Democrats’ needless ‘national nightmare’
The biggest casualty of Donald Trump’s impeachment may be the impeachment process itself.
Growing up in the shadow of Richard Nixon’s failed presidency, there was a certain sense of awe connected to the institution of impeachment. Nixon resigned before he was impeached, as he said, to hasten “the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.”
His resignation was a definitive moment in the formative years of today’s Washington leadership. Impeachment was the ultimate political spectacle in America. For some, Nixon’s downfall was a long sought-after objective. For others, a time of sadness and shame. But everyone recognized the magnitude of what President Gerald Ford called “our long national nightmare.”
The 1998-99 Clinton impeachment was not as grand a moment. The crimes he was accused of lacked Watergate’s sense of gravity. In the Senate, the only bipartisanship was for acquittal. Public opinion was also on Clinton’s side; his approval numbers remained strong throughout the process.
Clinton’s experience and that of Nixon informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s statement last March that “impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so ... overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path.”
Unfortunately, Pelosi did not heed her own counsel. In Trump’s impeachment there was no bipartisanship. Members of both parties are hardened in their respective positions. This is primarily because Democrats have failed to make a compelling, easily understandable case against Trump.
The alleged crimes are overbroad and constitutionally suspect. The process was rushed. There is also the impression that many Democrats were out to get Trump from the beginning. They have not made their case to the American people. In the past few weeks, polls have moved in the president’s favor.
While Trump’s approval ratings are far below those Clinton enjoyed during his impeachment, the trend lines of support are not at all like Nixon’s.
Naturally, President Trump is having none of it. He believes he did nothing wrong and knows the Senate is unlikely to remove him. He can rally his base with his accustomed bombast, making impeachment just another campaign moment on his road to a second term.
Meanwhile, some Republicans have already pledged to impeach the next Democratic president just for payback. This would complete the descent of impeachment from a last-resort tool of national necessity to a partisan cudgel.
And this national nightmare is unlikely to end any time soon. The process of healing that Richard Nixon invoked is even more desperately needed today.