Impeach Trump!

As former president Ronald Reagan might say, “There they go again!” The Dems and most of the mainstream media just cannot help themselves. They hate Mr. Trump so much and want to get rid of him so badly that they continually “jump the gun” and end up embarrassing themselves when the actual facts are determined. This has been going on since even before Mr. Trump was sworn in as president.

Below please find a list of some of the highlights, or, rather, lowlights:

1. Collusion with Russia to “steal” the 2016 election.
2. Obstruction of the Mueller investigation.
3. The Mueller report was supposed to provide definitive proof of the above.
4. Testimony of James Comey, Corey Lewandowski and others before Congress that were sure to implicate Mr. Trump in various crimes, but did not do so.
5. For good measure we were subjected to the misreporting of the Covington kids affair and the relentless smearing of Justice Kavanaugh during his hearing.
6. Now, Mr. Trump was supposed to have threatened Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

What is the common thread of all of the above? A rush to judgment before the facts are in, and the subsequent embarrassment when it was determined there was “no there there.” Writing in the WSJ Kim Strassel pointed this out opining that the Dems had opened the impeachment investigation “based on a whistleblower complaint they had not seen [and a second-hand one at that] and a transcript they had not read.” It turns out that this whistleblower is a disgruntled CIA employee working in the White House who may, in fact, have his own agenda.

All in all, the Dems (not all of them, but a significant number of them) and their allies in the media have wasted three years during which time they have single-mindedly focused on how to “get” Mr. Trump rather than focusing on the real problems that need fixing, for example, healthcare, income inequality, student debt, and infrastructure, to name a few. They were elected to deal with these and other issues, not to waste their time trying to build a case for impeachment. I cannot recall any significant legislation emanating from the Congress in the last three years. Can you? The current Congress has distinguished itself as the quintessential “do nothing” Congress. Some of you may recall that Harry Truman won election in 1948 largely by using that as an issue. How are the 30 or so moderate Dems who were elected in 2018 from districts that Mr. Trump carried in 2016 supposed to hold their seats in 2020 with this record? They can’t be pleased that Pelosi has abandoned them in favor of the radical impeachment wing.

Once again, in the Ukraine case they have acted prematurely, before all the facts are in, before even seeing the transcript, before even interviewing the whistleblower to assess the veracity of his claim. This time, there may have been actual wrongdoing. As I write this, we simply don’t know enough facts to make a reasonable judgment. And that is my point.

The Trump haters want it so badly that they have lost their judgment. Even Nancy Pelosi, who heretofore had shown great restraint on the impeachment issue, has fallen victim to TDS (“Trump derangement syndrome”). I know she has characterized it as an “investigation” of the feasibility of impeachment, but to me and many others that is a distinction without a difference.

As most of us now know, Mr. Trump has released the transcript of his telephone call with Mr. Zelensky. Without getting lost in the weeds I think it is fair to say that it is not a “smoking gun” as has been claimed (hoped?) by some. At most, it is benign and inconclusive. There is nothing demonstrating that Mr. Trump threatened Zelensky with any quid pro quo nor that he pressured him to reopen an investigation of Hunter Biden. He asked Zelensky to “look into” the case that had been mysteriously dropped after former VP, Joe Biden, had threatened to withhold a loan guarantee if it were not. There is no doubt that Joe did this. He bragged about on tape.

The context of the conversation is significant. It is well known that for years Ukraine has been plagued by corruption. Zelensky has made it a priority to root it out wherever it may be. He has given his newly-appointed prosecutor a mandate and full autonomy do this. Therefore, would it not be normal for Mr. Trump, as part of a broader conversation, to ask him to look into the Biden case?

Nevertheless, some have chosen to interpret the transcript to fit their narrative. For example, Adam Schiff, who has not exactly been a paragon of objectivity or accuracy for the past three years, characterized it as a “shakedown” worthy of a “mafia don.” Others don’t agree. They point out that in a recent press conference Zelensky stated emphatically that no one “pushed” him to do anything. So, if you want to be objective, do you believe a whistle blower that admits he does not have a firsthand account or what you hear on tape from the principal directly involved. This reminds me of that old Groucho Marx joke, and I paraphrase: “do you believe what I tell you or what you see with your own eyes?”

By the way, the aforementioned Hunter Biden case presents a far more compelling instance of corruption and influence-peddling. Briefly, a Ukrainian oligarch hired Hunter to serve on the board of his energy company and paid him some $50,000 a month. For what? Certainly, not for his expertise in the field. Coincidentally, at the time Biden Senior was VP of the US. Wow! My nine year-old granddaughter could connect those dots.

Biden Junior walked away with millions of dollars. Supposedly, he had a similar deal with China. I am not accusing the Bidens of any criminal wrongdoing, but I think an investigation is certainly merited. This has been severely underreported, if not ignored.

I will concede that Mr. Trump is not popular on a personal level. For example, a recent NBC/WSJ poll reported that 69% of voters do not “like [him] personally,” although his approval rating has stood at about 45% consistently. The actual grounds for impeachment as stated in that pesky document we call the Constitution are somewhat vague, but as former President, Gerald Ford, famously intoned: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.” Got it? I doubt that the intent of the framers of the Constitution was to authorize impeaching a duly-elected official simply because we don’t like him, personally. If that were the standard I could think of a dozen or more Dems I would like impeached.

Incidentally, polls often reach contrary conclusions and should be read with a grain of salt. For example, reporter Carrie Dunn disclosed that the same poll found a “the electorate at large expresses doubts” with respect to some of the progressive policies being espoused by many of the Dem candidates, including the three leaders – Warren, Biden and Sanders. One might conclude that, at the moment, the voters are not really endorsing any person or any policies, or maybe the results have been influenced by the manner in which the questions were asked.

While we’re discussing polls I would like to point out that a recent Quinnipiac poll disclosed that 57% do not want to see the president impeached. This was despite his personal unpopularity and the massive negative reporting to date on this issue. Once again, the average American voter has demonstrated he has more sense than the politicians. If the Dems proceed with impeachment I expect this number to increase, perhaps, sharply. Some of you will recall that President Clinton’s popularity soared as he was being impeached.

CONCLUSION

So, let’s review. Do Mr. Trump’s actions rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors?” Do they justify impeachment? Or, do we have another instance of Trump-haters jumping the gun and seeing a crime that isn’t there? I will leave it to you, the reader, to decide. But, at least, decide based on the facts, not your personal dislike of Mr. Trump.

In my opinion, this is just another case of some people trying to negate the results of the 2016 election. I find the timing rather curious, however, since by the time any impeachment proceeding and subsequent trial in the Senate will have runs its course it would almost be Election Day anyway. Could it be that Pelosi realizes the Dems are about to lose big in 2020? Hmm.

My advice to the Trump-haters is give it up, already. You would be advised to look at life through the windshield, not the rear view window. In other words, focus on the 2020 election rather than continually trying to undue the 2016 election. Even if you were to succeed, what would you gain? Hillary would not ascend to the Presidency. Pence would, and he would be eligible to run two more times. Uh oh! The best way to oust Mr. Trump is to WIN THE 2020 ELECTION.