We have a big corrupt machine in the WH. Trump is nothing more than a Mobster and wannabe Dictator. McConnell isn't letting any legislation through and they all have to be removed! If you can't see what is going on you need to wake up and open your eye FAST! This is not to win an election at all. If we let this go it sends the message that anyone who becomes President can do what ever they want so burn the Constitution!
6
Stating that impeachment is an act of desperation because it will not survive the Senate is akin saying that resisting the Nazi war machine in Poland in 1939 was foolish given the futility of doing sp.
Spme things are worth fighting for. Apparently Mr. Buskirk does not think our democracy is one of them
26
Treason is not "just melodrama".
13
I couldn't get this page to load on any of the browsers on my phone. I had to wait until I was logged in on a regular computer to read it.
Would the Times please just present content on traditional web pages, without fancy effects? I just want to read the news, not see a media show.
14
Corruption is just oxygen to you folks isn’t it? This is like when the mob guy stops in to tell you he owns the Prosecutor (Mitch) and the cops (Barr) so no matter what he does to you, pressing charges will be futile. A few folks are making America great for their bank accounts and the rest of us will be ground down if we try to stop them. The GOP is now a mafia of two bit grifters, nothing more. Thanks for dropping by these pages to let us know you are going to break our hands, but we got to get back to work now.
18
Hmmm. A Republican advising the Democrats what to do. Instantly suspect. Call it what you will - a Trojan horse, a wolf in sheep's clothing, etc. He might as well say, "Democrats, you should all jump off a cliff. You'll enjoy the fresh air while falling." Complete, laughable, partisan rubbish.
13
Sigh. Another attempt to treat the GOP's impeachment of Clinton for lying about consensual sex with Trump's serious violation of his oath of office and constant debasement of that office, obstruction of justice, and overall incompetence. It's a sign of the weakness of Buskirk's argument that he resorts to this idiocy to "warn" Democrats about the political fallout.
14
Trump is grotesque and disgraceful. Period. And anyone who, at this point, is encouraging moderation in how we deal with him clearly is not ethical enough to warrant attention. Period.
17
Is there a prize for the most mistaken op-ed of the year?
If so, I nominate this.
23
No mento why no mention of Trump's thug-like withholding of the military aid?
And if previous attempts got nowhere, our democracy has only Moscow Mitch and the lockstep Publicans to thank — not any intrinsic weakness in the case and charges against the mobster in chief.
2
When a black man gets shot to death by a white police officer ie the police officer who entered someone else's apartment and shot a black man to death, white people just shrug their shoulder's. I am an elite and nothing will ever happen to me, he must of been doing something wrong, like being in his own apartment but white girl was afraid.
Talking heads and writers are now telling us how Americans should feel and think about this country. Since Trump hates this country that made his KKK father rich is destroying all that is dear to some Americans. Yes, it is going to be a fight against Trump, yes it was a fight for minorities to get the right to vote, yes it is fact that minorities need to die for health care because white doctors wouldn't treat us. Yes it is a fact if PRESIDENT OBAMA a black man who is brilliant and who showed his grades vs a con man who had other people take his exams, if he was involved in this outrage to democracy, he would of been impeached a long time ago
The law is the law and we are not going to let our family members who are in Arlington cemetery and cemeteries across this country in hospitals, we are going to fight and fight we will. If we loose with the senate, the GOP names will be known as Russian supporters.
The law is the law
We will win and any GOP who are not upholding this country and democracy better buy tickets to Russia to stay at the Moscow Trump hotel because they are not going to be wanted in America.
9
Blah. blah, blah. Lots of words. How about this. Trump committed a high crime. There is a smoking gun. Democrats are impeaching because they are constitutionally obligated to do so.
No need for wordy, contorted aguements.
19
Mr. Buskirk doth protesteth too much
6
Haha. When a die-hard Trumplican like Buskirk says that impeachment is "bad politics" for the Dems, that's a good sign that it's probably good politics.
20
Shame on you. Main theories you cite have been debunked or near no resemblance to events.
4
I'm troubled to see the NYT print something that pushes yet another one of Trump's conspiracy theories, this one about Biden. A link to the whistleblower's report should have been inserted.
10
Trump has CONSISTENTLY supported Israel.
God said to Jacob the Father of Israel in Genesis 12:3 :
"Those who bless you l will bless;those who curse you l will curse". Despite what anyone thinks of Trump, God thinks well of him for the reason stated. If GOD is for you who can stand against you?
I am left wondering why the New York times feels it necessary to pay someone to spout a bunch of nonsense and sycophantic support of Trump. We readers can get stuff like this I in abundance, and for free, on any right wing disinformation website. All we have to do is turn on Fox News for 20 seconds to get our required dose of pro-Trump propaganda.
15
Republicans seem to scared to their bones - or looking for some boogeywomen to scare their base of deplorables - of the 4 representatives they call the "squad". Good. Stay focused on them while the other 231 Democrats go about the unglamorous business of wresting democracy from the hands of a cretinous lout.
14
What else would you expect from a right-wing think tank?
5
I think you need to read what the NYTimes Editorial board published today.
4
Buskirk, go ahead and support him, let's see how that works out for ya.
7
This sounds like the stories you see every day on Fox News.
Just sayin'
8
It's quite amazing that any American would colndone a known thief. serial liar. and all around disgrace as president of the United States, just because he is a Republican .
7
Is Mr Burkik aware that another American actually was and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Burisma? Or that another American, Joseh Cofer Black, former CIA operative and chief of counter-intelligence is also on the Board.
Before shooting off his mouth, why not ask these individuals about their salaries and what they are doing on this BOD, which includes the former Prime Minister of Poland.
Maybe they were there to find markets for the gas and raise US money to strengthen the company, which competed with Russia for these same markets?
In Trumpworld, that must be a crime.
6
The question has nothing to do with whether or not impeachment is an act of desperation. It's why the NYTimes provides a golden opportunity for a lightweight wanabe to repeat a bunch of nonsensical right-wing talking points (as well as what psychological damage is responsible for so many to fall under the spell of a depraved, dishonest, self-serving con man who has even less respect for the fools who fall for his con than for the rule of law).
5
No. Mr Buskirk is relying on the "I can shoot someone...and survive!" defense. A defense that is both absurd and sickening, in that it elicited applause from his alleged "law and order" base of sycophant fans. (a study I'd like done; how many Trumplodites have serious criminal histories and are hardly law abiding folk?)
Its also part of the Teflon Syndrome that so many Trump supporters and even fearful naysayers seem to think is one of his infallible defense systems. Sorry, but even the name brand Teflon products fail over time and misuse. As will Trumps.
Trump gets away with things because he never stops assaulting us, or the media with distractions. Compounded by the Dems abysmal inability to run a straight and steady narrative of their own. They are always reacting and playing defense...from inside their own red zone.
Which is what I fear most now...that they go into recess and lose the momentum and the media attention. Meanwhile Trump and his deplorable campaign minions will run the narratives - mostly now about the faux Joe/Hunter Biden conspiracy.
And really NYT do a better job of debunking that whole thing will you! Stop burying the real story - no facts or evidence point to a VP Biden protecting his son's lousy business interests. Your own, Vogel burie that tidbit about 20 paragraphs into his cover piece, after only laying out the conspiracies - as if they are settled facts. Once again playing into the Trump campaigns hands. Similar to the 2016 HRC coverage.
3
I’m wondering why this contributor even appears in the Sunday Review section of your newspaper of which I am a faithful subscriber. I’m all for presenting a balance of opinions from both sides of an argument, even the Republican side on a topic as ‘hot’ as the President’s impeachment, but offering valuable space at a critical point in time time to a troll, a right wing extremist who parrots ‘half-truths’, full lies about e.g. Pelosi only proceeding after feeling pressure and other speculations, e.g. about Democratic candidates’ chances of beating Trump, is unconscionable... couldn’t we have been presented as readers with more rational thinkers who stick to the facts and rational opinions?
6
An example how an article on this 'abominable' event should be written. Common sense, not the white-heat rage, lynch, threats and insults that one reads every single day from practically all the NYT journalists and contributors for 3.5 years.
So, yes, thank you for this balanced and reasonable view (albeit too friendly towards too shifty a president) and thank you to the censor-in-chief of NYT who for once let some one other than Trump haters say something.
In conclusion, the impeachment, which has zero chance for success, is likely to be a good news for Trump since it reduces politics to wrestling in mud which he excels in.
5
"addicted to the intoxicating high of moral outrage" -?? you lost me right there when you characterize a person with a clear sense of morals, ethics, and grounded values as a drunken addict.
3
There are entirely too many inaccuracies, red herrings and partisan statements in this Opinion Piece to give it any credence.
The writer may have a good grasp on his trade (writing opinions), but nothing more.
3
As for who will get scorched, it will be the Orange One, who's blank will finally and definitively be fried after a lifetime of getting away with whatever nonsense he was up to.
1
Well, if impeachment is helping only Trump, what are you complaining about? It’s your dream scenario, right?
I guess that you have concerns that you are not telling us about.
4
Wow. I am not sure how much more trump has to do for Buskirk to wake up. What an absurd article. I lived in NYC for two decades and it was common knowledge that trump is a mobster. His repulsive behavior is seen by many as strength. That in itself is laughable. The president is a coward who sends thugs to get his way. Unable to read or write, he spends his days inventing vendettas for perceived slights. His family and cohorts indulge in extreme luxury on our tax dollar while they cozy up to dictators. He put the farmers out of business while caging children, one of whom died by the toilet. You want to make that 'political'? The 'high of moral outrage'? I think Buskirk has told us a lot about himself here. Sad.
6
Is the Author a Trump Groupie or just against America? True Americans fight to the bitter end to protect America. Trump committs crimes in plain sight; along with all his accomplices.
6
Unlike real trial jurors, who are chosen for their lack of knowledge of the defendant, the members of the US Senate comprise the worst imaginable jury.
That is why, just as "I didn't have sex with that woman" worked for Bill Clinton, "I didn't tell Volodymyr to mess up Biden", should work perfectly for Trump.
As always, one rule for little people, another rule for big people.
2
American Greatness is a propaganda site. Why is the NY Times giving that site visibility here. I'll be the WSJ does not.
5
Easy for you to say. He hasn't come after you.
1
Mr. Buskirk's take is reliable as usual. - I'm beginning to feel that he, along with millions of honest Americans, love Trump because every morning they wake up and think: If an idiot like that can be President, think what I could do.
4
Once again, I love all “if you impeach Trump it will be good for him” advice from his fellow fascists. Seems like impeachment must be the thing to do then.
5
Wishful thinking, Mr. Buskirk. This Ukrainian Affair is merely the straw the broke the camel's back.
I already read Mr. Buskirk's thoughts the other day when the White House sent their talking points to the Democrats in Congress by accident.
3
"They think that now, finally, in the president’s call to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, they have Mr. Trump right where they want him." Mr Buskirk, you are a soulless political monster who cannot see that if Trump is not impeached, his numerous violations of his oath and the Constitution are condoned. The political outcome is irrelevant. I truly wonder how things like you come into existence.
4
Shame on the Times. We don't need to hear bad opinions in support of the president. This teaches us nothing except for how ignorant and morally bankrupt Trump's congregation is.
3
Dude, do you realize what this president did and does? Impeachment is the only option.
3
Shortsighted analysis. The numbers in favor of impeachment are going up because the Ukraine narrative is easy to understand and because Trump himself not only admitted to his foolish, illegal behavior on camera but also turned over documentary evidence to support the charges against him. The American people aren't stupid; we just don't like doing homework. Well, there's no homework necessary this time around. Will this result in Trump's removal from office? Probably not. Will it make Trump look like the poor victim of a smear campaign? Only to the 35% of Americans who'd follow him anywhere. To everybody else, he'll look like the hypocritical, unpatriotic conman he is, and his acquittal in the Senate will look like nothing but more cynical, Machiavellian partisanship.
2
I really don't know why I bothered to click on this drivel from a Trump sycophant. I couldn't even get past the first paragraph without laughing: He's doing so much whistling past the graveyard that even the dearly departed are laughing at him. Now I know who Christopher Buskirk is and I won't make the mistake of wasting time on him again.
9
I didn't fully read the descriptions of the right wing mental gymnastics and Olympic-level, suspension of disbelief that allow them to keep their heads buried in the Mar-a-Lago sand.
Sometimes you just do the right thing. That right thing is to take the world's dumbest criminal and remove him from the world's most powerful position.
5
My response here would be aggressively obscene. We are going to bury Trump in 2020, if he survives impeachment. He's a criminal and a traitor.
5
Oh please. This kind dissecting the situation in order to obscure the reality is irresponsible. It is either blatant partisanship or an inability to see the forest for the trees. What would this clown say if Trump were caught on tape agreeing to have the US military stand firm while Russia mounted an invasion of our country? “This is irresponsible for Democrats. Sure, Trump shouldn’t do that, but impeachment will alienate the electorate and hand the next election to the Republicans.” What’s It going to take for clowns like this unqualified “journalist”, who shouldn’t even be taking up space in a major newspaper, to see clearly? Trump is a traitor who sold out his country to benefit himself. Say he was really concerned about corruption in Ukraine. Sneaking around withholding $400 million in aid and giving phony excuses is despicable. If he honestly thought congressionally authorized military aid should be withheld, he should have brought it forward as a legitimate policy matter to be considered by congress, other responsible officials and the public. Instead he engaged in a clandestine endeavor to subvert US foreign policy on a matter of serious security implications. There is no excuse for this or rational explanation except that he is a traitor. What does this clown expect any congress, Democrat or Republican, to do when faced with such treachery. This isn’t lying in the face of semen on a dress. We have descended to a sorry state if this even needs debating.
3
You realize that people can click on your name and see that you're a damage control outlet for the Trump administration?
5
This is about the long game for Pelosi. All the politicians in the senate who vote to acquit will have that vote hung around their neck like a dirty toilet seat every time they come up for reelection. They will go down in history as supporting the dumpster fire. And for what reason? Trump was never a republican.
2
The Democrats lost the 2016 by loosing the white working class and low African American turn out in key states.
How is Impeachment solving those problem? Nothing says fighting for the white working class or African Americans like standing up for Hunter Bidens hedge fund!
As the underlying issue is oligarch's kids (Biden and Kerry Jr) getting millions for their parents influence. It is said it was investigated, but by who? The VP or SOS office (ie daddy)?
Bill Maher nailed the hypocrisy - what would be the media reaction if Biden/Kerry kids name was replaced by a Trump kid?
2
Haha. When a die-hard Trumplican warns Dems that impeachment will be bad for them politically, you know that the opposite is more likely to be true.
8
This guy gets it, period.
4
Two words: You're wrong!
4
Trump and his collaborators are the very opposite of "American Greatness." To say the very least, they are American grift.
3
If I hadn't read the blurb about Mr. Buskirk, I would have said that this pastiche of lies, half-truths, and ignorance sounds like it was written by a poster on Yahoo. Then I looked at the trash on the "American Greatness" website and thought, "Perhaps he is one anyway."
6
The only desperation evident here is yours, Mr Buskirk. You are desperately trying to convince democrats that they are making a mistake because you know that they might succeed, and that if they do, it would be a disaster for Trump and his apologists/enablers like you. No amount of alt-facts or alt-narratives like yours can overcome reality.
5
Why is it that this president who has lied thousands of times, and had dealt with porn stars, obscene references to women, enriched himself with his businesses, and has been against obvious things like global warnings that his supporters still overlook all those horrible behaviors? Furthermore his love of dictators,. his dislike of democracies, and our European allies, and well reasoned writers like, Christopher Buskirk think that getting rid of the most mean and nasty president in our history will be bad for the Democrats and indeed for our democracy
2
Buskirk nails it. If the president's "request" to the Ukrainian prez is impeachable, then Joe Biden's actual, real-time interference is equally criminal. If Uncle Joe actually cared about his party, he would quit--any off-the-shelf excuse will do.
Then, let's play out the drama one more step: Trump, somehow, gets the chop and we're left with Mike Pence. Squeaky-clean, god-fearing, good-looking...and a perfect "national unity" and "stop the crazies from running the government and letting men into ladies' rooms" candidate. Beatable? Nah.
3
Since Christopher Buskirk is the editor and publisher of the "journal American Greatness" he knows a "Thing" or two about "Greatness." The truth is that if a Democratic President had done half of what "The Chosen One" AKA "Michigan Man Of The Year" has done and had had black or brown skin they would have been impeached and removed in 2017.
