizen has already made up his mind.
Make a great day,
Digging Deeper…
Usually I include links to the info I used to write this article or to resources to learn more or take action. This month let’s do something different… if you’d like to Dig Deeper I’d like to hear about it. What’s YOUR opinion on Impeachment? Please write 200-500 words on any aspect of impeachment and send it to TomDwyer@TomDwyer.com with “Tidbits” in the subject line. We’ll print all entries in next month’s newsletter for all the Tom Dwyer community to share. Thank you!
Digging Even Deeper…
OK, I do have another couple links to share. We have two past Tidbits on impeachment that are even more relevant today. “Reality… deal with it!” deals with the reality of impeachment vs. the spin the Republicans are putting on it. “Coup”, “overthrow the president”, “witch hunt”, etc. “It’s time for you… YOU… to Judge” was written after the Mueller report dropped, and deals with the obligation of citizens and politicians to judge the facts placed before them. While Mueller was overtaken by the whistleblower, the same logic applies as we consider the question now before us… no longer a hypothetical, but a grim reality.
