As of this date, it appears all votes on impeachment in the House and Senate trial will be heavily partisan. In history, as this event is studied and written. this history will reflect that the Senate could not reach the 2/3 threshold to convict while the Democrats reached their simple majority needed to impeach. That this will be a partisan vote is a given. History will note, however, that the evidence and proof supported the President's conviction in spite of the obstruction of the White House and their refusal to comply with subpoenas. If left to stand, this president and future presidents will be able to cite the precedent and know without repercussions they never have to reply to any Congressional oversight subpoena. The destruction it will do to the balance and separation of powers and the ability to hold a president to be subject to the rule of law or to the constitution. It is the fundamental first step to the end of democracy and the rule of an autocrat or a dictator who can claim he is above the law and can determine what the law is and who should be punished and prosecuted for opposing him.
Voting against impeachment in this case also invites foreigners to determine our future by participating in our election process and use their propaganda and social media or to hack our election machines to cause the outcome to be in their interest and not our own national interest that we, Americans, determine.. Foreigners who are our adversaries will have an agenda to weaken us and support their national goals, not ours.
So far, Trump supporters have not been able to refute the facts of the damning testimony of the impeachment inquiry witnesses and instead have resorted to reviving conspiracy theories. They have falsely claimed there were only hearsay witnesses when there were plenty of first-hand witnesses and the testimony of one of the scheme participants (Amb. Sondland). as well as the president's own words. While in real life, there could be a court of appeals, but in this process that appeals court will be the voters in the 2020 presidential election.
Impeachment alone will leave Trump with an official black eye in history. Even an impeachment vote without a conviction by the Senate is a degree of punishment. That asterisk by his name in the history books has meaning, particularly for one who has such a high opinion of himself. and carse history shares that high opinion. Whether this impeachment is because of partisanship and not because of facts and substance will only be a footnote in history books. Of course, partisan politics were at play. The facts and substance will still get top billing. Whether it is enough to deter future similar bad actors is yet to be seen. However, it may have meaning in the next election, too. For that reason, even if the chances of a Senate conviction are remote, impeachment in the House is worth it, setting the precedent that those behave as Trump has done will be called out and exposed to voters.
On November 21, in open hearings in the House, Will Hurd, retiring GOP representative from Texas, presented what will be the best argument the GOP Senators can use to vote against the conviction of Trump. After hearing the devastating evidence that indeed there was a "quid pro quo" , even verified by Amb. Gordon Sondland, one of the participants in the scheme, first hand, it does not rise to a reason to remove Trump. This is a judgment call. The Senators need to ask: why not? What are the rules going forward? Will this mean the standards set for future presidents that it is ok to ask foreigners to intervene in our own elections, in spite of laws forbidding that, and is it ok for future presidents to use taxpayer and Congressionally appropriated money for their own personal political benefit in order to pressure foreign leaders to help his re-election. Where do we draw the line on acceptable presidential behavior?
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/11/21/gop_rep_will_hurd_i_have_not_heard_evidence_proving_the_president_committed_bribery_or_extortion.html
A step three-question though is convincing voters is that we should not wait for the next election to remove him and that Trump is such a threat to national security and is trampling democracy, we cannot wait another year to get him out of the oval office before the next election. Democrats are making the case that we cannot wait to oust Trump until the 2020 elections because he is using his office for seeking and employing foreign interference to help him with the 2020 elections at the expense of our national security., our national interests. , Has seriously damaged the ability of those in both the intelligence, diplomatic corps to protect our security. and independence as a nation and sent messages to the rest of the world not to trust our past pledges of commitment to their peace, prosperity, and independence, either.
We impeached a president for having a sexual affair with an intern and another for dirty political tricks and lying about his role in the coverup. This impeachment concerns national security interests and the ability to maintain some of the essential principles of the Constitution that stands between us as a republic and a democracy and a dictatorship of a person instead of a rule of law. If this is not enough reason to impeach, what is?
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