As it is turns out history WILL see Donald Trump as "Great." Donald Trump WILL be "celebrated" as America's greatest traitor because no one has "achieved" what he has "achieved."
5
Hey Mr. Buskirk, maybe Democrats just see a President withholding military aid for his personal political needs. If you don’t see the quid pro quo, I have some swamp land to see you
3
Tump admits he asked for a favor from Ukraine. Give me dirt on a rival and we'll release the money.
And it's self evident he's committed a thousand other acts of a tyrant who believes no norms or laws apply to him. He's clearly a criminal.
And it's perfectly fine he and his supporters say.
No it isn't.
Mr. Busk is not the only one irked.
Those of us with sanity, morals, intelligence and basic life experience see the obvious, even if he doesn't.
He would have defended the 3rd Reich to the end, like most tump supporters.
The rest of us vote to impeach for obvious abuse of power and criminal behavior. We have to at least try, or little by little we'll continue to lose our democracy. Tump's the worst in history, we have no choice but to try to remove him.
3
Defending Trump is an act of desperation.
Mentioning Trump and American Greatness in the same sentence is a contradiction in terms.
2
Some Americans, believe it or not, place more importance on maintaining the ethical standards that have kept this country intact for more than two centuries than they value sheer political calculations that are about nothing but winning. If Trump and his administration have engaged in wrongdoing, it needs to be recognized and stopped. By the same token, if the Bidens have crossed ethical lines, that matters as well. We about to do the right thing and try to find out. Please Mr, Buskirk, get off of your soapbox, take off your blinders, and try to focus on an honorable future for our country. Period.
3
One reason to do an impeachment (even while knowing the Senate won't convict) would be to get out in the open the most complete record of the facts of the matter. Trump et al have been desperately trying to cover up his malfeasance and that of Rudy Giuliani, who spent countless hours and a bunch of taxpayer money trying to get some dirt on the Bidens. Let's see what the congressional committees come up with after hearing testimony from the various interested parties. As for whether the impeachment inquiry will help or hurt the Democrats, that is really not the point. Career public servants with a keen sense of the integrity and interest of the United States were astounded by Trump's obvious attempt to pressure the president of Ukraine into conducting an investigation of the Bidens. One that Trump had already concluded would show them guilty of corruption. This is the sort of thing Putin orders his minions to do to anyone who dares challenge him.
1
No one knows how this will play out. Many on both sides, including and perhaps especially Mr. Buskirk, are engaged in wishful thinking. I strongly support Trump's impeachment and removal from office. I hope that this poor excuse for a president is shown to be what he truly is: a crook. Nevertheless, I cannot read tea leaves any better than anyone else. I do know one thing, however. Speaker Pelosi and the House had no choice but to proceed with impeachment in light of Trump's patently criminal behavior.
1
If impeachment really is welcome news for the Republican cause, they have a funny way of welcoming it. This whole "Impeachment equals Trump Victory" stuff is right out of Roger Ailes playbook. Anyone who'd be inclined to vote for Trump despite all the evidence framing him as an incompetent, hypocritic, lying political hack who openly acts un-Constitutionally and quickly attempts to sweep his transgressions under the rug, would very likely vote for him anyways, impeachment or no. I seriously doubt folks on the fence will be so heart broken for a clearly unfit person to hold that office they'd ignore all the evidence and vote for Trump out of pity. But if they were inclined to vote for him for pity's sake, they're of the intellectual demographic that would be inclined to vote for him anyways. All impeachment does is energize the Democratic Party and will very likely ensure a record-breaking turnout. Huge turnouts is extremely GOOD NEWS for Democrats.
3
Schiff can not run an investigation on Trump: It immediately becomes a kangaroo court. Since Trump was investigating democrats for their alleged illegal acts, the investigator can not be associated and aligned with potential defendants. Trump and the republicans will of course present this angle, and Trump will again restore increasing approval rankings, the trend that was accelerating - which of course is the real reason the impeaching proceedings were initiated. The justice department independent of Barr, and done by career lawyers, already determined Trump's scheme was not illegal, and multiple major statements of the whistleblower complaint are false; therefore one can just forget all of this as more media supported and amplified democratic party garbage. Hopefully the news media and democratic posturing enables the deserved punishment mediated by losing the congressional swing districts
1
Nonsense. Impeachment is not an elective activity. It is a congressional duty when a President is promoting foreign meddling in our elections, and nothing less than a duty.
3
You say that "Democrats see an impeachable offense,” while “a lot of other people see one head of state asking another for an investigation into potential corruption involving the Bidens."
Democrats see an impeachable offense for exactly what that “lot of other people” that you refer to as seeing what has transpired as a “perfect” and “beautiful phone call.” Nothing to see there. Which speaks volumes about those people’s (Republicans’) capacity for what is shockingly corrupt.
The so-called Biden scandal that you, the president, and "America’s Mayor" are trying to promote to destroy the Democratic front runner’s chances has been thoroughly debunked as a Russian-disseminated conspiracy theory intended to once again help our current president win another election.
Which leads to the real question?
Why are the Russians so determined to help Trump be president? In 2016, you could have argued that it was because Putin hated Hillary’s tough policies toward Russian aggression in Ukraine and election interference. But she’s no longer in the picture.
Perhaps it’s been Trump all along — that he’s been Putin’s guy from the getgo, with Kushner having secretly wedded our Middle East foreign policy to the secret alliance that Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, and Russia formed in 2015 on a yacht in the Red Sea, where Russia expressed a willingness to abandon support for Iran conditioned on sanctions being dropped and Eastern Ukraine possibly being ceded to Russia.
1
This is Opinion most of us could do without. The author has his own venues and does not have the credentials nor the interests for this level of discernment. He is just looking to poke others in the eye.
3
This is the same ridiculous drivel that Republicans are so fond of forcing on the rest of us who actually believe in morals, character, and the president of the United States NOT committing extortion of a foreign government, which is desperate for our help to defend it against Putin, in order to force that government to aid him in the 2020 election. It says just as much about the Republican Party that they, and this writer, immediately ignore the proven behavior of this “president,” proven by his own words in black and white, and start talking about politics and how the Democrats are just desperate to impeach Donald Trump. If they had been paying attention, Nancy Pelosi was staunchly opposed to impeachment, to the utter chagrin of a majority of the Democratic base. However, when Trump releases voluntarily the smoking gun, because he truly believes that he did nothing wrong (which in and of itself is extremely telling of this man’s character), Pelosi had no choice but to impeach. The day that America allows a president to behave in this way, as well as blatantly corrupt the Department of Justice and the State Department in order to commit his numerous crimes, is the day that Benjamin Franklin feared, for we have come to the point where we have no longer kept our Republic.
4
Dean Baquet and his young publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, have certainly succeeded in making the Times a magnet for digital subscribers across the country and, in the process, validated a business model that will undergird the Times' success for years to come. In the process, however, they have turned a journalistic enterprise into little more than a collection of blogs (whose writers seem to spend as much time on cable news as in the newsroom) with some specimens of journalism attached. What a dreary spectacle it has become. This piece of nonsense is only the latest depredation in a week that has also seen the Executive Editor scrambling to justify a patently self-serving decision to compromise the identity of a whistle blower. And this from an institution that will preach to you again and again about its sacred duty to protect its sources. I weep for this once great paper.
2
It seems to me that the desperation is more on the side of Mr Buskirk than the Democrats. If you view the facts of the case the Biden "scandal" is a nothing burger. Joe, with the support of much of the Western World, wanted to be rid of the prosecutor Viktor Shotkin because of his reluctance to prosecute.
But Mr. Buskirk and his ilk need a conspiracy, a la Bengazi, because, absent of facts, that is what they do.
Admittedly, Hunter had a tawdry $50,000 a month retainer that wasn't illegal but not uncommon with scions of influential people.
2
The relentless smugness of this argumemt is really off putting. Buskirk doesn't t care about the crime Trump committed: he could not be botherrd to even consider it. In fact he smirks at the idea of taking Trump's criminality seriously. This is what moral bankruptcy looks like: it where a smug, self satisfied smirk.
4
Impeachment is what happens when a president behave criminally. Trump supporters are ok with having a criminal fro a president. Many of us are not.
2
Or perhaps, Democrats were left no choice because Trump, his base, and his Republican sycophants in Congress value their party over our democratic republic
2
it is not about winning. it is about Trump having most lkely done something illegal and TREASONOUS. enough said
3
Just a thought experiment--The democrats look the other way on what is in plain view---in constitutional black and white---a high crime. How do you think Trump would respond to leaving the scene of the crime?? A normal individual would say to himself--wow, I dodged a bullet on that one--better be more careful about my dealings with foreign powers. But Trump is not normal---he is a certified sociopath--and we know how sociopaths react to weakness---they plan for the next crime---one that will top the last one--one that will really get the headlines I truly deserve.
3
This was truly an adolescent read. Personally the Conservative party can keep this silly type of supporter and mindset. Odd and frankly quite pathetic, that he writes nothing of justice, laws and morality. He writes of Washington psychodrama, but that rings of deflection, the drama is coming from the direction of his revered President and the spin he's trying to pull off here.
3
Is there any doubt the man ought to be impeached? I'll agree impeachment may turn out to not be politically expedient which means not impeaching would be the act of despiration.
1
Mr. Burkirk, here is a "How we Got to the Point of Impeachment for Dummies - in 10 Easy Steps"'. You can decide if it's worth pursuing.
1. Ukraine President losing in polls. Concocts allegations to harm Democrats and curry Trump favor
2. Allegations published in the Hill. Paranoid Giuliani gloms on to conspiracy. Giuliani gets ear of Trump.
3. Trump wants action. Fires Ukraine ambassador. Asks Barr to investigate.
4. Trump emboldened by Mueller, calls Ukraine president and asks him to investigate Democrats.
5. Concurrently in not so subtle message, Trump instructs withholding of Ukraine aid.
6. Panicked WH lawyers, direct removal of Trump phone transcript. Staffers, who are smarter than WH lawyers, put transcript in a “secure” place.
7. Volker, uneasy about the whole thing, hands off crazy Rudy off to Ukrainians. Everybody laughs at Rudy, but Trump sees his cover. Rudy is only a “private” citizen
8. Trump withholds future meetings with Ukrainian President unless Democrats investigated. Ukraine publicly acknowledges this quid pro quo, but no one notices or cares.
9. State department still worried about crazy Rudy. Someone has had enough. Files whistle-blower complaint. Complaint drafted without classified material so Barr can’t do his dirty tricks.
10. Democrats start impeachment hearings. Volker now feeling, really uneasy, quits. Volker now feeling, really, really uneasy, quits.
1
What I learn from this loopy editorial—or more precisely, have confirmed—is that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, and guys like vanBuskirk suffer badly from it.
Or maybe it’s the old Cohn’s Disease, which forces the sufferer to endlessly accuse everybody else of doing what they’re actually doing.
Anyway, always fun to watch Trumpists whistleblowering past the graveyard.
2
Speaking of desperation, this in today's Los Angeles Times (lead and link):
"Ukraine’s former top law enforcement official says he repeatedly rebuffed President Trump’s personal lawyer’s demands to investigate Joe Biden and his son, insisting he had seen no evidence of wrongdoing that he could pursue despite Trump’s allegations."
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-29/former-ukraine-prosecutor-says-no-wrongdoing-biden
2
The main thrust of every conservative pundit like the author of this diatribe is always pure projection. They assume Democrats do things for the reasons that THEY would be doing them. Most of America is indeed feeling desperate—we have an unhinged, demonstrably stupid, and criminal con man at the helm of this ship. Impeachment is the only moral thing left to do and it is a mandate of the House to do it, even if in the end, it costs us comfort or power. Doing the right thing is a foreign concept to him I guess.
2
I'm tired of reading this type of cowardly hogwash from conservative pundits. If they had any courage or moral decency they would be calling for Trumps head and asking their fellow conservatives in congress, the judiciary, and the executive branch to do the same. Stop wasting our time.
3
Impeachment is an Act of Patriotism.
2
What is the point of printing an opinion from the publisher of a web site named after Trump's campaign slogan? Simply a waste of everybody's time.
2
This column outlines an acceptance of corruption and incompetent presidents.
This writer is a sad display of the deterioration in American politics and government.
If we Americans are going to reverse the decline in our country’s governance we must not accept the cynical attitude of this columnist.
1
Oh, no, not another Chris Buskirk column. This time I got through it, although with difficulty. That said, I have a simple question for Buskirk: if the impeachment inquiry is so hopeless and misguided, so good for Trump, why don't you play dumb and embrace it like someone who has just had a gigantic epiphany?
2
Horrible reasoning. Mainly unsupported assertions, tendentious and unlikely, seasoned with the sprinkling of confident statements about what others "must" be thinking. All of them self-serving to the author's ideological case, most simplistic, reductionist, or profoundly dumb. More qulity control, please!
2
What Buskirk and other zealots for the right-wing fail to grasp is that if they're correct, and this development does play into the hands of Fascist Republican Party, then yes, he wins 2020. But then there will likely NOT be a 2024 at all.
2
This is a morally morally bankrupt argument.
2
What is possibly gained by having Buskirk gaslight us constantly on the pages of the New York Times with pieces like this? This is pure post-Truth nonsense. It doesn't even try to spin facts, it just ignores them, giving us what Buskirk and the GOP pretend happened instead.
This piece floods us with doublespeak as to why an impeachment inquiry was triggered, when it couldn’t be simpler: Trump did it. If any doubt it, just ask his staff. All those loyal Republicans, not a Democrat in the lot, frantically tried to cover-up Trump's criminality and self-dealing.
There's nothing like a bunch of Republicans, including William Barr, tripping over themselves to cover-up Trump's having blatantly violated the law which says to Americans that Trump is actually blameless and innocent and being framed by the ever cautious and reasonable Democratic Leader of The House, Nancy Pelosi.
Are there not enough Trump propagandists everywhere spinning dezinformatsiya? In giving Buskirk this space to gaslight us the Times confuses and exalts a misguided idea of "balance," acting as if it's the same as "fairness". Buskirk proves it's the opposite.
In his purportedly reasonable conservative website, the journal of American Greatness, Buskirk has made Trump the epitome of American Greatness while using The Gateway Pundit, a far-right conspiracy and disinformation website, as a primary source. Why a Trumpian propagandist is given space here to spin right-wing conspiracy theories is mystifying.
2
Or or it’s an act of patriotism!
Imagine if Hillary Clinton did 1/10th of Trump’s impeachable acts? The mouth breathing right wing neocon base would have done more than lock her up.
7
The munchkins “”in and out of “the squad” — along with their activist supporters and many of the party’s presidential candidates”” need a lesson in politics. Let them have it.
I will make it simple. Whatever Biden did, is not important, because Biden is not President. That would be a matter for a criminal inquiry, which the Dept of Justice (AKA Little lapdog Barr) could start. But the President is a crook, and when you ask the so called Republicans for a comment, they run to Biden. Deflection is the name of the tactic. He is not asking Zelensky for help because he wants to indict Biden. There are lawful mechanisms to do that. He is doing it to win an election. I am not saying republicans have no morals. Both parties are guilty of that. I am saying in this case truth is not important to politicians. This is the system that somebody said is the worse political system except for everything else.
Most politicians are good for only one thing: feather their own nest. If you believe they go into politics to serve the public, there is a bridge close to your home on sale right now.
With few exceptions (McCain being one, and there are a few others) politics is about extorsion. Not the old kind. The kind that says : how is the permit for your house addition going/ Still in committee?. By the way, my campaign reelection needs money.
Have Johan Sebastian Bach write 100 variations on the theme and you will capture the essence of our political system.
1
Not once in all of these too-many words from Buskirk did we hear him comment on truth, justice, rule of law, or what is best for our nation. This is arguably the greatest crisis in our nation since the Civil War, and Buskirk cares only about who is politically winning. Honestly, this is a serious waste of column space in the newspaper of record.
2
NO. We will not allow Trump to destroy America. Impeach for his crimes.
1
American Greatness? That is really all I need to know about the writer.
6
Allow me to extend to Mr. Buskirk a bit of sage advice that may ring true, since it comes straight from the tried and true playbook of Fearless Leader and Supreme Omnipotent High Commander Trump himself: Go back where you came from.
Which, in the case of Mr. Buskirk, would seem to be somewhere beneath a damp rock.
