What specific Constitutional provisions has President Trump violated? I decided to do some research. Rizzo, in an article of the Washington Post penned: There’s no hard-and-fast definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist No. 65 that it covers offenses “which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.” I find that rather vague.
Yes, President Trump did ask for an investigation of Joe Biden...but was that request made as a subtle way to discredit a potential 2020 opponent or a way to document corruption? At the very least, censure by the House expresses their disapproval. At the most extreme end of the continuum, impeachment over an ambiguous phrase sounds like hopeful desperation. Partisan politicians have been aching to do this for quite some time, harping at Pelosi's reluctance. She apparently wavered from one foot to the other until it became politically expedient, somehow figuring a tipping point in her favor. Now there's an excited buzz filling the House and the show is on.
I am consistently dismayed by President Trump's absence of a filter, unprofessional dialogue, lack of polish and and reversals; but I was equally dismayed over the conduct of President Obama. For example, his haste in fanning racial flames before investigations constituted an egregious abuse of power in my view, but I didn't hear any feeding frenzy over impeaching the man. I found his anti-American rhetoric abroad disturbing. As an independent, I didn't vote for him, but I held my dismay in check out of respect for the office and the need to let him do his job.
The most disturbing element of the cries for impeachment are the focus of the government away from obvious US problems: establishing trade agreements with China, figuring out how to support the Kurdish rebels without armed forces, holding interest rates steady, etc. But here we go. Forget the needs of the people. Let's have a circus! The Democrats are poised to entertain.
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