Other Views: Impeachment will not heal the nation

Thomas Reese, Religion News Service: Impeachment may be legally appropriate, but it will not heal the nation. Despite his being impeached the first time, 74 million people still voted for Trump. Will a second impeachment convince any of them? Better to leave him to federal and state prosecutors. The best punishment for Trump would be shunning, a practice in some religious and tribal societies where you treat the shunned as if they were dead. You do not talk to them or about them. They do not exist. Shunning — or its Catholic counterpart, excommunication — is the religious equivalent of amputation. It is an extreme measure to protect the community from infection.

Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., The New York Times: There is inadequate time to reasonably investigate, present and debate articles of impeachment. Rushing through the substantive and procedural requirements for such a monumental action will directly diminish the validity of impeachment. We cannot rush to judgment simply because we want retribution or ... a particular political outcome. A too-quick impeachment will not suddenly change the minds of millions of Americans who still do not recognize the election of President-elect Biden as legitimate. In fact, rushed proceedings will be seen as validating the view that impeachment is part of a multi-year campaign to delegitimize Mr. Trump’s 2016 election.