2
Democrats have no hope that impeachment will remove Donald Trump from the Presidency because Mitch McConnell controls a majority of the Senate, and a 2/3 Senate majority is required to actually remove Trump from office.
Three previous presidents have been impeached (which occurs solely in the House). None of them were removed from office. To repeat, it is so hard to remove an American president from office that it has never been done before, even with the uiversally hated Andrew Johnson, who served after Llincoln's Assassination.
The Constitution requires the House to open Articles of Impeachment upon high crimes and misdemeanors Nancy Pelosi, as she clearly stated, did not want to impeach the president but was required to do so y the Constitution.
Not even Democrats are dumb enough not to know basic arithmetic. Dummy.
1
It's too bad Brando has left us. I imagine him playing Trump in his phone call with the new Ukrainian President in his Corleone manner. "We've done a lot for you. Alot more than the Europeans. I'd like you to do me a favor....."
If Trump openly asked for Russia to try to find Clinton's emails when he was running against her, if he has had secret meetings with Putin, if he openly says her would accept foreign "dirt", real or made-up, on his political opponents, and if he sounds like a mobster in his conversation with a foreign leader whose country desperately needs American aid to combat the Russian invasion of his country, it seems likely that he was a party to the Russian interference in the 2016 election and the continuing Russian interference in the 2020 election. We need to know why Trump is so intent on siding with Putin. What was said and promised in the Trump-Putin meetings and phone calls?
1
Checking American Greatness, Christopher Buskirk, and Media Bias/Fact Check on Google I found the following, pretty much verbatim: "American Greatness" is considered a blog, biased toward conservative causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. It uses strong, loaded words, that appeal to emotion or stereotypes, publishes misleading reports and omits reporting of information that may damage conservative causes. Story selection favors the right …and facts from poor sources.” The NYT emphasizes the importance of publishing the Truth and distinguishes between Truth and opinion. Buskirk's blog, by definition can be viewed as opinion based on who Buskirk is--his understanding of Truth, values, his judgment. Would you please consider replacing him with a clear-minded blogger who has a better grasp of Truth and better judgment. Thank you
2
Normal for populist bugs like Trump, they live on cracks they create by division (e.g.: racist chant "send her back"), holes in governance regulations (withdrawal from Paris climate agreement), law bypasses (the border wall, election interference), and loopholes in the governing system (stonewalling Congress, disclosing classified information, ....etc). The aim is clear, destruction of the democratic system, the main threat underlying the war between Liberal Democracy and Populism. While they are practicing this crook defiant tracks, they dig their ditch.
Impeach the populist bug through election times.
1
Ok, let's think about this for a moment.
Donald Trump as a corruption busting crime buster. A man who puts self interest aside to track down miscreants and hold them accountable. You can trust him to take good care of your wife and daughter under almost any circumstances.
Ok, that was long enough.
Let's try this one for a moment.
The founding fathers of this country would find nothing wrong with the president of our country seeking aid from foreign adversaries to undermine the electoral process of our country. If presented with the track record of Donald Trump's pandering to Russia and his months long engagement to strong-arm a newly elected president of an ally confronted by that same Russia, the founding fathers would shrug their shoulders and say, "that's just Donald being Donald. Without Benedict Donald's fingerprints on the murder weapon, there cannot be a crime."
Ok, that was long enough.
All right, this is an IQ test.
Fail it and you too can be a writer for such rags as the journal of American Greatness and receive your very own MAGA hat and an NRA sticker autographed by Putin and an 8x10 color glossy Maria Butina posing with both the MAGA hat and an AK47. Limited time offering.
Such is America in the age of Trump and right wing propaganda.
2
"And by focusing on their obsession with the person of Donald Trump, Democrats are giving up the opportunity to talk about wages, employment, the shrinking middle class or any of the other things that motivate normal voters. "
All that the Dems have ever done is talk about those things. Just talk. They are merely giving it a break
We don't need 'middle of the road voters'. We need the voters who stayed home because they couldn't vote for Hillary. Is Joe Biden getting splattered? Meh. I dunno. I see two differences in this case:
1. Joe Biden is a man. Men are allowed to be corrupt in America.
2. Elizabeth Warren has my vote any day of the week and she might even get those men "who aren't misogynist! They just couldn't vote for someone with so much baggage"....to the polls.
3. No one is talking about Pocahontes right now.
Well, I’m just quivering in my boots. We’ll call off impeachment, declare Trump a saint, and sing hosannas.
Please. His transgressive behavior has been horrifying from the beginning. The Ukraine call and surrounding events simply exemplify this disgusting behavior. I don’t know whether impeachment will be a mistake politically and at this point don’t care. Having been worried about his rabid base’s possible response, i’m so fed up that they don’t matter.
3
The cover-up, more than Trump’s ongoing treachery, may prove to be Don the Con’s undoing. Let’s hope so, anyway!
2
"China’s mercantilist trade policy, stagnating wages, the shrinking middle class and immigration" All of these are better addressed by any democratic candidate than Trump and his unholy inhumane greed mongers.
1
Chris Buskirk is out of touch. The Clinton impeachment went badly for Republicans because they were impeaching a president with an approval rating above 60 percent, and they were doing it over a sex scandal. Meanwhile, this time, we're already seeing public support for impeachment increasing as the facts about the President's attempted bribery of a foreign leader come forward.
Buskirk is lucky that the Times was just looking to publish something to counter the rational takes on impeachment this morning in the name of false balance.
3
So the editor and publisher of "American Greatness" believes that a unfit criminal president, conspiring with a foreign government to find dirt on his political rivals, and threatens his staff and the whistleblower with execution is just fine? Got it. You, and from what I can see of most Trump supporters, have a very twisted view of what makes America great.
3
Another Trump enabler without a moral compass.
4
The alternative, which is to let a criminal run the White House, is not an alternative. The Democrats have no choice.
4
For all of the conservative voices to share an opinion, could the Times please search for something thoughtful and a little provocative? If this is the conservatives best argument (consider me an Independent) it demonstrates how desperate they are.
3
You are a pragmatist, it seems,
whose only goal is “Winning!”
The end does justify the means.
Your moral underpinning.
That’s shortsighted. You’re not alone.
Some don’t know what’s at stake.
Some values should be cast in stone.
Some goals are a mistake.
1
Nixon was impeached for corruption - This was a just impeachment.
Clinton was impeached for cheating on his wife by Newt Gingrich, a man who was cheating on his wife while she was in the hospital dying from cancer - This was a purely political impeachment.
Trump is a grossly unfit and unqualified man who has committed many "high crimes and misdemeanors" - This is a just impeachment but the GOP is so corrupt now they don't care.
2
Dear Mr. Buskirk, during this time when the pundits and politicians freely speak on behalf of real Americans, let me speak for myself. Yes, we want Washington to focus on the issues that impact our lives most. I like clean air, water and food. I don't like liars. I want my president to be smarter than me. I want my government to be respected in the world. I want my government to project compassion to the world and set an example of how to govern. Those qualities are what made America great. That's not Trump's agenda. And you don't know what American greatness actually is about. He doesn't deserve to represent me and you just sound foolish.
2
We are faced with a dilemma. The Republicans are conspiring with Trump in attacking our integrity, safety of country and values. Our justice department has joined in and the Courts are being filled with right wing fanatics.
Desperation and no urgent matter, you say?
Their actions have legitimized dictators around the world, ridiculed the US and lost our credibility and influence in the world. China has filled the vacuum we abandoned, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, North Korea and other autocratic countries are now our friends and freely practice their abuse of human rights.
Trump will get a free pass in the Senate from his accomplices and he might even get re-elected. Americans will need to feel the heat to admit there is a fire in the house but please stop accusing the rest of us of desperation for calling the fire department.
Let all evidence be witnessed and recorded in history books for future generations to learn. Let future generations know that a country that elected an idiot who ended up having the full support of our elected officials could in no way be exceptional or a super power. If Republicans and their traitor all escape prosecution and remain in power, their crimes will eventually catch up with them.
1
If this represents 'American Greatness', I'll (as the expression goes) take vanilla. Twittie cheats on his wives, his vendors, his stockholders, the students at his fake university and anyone else within range. His lies surpass anything ever seen on the political stage. Only yesterday, he was claiming that the 'Democrats want to take away your health care'. Was this the 10,001 lie or 10,002?
2
I only have a couple of questions for Mr. Buskirk. Do you anything our Founding Fathers expected when it came to Executive power or less than nothing?
The current president personifies everything they feared, and stands as a textbook example of why they included the power to impeach. While the fact you hold your own agenda so dearly as to exclude any semblance of real conservatism or even constitutionalism is ... interesting, there's a whole nation of Americans expecting more.
3
This seems like debate society stuff. Any operative asserting the Trump position could have written this piece - I could have written it, and maybe written it better, even though I don't believe a word of it. But there's no inspiration or insight in this piece. It's just taking up space.
4
But doesn't the (hate to use this term) establishment-Liberal media bear some blame here? They've been agitating the Democrats and herding them in this direction since Trump took office. Forever putting every faux-pas of the Republicans under a blazing spotlight while sweeping similar infractions committed by Democrats under the rug. Now the Democrats have gotten what they wish for. It will be interesting to see the looks on their faces when that rug gets pulled back. But that's great for the establishment press-- more headlines!
Well, Hindsight is 20/20 and the future is unwritten. No-one knew what was going to happen with Nixon when Watergate began. Same here, yes there are many, many pitfalls for Democrats. But this is larger issue; rule of law and democratic principles. Whatever the spin or armchair quarterbacking, there is no other way.
3
Impeachment is a response to a criminal president, an attempt to maintain our republic, it is not a political calculation meant to garner votes. We all know the senate won’t vote for impeachment, that’s not the point. The point is to do the right thing. The right thing is always worth doing, even when it’s doomed from the start.
6
There is evidence that Trump committed an impeachable offense, and we have a branch of the federal government that is constitutionally-charged with investigating such things. It really might be that simple.
7
The real question is what Trump's misdeeds coupled with the spectacle of impeachment hearings in the House and a likely trial in the Senate will have on the voters that really matter in the 2020 election assuming that the Senate doesn't convict. Those voters are slim in number comprising swing voters in swing states. People commenting here obviously are highly engaged in all things political and highly partisan. Swing voters generally are not. They are concerned about the issues that Buskirk mentions. This may be a lot of fire and fury for the next several months, but by the time September 2020 rolls around it will be long over. I did not vote for Trump in 2016 and I most assuredly do not intend to vote for him in 2020, but all of this may just affect the outcome in November 2020.
1
The silence from the Democrats on the Biden issue is deafening. Rudy is right about one thing: can you imagine the uproar if Trump's children were given lucrative positions overseeing a fund financed by corrupt oligarchs? Where is the outrage? Some say Trump's children are already set up in similar situations, but they miss the point that they were set up already BEFORE Trump took office, not as a result of him succeeding to the presidency.
But nothing illegal has been proven? So what! If even the appearance of impropriety is present, that is bad enough. Included in the rogue's gallery with Biden's son is John Kerry's step son, the nephew of Whitey Bulger? Really, Dems?
Further, the Democrats are twisting the concept of "interfering in an election." Interference is what the Russians did in 2016; interference is NOT getting information from a foreign source (Hillary did the same thing), or asking a foreign government to look into possible corruption. As for holding up funds earmarked for defense, the funds were released even though Ukraine thus far did not do what Trump was asking for. This article is correct. Impeachment will backfire and benefit Trump.
2
The "Biden issue" is a whole different thing. Take the Bidens and politics out of it and strip it down to the bare bones, and you have a US president attempting to bribe a foreign president for a favor.
The only responsible thing to be done in this case is impeachment.
3
Speaking of outrage, I like to play a little game called, “what if Obama had done it”? What do you think our friends at Faux News would be saying about the Ukrainian scandal if you simply replaced “Trump with Obama”? Come now, be honest.
3
Sorry Mr. Buskirk but impeachment is not an act of desperation. That will come watching Trump's behavior during the impeachment proceedings. Old Biblical proverb: A drowning man will grasp even the edge of a sword.
3
There is a common theme to conservative commentary about the House impeachment inquiry - a warning to Democrats that the politics of impeachment are bad, for Democrats generally and For Biden more specifically.
Are we supposed to ignore the behavior, follow Trump’s lead and prioritize self-interest over responsibility to the country, the rule of law, the oath of office?
How about this - we Democrats can choose principle over self-interest, and if House Democrats do their job well, the people will follow.
2
First Impeachment poll is out. Most Americans favor investigating. Trump is toast.
6
Now, now, let’s not be hasty. Mitch and his buddies in the Senate have it all in hand. No chance they’re going to oust the chosen one.
1
Impeachment is now a moral imperative, and any arguments about the political value of the act are a form of cowardice.
6
Interesting how all the conservative Republican pundits published in the NYT opinion pages are so earnestly trying to save the Democrats from themselves by warning against the impeachment of Trump. It almost makes one think they might be trying to scare Democrats into not supporting impeachment....and why would that be, given that Republicans routinely put self-interest over country and integrity?
6
I’m curious how republicans and independents explain to their children their support for someone so obviously corrupt. How do you explain a ridiculous national debt, his abuse of us taxpayers money funding his golf courses, his morally dubious relationship with leaders and abuse of a allies? Where are his supporters morals?
5
Mr Buskirk - You have not disappointed, you sound EXACTLY like Trump and his supporters. Every way you guys see things or come to your beliefs or conclusions is the same way - it's all about some ulterior self serving way of thinking or understanding. Your view of what Democrats or Pelosi or any of us are thinking is based on a dark, non-genuine, scheming impetus that motivates. This is the insidious immoral thinking that goes on in the new Trump world. Nothing means anything, nothing is real or genuine, it's all about what can be achieved, right or wrong, for you and yours. You even go so far as to call a feeling of moral outrage an intoxicating high! It is no such thing. You and your ilk cannot wrap your mind around that fact that we are doing this and it could possibly help Trump (since we do, sadly, now live in bizarro world) But sometimes you have to do what is right and say enough to the despicable. It doesn't necessarily feel good to be in a world where this must be done, like it or not. But is does feel right. Do you remember "right" anymore?
6
If this context-less blather is all the Right has, I'm both relieved & alarmed. Relieved because this is a pretty ridiculous column, & alarmed because the Trumpist's will believe whatever their leader tells them without question. Better seriously think about getting on the right side of history Mr Buskirk.
5
The writer is tying himself into knots trying to convince us that this is good for dear leader. I wonder if he really believes what he is saying?!! If Republican Senators vote against a warranted Impeachment, it will be interesting to see how voters respond in 2020 . . .
6
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Intellectual dishonesty at its finest from this guy.
3
If I'm going to seek advice on how to win the 2020 election, a rightwing pundit will not be my first choice.
Thanks for playing.
6
Mr. Buskirk should look at the articles of impeachment for Clinton and Nixon. He should then think about what the articles for Trump are likely to be. Then he should sing the song from Sesame Street. “Which of these things is most like the other? Which of these things is not the same?”
2
I would ask the author of this article as well as Mr. Trump, "Have you no decency?" Everyone that is fearful that this tyrant and traitor will be re-elected should just get out and vote in 2020 and restore some decency to this country: to be respectful to our fellow humans and the environment we all are a part of. I for one am optimistic that the majority of people are decent and have had it with the current chaos and dysfunction in the United States. We will get out the vote and purge our country of these traitors and tyrants in 2020!
2
The top reader picks among the comments chastise Mr Buskirk as being blind or a Trump supporter, in any case, wide of the mark in suggesting impeachment is a dumb move. But none of these detractors address the fact that drum beating and trumpet blowing will not convert Trump followers but it will drown out thinking about real issues and sober proposals. The undecided and unmotivated aren’t going to be attracted to this noisy party.
It’s a rabbit hole, a Trump speciality.
And the media are all over this like flies on a dung heap. Drowning out boring sobriety and sensible proposals.
Not good.
3
Mr. Buskirk is part of the pro-Trump propaganda machine. I hope he is paid well to espouse his toxic views. When Clinton was impeached he had an approval rating in the 60's. His "crime" of not being a truth teller about sex is a false equivalency with what Trump is accused of.
2
I cannot abide Trump but I live among people who overwhelmingly voted him into office. They are not disgusted with Trump when they glance at hearings on CNN or the headlines in the New York Times; they are disgusted with Democrats, CNN and the New York Times. Impeachment proceedings will not result in Trump being impeached or more Democrats being elected. It will probably guarantee Trump’s re-election.
