"Wendell Phillips agreed. 'The epoch turns on the Negro,' he declared. 'Justice to him saves the nation, ends the strife, and gives us peace; injustice to him prolongs the war.”
And so it is today.
55
The only true hero in the dangerous, sad and bizarre Trump tale so far has been Stormy Daniels. Unafraid, with no illusions, her testimony, which contradicts Trump’s lie-filled make-believe version, may well be the deciding factor in Trump’s incarceration. Adultery, pornography, money laundering, perjury, diverting campaign funds for personal use—it’s all right in front of us. I raise my cup of coffee to the SDNY prosecutors and wish them Godspeed.
150
So, it’s about “hope”. The extremely high probability that it will fail miserably, that it will inflame and motivate Trump’s supporters, that it will heighten the belief that the Dems are just playing politics, etc. is irrelevant. The effectiveness of a course of action is irrelevant. The important thing is how people “feel”. Sorry if I hurt your “feelings”, but this self centered focus on “feelings” is widespread, narcissistic, and destructive of our nation and our society.
8
It’s actually a pretty simple proposal. Has Donald Trump done Impeccable acts? If so–then Impeach him!
Should Nixon have been impeached? That’s pretty obvious!
What about Clinton? Far less obvious. By the standards that the Republicans impeached Clinton, then probably every politician would be in grave danger here.
Now for Donald Trump. By almost every measure of law, if you would take out the politics, the answer would be yes! If not, then Impeachment should be taken out of the constitution.
Will he be removed. No. But it will always be on his record, just like Clinton, Johnson & Nixon.
Guess what also will be on the records of EVERY Republican who voted NOT to Impeach?
In time, no matter what happens with Donald Trump down the road, he will have been impeached and no matter how many Barr’s he retains, he’ll never be able to have that erased.
41
It appears that Nancy Pelosi is slowly talking herself into going forward with the impeachment process. The administration's failure to comply with requests, and then subpoenas, for documents is itself an impeachable offense.
27
Hoping for impeachment is just another attempt at begging for a 2016 ‘redo'.
It ain't gonna happen!
Just like hoping for Biden in 2020.
7
There is only one true democracy in the world today, and that is South Korea, which had the foresight and the courage to imprison both the nation's president and the head of one of the world's largest dynasties, Samsung, on corruption charges.
The U.S. can claim all day long that it is a 'true democracy', the 'world's greatest democracy', yada-yada-yada. Show me the beef. Get rid of your despicable apology, of not just a president but of a human being. Separate your powers. Fulfil the spirit of the Constitution, instead of scrapping on it like vultures.
Another point: As long as people like John Bolton, the principal architect of the invasion of Iraq, are rewarded with key political posts instead of jail sentences, the entire concept of U.S. justice remains a joke, a tool of the powerful, of religious fanatics and of hucksters. What is the reward for deliberately fabricating evidence to justify an invasion that caused millions of deaths and triggered 5 simultaneous civil wars? Well, we know what happened to Goebbels .....
36
Trump is in violation of our constitution By not just one felony but several could he not be Impeached many times ,like all law breakers they push the bounds of freedom over the line and dare us to make law s righteous so I say if trump has a bribed judge waiting in the wings .Lets see the Russian bribed traitor in the light of day ,How else can we get all the 3 am laws made by our bad leaders,out of the system like the disgraceful way they bypassed the appointment of Kavanaugh lets get this corrupt part of our American souls cleaned up and put dignity and honor back in the White House if pence is a racist lets get the truth out for all to see. Just like a vampire as soon as the light touches them they turn to Cowards. who says he also cannot be impeached .the criminals will get ride of the Heros,because they cant get away with stealing, bribing etc with a military hero to deal with God love them.
1
The Democrats hold up the impeachment of Bill Cliinton and its effect on the Republicans as why impeachment is electorally problematic. However, the impeachment of Clinton was for a lie about sex and not anything more and this after years and years of nonsensical investigations - Travelgate, Vince Foster, etc.... The electorate was not reacting to the impeachment but to the relentlessness, overreach of the Republicans.
17
In this case impeachment is a form of revenge. Sore-losers are the instigators. Blind mice are the pawns.
3
Against stupidity the Gods Themselves contend in vain.
5
Impeachment with THIS congress? What are you smoking?
The Republican Senators will NEVER vote to impeach Trump.
Hope? Nada.
1
In the current situation it would also be a form of abject stupidity, unless it is the Dems hope to have Trump Re-elected.
Wow. Cool info on Andrew Johnson. Dude was like all white presidents except a few Democrats - racist and white supremacist as all get out. America is the land of the uninformed and opinionated & angry white people. No idea why anyone who is brown wants to come or still lives here? Is everywhere else that much worse? Sad.
2
Neither my free-person of color South Carolina and Virginia ancestors nor my newly freed black African Georgia ancestors ever managed to turn as divinely naturally created equal persons with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as Andrew Johnson or Ivana or Melania Trump.
Despite their college educations, two- parent families, land ownership, money, business success, professional achievements and upstanding character and morality they were always physically identifiable as black Africans in America.
And they were judged accordingly as innately ignorant, immoral, inferior,lazy and violent. Much lesser than any and all white persons.
14
Impeach him now.
5
A President who denies Congress' rights of oversite, treats the Treasury as a piggy bank, who cages and separates children from their mothers at the border cannot be condoned without censure or impeachment, preferably the latter.
