The impeachment process has finally begun, for the fourth time in U.S. history. The key difference is that unlike the only president to be impeached in recent history, Bill Clinton; Donald Trump has no shame and truly believes that he did nothing wrong.
For the better part of three years, Democrats in Congress and liberal activists across the country have been calling for the removal of Donald Trump from office. And now after he has been in office for close to three years Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has finally announced that the impeachment process is formally beginning.
Since the days following his inauguration, the Democratic party has been working towards his impeachment, gathering evidence and shaking their fingers menacingly at the Trump administration every time they exhibit questionable morals.
Only two presidents have ever been impeached, and they were both acquitted by the Senate. Due to the current Senate majority in the president’s favor, it is highly unlikely that the cycle of history will be broken and that removal of their party leader from office will happen. The problem with moving forward with the impeachment process in such a politically overpowering Senate is that the Democratic party is setting themselves up for disappointment, the likely result being a media circus and probable acquittal.
What Happens Next?
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the formal impeachment proceedings has begun, setting into motion the process of the House Committee gathering and submitting evidence of the president’s wrongdoings to the Judiciary Committee. In the event of sufficient evidence, which is a given considering how long Congress has been planning this venture, the Judiciary Committee will send the articles of impeachment to Congress for a vote to impeach Donald Trump.
If the House votes to impeach, then voila Trump is impeached which essentially puts his past actions under an even smaller microscope and the process is taken to the Republican-controlled Senate. This is where the process may begin to lose steam, the articles of impeachment are now in the hands of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who is the least likely person in the Senate to remove Trump from office.
The last time a president was impeached, the impeachment trial was also held by a Senate politically aligned with the disgraced president in question. The outcome was a man whose reputation was disgraced yet he remained in office – as the President of the United States of America. In the event the articles of impeachment make it to the Senate, it is doubtful that our defendant will have the same sense of humiliation or will have a Julius Caesar moment and be fired from his job by the President of the Senate.
Impeachment Doesn’t Actually Do Anything
In regards to the role of Congress in the event of impeachment, their actions serve to appeal to the accused’s sense of honor and self-decency, as well as drawing up evidence of his wrongdoings. If Trump is successfully impeached, until the Senate votes to hold a trial, Congress has essentially waved their finger at Trump, questioning his honor and morals. Trump is still president, he has simply been confronted.
The problem is that Trump has neither a sense of honor or any moral compass to speak of, and the Senate is fully aware of Trump’s sins and transgressions committed during his term. The three-year quest of the Democratic party to impeach Trump is a revenge goal, the chance of him being removed from office is slim to none and serves no purpose except to publicly shame a man who has no shame.
While Congress must take action to both initiate and affirm the impeachment they only begin the process, it’s up to the Senate to officially hold Trump accountable for his actions. The current system sees Congress as the watchdogs and prosecutor, while the Senate is intended to be the enforcer, judge, and jury.
Why Even Bother With Impeachment
The fact that the impeachment process is starting so late into Trump’s term shows showcases the absolute absurdity of the entire affair. The fact that Congress and the Democratic party is pushing impeachment this late in the game shows the clouded judgment they have regarding what is the best for the country.
The responsible thing to do would be to wait out the last few months of Trump’s term and dedicate their energy towards identifying and unifying in support of a candidate who can stand up against him come November 2020. Unfortunately, the single-track mind of Congress will ensure that it does not happen, as they do their best to put forth a political circus of impeachment the bigger prize – a democratic win in 2020 may remain elusive.