1
Nixon decided to resign, Clinton was a foolish venture over lying about an affair. Trump handed them a solidly legitimate reason to investigate. If they chose not to investigate just imagine the outcome, how much more reckless Trump and company could be. Then imagine future Presidents functioning under this standard. Trump will use it it to his advantage either way. He’ll suggest they had nothing on him if they don’t and cry harassment if they do. His audience will take either result as they do with everything else he says.
2
The dice have been rolled. No telling what the outcome will be.
Nobody knows how impeachment will play out.
By Mr Buskirk's logic no sitting President would ever be impeached.
1
Mr. Buskirk, what planet do you live on? Apparently one where some folks indeed can be above the law, if they have power and wealth. In the end, your article is a hog's breakfast of scrambled ideas that bear no similarity to the principles that are espoused on our planet.
3
So, if impeachment is an act of desperation, what would you have done with an unhinged bully in-chief, oblivious to the rule of law, and the need for 'checks and balances' to curtail his abuse of power?
3
"That doesn't sound like winning to me." Typical Trumpian thinking that the end ("winning") justifies the means. Just another excuse for criminality and moral turpitude.
5
More GOP-splaining, complete with desperately waving arms, honking horns, throwing smoke bombs - all to try to convince everyone (before anything is investigated and known) that their “nothing burger” is really nothing. As trump likes to say, “We’ll see...” There certainly is enough there to raise questions and to warrant an inquiry to get to the bottom of yet another self-inflicted disaster by trump and his clown car of an administration.
If he’s weary of investigations one suggestion would be to stop making bonehead decisions. But that’s not going to happen. Indeed, trump is just going to dig a deeper and deeper hole with this situation. he can’t help himself - it’s in his “bones” to keep doubling down with a losing hand.
Meantime, trump’s media mouthpieces ought to take a break from their GOP-splaining. They’re only embarrassing themselves, plus all those contortions have to be taking a toll!
1
You know, "both-sides-ism" isn't balanced reporting. And no matter how many times the Times asserts that the opinions of its columnists do not reflect the position of the paper, people still tend to believe that if it appears in the NYT then the paper stands behind it.
As the impeachment process proceeds and more and more of Trump's misdeeds come out, the right wing is going to get more and more strident.
The headline in our local paper this morning is that the Trump State Department RETROACTIVELY declared messages sent to Hillary Clinton's e-mail server "classified"-- and then accused the senders of mishandling classified information!
In a situation like this, where innocent people are being framed for crimes so Trump can claim "everybody does it," publishing right-wing opinion pieces that twist the facts is not in any way responsible journalism.
5
What would you have Congress do, exactly?
If you were walking down the street and saw somebody strangling another person, would attacking the strangler be “playing with fire?” You yourself might get seriously hurt as a consequence of trying to stop the crime, true. But would you let that possibility stop you from doing all that you could to save the person being strangled?
1
Methinks it's Mr. Buskirk who's desperate, not the Democrats What a wonderfully Orwellian essay this is! Trump's behavior, which has placed him and his party in a most unenviable position, is actually good for them. By beginning impeachment proceedings, House Democrats can ensure that Trump's abominable lack of common decency and his utter lack of regard for the Constitution, which he has sworn an oath to uphold and defend, will be in the news for weeks, if not months. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidates can hammer away on policy issues -- the economy, the environment, gun control, health care, and others -- where polls show the majority of Americans support their positions. And, as Trump finds himself backed further and further into a corner, he will become increasingly likely to lash out in ways that reinforce what many Americans already know: that this is an amoral, , narcissistic, incompetent, mentally unstable person who is completely and totally unfit to occupy the presidency. Mr. Buskirk is betting that impeachment proceedings will work to the benefit of Trump and the Republicans in 2020. I believe events will prove Democrats smart to take that bet.
2
Impeachment is about standing up for ourselves as citizens! This is a democracy! We have the right to demand accountability! I don't care about all this "Impeachment is wrong because of [crusty old personal opinion]". The outcome, the senate, the election...none of that can be predicted, period! Anyone claiming otherwise is some wannabe Nostradamus. We need people who see injustice and are willing to do something about it. Something truly American: standing up to authority and using the tools of justice to bring greater freedom.
2
There are at least two additional points that cast additional suspicion o Trump's motives.
Firstly, Trump deliberately weakened the GOP platform position that had been strongly in favor of arming the Ukraine in light of Russia's invasion of the Crimea. Trump didn't even know where Crimea was but he did know how to be in touch directly with Vladimir Putin.
Secondly, there was already an investigation into Hunter Biden's actions in the Ukraine. Former Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuri Lutsenko recently told The Washington Post "From the perspective of Ukrainian legislation, he did not violate anything,”
In dealing with policy toward the Ukraine, Trump has been working on Putin's behalf in addition to trying to get the Ukrainian government to smear Biden and his son with lies in exchange for military aid.
Like William Barr, Mr. Buskirk believes Trump is above the law and should be protected at all costs to national security despite Trump's open violation of the Constitution. Hypocrisy, thy name is "Trump Supporter".
2
The idea that the hard socialist left is seeing impeachment as a way of energizing their own hard core supporters and hurt the moderate Democratic Presidential candidate is entirely plausible. Trump is looking better every day compared to the hard left activists that have now fully hijacked the Democratic Party.
The only thing that the author and people like him can cling to is the false notion that Biden got a prosecutor fired for investigating the oligarch his son worked for.
No, the fired prosecutor was NOT investigating corruption. The replacement DID investigate the oligarch and Hunter Biden's dealings and found no wrong doing.
Pay close attention when journalists press this point. The interviewee always changes the subject. And yet this lie has proliferated, even into mainstream media.
3
Christopher Buskirk confuses democracy with a board game or an outdoor competition. Democracy is not about winning. Democracy is about a forum. Democracy is about due process. Democracy is checks and balances. The minute people acquire the attitude Christopher Buskirk does we are doomed to a militaristic form of tactics and strategy that leads to nowhere but a self inflicted genocide concerned with the big picture only and death and destruction for those who are impoverished or disabled.
Chirstopher Buskirk examines the worst of what politics have become and encourages us as citizens to jettison love, kindness and rule of law for a ride on a machine that is operated by a few for the benefit of a few without regard for what is essential and right.
Impeachment will demonstrate to the young that lawlessness and a generation of dollar seekers are not a virtue.
Mr. Bushkirk, I implore you to practice a lifestyle promoting simple living so others may simply live and to do that fight the good fight against those similar to William Barr, Rudy Giuliani and this president who don't.
1
How can one fail to notice that Mr. Buskirk's piece, prescient though it might be, betrays itself as pure political calculus and completely devoid of any ethical considerations whatsoever.
1
The question is not whether there should be an inquiry; of course there should be. He's a criminal.
The real question is why don't republicans -- including this guy -- think there should be? How low is the bar, folks? Is there *any* behavior that is too low for republicans?
1
Christopher Buskirk's opinion perfectly summarizes the essential problem with the radical right, which is the inability to comprehend the concept of duty. Good work, Mr. Buskirk, although you didn't need to use so many words.
2
I’m I’m hoping that the Republicans will step up and put Country over Trump as the Republicans did with Nixon. If not, it will show Trump was right when he said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it and the thumb his nose as as citizens over and over again. I’m any case, those against Trump will surely be shown to be on the right side of history.
1
Your logic is slop. If the Democrats do not work towards impeachment, their lack of guts to do the right thing will be the big campaign issue in 2020, and that issue will hit all congressional and Senate races as well. And they would deserve the condemnation. Nobody will vote for them because they refused to impeach. It is the weakest of hands.
And ignoring this would not end the Repulblican attacks of the Biden's. It is their formula. They can't win on issues, not education, not healthcare, not infrastructure, not the environment, and obviously not the economy, "the strongest ever" that still needs stimulus for some reason. Oh, making the rich richer is a issue they do well on.... surely a winner. No, the Republicans win on discrediting the opposition. Issues and helping the citizens, not their strong point. They very well may have already hurt Biden. They will go after the other Democratic candidates just as hard.
They know it is their only chance. Last gasp. They have no platform, no ideas. They can only try to discredit opponents and bank on their ability to sell fear.
1
If this ends like the previous scandals, others will get thrown under the bus and Trump will somehow survive. Rudy, Barr, and Pence probably should probably be worried the most.
2
When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want a Republican shill’s opinion on what course of action to pursue, I am sure they will ask. Personally I am tired of hearing Republicans tell Democrat’s what they should do, instead of taking their President to task for his criminal behavior. (Not to mention condemning his ghastly, inhumane and corrupt actions).
The fact that this writer seeks to discourage impeachment only convinces me that impeachment is the right course of action. Let the Republican senators vote against removal from office. Let them brand themselves traitors to the constitution they swore to uphold.
2
"Perhaps the Democratic leadership thinks that this is a good way to raise money . . ." Or they believe that the President has violated the constitution and the law in many ways and that this is the only avenue available for holding him accountable to the law.
Some of them may even think that their stance will penalize them politically but they do it anyway out of love and respect for our country. Too bad more Republicans do not similarly put country over personal oportunism!
1
Me. Buskirk makes his living by pushing right wing narrative.
I have to wonder why Trump is stonewalling Congress if he isn’t hiding something and is so innocent.
Republicans have been looting the country and destroying the middle class for forty years.
They have no interest in doing what’s best for America, only in what benefits themselves and the rich.
Mr. Buskirk doesn’t understand how people could not trust Trump.
“ it is difficult to get a man to understand something when his income depends on his not understanding it.”
- H.L. Mencken
2
Impeachment is the only way to remove a president like Trump from office. He is incompetent, irrational and totally corrupt to put it mildly. He is a real danger to the nation and the world. It is the duty of Congress to impeach him.
The Republicans face the danger of going down with him.
Clinton was impeached for having committed perjury because he lied to the GJ about his sin with a consenting woman, not even a crime. Yes, the Clinton impeachment was pure politics and the nation knew it.
1
No. This is no about beating Trump. This is about the rule of law and ensuring that our president not only obeys the law but is held accountable when he doesn’t. Perhaps if Trump wasn’t such a brazenly criminal and immoral person, we could hold off on impeachment. Unfortunately he leaves the Democrats no choice. If open coercion to foreign powers to interfere in our elections is left unchecked, I shudder to think what Trump would be capable of doing next.
Frankly you and all the Republicans should be ashamed of yourselves for even talking about the elections when you should be focused on holding this intolerable tyrant accountable and safeguarding our constitution.
1
"But there will be an election. And by focusing on their obsession with the person of Donald Trump, Democrats are giving up the opportunity to talk about wages, employment, the shrinking middle class or any of the other things that motivate normal voters. After two and a half years of hearing about Russia, there are vanishingly few swing voters who want to spend the next 14 months hearing about Ukraine."
Wrong! That's what Republicans will be talking about because they have no Obamacare replacement plan, college affordability plan and deny man-made global warming because it hurts Big Oil's business model on which they depend so heavily.
Do you really think Donny Bank Fraud is going to be giving policy speeches and detailed interviews about his yet un-announced Obamacare replacement plan, or empathetically addressing middle class families while explaining his plan to reduce the cost of college? I don't think Dodging Donny Bone Spurs can departmentalize his YUGE brain to fighting his impeachment ,WHILE addressing other issues in the campaign.
He will be impeached. His future is in the hands of elderly Republican senators that LIVED the Cold War, are very familiar with the USSR/Russian spy recruitment tactics and know how vulnerable a guy like Trump is to that. A 75 year old Republican senator who's in office for 40 years, is thinking about his legacy in the history books,& how Trump owns him. Forced to retire at 75, wrapped in the flag might feel really good.
1
A pure Machiavellian calculation by Mr. Buskirk. Not a shred of moral integrity to it. If the Founding Fathers had been of this frame of mind the republic would never have been founded.
1
Trump has repeatedly committed crimes and this "opinion" piece by an apologist is absurd. To not impeach would be just one more crime. Trump lost the popular vote by close to 3 million votes. Do you really think 2020 will be closer? It won't. Trump will lose in a landslide to the Dem candidate and will then be subject to indictment by the State of New York and, perhaps, other jurisdictions.
2
Exactly right on all points. Thank you, Democrats, for the re-election of Trump.
For good or for ill -- whether it results in re-election or removal, Congress has a duty to to hold Donald Trump accountable. That's all. No amount of bloviation, editorializing or dire warnings can change the fact that Donald Trump has betrayed his oath of office and must be held to account for it.
Mr. Buskirk's opinion is just that: opinion. It matters as little as mine or yours about what the result of trying Trump in Congress may be. An Impeachment proceeding is going to happen, it should happen, and no-one, Republican or Democrat can say with certainty what the result will be.
My opinion is that Donald Trump will be discredited, and if Republicans do not move to try him in the Senate, they will be seen as venal cowards and sycophants, not worthy of their offices. In my opinion, the Republican party has played fast and loose with the constitution and good ordering of the government for at least ten years, and are about to pay the price for their hubris. In my opinion, the Republican party is already discredited and will fade away while another, newer, hopefully saner conservative party forms in the ashes.
But like Mr. Buskirk, my opinion has nothing to do with the outcome of the Trump presidency and his looming impeachment.
Only history -- and the American people -- will have the final word.
1
Is this what we want the norm to become in presidential politics for the future? If Democrats in the House simply let this go, they are saying this behavior is allowed and that when the next president (potentially a Democrat) reaches out to a foreign power to get dirt on the opponent, that it will be allowed? Does that sound just fine to you, Republican friends?
This action, can NOT be allowed to go un investigated and called out as WRONG. If it does, the American people are the ultimate losers as we've turned the democratic ideals that have made us stand apart in the world - not perfect, but worth fighting for - into nothing more than another two-bit banana republic. Welcome to the bottom.
1
Mr. Buskirk suggests that Trump called Zelensky to get to the bottom of the Russian hacking of our 2016 election, so that it won't happen again. Wow.
Trump is actually praying for the Russians to interfere in the 2020 election more than they did in the 2016. He is the most dangerous person in America, by far. A few days ago he tweeted that the Democrats in the House had no idea how to stop him. Dictators say things like that, but never in public. Trump's colossal arrogance and his disdain for the Constitution will weaken him. If they don't, there's no reason to even have a Constitution.
Impeachment is not an act of desperation. It is an act of high American patriotism. Our nation has no chance of being great again until the sociopath in the Oval Office is out of power.
1
I think you have Pelosi wrong. I think she knows that not calling Trump to account for his mafia-like performance with the Ukrainian president will mark the Democrats as not having the moral and political weight to beat Trump and then to run the country in a way that can restore the American position and prestige that he has done so much to bring low. The Republican party has loss respect over the past several years and the Democrats need to impeach Trump to restore their own respect in the country at large. Then, regardless of the outcome in the senate, they will have demonstrated his corruption to enough Americans to have an excellent chance of a sweep in 2020.
1
Maybe Democrats aren’t cynical nihilists. Maybe they believe, as Republicans who impeached Bill Clinton for perjury believed, that it is the duty of Congress to hold a llawless president accountable.
Maybe they watched Trump shrug off the Mueller findings, illegally refuse to turn over his tax returns, and illegally refuse to turn over the whistleblower complaint. Maybe they felt that doing nothing as the President illegally stonewalled Congress would lead, as it has in the past, to even greater abuses.
This president believes he can cynically declare an emergency and commandeer funds appropriated for other projects as he sees fit. He does not recognize Congress as a coequal branch. He believes that he has the power to make the laws as well as execute them.
The only Constitutional remedy available for a lawless president is impeachment.
1
Pelosi was pressured to impeach by voters like me. I wrote her office day after day asking why she was stalling. I admire her expertise, temperment, and experience greatly but like many others had reached the point where I was beginning to withdraw my support of her leadership for what appeared to be her lack of interest in something so necessary.
But it is good for the NYT to include opinions like these, for all of us living in our own media bubble to know exactly how stubborn a Trump supporter can truly be. It will be a tumultuous 14 months yes. But it has already been a tumultuous 2 1/2 years. Oddly Mr. Buskirk thinks voters have such a limited attention span we are unable to think about two things at once. Yet despite the drone of Trump's idiotic headlines day after day we still pursue policy.
1
I am old enough to remember when Republicans were pro-FBI and anti-Putin.
That seems so quaint and a long time ago.
Circa 2016.
2
Maybe it is not about winning but saying enough is enough. If after 3 years of Trump and in the next election Trump is te-elected heaven help us all. He represents the anti law America’. I shudder.