18
Trump's abuse of power and disregard of the law now feels like a finger raised to the American people. It's beyond Johnson because it's obstructive, chronic and has nothing to do with a civil war. Johnson should never ever been VP. That's another story. As this progresses, the Democrat party is looking more and more weak and helpless. But is it the Democrat party? Or is this Pelosi? We know Trump has a mobster strategy when dealing in politics, very similar to Putin. He collects dirt, threatens, bribes. At this point, the do-nothing-but-complain strategy by Pelosi is starting to look personal. One has to wonder. She is a very wealthy woman, married to a real estate developer. Real estate. Does Trump know something? Is this yet another example of how this mobster President manipulates his safety. This is starting to look bad for everyone.
1
@Stanz. You can hear but can not listen You can read but can not comprehend. Many people are Independents due choosing to forgo being part of a herd. For a person who demands loyalty from others Trump stood on the stage with Putin and stated he believed him over the professionals from US agencies who stated the facts regarding Russian interference. Remember the hideous murder of Khashoggi? He believed the Prince over the professionals. Remember Charlottesville? There were very nice people on both sides. Kim Jon Yung loves his people? Trump stated he would appear before Mueller, he refused. These 5 things are enough to be repelled by the Trump and Republican herd. The over 10,000 lies he has told, most filmed, bring despair, shame and anger that I could be viewed,because I am American, as someone who thinks like you.
15
The Democrats want to follow the rule of law and the “process”. If the republicans were sitting where the Democrats are today impeachment would have been in full swing by now
Republicans and trump and his enablers are making the Democrats look weak and foolish
Nothing will be accomplished. Trump and his minions are just running the clock. Come the elections all of this will have no meaning and opportunities will be lost
2
Democrats are squandering their opportunities. Instead of blowing off Trump and focusing on issues that resonate with voters, which will get them elected in 2020, the Dems keep following bread crumbs left by the Duck of Orange, without actually getting any closer to impeachment or anything similar.
The ONLY thing Republicans know how to do is defer, deflect, and defend. It’s like a magician with a magic cape. While the Dems are mesmerized with the cape, Trump is pulling rabbits out of his hat with his other hand.
At first Pelosi said ‘impeachment was not viable’, but since Trump has thumbed his nose at her, it’s all she can think about.
Democrats are free to attack Trump. But if they fail to take the White House in 2020, I have no use for them. And that’s saying a lot.
Elizabeth Warren or Tulsi Gabbard. Because they’re women, smart women at that, it should but no-brainer to defeat The Orange Duck in 2020. Trump is simply too stupid to defeat them.
4
Hope?! Hope that is seen is not hope.
Democrats just cannot get past their cult-like impeachment fetish. It’s an unhealthy obsession rooted only in their hatred of Donald Trump. It creates a dangerous precedent for future presidents as the meaning & intent of impeachment has been diluted to something nearly meaningless. The Party’s cancerous behavior must be rejected.
4
The author pulls no punches in this exploration of impeachment history. Most telling is the skirmishing within a nervous Congress that failed to bring Johnson to account until in 1868 "Johnson violated the dubious Tenure of Office Act, passed in 1867, which stipulated that cabinet members and other officers who had been appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate could not be fired without the Senate’s approval."
Johnson brazenly broke the law, dubious or not, giving Congress an undeniable case for his impeachment in the House. His crime was obvious and undeniable.
Trump may be the worst and most dangerous man to ever sit in the Oval Office as President of the United States. His actions are deplorable, his statements inflammatory and divisive, his policies foolish, and his appointments a slap in the face to the workers in federal agencies designed to promote the public good.
But, where is the solid, undeniable evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors required to impeach Trump in the House (possible) and convict him in a Senate trial (not possible)?
I hear the answer because the hearings and trial will force Trump, his legal teams, and political co-conspirators to cough up the evidence that will damage him further or end his presidency. In other words, we really don't have the evidence to impeach quite yet, but we will know it when we see it. No, let political history run its course in the 2020 general election.
1
Trump’s words and actions remind so much of Andrew Johnson’s. Article X against Johnson: “Unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof,” it said, sought “to bring into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt and reproach, the Congress of the United States,” can be applied to Trump as well.
On several occasions, it added, Johnson declared “with a loud voice certain intemperate, inflammatory and scandalous harangues, and did therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces” against Congress and U.S. laws “amid the cries, jeers and laughter of the multitudes then assembled.”
A month ago, Bernie Sanders feared that Congress would be too preoccupied with impeaching Trump well into 2020 that Democrats would no longer be able to talk about anything else – health care, raising minimum wage to a living wage etc. All this would only work to Trump’s advantage.
While history shows that the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in February 1868 lasted three months and two days and Bill Clinton in October 1998 four months and one week, impeaching Trump could be a lengthy process, because he is the first US president in history, whose election involved a hostile foreign power.
If Democrats go ahead with impeaching Trump now, there’s no guarantee that the process will be over by Christmas, knowingly that he will kick up a fuss.
Nonetheless an impeachment would leave a permanent stain on his presidency, and would no doubt be mentioned in his obituary.
10
The historical summary is great, but it’s applicability to Trump and the political current situation, debatable. Trump’s Democratic opponents seem motivated by hate, not hope and by politics, not principle. Soon enough the entire affair will end not with impeachment but with the conviction of those Democrats who used their positions to spy on and to seek to overthrow the duly elected President of the United States. Already we see the drama unfolding as they begin turning on one another as Barr’s investigation proceeds. The only thing they can hope for is a plea deal.
6
@Edward
Good luck with that Edward, but answer one question please, if Dems did indeed spy on Trump, then why didn't the GOP controlled house begin an investigation during the first two years while they held control?
The truth is that the investigation will go nowhere and find nothing.
9
@Edward
Indeed. Looks like we may impeach the #44 instead of #45...
