Of Impeachment and Bipartisanship

Of course, the impeachment process would be best with bipartisan support. Perhaps Republican critics could show us how. As the President and his supporters in Congress sing loudly for sweet harmony, the line of partisanship is drawn in the sand. The founders required bipartisan support for the impeachment process? Really? Where in the constitution or the writings of the founders is that found? 

Because Republicans insist on bipartisan impeachment proceedings,  they posit that Mr. Trump is entitled to ignore the proceedings. Pointing out the obvious here, but Mr. Trump is not allowed to write his own rules instead of letting the Congress exercise oversight privileges. 

Why not vote on the matter now? In previous impeachment proceedings, there has always been a special prosecutor gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, following leads to present to the full House of Representatives for a full vote. In this case, the Justice Department has declined to investigate or assign a special prosecutor. The House is currently filling that gap with what is, in essence, a Grand Jury investigation. The investigation is underway. The evidence is being gathered in closed hearings to ensure witnesses speak truthfully before the case is presented to the full House. 

Yes, Pelosi could win a vote, but it would be premature to present an incomplete case to Congress. The most significant point, however, is that Congress, as a co-equal branch of government, gets to set its own rules and conduct oversight as appropriate. This power is indeed bipartisan if one simply checks the history of Congressional oversight in the past ten years. 

I’m confident that few or no Republicans would vote in favor of the impeachment inquiry. That’s to be expected from a partisan political party. Of course, they wouldn’t support it. I wouldn’t either unless a convincing case could be made following a complete investigation. Let House finish gathering the evidence and then present it to the full House for a vote. Then we would see if there is bipartisan support. 

I strongly disagree that investigations into misbehavior by the executive branch are “fishing expeditions.” Congress has the power of oversight now and has had it since Congress began. Investigations are not “fishing expeditions” but constitutionally mandated oversight, no matter who the majority party happens to be. 

I’m pretty sure Republicans can do bipartisanship if they so desired. I would love to be wrong, but I expect that Mr. Trump’s enablers will support him right up to and maybe past the moment when he “murders someone on 5th Avenue.” I’d really love to be wrong. 

Current State of the Democratic Party - a response

Dear reader, You should go read this so this response makes sense. Thanks!

 Points taken. Now counterpoint.

The Republican Party is currently an ideological outlier, “the most extreme party coalition since the Civil War.” Their crusade against “socialism” echos the ancient fears of the John Birch Society railing against communism and the USSR, neither of which have any relevance to the current political environment.

Indeed, fear-mongering “socialism” is a terrible way to develop policies for governance and is mostly a deflection away from the agenda of the current Republican Party. Do a quick check of your family and friends, especially if they are baby boomers. How many of them enjoy the benefits of Social Security and Medicare? How many of them enjoy clean water and sewer systems, roads, weather reporting, the internet, the benefits of public education, and medicines and vaccines that keep us healthy? (This is a very brief list of the benefits of good governance.) These government programs have contributed to the quality of life we, as citizens of this country, have learned to expect and enjoy. This is part of our Freedom! Democrats will always support the expansion of these freedoms to everyone in this country.

The Green New Deal and Medicare for All are supported by Democrats and offer a vision for the future. No one left behind. Period.

Open borders, gun confiscation, late-term abortion, and the “abyss of socialism” are radical right-wing constructs, false representations of these significant and complicated issues. The current GOP is adding a layer of extremism and raw emotion to these issues. This makes it very difficult to talk about them much less develop coherent policy, again obscuring their agenda. 

The economy? Good for a few, not so good for the many. Minimum wage? Good for the many, not so much for the few. Standing on the world stage: Ignoring historical alliances, plunging the Middle East into chaos, cozying up to autocrats and dictators around the world, working hard to isolate America from its Global partners?  Leadership by tweet? Not exactly a show of strength and confidence.

I agree that the Democratic Party seems radical in comparison to the Republican Party, but it’s because the GOP has gone so far to the right. When referring to the Democratic Party as extreme, remember that the exact opposite has occurred.