1
I think Mr. Buskirk missed the point: what the President did was a crime. There’s not a shade of gray, it’s not ambiguous, it’s a crime. The President needs to be held responsible for this, so I’m at a loss to see how people like Mr. Buskirk can continue to spin this; if someone committed a crime against them, you can bet they’d be the first to ask the authorities to prosecute. Why is this any different?
1
The majority of Americans have been sickened since Trump's election.
No desperation here, just a will to overcome the destruction of our
endangered values and nation.
2
This is indeed a “desperate” step, and one framed as such in the Constitution. If there were other means of getting this POTUS to act less corruptly (any backbone within the GOP, a base who hadn’t abandoned all ethical standards, or anything approaching a moral compass in the man himself), impeachment wouldn’t be necessary. But those things don’t exist, and so here we are as a nation, forced to use this “desperate” measure to communicate “Enough is enough.”
1
What’s most apparent in Buskirk’s op-ed is that familiar strain of Republican cynicism that really dislikes American voters. To Buskirk, Republican voters and Trump have a purely transactional relationship. Republicans voted for Trump because they want to stick it to the libs, or because Trump reflects their anger and self-pity. They’re okay with Trump’s boorishness, his petulance, and his lawbreaking not because they want America to be great but because Trump excuses them for not being great. Even literally colluding with a foreign government, as Trump appears to have done with Ukraine, won’t stop Trump supporters because it’s never been about the nation. It’s only been about them.
I guess we’ll see if Buskirk’s cynicism is as big a guiding force for all Americans as it is for Republicans. Trump got help from the Russians in 2016 to win the presidency. He asked for help from Ukraine to win again in 2020. Everyone knows this. Republicans need to ask themselves whether they really want to make America great again or not.
2
All those words, and not a single one about "right" and "wrong". It's almost as if Mr. Buskirk lives in a world of realpolitik where there is no moral compass at all. Oh, wait! He does.
1
Apologists for Trump are essentially boring. Impeachment is not an option anyone chooses willingly. However, there are times when fighting for the good of the country is the only right things to do.
1
Impeachment is an act of following through on the representatives sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and their oath of office.
Impeachment is the morally right thing to do.
Impeachment is an act of courage.
Impeachment is a no brainer since Trump broke the law and is a threat to our national security. Impeachment is an imperative.
The wheels are coming off the kindergartener's tricycle.
Those in Trump's inner circle are all turning on one another to blame one another for the calamity.
The undoing has begun.
The author is clueless.
He has no moral compass.
He is wishing, because he is self-interested.
It goes with his territory.
Shame on him.
1
At their peril biased Trumpists, like the right wing writer of this piece of arrogant certainty, blindly assume that the Senate will never convict Trump. Given the mere transactional relationship that has always existed between this Fake President and Republicans, they will readily abandon him if their own electoral futures are imperiled by mounting evidence of corruption and criminality unearthed in the House’s impeachment inquiry. They have no genuine “loyalty” to this faux Republican, nor he to them. The Trump-Republican House of Cards will fall in short order when the truth of his wrongdoing and his Administration’s co-conspirators is exposed. Already, press accounts have emerged of the extralegal attempts taken by the Administration to bury conversations between Trump, Putin, and bin Salman. The public is entitled to assume that many skeletons have been stashed away in Trump’s closet of iniquities.
1
You and your fellow Trump lackeys should really get your story straight. Either seeking the help of foreign countries in American electoral politics is wrong and Trump didn't do it (as you so obsessively insist in the case of Russia), or Trump did do it and there's nothing wrong with it (in the case of Ukraine). If corruption was/is so widespread in Ukraine, then there's plenty to be investigated besides the possibility (still lacking any real evidence) that Biden's son was involved in it. So the laser focus specifically on investigating the Bidens can be read only one way - unless, that is, your only interest is in finding a way to justify virtually anything the Orange One does. The litmus test for your lot remains clear - if this were Obama what would you be doing? I don't think we need to waste any time answer that. You're as transparent as Trump's comb-over.
1
"...irrelevant to many voters who, rightly, just want to know what Washington is going to do for them." I believe part of this statement is true. There are too many American voters that selfishly act in their short term interest but there is nothing "rightly" about it. Here is my answer to those that say I don't like Trump but I like what he is doing for the economy. You have selfishly judged that a few more $$$ in you pocket is worth sacrificing the integrity of our nation.
1
This analysis is so typical to the Donald's gang - it is all about schemes, plots, and nefarious intentions they project on others. They live in their own version of reality, where they are always right, no matter the evidence. To the surprise of Mr. Buskirk, his imaginary wall will crumble not only because of the alleged crimes, but also because of the accumulating disgust of the voters. Impeachment was imperative, because it is the right thing to do - a concept that is apparently incomprehensible to Buskirk.
2
I wonder what Mr. Buskirk would consider an impeachable crime?
(Other then being a Democrat)
Would it be "lying" about an affair? Because it's obvious that Republicans think that is a far greater crime than using 391 million in tax dollars to extort a foreign power to interfere in our elections on their leaders behalf. Just as they thought that Benghazi was a thousand times worse than the Iraq War.
The last decent Republican was Eisenhower, and that was 60 years ago. And, as I'm sure Mr. Buskirk knows, the GOP has lost the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 presidential elections because, as a party, their platform is morally, ethically, financially, and scientifically bankrupt, and they have now embraced whole-cloth and utterly transparent criminal corruption.
It blatantly obvious to anyone with two eyes that criminality, election fraud, the destruction of the planet, child abuse, racism, mass-shootings, massive income equality, the subversion and violation of the Constitution, etc, etc, etc, is the modern GOP's idea of "American Greatness".
1
These Democrats are an economical burden to the country. Why I pay my tax dollars for them to fight and whine for there own cause? What fraction of my tax dollar I ever get back in any form or matter from these Dems? Is there way to punish hard these people? I hope there is !!
So christianity and conservatism have reached the nadir of their immorality. It is all about winning to this author. Forget the deep commitment to the rule of law our forefathers so made the keystone of our Constitution. This President broke black letter law. But, never mind he argues. Because they choose to enforce the law they will lose an election. Such a sad day for this country that so many have lost their way.
1
Can we stipulate that calling a periodical "American Greatness" is trying too hard? Doesn't exactly project self -confidence? Really, who are you trying to persuade?
1
I have never heard of Christopher Buskirk nor his journal American Greatness so my first step was to view some of his background to gain understanding of where he's coming from.
The NYT linked some other op-ed pieces he's written so it wasnt even necessary to browse his journal. At least he presents his viewpoints as opinion and not news, unlike other outlets that use the word "News" in the name of their network to confuse you that it's all legitimate journalism and yes I'm referring to Fox News.
After that distinction the similarity is obvious. Start with the premise that he actually knows what democrats are "really" thinking and then hammer that imaginary premise with unsubstantiated republican talking points culminating in an imaginary conclusion.
Christopher Buskirk writes;
"After two and a half years of hearing about Russia, Russia, Russia, there are vanishingly few swing voters who want to spend the next 14 months hearing about Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine."
Considering what was actually revealed in the Mueller report he is acknowledging here that Trump supporters don't really have any comprehension of the substance of that Russia thing and they certainly don't want their regular TV viewing to be interrupted by some Ukraine thing that they don't really understand either.
1
Anyone who actually reads the summary of the call between Trump and the Ukrainian President as well as the whistleblower complaint can appreciate what a cynical point of view the author of this opinion piece is peddling. If the actions outlined in this call and complaint are not even worthy of an "Impeachment Inquiry" then the entire concept of impeachment should be removed from our Constitution and the Oath of Office should be changed for future Presidents to swear fidelity to themselves as opposed to the Constitution. Might as well be honest about the whole thing. As far I'm concerned however, I will stick with the Constitution as written and I applaud Speaker Pelosi for having the courage to use her authority to stand up and fight for it.
2
I was taught that it is important to do the right thing even if the result is something that does not benefit yourself. Guess the author missed that class.
3
Mr Buskirk is forgetting that all the anger and frustration he's talking about, that have plagued Democratic voters since this President* lost the popular vote but still won the office, is going to propel us to the polls next year just as it did in 2018. We see the failure of the justice system to bring any justice to the well-deserving criminal masquerading as our leader as all the more reason to vote him out, since we know the Republican Senate can't be counted on to put country before party. His characterization of the people as only caring about what Washington can do for them is skewed. Millions of us are shouting for the restoration of our democracy, something we know this continued presidency will damage even further. Impeachment an 'act of desperation'? No. It is a call to action, and about time, too.
4
Presidents can talk to any foreign leader about anything, that is their job.
For impeachment hearing, the democrats need information that Trump can decline on executive privilege, since it will dangerously undermine the office of the presidency.
The democrats can go to court. Who do you think the Supreme Court will side?
Set aside whether Pelosi has enough votes in the senate. The ridiculous idea of impeachment won't even get off the ground without the information needed to launch one.
You're right, we should do nothing and just sit back and let Trump and his cronies destroy the country.
3
There's another thing to remember: many Republicans hate and fear Trump. Many know the damage he is doing to the party. Looking back to last fall, some have learned that their positions are endangered by his continued presence as supposed head of the GOP when in fact many of his values are antithetical to true conservatism. They may not want to have his wrath focused on them, but they actually might want to do the real work they were elected to do, which he has made nearly impossible. There is a difference between Nixon, Clinton and Trump. Clinton, for all of his many evident faults, has a warm personality and a genuine interest in and enthusiasm for others. People enjoyed being around him. A conservative friend found herself in a room with him and, though she was not inclined to vote for him afterwards, found that she had had a wonderful time talking with a man who possessed such a quick mind and real wit. Nobody I believe has ever claimed it was a pleasure to be in either Nixon or Trump's company. Indeed, everyone I know who had direct dealings with Trump came away feeling clammy. I think this may prove to matter.
3
The difference between now and the Clinton impeachment is conduct of Clinton and lying. Trump is using his office to advance a political cause. He doesn’t care about corruption anywhere. He has openly said he would accept help from another country. He has likely asked other countries as well. And, what I hear from Republicans is they are appalled about Hunter getting $50k per month as a board member.
2
I don't see how impeachment avoids the Dems issues if they state them enough.
It's too hard to tell what's what ... and the Dem's base is much bigger than the Repubs, so with their energized base showing up they can win by as much as 6 million votes.
From here on in it will be mostly lying all round until the SDNY and other prosecutor offices in D.C., Penn, and Manhattan drop another shoe or seven. in a month or three.
2
Mr. American Greatness should rebrand - nothing great come out of hubris, but that’s just me. On Impeachment: it is not just the right institutional thing to do, because abuse of power is abuse of power and it is there for all to see; but also because if done well is today the right political thing, notwithstanding how it ends: it is key to empower and give hope to that majority of voters who want Trump out, appeasing and condoning only makes him and his abuses stronger. Best to show the would be the would be king with no clothes, metaforically
speaking. The original sin of American democracy was slavery and remains today the disinfrachisement of masses of voters - that is paradoxically what brought a right wing “populist” in the White House. Give people reasons and a leadership to hope a vote him out. And do not worry about playing to cohorts of hard core racist, sciovinist and opportunists in his camp. They need to be exposed, making him look like the damaging President that he is and that l, together with a show of alternative lesdership, may actually peel off the less
militant support of the Presindent. No desperation, this is just common political sense.
1
Despite Trump's many floutings of the law, it has been hard to find an example simple enough for the average Republican voter to understand. The current one may qualify. Using American taxpayer dollars to pressure a foreign government to attack a political opponent--and covering it up--is illegal and reasonably easy to understand. There are many complicated details, but the basic idea is straightforward.
I think you will see a snowball effect, and more and more citizens and lawmakers will pile on as the facts come out. This is why Trump is desperately spewing out lies about Biden and the whole story. Don't buy your Trump 2020 t-shirt just yet.
2
Mr. Buskirk and other Republicans are fooling themselves. First of all, this time is different. What Trump did is well documented - admitted to by him and Giuliani - and was done to benefit his campaign. As many commentators have pointed out, he did it as President, not as a candidate. The quid pro quo not only doesn’t need to be explicit but doesn’t even need to exist. The theory on Hunter Biden has been completely debunked and is being used to distract us. Even if there was no quid pro quo at all and even if there was some “dirt” on the Bidens it is still unacceptable for the President of the United States to ask a foreign leader for a favor that will help him personally. Imagine what the Republicans in Congress would have done if Obama had done anything like this! Starting impeachment proceedings is in fact the moral thing to do because it’s honoring the constitutional responsibilities of Congress. As unlikely as conviction in the Senate might be, it will at least expose Republicans for being the hypocritical cowards that they are.
2
Wishful thinking. But for once, Congress (or at least half of it) is dealing with matters that transcend just “winning.”
2
Though I disagree, it's not respectfully so, because I have NO RESPECT for anyone who defends this non-president. He is a scourge on our nation and must be dealt with now. Thank you, Nancy Pelosi, for being a true patriot, something Mr. Buskirk and the non-president are not.
3
Is the only question of any significance whether this is good politics?
3
Even if and that's a big if Trump resigned or was removed from office, Mike Pence would become president, allowing him to appoint a vice president. Pence would be an even bigger nightmare for the left. Think about that for a minute. The unhinged hatred towards Trump is unprecedented and has become tiresome for the majority of this country.
2
Buskirk, you are doing exactly what Schiff pointed out in his opening remarks to last week's hearing, put the man (Trump) above the office (the Presidency as defined in the Constitution). Don't feel bad, a lot of your Trumpist comrades are making the same mistake. It's a subtle difference but one that has always distinguished the US from a corrupt third world country. Til now.
1
Nancy Pelosi was smart to hold impeachment back until she had a smoking gun that everyone could understand. Its been common knowledge for some time now that “the Senate will never convict” but there are a lot of Senators that are putting their seats at risk if they are seen condoning this level of corruption.
2
Here is the root of the problem with Mr. Trump that Mr. Buskirk fails to recognize: conflict of interest.
Mr. Trump is incapable of separating his personal life from his business interests from his re-election campaign from his job as president of the United States.
In just one instance of this, Mr. Trump sent his personal attorney, Giuliani, to solicit help from a foreign leader, Zelensky, using U.S. foreign aid duly approved by Congress as his leverage.
This is precisely the type of conflict of interest and self-dealing that our Founders anticipated when they limited the power of the executive branch in the Constitution.
2
It has become evident that any Trump misdeed, even words from his own mouth, will be discounted by his apologists. Why can he do nothing wrong? Could it be that admitting, even once, to a transgression could topple the whole house of cards?
3
This article well illustrates the problem, but not in the way the author intends. You are right, Mr. Buskirk, Democrats are desperate. But the desperation is not really about President Trump so much as it is about the reaction of people on the right, like you. You ponder every reason you can think of to understand Democrats, but you get no closer to an answer than wondering if Democrats believe it is "the right thing to do morally and politically."
Democrats are making this move because it is the right thing to do morally. Period. Full Stop. Impeachment may well not be the right thing politically, but it is the tool the founders gave -- and the only tool they gave, as Mr. Mueller noted -- to deal with a president who has turned the astonishing power and majesty of the U.S. government away from working for the people of the country, and toward working for his personal enrichment. It is precisely what the founders feared.
So, instead of spending the pages of the NYT Times speculating about the Democrats' political calculus, please use the space to explain your and the rest of the GOP's moral -- and emphatically not political -- position that merely looks the other way while, in the words of the whistle-blower, "the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election." Does that not bother you? What should be done? If not impeachment, what? -- Desperate to know.
3
Why do Buskirk and others continue to ignore an issue of singular principle, namely, that the Congress does not act, he will continue to engage in "high crimes and misdemeanors?"
Sometimes I find the "conservative" right willing to allow the promise of "shooting someone on 5th Avenue (if it were to happen) go unpunished. Yes, there are political elements and possible fallouts as mentioned but they pale in comparison to doing nothing. "Doing nothing" appears to be the new mantra of what once a respected element in American politics!
Buskirk and his ilk would be out for "blood and guts" if the current president were a Democratic, especially Obama. Winning is different than taking a principled stand but the the conservative movement has lost all sense of that! Woe are we, we are lost if NO ONE is willing to take this action.
3
This op-ed column is founded on the wrong premise and thus is a bunch of rotten fruit pretending to be fresh from the tree. It posits that impeachment of Trump is remarkably like the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the 1990s...merely a political ploy that will or will not result in "success". I suppose the moral vacuum in which Mr. Buskirk apparently lives makes it impossible to see any other motivation, much less construct an argument around it. The poverty of his mental processes are likely the only necessary punishment.