1
Should mpeachment ensure documents would be produced by all organizations there should be no hesitation by the House despite being an election year. Open hearings turned the tables on Nixon. Trump continues to flaunt his abuse and lack of respect for Congress which sets a dangerous precedent. When people are informed through open hearings of the laws that were violated and the lies he stated repeatedly they will will realize if they were involved in the same deceptions they would be prosecuted and shunned by former allies. His staunchest supporters in Congress would be forced to cease and desist their defense of criminal, unethical and immoral behavior which may turn the tides on their own re-election. Force him, family members, everyone that propelled a person who could never have been granted a security clearance into the oval office. Demand their presence, we want to hear their sordid stories under oath.
5
Thank you for thoughtful historical reference. The parallels are indeed undeniable. Imagine how differently Mr. Johnson might have been remembered if Fox News was around in 1868, or Nixon in 1968. Also imagine what history will be saying about our time in one hundred years: “ in retrospect, the 116th congress showed utter cowardice in allowing Donald J. Trump to usher in the era now referred to as AMNIO (America in name only).”
Sad.
11
Just recently, Nancy Pelosi, herself, stated,(in addition to the performance of the House's appointed duty), an important reason the initiation of impeachment proceedings ought to go forward - such an act would remove all excuses the president and his administration have so far given in their withholding of the requested documents and testimony from the House. Under the stipulations of an impeachment investigation, they would have no legal recourse but to comply. Here, of course, Speaker Pelosi is assuming that Trump will not go so far as to engage in complete anarchy and outright refuse to follow the law no matter what. At this point, we must consider that possibility, but should the House ultimately fail to begin investigations into impeachment, they will also, to my mind, have committed a real act of political suicide. Just not the one they've been warned about by the Republicans and those who fear them.
So, let us urge the Democrats in Congress do their sworn duty - to protect the Constitution and the country. In return, we, the people, will uphold our patriotic duty, and protect them. "Mad King" Trump will be no martyr, he will be removed, as will those who support him in his crimes against the nation. Let America's Second Revolution begin.
12
Go for it. See what happens.
Andrew Johnson had virtually no supporters after 1866. Millions of us support Trump. Even more millions loath the modern democrats.
4
@Hal Russell
You underestimate that many believe he is a criminal and subservient to the Kremlin. That he's unit, and increasingly less coherent.
His continuous rage tweeting reveals an obsessive thought process.
His failures at the border and on trade with China are obvious even to the most casual news viewer.
Most significantly, he weakly said "I hope not" when asked if we were going to war. As if who, me? You're asking me about war in Iran? I don't know. I'm not in charge here.
18
@One More Realist in the Age of Trump . What is wrong with Trump saying " I hope not" to the possibility of war? If he had said "I hope so" Hal you would also criticize him.
I won't go into details here, but what little I know about history shows me that we have hadsome pretty bad Presidents in the last 243 years. Trump has surely entered the ranks of bad Presidents and has plenty of company.
7
@Robert McKee
In my humble opinion, we've had very FEW bad presidents, though Andrew Johnson was certainly one of them. Eisenhower was president when I was born, meaning I've lived through 12 presidential administrations. Personally, I'm quite liberal, and I've disagreed with many of the policies of ALL of those presidents. I've also agreed with many of their policies.
But until now I've never thought we had a president who was a bad person. I've always believed our president wanted what was best for the Unites States of America. That opinion even includes Richard Nixon. But not Trump. He obviously has no decency, no care for the United States of America, for people, or for the lives of anyone or anything other than himself.
21
How about impeachment for obstruction of justice? for providing aid and comfort (as well as state secrets) to our enemies? for receiving emoluments through your businesses? for overreach of the powers of your office? for not upholding the laws of our nation? for disregarding our constitution?
32
History certainly has a way of repeating itself.
Not only are we now at a time when we're forced to consider the impeachment of a recalcitrant president, who continually shows a blatant disregard for the U.S. Constitution -- but one who by his very sentiments resembles Andrew Johnson and his Reconstruction Plans for the South more closely than history should ever allow again.
It's fair to say that Black Americans are aware of this and are watching this all unfold very closely and with great concern, as both they and all Americans should be.
Especially since the prospect of yet another spiritual Civil War is never too far off in the distance.
11
This essay is the most timely and interesting op-ed I have read on these pages in a while. Your scholarship and your insight are terrific. I am looking forward to reading your book.
14
The last paragraph says that, "Impeachment is a constitutional process meant to restore .... faith in government." The impeachment of Johnson, like that of Clinton, ended in acquittal and seems to have failed in an effort to restore faith in government. Maybe we should infer that the objective would be met only if the president is convicted by the Senate; if so, impeachment of President Trump also would be likely to fail in restoring faith in government.
4
@DMH
If anything, the election and administration of Donald Trump is what fails to restore one's faith in government.
18
You offer such a great read this morning in this interesting piece.
The similar circumstances are hard to deny. Last night, I listened to Rep. Al Green from Texas talking about his reasons for impeachment to begin now. He was so articulate and convincing, a modern day patriot in the style of Thaddeus Stevens, if a bit more measured in his speech.
I hope for a strong change of course as the road Donald Trump’s Republican party has taken can only end in a place none of us will recognize.
14
I read Julia's Book on President Johnson (Anftrew)) enjoye it and still own it - yet I could not disagree more with her try at comparing how the nation might punish President Trump as some did in the 19th Century. But the two men are beyond or lagging in comparison and the arena in which they found problems piled against them. The eras and the underlying faults both may have are not comparable. Trump will remain or fall on his own swords. Johnson slipped out of his impeachment and disappeared into the political dustbin of history. One still wonders whether an election will be the end of Trump. I think not, but that does not mean he will remain.
