Impeachment does nothing to unite a divided America
As with everything in these tumultuous times, Americans are divided over the impeachment of President Donald Trump, which won enough House votes Wednesday to proceed.
The Morning Consult-Politico survey found that 53% support the House impeachment of Trump and 54% say the Senate should convict him and remove him from office.
According to the poll, nearly 90% of Democrats back the move and about 80% of Republicans oppose.
One thing, however, is certain: Charging Trump with incitement of insurrection will do nothing to heal our divided nation.
Vice President Mike Pence cited the country’s rift as he rejected invoking the 25th Amendment in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I do not believe that such a course of action is in the best interest of our nation or consistent with our Constitution. I urge you and every member of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of the moment.”
Millions of reasonable, lawabiding Trump voters also condemn the violence perpetrated by insurrectionists and agents of chaos last Wednesday, but are finding themselves lumped in with the mob and disheartened that this will be Trump’s legacy.
As South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace told Fox News, “Every accomplishment that the president had over the last four years has been wiped out.”
Impeachment also hampers the incoming administration of Joe Biden.
While the House fast-tracked its procedure and reached the 217 votes necessary to impeach, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not running to catch this political train. He wrote to Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer and rejected his request that the Senate reconvene this week to take up the matter. A trial won’t begin until Jan. 19 at the earliest.
The inauguration is set for Jan. 20, which means the partisan predicament gets underway as Biden faces the urgency of accelerating the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, the need to jumpstart an economic recovery, and the host of issues he promised to tackle on Day One such as climate change and immigration reform.
The 222 House Democrats who voted to impeach Trump just sideswiped the man they chose as his replacement.
For the Dems who lead the charge to impeach, there is more than just the desire to remove Trump from office, the occupancy of which is nearing its final week.
Nancy Pelosi spoke to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley about precautions in place that could prevent “an unstable president” from launching a nuclear strike.
A formidable job of fearmongering, but the haste to impeach had little to do with forestalling Armageddon — it’s about salting the earth so Trump may never seek office again.
Schumer issued a statement on the ultimate endgame, saying, “But make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate; there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors; and if the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again.”
Though Trump’s stock has fallen precipitously since the Capitol riot, he had eyed a return in 2024. Should that option be off the table, there will be many supporters who will feel disenfranchised.
The fallout will be seen at the midterms.