Were Republicans primarily thinking election strategy when they impeached Clinton? Of course they were. Were some of them seeking revenge for the "unfair" move to impeach Nixon 20 yrs. previous? Of course. There are always underlying and sometimes overriding motivations, but to insist that they dominate the current situation is a slur against any sense of decency. Perhaps Mr. Buskirk inhabits a rancid world where the idea of decency is entirely absent from his experience.
Trump is the clearest example of an outlaw presidency we are ever going to get without falling into a dictatorship. The raw nerve of someone who would dare call on a foreign nation for election assistance after the invasion of our processes by Russia in '16 does not fit on any known scale of outrage.
This is a dangerous game for Democrats but it is the hand they've been dealt.
4
So that leaves the alternative of allowing Trump to continue to spit on the Constitution and soil the carpets of democracy and justice? We have reached the point of considering this from a political standpoint. Given the potential security risks Trump has already shown in the disasters of his diplomacy, this is now a matter of survival of our republic. Trump is simply too dangerous a man to allow to continue to serve as president. He must be deposed in the quickest manner.
2
More political advice to Democrats from conservatives? Just what we need!
4
The opinion is a feeble attempt at reverse psychology. Trump barely won in 2016 by 73000 votes in the electoral college. The probability of that happening again with or without impeachment is zip considering his unpopularity, increasing young voters and minorities and his total non-performance and malfeasance.
4
If Trump leaves office and Pence becomes President, he is much more likely than Trump to win the 2020 election.
Trump is precisely why the 1787 Constitutional Convention included the impeachment clause. They couldn’t have known his name in 1787 but they were wise enough to know that a corrupt executive required a mechanism to remove them from office. Today we know his name.
The “this will hurt Democrats” refrain from Trump partisans ignores the fact that there is a criminal in the White House who is dismantling the country at the direction of a foreign adversary. The GOP’s complicity in his crimes will be what voters remember in November 2020.
1
Our democracy is in danger of being overthrown by the most corrupt presidency in our history. To frame an impeachment inquiry as a politically motivated decision is a slight to our Constitution. Trump strong armed Ukraine into investigating a political rival by holding back aid when they are in a war with Russia. This is an ultimate abuse of power, as egregious as Bush fabricating “weapons of mass destruction” in order to invade Iraq.
This in itself brings up frightening possibilities; is Trump truly doing Putin’s bidding by portraying Ukraine as nothing more than a ”bagman,” signaling to the world that they are for sale? If so, it has also backfired and he has slandered the office to such an extent that our allies and our foes may never trust the United States again.
If we do nothing, we will be telling the world that we are no better than the despots that Trump seems so infatuated with. We have already aligned ourselves with these degenerate strongmen by treating refugees and hurricane victims with an immoral disregard for their humanity. And how many people were killed in Eastern Ukraine between May, when Congress approved military aid and September 9th? How many lives were lost in Syria when Trump did what Putin wanted most, which was to withdraw U.S. Troops from that country?
Trump poses an imminent danger to our Republic. Congresswoman Pelosi took the moral high road without regard to political expediency. Let us hope that Republicans do the same.
2
Mr. Buskirk's article is "an act of desperation." Why he wants to deny Trump's assault on the U.S. is beyond me.
1
I didn't know that anybody reported in-kind donations to Trump's campaigns. If Democrats did report them, they might well be the first to legally make an in-kind donation.
If only we respected the decision to have Trump as President made by the duly certified electors, as designated in the constitution!
Aren't America's problems far bigger than whether Trump was wrong in his comments to the Ukrainan President?
1
You're okay with having a commander in chief who's willing to use a foreign power to win an election? Have you thought about what Trump might end up owing Ukraine for such a favor?
2
Let's assume for a moment there is no Constitution. That Congress is not legally required by the highest authority in the United States to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. Let's assume that national security and the integrity of our democratic elections is not more important than partisan politics. That Russia is not a foe. That every one of our intelligence services (Trump appointees all) never confirmed to the President that Russian military and intelligence services have and are attacking our elections. Let's pretend that the Biden / Ukrain conspiracy that's being disseminated solely by the Russian state media never came to the President's attention, despite his repetition, word for word, of portions of that disinformation. Let's assume that every Republican in the Senate made a mistake when they voted unanimously to force the White House to release the complaint to Congress over White House objections. And, that the version of the phone call between Trump and his counterpart in Urkain is - as the President claims - totally inaccurate.
If we were to ignore every one of those facts, we might be tempted to seek some alternative explanation for why the President's actions are drawning the country into impeachment proceedings. But one would have to be mighty desperate to pretend, none of those facts exist, and ignore them all.
1
The author assumes the Impeachment process is static. Its not.
The Majority Party in the House now has increased powers to investigate and subpoena. Additional informants and whistleblowers have an incentive to come forward. Plus Trump is capable of taking after the fact steps to obscure prior conduct which would constitute added grounds for impeachment.
Nancy Pelosi has been very savvy at holding the Caucus together until the absolute optimum moment. She's got the right person in the lead, Adam Schiff, and a scatterbrained opponent in Tump who is is capable of making things much worse for himself every day.
2
I am impressed with how many Trump supporters are so willing to offer heartfelt, unsolicited advice of what is good and bad for Democrats.
If one didn't know any better, one could conclude that they have welfare of our country as a priority.
Alas, we know better than that. And therefore their "advice" should be treated as part of Trumpian strategy of substituting wishful thinking for facts.
Weather impeachment proves successful or not for the Democrats will have little to do with Trumpers advice on campaigning.
From where I sit, what Trump has done is an easily impeachable offence and should be pursued regardless of what 67 Republicans refuse to do.
To argue otherwise is to equivalent to arguing that Prosecutors should refuse to pursue criminals because they think that the judge is in cahoots with them.
1
The Whitewater investigation was about Clinton's personal finances before he was president.
It went on for 4-1/2 years at a cost of $100 Million in today's dollars.
Only after they couldn't find anything did they impeach for lying under oath about Monica Lewinsky.
Now only if we could investigate Trump's personal finances before he became president.
2
"In reality, everyone knows that Ms. Pelosi’s pursuit of impeachment will not result in a conviction in the Senate and the removal of Mr. Trump from office."
Richard Nixon remained very popular right up until the end. Mr. Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors make Watergate look like shoplifting.
Don't be sure, Mr. Buskirk. Although I welcome your complacency.
1
Love reading this and totally appreciate the logic but heartily disagree with the main idea. Pelosi holding out gives this the sense that there really IS something to these charges; who gives a darn if the GOP won't put country first, we will!
1
As this broke I wondered what could Trump supporters actually be thinking about this issue. Mr. Buskirk provides the answer, they don’t think about any actual issues. Notice not a single mention of the what Trump was actually accused of, how serious it is, and what should be done to actually punish such actions short of impeachment. They, like the President, are so obsessed with appearances and winning they think everyone else must be as well. Their lack of engagement with the world as it is leads to the concoction of conspiracy theories to explain what is easily explainable without these blinders.
The idea that Nancy Pelosi would do something out principle even though it hurts the party politically is unimaginable to such people. The allegations against the Bidens have been investigated and answered, Mr. Buskirk doesn’t care. He thinks appearances are bad and they can just keep stating that without actually having to discover any actual wrongdoing to provide a justification for this fiasco. The allegations against Bidens fail the most cursory examination. If he did something actually wrong, after 3 years of this administration looking why is there no evidence put forward? If he did something wrong, why is Rudy Giuliani involved and Bill Barr and our real law enforcement officials deny any involvement?
This administration will fail on its own terms, failing to improve anything it said it would, just as Bush II. People like Mr. Buskirk will move on to the next charlatan.
1
"That’s all bad for Mr. Biden and his campaign, regardless of what’s found (or not found)"
however, if it's found that biden as honest, that helps him. you get that,right? is it possible you've overlooked the chance that biden might actually be honest?
1
Mr. Buskirk seems so sure of the outcome of this impeachment process, knowing that Trump is not Clinton, and knowing that, thanks to Trump, these are unusual political times. The author seems to have no faith in our constitution or our democratic institutions. I say, have faith, Christopher! The Democrats will do just fine and they will rid the country of our lawless President, one way or the other. I just wish you and other conservatives, who espouse and believe in law & order above all other things, would help this impeachment process, instead of cat calling from the side lines.
1
Christopher Buskirk is spouting disproven conspiracy theories and other flat out nonsense. Maybe impeachment will backfire on the Democrats. That's not really the point however. The point is will the American people hold Trump accountable or not? From the phone call transcript and whistleblower complaint, we have a clear case of Trump trying to shake down the President of Ukraine, by withholding critical military aid, to force an investigation of a chief political opponent. Using the office of the presidency, and the power it holds, for political ends is a clear violation of norms and the law. The questions are do Republicans believe in the rule of law and would they feel differently if the president were a Democrat and not a Republican?
2
I voted for Clinton not because she was all about my interests as I am a progressive, but because of what I saw as greater good. I did not like her.
And I don't like Trump but he's my man if my Liberal side carries on with this Trump derangement to the point of installing a neoliberal Davos-hugger at the convention.
I will vote for Trump, in the interests of preventing the clear undercurrent organization of media and deep state from having their way and manipulating the voice of the people via the media and contorted empty scandals.
There has never been a time in US history when the media and intelligence agencies got together to operate as a unit our politics, that prospect inspires horror.
2
I find it interesting that Republican apologists for Trump argue that impeachment is politically good for him and bad for Democrats while Democrats argue that impeachment is necessary whether it is politically good or bad.
5
I want to see Trump gone, but Buskirk is right. Thie independents want a party focused on addressing the ills facing the country not the endless congressional hearings on Trump and his cronies. Impeachment fatigue has already set in and further hearings won't go well with the Democrats. Much like the Kavanaugh fiasco in September that blew up on the NY Times, this will once again goad the Democratic candidates to publicly jump on every partisan bandwagon to try to keep pace with their competitors as they veer further away from the debate on policy and action where real traction is gained on this failed presidency.
1
If the Trump team really though impeachment would get him re-elected, wouldn't they keep quiet and let the process roll?
(This has to be one of the strangest of their talking points to stave off impeachment. Nonsensical. Desperate.)
Please, please, let's make America think again, and stop rehashing trumpian talking points. Those who keep revisiting the past and failing to recognize when new events (such as Trump's request for foreign intervention in the 2020 election) actually show criminal behavior and can have serious ramifications for Trump and the whole Republican party, are not doing any "great" thinking and should seriously consider changing the name of their publication!
1
I am just a poor European, and I seem to be under the misaprehension that this impeachment is a result of Mr. Trump inveigling a foreign power to help him with expediting an opponent out of the race for an important national election.
Am I really that much mistaken?
1
For those democrats who thinks impeachment will help Trump and hurt democrats , my ears are wide open. to their argument. But when I hear a Trumper make this same argument, I see how terrified they really are about the process.
97
Tell them to have faith and fear not. Senate Republicans would never turn on the chosen one, no matter what depravities are discovered or are yet to be endured.
Exactly. If Republicans really thought this would help Trump, they wouldn’t be objecting to impeachment.
3
The silence from the Democrats on the Biden issue is deafening. Rudy is right about one thing: can you imagine the uproar if Trump's children were given lucrative positions overseeing a fund financed by corrupt oligarchs? Where is the outrage? Some say Trump's children are already set up in similar situations, but they miss the point that they were set up already BEFORE Trump took office, not as a result of him succeeding to the presidency.
But nothing illegal has been proven? So what! If even the appearance of impropriety is present, that is bad enough. Included in the rogue's gallery with Biden's son is John Kerry's step son, the nephew of Whitey Bulger? Really, Dems?
Further, the Democrats are twisting the concept of "interfering in an election." Interference is what the Russians did in 2016; interference is NOT getting information from a foreign source (Hillary did the same thing), or asking a foreign government to look into possible corruption. As for holding up funds earmarked for defense, the funds were released even though Ukraine thus far did not do what Trump was asking for. This article is correct. Impeachment will backfire and benefit Trump.
2
In the not-too-distant future, Americans will be asked where they stood vis a vis Trump. Those who voted for him will deny it and avoid responsibility for ushering in an age of nightmares.
That said, and while I believe there's a strong possibility that impeachment will backfire, I also believe it's the only way forward for a nation committed to the rule of law. There are no easy answers - except that the choices we make must consider the longer view.
5
The word "desperation" has roots in the word "despair" and we have not reached that level. The process of impeachment is codified in our Constitution and we are bound by its careful, deliberative steps. We do not despair of ever regaining equilibrium in governance, it will inevitably and ineluctably come about through the wisdom of the framers of our Constitution. Note Federalist Papers numbers 65 and 66 in which Alexander Hamilton argues clearly the foundations of the impeachment and trial processes. The citizens of the United States will ultimately prevail by eliminating Mr. Trump and his cohort from the control of our government, restoring control to the will of all citizens, not just a few following an archaic concept of elite class dominance.
3
I think Buskirk is largely correct in his analysis. Would have been smarter (as in strategic) in my view to keep hammering Trump with all of the considerable investigative power that House democrats possess right into the election. And let's not underestimate Trump's most powerful ability - to play the aggrieved victim - i.e., "the greatest witch hunt in American political history."
Finally, I am hardly convinced that the full story of the Bidens and Ukraine has been disclosed. Be careful what you wish for...
1
The last sentence in this piece is telling. Mr. Buskirk, and it seems some politicians, see "winning" as the goal, their directive. I believe elected officials take an oath to uphold the US Constitution, compel observance of existing laws and ensure that those with power do not use that power for personal gain.
4
It's interesting that you talk about how Democrats will imperil their frontrunner. The Democrats should not protect their front runner any more than the republicans should protect Trump. If Biden did or did not do something wrong, let that information come out of the congressional investigation. The last time we saw Democrats trying to protect their frontrunner we had a scandal with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Clinton, and Sanders. Stop "protecting" officials/candidates, let the facts come out, and let the voters decide.
Impeachment seems like the right thing to do, it sounds like you are taking a very partisan down the line view. Republicans will protect their president, Democrats will protect their front runner.
American democracy on the federal level should not be about parties it should be about the 3 co-equal branches of government doing their best to balance each other. If American's can't stomach that then they can't stomach the system the founders intended. I don't believe this to be true. I think the impeachment proceedings should happen. Let the facts come out and speak for themselves, without regard to how it affects the parties in this election. This is the spirit our country is supposed to represent. Whether or not Trump is acquitted or convicted, we will find out a lot about both sides of this story, we don't ignore what we believe to be crimes simply because we're afraid of the consequences of enforcement.
4
Maybe the reason Democrats have decided to pursue Trumps impeachment is because its warranted. Pelosi has been nothing if not consistent. She has said the House would not impeach for political reasons. Nor would the House impeach purely for for political reasons. Mr. Buskirk is looking at the impeachment issue like Trump—through a purely political and transactional lens. There’s also another term for this analysis.
Wishful thinking.
8
The problem with the inquiry will be if the Democratic House speeds it up for seemingly political gains, such as to shore it up before the election. The hazard of this is it looks just like busy work at the time of the election that perhaps, would not bode well for the Dems.
But if an impeachment looks probable I don’t know what would keep the Democrats from waiting for the next Congress to impeach Trump. If the Democrats win both Houses, I am not sure what would stop them from impeachment. However I don’t know if one can impeach a President going out the door if Trump should lose reelection.
A word to Speaker Pelosi: Now that you’ve made the decision, give the impeachment process all the proper time it needs.
3
"it’s just political theater." Yes. Specifically, kabuki theater, "known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. " The outcome, with Mitch McConnel commanding the Senate, is obvious and inevitable.
Impeachment has never worked. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were acquitted by the Senate. The *threat* of impeachment drove Mr. Nixon from office, but no trial was ever held, and Mr. Trump's habitual response to threats is very different from that of Mr. Nixon.
Impeachment is always partisan. As Wikipedia states, "While the actual impeachment of a federal public official is a rare event, demands for impeachment, especially of presidents, are common, going back to the administration of George Washington in the mid-1790s." The last attempt, by the Republicans on Mr. Clinton, was obviously partisan, and this one on Mr. Trump by the Democratically-controlled House is too. Ms. Pelosi was right in this instance, and so is Mr. Buskirk.
For the record, I dislike Mr. Trump's policies, politics, behavior, and character profoundly. One of my happiest days will be when he returns to his first-chosen job as a TV bully/star. But this way just isn't going to work.