If this is true:
“Impeachment is a constitutional process meant to restore good government and thus our faith in it; in so doing, impeachment suggests hope, the glimmering hope of a better time coming, and a means for making that happen, peacefully, reasonably and with dignity.”
I say, bring it on!
17
This is a very interesting article especially as a reminder that impeachment is a long, and chaotic undertaking. Personally, I feel that Trump's removal from office would not benefit America when Pence is the second gun. What problems would come to the office with him?
With every challenge and subpoena having the potential of going to the courts, 2020 will be upon us before decisions are made.
We have a long haul before us whichever way we go.
12
Perhaps Brenda Wineapple should have read a bit further in Hamilton's Federalist Paper #65 (note, caps in the original):
"The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused.... [I]n such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt."
The probability of removing Donald Trump from office prior to 2021 through impeachment is 0 (zero!) in today's political climate. There is no possibility that at least 20 Republican Senators will commit political suicide to remove him. In fact, there is no chance that the Republican led Senate will even run a serious trial.
The ONLY effect impeachment will have is to give trump another political victory going into the 2020 election. His "exoneration" by the Senate may just give him enough momentum to win four more years in the White House.
10
Trump is begging the Dems to impeach him. His advisors are smarter than the progressives that want to impeach him. Impeach Trump and he wins in 2020. It's that simple.
12
@Michael
But here's the conundrum. We currently have a person in the White House who knows nothing of the U.S. Constitution, and is more interested in wrestling and retaining the power of authority regardless of our country's democratic norms.
We are a Republic, not someone's personal kingdom.
It's that simple.
9
Better than impeachment, make sure you register to vote. A small number of undesirable individuals who's last names are similar to my own serve as the hook Donald Trump has tied all of America’s problems. Is that an impeachable offense? What's in our names? It's only our names that's the enemy. Our names, at times steer us away from objective resolutions. Don't be fooled by smoke and mirrors, we're still in a battle for enlightenment. Far too many of us set ourselves up for defeat because we’re unwilling to acknowledge the destructive side of our being. Opting instead to utilize coping mechanisms instead of chasing the difficult task of surrendering and objectively self reflecting. Failure to confront our internal imperfections forces us to continually look for scapegoats to rationalize our behavior. Scapegoating at a group level is made easier by the fact that some group members (all races) are individuals who are composed of their own weaknesses and flaws. Bias rhetoric tries to provide legitimate reasons for indignation and falsely magnifies the problems of making constructive improvements in America. Our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another. Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well-being. Language gives us the power to change ourselves and others by communicating our experiences, helping us to define what we know, and finding a common sense of meaning. Let's talk to each other and not through each other.
3
Permit me to insert a necessary caveat regarding predictions of the results, political and otherwise, of impeaching or not impeaching Trump. This caveat applies to those both for and against. It's really quite simple:
No.mortal.human being.can.predict.the.future.
That is all.
8
A vote for impeachment is a vote for our democracy. It is democracy’s way of testing and proving whether the dictates of our constitution are being honored or violated by an official. It is a necessary process to maintain our form of government. Whether it results in a president stepping down or not depends on the actions of congress once the impeachment is completed. Win, lose or draw (like the Mueller investigation), it is something we must do.
25
@redward And I would add that the 24/7 media coverage of the impreachment would permit everyone to hear about the President's crimes and abuses of power. The negative will far outway the spin from Fox 'News"'.What's important is the court of public opinion.
5
To allow the behaviors of this president to stand is to acquiesce to a standard of lawlessness that is unacceptable. A "new normal" should not be permitted with Trump as the standard.
177
These are our country’s darkest days. Every day begins with dread and a cold sense of loss for the country we might have had instead of the utterly corrupt and cruel nation we’re becoming.
I’d gladly take a modicum of hope over the vapid response of a Democratic Party that still thinks it can win a fixed election by playing it safe.
219
@Chickpea
Trump is the mouth piece of the deep ideology of the GOP that is trying to diminish democracy and bring in
a one party state.
Impeachment of Trump is going to happen, when the Dems have some guts.
But more powerful and political is to get rid of the GOP in the 2020 elections, and make them past history.
Democracy is under attack by the GOP.
58
Impeachment for breaking the law or abuse of power....certainly. But impeachment for violations of “public trust” is way, way too vague and arbitrary.
The “public” is not a homogeneous body but rather 300 million people all with a set of views making each person unique. What may be considered a violation of public trust to some may be considered firm support of the public trust by others! The term, as I mention, is too arbitrary and open to interpretation.
If impeachment is the way to go, the act must be undertaken with specific, provable violations of law. Specifics that are highly resistant to political alibi by partisan spin doctors. Anything less will usually fail!
6
Thank you for this thoughtful and informative article. J.F. Kennedy was writing out of a very different world than that which we are now. His views, and the consensus around him at the time, are of value and historical interest but remind us to keep re-evaluating history in light of present realities. The disgraceful, flagrantly dishonest, damaging and dangerous acts emanating daily from Trump's White House are wreaking chaos around the world, damaging decades of hard won American peace-keeping and democratic initiatives, including the recent removal of the US ambassador to Ukraine at a time off critical transition in that country. Impeachment is a double edged sword - see comment below - but that is not a reason not to take it up and use it judiciously and with resolve. Mike Pence's personality and views are not a reason not to impeach Trump. Pence is no Trump, and were he to replace Trump, would most likely not be re-elected. At the least, the Republican field would open up again dramatically. When people compare Trump to Pence, they miss the huge power of Trump's charismatic, mendacious - ' fake news' - approach to reality. It is this aspect of Trump, his charismatic and manipulative personality, supported by those who smugly refuse to work with other views, opposing ideas, and inconvenient facts that poses the greatest threat to America.
26
Regardless of whether he's impeached or not, impeachment, as risky and difficult and painful as it might be, is necessary if there ever is to be a proper examination of all of the evidence that has already been and yet to be uncovered.
Since Trump's strategy is to delay and continue to obstruct the truth until the next election is over, means accepting the status quo of corruption and lies which thus far has been maintained by the GOP. That must not be acceptable for the long term future of our democracy.
For anyone who thinks that the risks of impeachment outweigh the benefits, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for you.
23
@Guido Malsh
The Dems by doing nothing is supporting Trump and his racist, sexist and bigoted anti-American actions.
Why are the Dems just sitting and accepting what Trump/GOP are saying and doing?
Nancy is not alone in the Dems inaction, but most of the older Dems in Congress, who are worried about their election prospects in 2020.
The Dems inaction is rooted in their political analysis, and not based upon their Constitutional duty to hold Trump accountable for his Russia conspiracy,
and the obstruction of justice.
Dems must start impeachment hearings soon - if they want the votes of the people who will not believe
in the Dems any more - because of their inaction.
7
Speaker Pelosi has, on at least two occasions (approximately 2006 and more recently), stated impeachment tears this country apart. I disagree.
What tears this country apart have been political ideologies and abuses of presidential powers that metastasize to the point of ignoring foundational democratic values, corruption, and humanity.
Supporters of presidents who fell into this category needed to be reminded we do not elect kings or dictators, that our democratic Republic cannot tolerate corruption, based on our founding principles of inclusive rights, freedoms, justice and fairness. Out of these and other struggles has come a more perfect Union.
It would have been a disservice to this country had federal law enforcement failed to investigate individuals in the Trump Campaign who had met or communicated with Russian entities, individuals, and known intelligence agents well over one-hundred times. Candidate Trump, as far as we know, was never a target of these investigations, despite his paranoid conspiracy theories to the contrary after the election. These conspiracy theories must be revealed for the nonsense they are, people must be reminded of or educated in the false nature of demagoguery, misinformation, and propaganda tactics. The anxieties of the American people who accept and embrace the Constitution and the rule of law must be relieved - the President and Cabinet members who have failed the American people and “good government” must be held to account.
22
@Kathy White
Very well put argument.
It's the Dems who is making Trump/GOP look like a monarchy and anti-democracy, because they are just sitting upon their values and pretending that everything will go away after they win the 2020 elections.
Nancy is just politically wrong on this one,
and this one is the most dangerous attack upon the democratic values of American institutions and the Constitution.
The Dems are just ignoring their Constitutional duty to do their job and impeach Trump.
Fear seems to be at the core of Nancy's opposition
to impeaching Trump.
The Dems must find some guts and start impeachment hearings, and give the American people the vital information and knowledge about Trump/Russia so that they can make an informed decision to vote in 2020.
12
Republicans are actually trying to establish a fascist, authoritarian presidency that is above the law and accountable to no one. This is an affront to American traditions that would call for revolution, unless we have other effective options for resistance that are part of constitutional government.
We need to stop Trump and the GOP before they succeed in destroying American democracy, because they will if they can get away with it, replacing it with an unassailable plutocracy and a "show democracy", a la Fox News. It really is that simple now. We are up against the threatened end of real citizen participation and citizen-focused government in America, thanks to the completely-purchased GOP.
18
I find it very difficult to relate a process in the mid-19th century to what we see today. The levels of misinformation and disinformation--the national hype of the political theater--have grown exponentially.
I do not know if it is wise to impeach Trump or not--it remains a concern that the analogy in this op-ed is stretched. It is one of dozens of conflicting pieces.
1
To Pelosi and the rest of the Dems: Do Your Job!
By not impeaching Trump now you are paving the way for worse to come. None of us knows how impeachment will play out for Trump or the 2020 election, so just Do Your Job. Regardless of the outcome, getting all his misdeeds on the record is about the only thing you can do right now that matters in this regard.
41
I am excited to read Ms. Wineapple's book. Impeachment is the duty of the current House. Impeachment will show the world, and citizens like me, that the US still cares about the qualities of its leaders. Sadly, the House in 2019 is debating whether to impeach a racist president.
22
Pelosi & Co. obviously believe that Trump & Co. are their own worse enemy. And thereby make the Dems look like a better voting alternative than Republicans generally.
So the risk in not beginning Impeachment helps the Dems politically more so then guarding our nation which is being actively harassed, assaulted and put in additional perils yet unforeseen.
I guess not much more bad things could happen then already have in two years. The threats have been identified and the culprits are under lawful surveillance by unnamed volunteers ever at the ready!
1
Presidential Impeachment should be difficult, otherwise opposition parties could abuse its power. However, if the evidence against a President is so overwhelming that it leaves no other choice, then it must be exercised. Trump is by far the worst President on record and morally, an inferior human being. He has to go. However, the Democratic Party must pay attention to the suffering of the American family as the result of the 2008 looting that caused the Great Recession. In addition, the ranks of a new Administration must not be filled from the same ranks of geniuses that come in compromised.
9
I've been on the fence about taking the full steps of impeachment--not that Le Grand Orange does not deserve it; if any President ever has, it is he--but I have been worried over the political implications of going through the whole process when the Senate, as currently constituted, would not by any partisan stretch vote to remove from office, apparently no matter what kind of evidence and revelations turned up from a full House inquiry. Particularly, since Trump's support is a full on cult of the strongman, I worry that an impeachment trial not only makes him a martyr to reactionary righteousness but might well encourage his supporters to take to the streets with very big guns--it might even set off Civil War II.