2
He's broken one of the fundamental duties of office. Uphold the Constitution. You got a problem impeaching him for that? Or, you just don't care?
Pretty sick of defeatist, apathetic Americans. Buck up. private!
2
It's awfully interesting to me that pro-Trump comments, which used to draw little attention and even less in the way of recommendations, have become so much more "recommended" recently. I suppose Trump supporters would claim that it indicates an increase in support for the president. Right. I find it much, much more likely, given that Trump cronies aren't above offering an actual bounty on the whistleblower's identity and are happy to pour money into their own little right-wing Potmekin villages, that a campaign has been mounted inviting Trumpists, trolls, and those with a rooting interest against free and fair elections to flood "liberal" and "lamestream" media with commentary and propaganda. Indeed, we have gone so far as to offer one of those trolls a platform right here in this column. Do not, as Public Enemy warned us, believe the hype.
7
Impeachment will change nothing in the American Political process.
Gerrymandering using modern computers will continue and the result will be the voters do not pick their representatives, their Cangress folks will continue to pick which voters get to vote for them
In a Global economy "American "companies will continue to spend tens of millions of unlimited dollars on our elections. Many of these companies are strongly influenced by their dependence on foreign trade, foreign sales, foreign manaufacturing and foreign investors. Foreign Oligarchs and foreign countries can easily continue to manipulate our elections through their influence on American corporations. Of course Presidents will continue to be elected by less than 50% of the electorate because of the antiquated electoral college system. The more it changes the more it remains the same is an old French saying.
As this article points out most voters will not see how impeachment of the President will improve their lives.
Democrats are almost a year before the next election. President Trump has managed to dodge a lot of revelations and still hold on to his base. Impeachment talk by democrats has gone on since the day President Trump was elected. The question is do Democrats have a strategy that will win them enough votes in an election.
3
The purpose of this impeachment ultimately is removal from office, although not in the way Mr. Buskirk and most of the GOP imagine. No, McConnell and his cronies won't throw away the single most valuable asset they have ever had in Trump's media circus. But the country gets something infinitely more valuable as we have seen in just three days.
We get actual truth. Verified, transparent, unsweetened truth.
Today we know Trump has been secreting away documents and transcripts he knows very well will destroy him, and more importantly his brand. Tomorrow we will know from his tax returns exactly where his money really came from. Remember Hillary's concession speech. She knew. Follow the money she said. And what else is there to Trump but image and posing?
And if we do impeach him out of office we get one more vital thing that no one seems to be talking about. We strip him of the dangerous privilege that all valid presidents enjoy. We take away his post-office access to confidential intelligence reports. Can you image the abuse, the international buyer's he would find for them?
4
Yet again, a so-called "conservative" tells Democrats how to conduct their politics and why the criminally traitorous Trump shouldn't be Impeached but should be allowed to use the next 13 months to further undermine the Constitution and our Democratic Republic.
Excuse me for questioning their motives!
7
Some people, like the author of this article, seem to have become so mired in politics that they no longer see the forest for the trees. Inquiry is a good thing. We haven't yet reached voting on articles of impeachment.
4
No no no no. It is an act of duty to the Constitution and their responsibilities as a Co-equal branch of our government. How dare you think otherwise? If The Democrats lose Congress and the executive branch because of this action our democracy is finished. America makes its stand here and now as it did when President Lincoln declares war. This is a grave Constitution crisis. I am one with George Conway - a strict conservative on this.
This is just the kind of Trumpish drivel one would expect from one of his unthinking supporters. Trump's base may not be affected by the facts. but you can expect a lot of independents are paying attention to his horrendous behavior.
4
Rubbish.
Impeachment is not an "act" or a "game." It is a tool deliberately included in the US Constitution by its framers, carefully calibrated to be usable rarely but effectively, and a perfect fit for Trump from the day he took office as president, no matter how weak the understanding of the Constitution by the press or political partisan operatives.
124
I am touched by your concern for the terrible effects of impeachment on the Democrats running for President, and other offices. But methinks thou dost protest too much.
2
It must be horrible to twist in the wind before you totally crash.
Your time is up.
Where do you want the remains to be sent?
If not claimed within 10 days, they will be destroyed and you will be charged for waste disposal.
4
trump has burned America nearly every day. Republicans have stood for behavior from trump that would have been impeachable against any democratic president. The Democratic House should investigate any unpresidential activity. trump did collude with Russia, he did ask Russia for help with Hillary’s emails. trump did withhold aid to Ukraine and then ask for help from Ukraine to find dirt on Biden. trump did side with Putin, Kim and MBS despite evidence of their wrongdoing. trump did refuse to allow Kaepernick his First Amendment right. trump did call the Free Press, the “enemy of the people”. Again rejecting the First Amendment. We should be seeking to remove trump from office if he has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors”. I certainly support the democrats in their effort to do their job. trump is an impediment on this country’s quest to have ”equal rights for all”. Shame on the republicans who enable trump.
1
What is desperate is trump and his two lawyers are trying to coerce a foreign government to come up with dirt on his political rival and using my tax dollars to do it.
We need to stop this criminal and this is the only way otherwise he will just keep trashing the rule of law and our constitution.
Democrats are doing the right thing no matter the political outcome.
4
Christopher Buskirk:
Yes, Most Republican Congresspeople are shameless.
Clearly, your warning Democrats of their "folly" in pursuing an impeachment inquiry is curious, since, as you purport, it would serve your purposes.
My guess is that given the crime against freedom and democracy of Trump's attempt to collude with a foreign power to win the 2020 election may cause some Republicans to withhold their vote and fire up those who are offended by such despotic behavior. Maybe there is more evil doing to uncover, such as in the highly secret server that has been offloaded to for Putin/Trump conversations?
4
That's all the Rs have left. Well, we know he's corrupt. We know the people he trusts are corrupt. We know the American peole know he's corrupt.; But we're confident that the bulk of Americans are perfectly OK with corruption.
4
Buskirk's article is more of the same--deflect, deny, distract, and put out wishful thinking. There are innumerable differences between Clinton (lying about an affair) and Trump (lying about everything, totally lack of responsible governance, and cozying up to foreign powers). Nobody knows how this will end, but it seems pretty clear that Trump isn't enjoying this. And that alone makes it seem like a pretty good idea.
8
Even if the Don escapes impeachment in the Senate, a lot more Trump toadies will go to prison as "RudyGate" unfolds. A White House in turmoil and constant searches for new stooges means only Hannity will be left at FOX-TV. And each pardon digs a deeper grave for the GOP.
7
The House voted to proceed with an Impeachment INVESTIGATION. I am hoping that they will do a very thorough and detailed investigation. Much like the whistleblower's complaint, they should write out a detailed, carefully constructed, footnoted and report with many detailed attachments, maps and pictures. Once done, and before they vote to ACTUALLY impeach, they should publicly present that report to the Senate majority. Before voting, they should publicly ask the Senate Majority if they intend to READ their report, give it thorough consideration and advise the House if they have left something out, or forgotten something or just don't make their case. The House should present this to the public as their desire to not waste everyone's time if they are down the wrong road. They should publicly ASK the Senate if it is a waste of time like McConnell did with Garland's nomination. All the Republican/Conservative/Evangelical Axis blowhards, including the author of this article, along with their propaganda arm will have the opportunity to explain to the public why impeachment is a waste of time, once all the facts known to the House are presented by them. I suspect the R/C/E Axis cohort would do everything in their power to prevent such a scenario since they, like the President, are so allergic to facts and reality. The public would thank us.
1
Doing the right thing matters. If republicans in the senate are so compromised that they can’t, that’s their problem with their maker. I profoundly applaud the courage and conviction of democrats (and ANY republicans) who stand for the rule of law, the constitution, and the government of, by, and for the people. You can continue to gaslight and pretend that this is just political, but we see you, and so does the majority of the country. I feel sorry for those who won’t wake up, but your calculus is way off here,
3
It may ultimately turn out to be true that Democrats get scorched, which is more of a reflection on the population's ignorance of our system of government than it is a reflection on the Democratic party. And maybe one could even characterize the impeachment inquiry as an "act of desperation, but not without also acknowledging that it is a desperation borne of trying to deal with a man who wants to be (at the least) a king, and who has decided that he is not constrained by a system that requires him to be only one branch of three co-equal branches of government.
2
I have difficulty understanding this fatalistic attitude that an incorrigibly incompetent president can’t be beaten. He lies Iike he breathes, he is morally repugnant, he has zero understanding of or experience with administering a gigantic organization like the federal government: how can he be unbeatable? I get that impeachment is not a strategically advantageous maneuver, but it is clear that Trump’s clearly corrupt attempt to push Ukraine into giving him dirt on Biden forced Pelosi into formally considering impeachment. If the hearings can’t succeed in painting Trump as unfit, then America has truly lost its way. I have to believe that isn’t true and that we can rise to the task. The Republican Party is teetering on an edge with it’s unswerving support for a clearly corrupt charlatan. Trump and the R’s do not have the interests of the American public as their guideposts, and they are beyond redemption. The D’s need to buckle down and make the case.
5
Thank you, Mr. Buskirk, for epitomizing everything that is wrong with politics today. Impeachment is not about political expediency, nor should it ever be.
The highest office in the land should be held to the highest standards in the land. With Trump that idea has become a heartbreaking joke. But colluding with a foreign power to interfere in an American election? You couldn't find a lower crime for a president to commit--nor a more pressing reason for impeachment.
Of course Pelosi knows the process may be politically damaging. And yet she is willing to move forward anyway. Imagine that: an elected representative putting country first and doing her duty. She is willing to do what is right, to pursue what will be an exhausting and ugly process that could cost her party votes, in order to uphold the most basic principles of our democracy.
That, sir, is an American hero. It is sadly predictable that you cannot see this.
8
Trump and his acolytes are doing their best to imitate bugs in a frying pan. When impeachment commenced against Nixon, the GOP was adamant in their support for him, just like now. But then, cracks in the dam appeared, and it quickly became a dash for the exits. Articles like this one excel in leaving out crucial bits of the story. Instead, the drift is that Trump should be permitted to break laws and get away with whatever he wants, because doing anything might be politically risky. That's the GOP view, and they have lived up to it. However, the majority of Americans are tired of seeing their country abused by these creatures, and want something done. There's no point waiting (as the GOP contends) for a rigged election to be held.
4
Yes, I for one do want to know what Washington is going to do for me as far as getting the truth about the POTUS and his sleazy dealings. It is not irrelevant to know if the POTUS is conniving with foreign leaders to smear his Democratic challengers. And if there are questions about Hunter Biden working with foreign companies while his father was vice President, why are we not questioning Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric about their business dealings while their father is POTUS? There is a time to stand for principles, something Republicans seem to have forgotten. They are so desperate for power at any cost that they are willing to be beholden to this amoral, incompetent, nasty old man. If it didn't make me feel so sick, I'd feel sorry for them.
The key word in this article seems to be "perhaps". It consists of a series of speculations about what Democrats (and others who favor impeachment investigations), might be thinking. Apparently Mr. Buskirk has no idea. As a writer for "American Greatness", a Trumpist publication, I guess this isn't surprising.
Mr Buskirk has shared his views before on the PBS Newshour and I have often wondered on what planet he dwells. Any prudent person reading the phone call transcript would identify it as a classic mafia-style shakedown: I'm doing you a favor releasing the taxpayer funded defense dollars, here's what you can do for me...if that's not a shake down, what is? Trump is a shallow empty thug, void of common intelligence, he learned how to extort using the wealth provided by his father. Fred would be ashamed of his prodigy; a self-obsessed, old, obese, angry frat boy, a waste of an education, and totally void of any compassion or empathy. A place-holder in the Oval Office that spends more time watching tv than doing the job he was elected to do.
Trumps poll numbers have gone nowhere; hovering between 34-42% of polled voters. That will not win any election, and, based upon the 2018 results, the people are sick of his lies and corruption. The farmers are now on federal welfare thanks to Trump's tariff failure, the jobs promised in the midwest manufacturing belt never materialized, the debt is skyrocketing in a period of prosperity, taxes on the middle and lower income classes have increased not decreased, Alfred E Newman could beat Trump in an election.
4
Wow, this reads like an ad for Trump.
Not sure who you've been hanging out with, but most people don't like cheating, bullying, racism, self-dealing, and incompetence. And will vote accordingly in 2020, despite "American Greatness" and the awful right.
Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million to an utterly flawed candidate in 2016. How many millions do you think he'll lose by 2020? That is, if he's not impeached and removed by then. Or resigns.
9
Um, no, it is not ok for a president to withhold tax dollars as blackmail to force another country to create dirt on his political opponent.
6
Yes Mr Buskirk is probably right. "Winning" defined purely as the winner of next year's election is is highly less likely to favor the Democrats with this impeachment inquiry. And then there is the usual do the ends justify the means, in this case "winning" that election. I guess "winning" no longer means we don't want our president abusing their powers of office in pursuit of their own personal agendas. It's a strange calculus that we have given up our core principles in favor of election "wins". Republicans have clearly made that choice in the aggregate--Mitch, Lindsey have no principles left to give up. If the situation was reversed and a Democrat was in the White House and did this exact same thing where would the Republicans stand?
3
Buskirk may be right—following the constitution with its checks and balances may backfire in our age where the electorate is plainly not up to the task of cherishing our founding documents.
2
The cynicism expressed here is disheartening, though not surprising. I think it conveys the kind of cynicism at the heart of decades of conservative assault on our political system. In the opening paragraphs, there's not even a mention that Pelosi and other Dems could actually be genuinely concerned that an illegitimate bargain was being made by our president. The fact that she and most of us sat out all the screams for impeachment speak to the unwillingness to act out of distaste rather than truly impeachable offenses.
Trump said, "I want a favor from you, though." The word "though" is a conditional. In this case, the condition is financial aid in trade for personal gain. Trump reveals no interest in legitimate investigation as he says, “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son..." If Trump was actually concerned about corruption, why wasn't he basing his request on actual intelligence, which doesn't exist as the situation has already been deeply investigated and, while a stupid move on the part of an over-privileged kid, was found not to be corrupt. The rumors that Trump is referring to actually turned the story into the opposite of what actually happened.
Some of us see this as an unacceptable situation for our democracy. Even if you disagree, it's too bad you can't see our genuine concern for something other than simple power or personal gain.
5
The only act of desperation is trying to defend the indefensible.
7
When Mr. Buskirk quoted from the so-called transcript, he left out a couple of small tidbits -- Ten days before the phone call, Trump froze $400 million in aid. Then during the phone call, after Trump spent considerable time talking about all the foreign aid the U.S. gives to the Ukraine, he said,"I want you to do us a favor..." and went on to make his "request". This is classic strong-arm tactics. In addition, the phone call needs to be put in context. Why was this negotiation spear-headed by Trump's personal attorney? Why the sudden interests in Trump's main political rival? This is the very definition of abuse of power. Congress has no choice, except to act. Anything less endorses this type of activity for any future president.
3
We have to dismiss the assumption that there are, or ever were, 'american values.' American is a political construction, not a social one. Federalism's creation was an acknowledgement of the great differences between colonial societies and continues to both permit and reinforce the regional cultural patterns of America. We have to agree to disagree. Mississippi will never reorganize itself to be Massachusetts. It can't. It would destroy itself if it tried...and it's not going to try. Enjoy your place in America and let others do the same. The Times is filled with romanticized descriptions of 'charming' customs and traditions in Africa, Asia, or Latin America but won't accept the same cultural differences within America.
You mean cultural differences like: lynchings, cross burning, Jim Crow laws, segregation?
Those quaint cultural differences? Not sure I accept those anywhere in the USA. Nice try.
Everyone arguing against impeachment ignores one simple fact, morals. Trump was using his office for personal gain, he has obstructed justice. Does illegal and the morality of right and wrong even mean anything? The US used to be able to claim a moral high ground. That hasn’t happened for a long, long time.
3
So basically, if the Congress gets a credible complaint that the President has broken the law, they should just ignore it?
Let me help you see this. It is summer 2016 and the whistle blower complaint says that President Obama is choking off aid to the Ukraine unless they produce some dirt on candidate Trump in an effort to help Hillary win the election. Should Congress ignore the complaint? No? See that was easy.
When a President uses the power of government in an attempt to tip an election that is very, very serious. It cannot be abided.
2
Impeachment is not an act of desperation; it is simply the right thing to do.