Far better to work at voting him out of office in a year, by as large a margin as possible, my thinking has gone--it would be harder for the cult to mobilize and feel legitimate in that circumstance.
But if anything would nudge me to the side of going through with it, it's Brenda Wineapple's last paragraph. Perhaps we do need the hope of a better day most of all to challenge our cynicism and motivate us to address our problems, and perhaps not doing it is an acquiescence to the attitude that nothing changes and nothing matters.
If it'll help us feel like actual agents of possible change and a better day, let the process begin.
19
The key to successful impeachment whether it results in removal from office is in Ms. Wineapples's last words. The process must be conducted "peacefully, reasonably and with dignity" everything Trump is not. Lit Trump do what he does best which is yell, scream and flaunt the rule of law and let the Congress present the facts with sanity. The nation those that can listen will respect the process and know vindictiveness is the product of Trump;'s rhetoric and not that of Congress.
8
There is no basis for this article. Impeachment is politics and nothing more. As much as I would like to see Trump gone, replacing him with Pence would be worse as would have been replacing Bush with Cheney.
3
@Rich Murphy
Pence has not the least chance of continuing what Trump has been doing. He has no personality, good or bad and would never win reelection.
7
Impeach Trump and then impeach Pence.
Next in line is Nancy Pelosi.
Sound like a plan?
2
Failing to begin impeachment proceedings is failing their oath of office.
Whether the Senate will convict or not, whether the cult-like followers will change their opinions, or whether it is popular or not: Congress must do its duty.
Are we a country of laws or are we in a dictatorship?
45
@Lauren Noll
We are in a dictatorship, but Pence as president is not the answer, rather a quite enforcement of the present disaster.
I suppose one shouldn't use the words "dictatorship". It offends the tender sensibilities of the American public.
2
I don't agree with the author's claim that impeachment restores hope in anything. It is always a 2-edged sword in that the replacement president always threatens deliverance unto evil as much as the removed president represents deliverance from.
Impeachment is an assigned political duty that requires the Congress to act when the President has unleashed a constitutional breakdown that he is unwilling to correct.
10
The current state of our polity today is less like the surroundings of Johnson's presidency than an event about 50 years later, the molasses flood of 1919 in Boston.
Our politicians are stuck and unable to pass bills or make substantive progress. In the common vernacular, they can neither fish nor get off the pot. They are (largely) men running in the molasses of politics. Like those today who might giggle at such an idea--molasses running feet deep in the street--they ignore the real consequences of their (in)action. For Boston in 1919, 21 died and 150 were injured. Today, the deaths are greater in number but less visible.
Just like the summer heat is said to bring back the faint smell of molasses to North Boston today, the stench from our ineffectual government will be long lingering.
15
Yeah, that about sums it up for me. Hope. It is so discouraging to see my savior Democrats who took the House behave in such a studiously cautious fashion. Like I have read so many times, would the American Revolution have happened if the Colonies were so cautious. Of course not. It would have been fought in the courts of England and lost in the courts of England. I initially regarded Pelosi as a hero. Now I am not so sure. All this caution in the face of deliberate lawlessness. Impeachment is not an end, it is a process. In the process of impeachment, there will be hearings. And impeachment is a much sharper tool than contempt. It will bring immediate results. Instead of sitting on the porch, lighting a cigar and saying "wait until the next election" which will be rigged by Russia even more than the last one, how about some hope? We have suffered, at least I have suffered, long enough.
77
Timothy Snyder warns first and foremost — “Do Not Concede Power”. Failure to impeach in the face of a President who not only flaunts his lawlessness but would use the Justice Department as a weapon to go after his “enemies” is the ultimate fatal concession of power.
153
@Robert Goldschmidt
But if Trump is removed, he will be replaced by intrinsic evil, the "quiet spring".
1
@arp
He won't be removed, at least not before the 2020 elections. The point is to get all the information out there in front of the public, to expose the lies (including the lies on Fox News).
20
Unfortunately, there is no concept called "retroactive impeachment". The incompetence of the Obama Administration in 2016 in allowing Russian interference in the Presidential election subverted the election process.
In the weeks leading up to the election, President Obama stated unequivocally that there had been NO interference - not on his watch, no sir.
Did his benign neglect result in Candidate Hillary Clinton's loss? Something to ponder.
At that point in time, should the NY Times have investigated the motivations behind President Obama's dropping the ball? It would be interesting to know why he forcefully denied that there had been any interference. There is the possibility - albeit remote - that he was not (despite his own belief) the smartest guy in the room and simply misread the situation.
4
You are mistaken. McConnell stopped President Obama from making a public statement of Russia interfering in our election so as not to influence the election. Obama then confronted Putin directly Mc Connell is the culprit here
17
If ever there were a lying cheat who deserved to be Impeached it is Trump.
Watch the CNN doc about his 'business'. It literally makes you sick to your stomach that this crook has managed to manipulate so many people.
I say impeach with deliberate haste. Bring out the facts and the truth and show this lying conman for what he is.
Some in his base will never turn, but some may and the others who were swayed for whatever reasons will pay attention to the overwhelming evidence.
This man and his daughter and son in law are a plague on everything we hold dear about our nation.
We can not be rid of them soon enough.
128
Thank you for this excellent article. Shame on both political parties for allowing the criminal abuse of the democracy by an unfit incompetent man, his attorney general, and administration to continue. It's as if the American people "see no evil, hear no evil" and are just turning a blind eye to wrongdoing. In the end, the entire democracy and future generations will pay a steep price for its blind negligence.
76
The need to impeach must start with the Attorney General - appointed after declaring himself a “Trump loyalist” with an article insisting the president can neither be indicted nor impeached for his conspiracy to obstruct justice - a conspiracy he immediately joined upon taking office.
Or we can start with removing those overseeing the IRS, who insist Congress must have a “legislative” need to request Trump/connected business tax returns, ignoring the requirement in the Constitution that the House actively investigate potentially impeachable offenses committed by a president while in office.
One by one, the Cabinet members can be removed.
The House can also probably impeach the President on the grounds Trump is keeping his Cabinet members “acting”, foregoing the requirement they be seated only with advice and consent of the Senate.
What is amazing is the nature of Trump’s big beautiful Stone Wall - the playground language “no do-overs” - no following the road map provided by the Mueller team -!the flat out refusal to obey the law - the Attorney General’s condemnation of the FBI “spying” on foreign agents who happened to be working for the Trump campaign.
Isn’t the Counterintelligence division supposed to spy on foreign agents operating in the US?
GOP members of Congress used to attack Democratic colleagues as soft on foreign agents working within the government. Now they protect them
Start with the Attorney General and work up - before election postponed by national emergency
41
@Eatoin Shrdlu
Perhaps we should start with the Trump elder children and son-in-law Jared. None were actually vetted, and I assume they could be indicted. Then make a deal with the deal maker...if he wants his offspring to stay out of jail, he must promise to stay out of politics and especially not run in 2020. If he breaks that pact, he serves jail time.
8
Trump doesn’t care what you think, what I think, or what the Constitution says. As far as he’s concerned, Trump is the King of America, surrounded by lackeys like Mitch McConnell, who are here to profit, not to govern. It amazes me how many GOP stalwarts are now Trump’s slaves. What ever happened to the Party of Law & Order?
4
This article seems logical. Then why do the Democrats do nothing?
They allow people to ignore subpoenas. You would think the Congress would have them arrested. The AG lies under oath. He ignores subpoenas, even mocks the contempt vote. Trump claims he will ignore all requests from Congress for information. 700 federal prosecutors say the Mueller report, even in redacted form, shows clear obstruction by Trump. Why don't the Democrats act with some teeth?
This lack of will to combat blatant illegal behavior does suggest that something is seriously wrong and maybe people who say the whole system is already taken over by corporate interests are correct. The Democrats lack of real action is as in your face as Trump's illegality.
63
I have never seen a bigger bunch of cowards than those in the House leadership - those people whom millions mobilized to put in power, who are now actively fleeing their duties. Nadler, Neal, and Pelosi seem to be the most egregious cases. The American Revolution wouldn't have been won had the Founders had their lukewarm conviction; the Consitution they swear oaths to would not exist had the likes of Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton said, "Angering a tyrannical king is too hard, so let's just be doormats, m'kay?"
Today House Democrats proudly toted passage of an Equality Act that protects LGBT people. As an LGBT person, I livid that they cannot see the big picture. The bill will never see the Senate floor. The government that might uphold it, even if it became law, is rapidly disintegrating...all because Dems have decided it is too politically dangerous and divisive to uphold their constitutional oaths of office. Apparently, it is better to simply roll over and play dead.
10
This whole thing is a colossal waste of time like the impeachment of Bill Clinton. If the Democrats spent just half the amount of effort on cultivating a winning candidate instead of throwing out 20 people running for POTUS, the party and country would be better for it.
Bill DiBlasio for President?!?! Really?
2
Please reread the opinion piece. You've totally missed the point.
5
Curiously it would amount to punching down. Worth doing anyway if explained well.
1
My gosh, doesn't this sum it up perfectly?
"...........Impeachment is a constitutional process meant to restore good government and thus our faith in it; in so doing, impeachment suggests hope, the glimmering hope of a better time coming, and a means for making that happen, peacefully, reasonably and with dignity."
America. What are you waiting for?
53
@Kim
Are we waiting for Pence. the "Second Coming"?
Well forget that. Trump's impeachment would guarantee him the Republican nomination, so that wouldn't work. By the way, I remember John F. Kennedy praising Kansas Senator Edmund Ross in his book Profiles in Courage because Ross voted to acquit President Johnson. So is the author saying Kennedy was wrong in doing that?
1
@Richard McLaughlin
You can't seriously imagine that Trump won't get the R nomination? That's not the point of impeachment.
5
" 'Was there ever such a madman in so high a place as Johnson?' "
The relevance of that question as applied to the current U.S. president is depressingly evident.
I think people lose sight of the fact that impeachment is a process, not an end in itself. Impeachment proceedings would focus a glaring light upon, among other offenses, Mr. Trump's repeated efforts to obstruct justice, his motives for cloaking his financial interests in secrecy and his relationship with the Russian government which actively assisted in his 2016 electoral victory.
Con artists and criminals fear exposure most of all. Impeachment would offer such exposure. It would also provide members of Congress an opportunity to fulfill their obligation to hold the Executive branch accountable before the American people.
34
You can make a reasonable case that the Framers decided to make impeachment a difficult and lengthy process because it runs counter to the democratic ideal that the power to choose Presidents should be limited to the people as a collective through their elections, regardless of how unsuitable the Presidents they choose may later turn out to be.
But that was then and this is now.
And now we have a mentally unstable man in possession of our nuclear codes.
56
... in possession of our nuclear codes who is clearly capable of bringing about a catastrophe.
14
Even if the Senate will not convict, the House should bring charges (impeach) if it decides they are deserved. And refusing to provide documents or let witnesses appear are sufficient to deserve impeachment.
The Senate will probably not convict. But as a matter of honoring the Constitution and forcing into existence a record of positions for and against by Senators, indictment by the House (which we call impeachment) is necessary.
Impeachment and conviction after a public trial in the Senate may convince many Trump supporters that what happened was necessary and right. Such a result would put us in a much better position to deal with our problems. But if Trump supporters remain unconvinced, they will have to be marginalized or they will gridlock us.
94
I don’t know if the President would be impeached, but I do think that he should at least be tried and the evidence should be public.
I’m looking forward to being able to vote in my first presidential election in 2020 now that I’m old enough.
If the Senate is too cowardly to take a moral stand, we must because somebody has to.
I hope my peers will stand up too, but I know the youth vote tends to be low. I’m still trying to convince my own brother who recently turned 18 to register to vote too.
It’s discouraging to see how little some people care about the values of our democracy.
119
@Lee
Many people feel the Political Structure
and thus the Government are fixed in favour
of the wealthy.
That they really do not have any power to
change matters no matter how they vote.
We don't live in a Democracy but a Republic
where the Elites bribe the Politicians to do their bidding,
not that of the voters.
Do not that the Democratic National Committee
admitted conspiring with the Hillary Campaign Staff
to make sure Bernie had not chance of defeating
Hillary in the Primaries.
A Pox on both Parties.
4
@John Brown
A Bernie bro speaks. A pox on both parties, then nothing can be done about Trump in the White House? Satisfied with him as President? I guess so.
13
@Lee You have the process backwards: the House impeaches first (think 'indictment'); then the Senate holds a trial based on the terms of the impeachment. If the President is convicted in the Senate trial, then he is removed from office.
16
The corporate plutocracy will decide if there is some future benefit to keeping trump in office. If it turns out that profits will increase if he is in office he will stay. If they see profits slipping he will go.
All this high-minded talk about democracy and 'the rule of law' is just hot air. The corporate take-over of the government is a done deal.
46
@Plennie Wingo
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
6
History is seldom about good guys and bad guys. The subtleties at work are not easily bent into a moral fable.
Lincoln wanted to reintegrate the South with a policy of moderation. When he was assassinated, the radical Republicans gained ascendancy and sought to subjugate the Southern states, rejecting all compromise.
Johnson was a moderate Democrat who had opposed secession. The radical Republicans and Johnson squared off, ending all hopes for the poor moderation envisioned by Lincoln. The radical Republicans insisted on having their way as did Johnson. Some would say that Lincoln — not Johnson or the radical Republicans — got it right.
11
It certainly would give us hope - hope that our nation is just and, perhaps, even more importantly - it would provide a much needed cleansing. Right now, our country is festering in, unrighted wrongs we've let slip by. That slipping by? That's what the whole nation has become when it comes to recognizing and correcting our wrongs.
31
Johnson was not elected President. Trump, via the Electoral College, was. Johnson faced a strongly oppositional Congress. Trump had supplicants, then fracture in Congress.
Trump shares much with Johnson. Congress now shares little with Congress then.
10
Progressives believe that if they just pass
the "right laws" society will turn toward the better.
That ignores human nature and societal norms.
The liberated Slaves were sold down the Political River
by the agreement to remove Federal Troops via the
reaching of a compromise concerning
the 1876 Presidential Election.
If the Democrats want to impeach Trump
they better make sure they have the evidence
to convince enough Republicans in the Senate
and the vast majority of the voters - so that
Trump is convicted in the Senate.
If not, his base will be re-energized
and a politically wounded Trump may
triumph in November of 2020.
2
Senate would not convict
Trump would claim vindication and exoneration by the failure of the Senate to convict him.
even
if Trump were convicted, we would get Pence.
Impeachment can be described as a manifestation of despair rather than hope.
6
Pence is just as crooked as Trump. More crooked, if you include Pence’s many blasphemous positions that make a mockery of the evangelical believers who foolishly think Pence is on their side.
2
Thank you, Ms. Wineapple. You've hit the nail on the head. So many of us are looking for the hope that impeachment will bring, whether or not it is ultimately successful. The aim of impeachment must be to restore good government and our faith in it. The wrongdoing of President Johnson pales compared to the wrongdoing of Mr. Trump who has been directly implicated in a federal campaign finance law felony, obstructed justice, and conspired (in the everyday sense of that word) with an adversarial nation to steal an election.
219
@Robert
The effort to impeach Johnson brought not only wide attention to his misdeeds, but highlighted the remedy our founders included in the Constitution, even to this day. Despite a large difference of opinion as to weather or not to initiate impeachment proceedings at this time, I fear, to abandon impeachment now will forever negatively impact the remedy we have, the only one we have to save the republic.
19
Thank you for this refreshing history lesson. It would certainly help to see the wheels of our government move, with the introduction of articles of impeachment by the House - no matter the outcome and events along the way - than to have them frozen in aspic, as they seem to be now.
149
President Andrew Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act because he considered it an encroachment on the constitutional separation of powers. Congress persumed to tell the president which executive branch employees he could fire. Following the failed impeachment attempt, Johnson was vindicated federal courts find the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional. Congress subsequently repealed the act.
11
He was not vindicated, since he willingly violated the law as it stood at the time. It’s interesting that Johnson appeared to be very much like Trump in his belligerence.
83
@JWinder
Also interesting, is that Trump, and many who support him, is no real Republican.
8
@William Case yes but he will always be the first to be considered a criminal in office Being from a long line of military , we serve this country. and no one steps over the line because freedom has been earned just like trust! when one violates ones own oath dropping ones honor one become honorless or a criminal.The oath with his hand on the bible Johnson stated he will protect preserve and defend the constitution of ours. a violation of the constitution is a criminal act, just like sexual assault trumps favorite
6