3
Interesting that we keep hearing "there will be an election" from people who ought to know that that's the whole point. Will we have an election? Or will we have a sham?
There really is no option. To pretend otherwise is to give up on our democracy completely. What we have seen so far is alarming. If there are members of the congress, both in the House and Senate who refuse to do their constitutional duty and look at the facts, we all need to see who they are, and who or what they actually stand for.
The facts may or may not fit anyone's narrative. Let's find out.
1
No Sir, the Democrats don't think it's a good idea. They don't even think it will help them. And they think Trump won't be thrown out by the Senate.
At this point, it's just not possible to ignore Trump's blatant corruption. No matter the consequences. That said, it's not entirely unlikely that Trump will collapse under pressure and that impeachment is successful, including in the Senate. If it's not, and he is re-elected, so be it. But at least the Democratic party will have tried to stop him, and the Republicans will be on record supporting him. History will then judge.
8
Spot on, Mr Buskirk, although not in the sense you mean.
The "Republicans" and many, possibly most, "principled conservatives" have lost their interest in supporting basic democratic principles, the rule of law and safeguarding the nation against unlawful acts by an overreaching President , the Democrats choices are to accept Mr. Trump's unacceptable behavior or to impeach and let the political chips fall where they may.
You may well be proven correct that choosing to impeach may damage the Democrats, but it is the necessary and proper response given that we already know that this President has made a mockery the law, his oath of office, and his moral duty to act in the best interests of all Americans.
5
Not to mention the Republican Party has lashed itself to the mast of this stinking, rotting hulk of a ship of state. It can't sink soon enough.
I'm sure the Democrats are grateful for your advice - better late than never, I always say. But do not fret, sir, it will not play out.
Trump will either resign or be convicted by the Senate, thanks to the defection
from his evil camp by enough Republican Senators looking to their own pollical future.
If he resigns, Mr. Pence can not afford to pardon him - President Ford's pardon of Nixon likely cost him a full four year term. And if Trump is not pardoned, he will face a jury of his peers in a courtroom on multiple criminal charges whether he stays now or goes.
Conviction is a certainty.
The wheels of Justice for Donald J Trump on a lifetime of criminal and hurtful actst grind slow but exceedingly fine.
1
Pure fantasy masquerading as ‘logic’. But, then again, isn’t that what contemporary conservatism is all about? Ignore Trump’s many, many crimes, focus on the innocent Bidens. The main difference in this impeachment inquiry is the cover-up, including Barr, Pence, Giuliani, and many members of the WH staff, because they all knew it was illegal at the time. Again and again and again in history, which this guy ignores, it’s the cover-up of the original crime that nails the guilty. It doesn’t matter if he’s convicted in the Senate, though I pray he is, because the clearly lawless nature of this presidency will be exposed for all to see. Only other white nationalists like Trump will stick by him.
5
It's pretty funny to see an argument that the Clinton impeachment hurt the Republicans -- when, in fact, it led directly to Clinton's vice president being defeated by young Bush. Without the Clinton investigation, his highly popular presidency would almost certainly been followed by his successor.
2
If this was as obvious an outcome as Mr. Buskirk claims it to be, the right-wing media wouldn't be broadcasting its assessment. Instead they'd just be sitting back and waiting for the Democrats to self-destruct. In reality, they're actually very afraid of what's happening, and they're doing their best to define the narrative before it can spin out of control.
On an aside: If you claim that you were an independent but became a Trump supporter after Trump's attempt to hijack U.S. foreign policy for his own personal benefit became public and Democrats derided it, you're either lying to yourself or lying to everyone else. You always were a Trump supporter. That's fine. Just stop wrapping yourself in the cloak of victimhood for supporting the political party in control of all three branches of the federal government (the Democrats may be in control of the House, but the Republicans control the Senate, the dominant portion of the legislative branch).
3
It is hard for me to watch the devolution of conservative republican people who don't know how to identify and state to themselves and others what their beliefs and fundamentals are these days. The confused attitudes, embarrassments and blunders of their leaders lead to the rejection and death of democratic principles. "Conservative" media commentators (and their followers) are rapidly becoming as foolish in their commentaries and declarations as their leaders (Trump, Barr, McConnell, et al) are at becoming treacherous to our constitution and nation. They are devolving to what I call "mentally disabled citizens", only one step away from being "citizen cowards", i.e., people afraid to see, experience and finally act as patriots against the ugly realities they continue to support and thereby create.
3
This has nothing to do with "moral outrage" and everything to do with a Constitutional violation (again) by Trump. I have no idea of who the author is, but he engages in the same thuggish behavior of the contemptuous sycophants who have been supporting our one-mane crime wave that is Trump.
4
To paraphrase former Louisiana governor Huey Long, so long as the Democrats are perceived as a party that favors decriminalization of border crossing and application of asylum laws that would grant 40% of humans on the planet the right to come to the US and apply for asylum, Trump could be caught in bed with BOTH a dead girl and a live boy and still win in 2020.
2
Mr. Buskirk actually believes "Perhaps the Democratic leadership thinks that this is a good way to raise money". Seriously? The Democratic leadership is doing their job, living up to their oaths of office. And Mr. Bustkik thinks this about campaign contributions? What a shallow opinion!
Funny (not funny) how Republicans and defenders of this *president see everything through the lens of money, money, money with complete disregard for the law and ethics.
6
This is so obvious it is trite. Trump can be impeached, but the Senate won't convict, and the flaws in the Electoral College will put the popular loser back in office. It could happen that way, but who is so debased as to extol it?
3
It may all be theater, but the Democrats are in an impossible spot, to impeach or not to impeach. It is potentially risky to do so, but as other comments said, Trump is a different president than Clinton. However, if they don’t pursue impeachment then this is just another in a long list of transgressions that the Democrats meet with stern warnings of “this and no further” talk and no substantive action, which risks demoralizing Democratic voters in 2020 because their party essentially spent 4 years belly aching as the Overton Window moves further and further into new territory.
At least now they are taking an overdue stand.
"[In Trump's statements], Democrats see an impeachable offense. A lot of other people see one head of state asking another for an investigation into potential corruption involving the Bidens." And why would our president ask another head of state to investigate the Bidens for something that, if it happened at all, is not currently relevant? Could it be that said president fears running against the elder Biden in an upcoming election? Could asking for foreign interference in an upcoming election be an impeachable offense? Those crazy Democrats, always seeing impeachable offenses where they clearly exist.
1
You missed a couple of things buddy. Did you hear about Trump freezing the military aid to Ukraine? The moving of the call readout to a super secure computer meant for highly classified information? The fact that removing the prosecutor Biden targeted was the official policy of the Obama administration and the EU? That at the point he was removed there was no open investigation of young Biden?
What made you give up on honesty?
5
To Mr. Buskirk, and people like him, extorting the leader of a foreign nation into influencing the upcoming presidential election using $391,000,000 in tax dollars wasn't an "act of desperation", but exposing it, and trying to hold the man responsible for it, is.
Such is the moral compass of the modern Republican.
I wonder if there is ANY crime that Donald Trump could commit that Mr. Buskirk would consider worthy of impeachment? Or, like most Republicans, does he simply feel that fellow Republicans are above the law? Because it certainly seems that way to me.
6
Mr. Buskirk's argument seems to be that impeaching President Clinton was a disaster for the Republicans and thus impeaching Trump will be a disaster for the Democrats. While the Clinton matter did harm the Republicans, a rush to analogize the two situations is unwise. At the time he was impeached Clinton's favorability rating was roughly 63%. Not only that, his popularity had increased while the Lewinsky investigation was unfolding. The message from the public was clear that they had no desire to see him impeached. Trump's favorability is in the low 40's and hasn't moved much throughout his presidency. The charges against Clinton were also very different. In essence, he was accused of lying -- under oath -- about sexual relations. While this was clearly perjury and untawdry, its link to his official duties was absent. This, it seems to me, was a critical problem with the Clinton impeachment. The allegations against Trump are much different. I don't know how this will play out, but Nancy Pelosi knows how to read the mood of the nation and will proceed cautiously and prudently. I also think that Sen. Flake had an interesting take on Trump and his problems. Trump isn't terribly popular among Republican Senators. I do believe that if cracks start to show in his support amongst them, the dam could break. The reality is that it is too early to say how this will play out.
132
Not only was the Clinton impeachment very different, it's a myth that it hurt the GOP. While Clinton's poll numbers went up and the R's went down in the immediate aftermath, by the time the next election rolled around, the only person who was hurt electorally was Al Gore, who constantly had to dodge the shadow of "Slick Willie". Some note that the GOP lost a few seats in the House, but of the five defeated R. incumbents who had voted for impeachment there's ZERO evidence that impeachment was an important factor in those races, and considerable evidence that other factors explained the result (e.g. three of the five were arguably products of long-term shifts from red to blue in California...).
That Trump's actions, demeanor, intellectual curiosity and corruption, not to mention probable technical treason, are fine with Republicans such as the commentor here, says everything about the party and its decades long rot. Sheesh
Elizabeth Warren repeatedly lied about being native american. Joe Biden has lied ("gaffes") throughout his political career. Nearly all politicians play hardball, lie etc in order to further their agenda. The dems tried to stifle Bernie in 2016 to protect Hillary.
Why single out Trump ?
I most definitely will vote for him again in 2020. He deserves another term.
5
As President of the United States he asked a foreign government to invent dirt on his political opponent, an American citizen! His job is to act on behalf of the country and instead he acts on behalf of himself, always. If you cannot see the difference between that and the gaffes and fudging a school application then you've chosen willful ignorance. If this country believes Donald Trump deserves a second term, it is not a country worth living in.
5
Because Trump, as President, used the powers of the presidency to pressure a foreign government into investigating his political rivals, past and present. Trump is "singled out" because he is President, and appears to have committed an impeachable offense.
1
"Why single out Trump?" Well, going back to the time of FDR, I can recall no national politician so conspicuously amoral, corrupt, and Constitution-ignoring (ignorant). And that includes McCarthy and Nixon. It doesn't get much worse than Trump. He's a unique example of continuous malfeasance, which is precisely why Trump should be "singled out".
The Democrat plan to bring Trump down before the election is curious. More so for it's execution, than timing. The Russian Collusion Hoax, didn't work, even though Adam Schiff repeated daily, he had the evidence. The Mueller investigation, brought on by Jeff Sessions recusal, didn't work. And, Mueller had unlimited resources and approached it from a criminal perspective. In the end, Mueller handed it off to Congress. Congress, unable to deal with the mountain of "evidence" started talking impeachment. Not the whole Congress, just the wholly crazy and inexperienced.
We find ourselves in the next chapter, impeachment inquiry. This appears to be where Democrats come up with charges, before they learn the facts. The facts, when made public, and the charges don't match. The strategy now, will be what it was. The President is guilty. Repeat.
The sad part for the Democrats, they can't, or won't, learned from their mistakes. Trump doesn't obey orders, take hints or submit to questionable legal tactics. Mueller had unlimited time. There are 14 months to the election. The strategy at this point is win, show, place. If the Democrat plan works, the President is voted out. If the President stays and the Democrats win the Senate, onward to victory. If the Democrats only keep the House, continue as before.
What's the plan for 4th place? Let me guess...
2
The facts are laid out in the memo describing Trump's phone call, which Trump himself released.
1
Mueller found that the President obstructed justice. The President is deeply corrupt, and cannot act any other way. This should be clear to any literate adult, unless they've chosen a path of willful ignorance. You support a monster.
It's astonishing to me that the author is fixated on the political outcomes and seems to entirely dismiss the amoral, cowardly, and incompetent President at the center of this maelstrom. Have conservatives abandoned all manner of principle, ethics, or the belief in aspiration in deference to whatever short term political calculus gives them an unearned advantage? I always knew that the story of George Washington was made up but I invested in the moral of the story and believed that that was America's greatness. It's beyond discouraging to witness a collective shrug by people like the author who seem incapable of holding any of the virtues or principles of our founding fathers and our constitution.
6
The author is correct that any impeachment at this time is on shaky The Chief Executive has the absolute right and duty, stemming from the Constitution and the Treaty with Ukraine, to inquire about possible corruption by a former U.S. official. It is a major imposition on the Executive’s power, for Congress to contend that the unilateral act of the former official, in announcing a campaign for the nomination of one party for President, could render the President's conduct a crime.
Beyond that, a quick look at 52 USC 30121 raises many substantive questions:
1. Was there intent to solicit a thing of value or was the President just carrying out his duties?
2. Is a request, for a Head of State to "look into" allegations, a solicitation for something "of value" when such a request obviously contemplates a possible exoneration just as much as an indictment? Would an "exoneration result" have been something of value in an election?
3. What does "in connection with" an election mean? If the phone call occurred one day before Biden announced his candidacy, or one week before, would the request have been "in connection" with an election?
4. What does "election" mean? Does the statute only come into play upon Biden's nomination? Or on the President's nomination? Are all 15 Dem candidates protected if , if they would have had foreign corrupt dealings?
3
One person's desperation is another's discretion. Launching an impeachment inquiry without knowing the ultimate results - in facts, law or public opinion - is indeed a form of risk-taking. But that degree of risk-taking is a sign of fairness in fact-finding and a welcome break with focus-group politics that we need to see more of on both sides of the aisle in Washington.
1
This is obviously a veiled attempt by Senator Elizabeth Warren to knock former Vice President Joe Biden off the stage. She is leaving no fingerprints.
Senator Warren- the anointed one of the main stream media and darling of East and West Coast elites- is the prime beneficiary of the doomed to failure Trump impeachment attempt.
Vice President Biden has the most to lose because of the newly focused attention on the enabling of his wayward son's influence peddling under the then vice-president's implicit approval.
3
This article is what every Democrat needs to read and what every Republican already knows. The former independents who turned Republican such as myself will grow. I hope President Trump reads this article and does not have a heart attack considering how biased the NY Times has been towards him. Mr. Buskirk.... You are right on the money!
86
Written like someone not interested in the impact of that phone call and the threat to national security and tilting the 2020 election in the sitting presidents favor.
No worries, Bobby D - we understand that you would support trump no matter what he did.
34
What exactly in trump's recent and current behavior do you like so much that 'independents' will turn to him and become staunch Republicans?
The numbers in favor of impeachment have been growing in just the past week. How have the numbers been turning among 'independents?' A sudden love fest for trump? Really?
12
Here's what all Americans need to read:
- The Mueller report, even though it's a dry slog
- The transcript of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskyy
- The recent whistle-blower report
All three describe undeniable high crimes on the part of Trump, and none of them has had their facts called into question even by the most partisan Republican politicians.
9
a little history helps. same naysayers when nixon impeached. by the time the public absorbed the charges, nixon was history to his own Party.
Same thing likely to happen here. Voters will be made aware of don con's
gross improprieties and will support impeachment conviction.
Senate GOPers will be forced by public opinion to cave-- just as they did in nixon case.
I remember hearing arguments a lot like these when the Watergate hearings began. Republicans (and the public) didn't suddenly jump on board to impeach: they came around as more and more damning testimony was presented. That's why inquiries are essential.
Impeachment will not be determinative for Trumps re-election bid, either way. Trumps fortunes, ultimately, will depend on how the economy does; if the economy is in recession in the run-up to the election, he’ll lose; if not, he’ll win. Given that, the right thing to do is to remind FUTURE presidents that there are indeed limits to their authority by exercising Constitutional checks and balances, i.e., to impeach, even if there will be no conviction in the Senate.
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
Unlike with the Mueller Report, which had numerous players (some of whom went to jail or lost their jobs), this scandal is pretty clear cut. The words are all Trump's, not his surrogates'. The quid pro quo is easily laid out and understandable to most people.
The GOP talking points are pretty easily demolished. Why was military aid, approved by Congress after the DoD certified that Ukraine had made progress on corruption held up? Why did Trump ask the president of Ukraine to work with his personal lawyer, rather than professional investigators like the FBI? etc, etc, etc.
I think when these clarity of Trump's words get laid out to the American people, the tide of public opinion will move against Trump.
Mr. Buskirk seems to think that the decision to investigate, or draft articles of impeachment ought to hinge on whether it’s politically expedient, or popular to do so. It’s not up to the voters to decide whether a president commits an impeachable offense; that duty falls upon the Congress, even when it’s politically inconvenient. More members of Congress ought to adopt the words of the Democratic Senator from NJ, Cory Booker - “politics be damned.” Do your constitutional duty, members of Congress, follow the facts, and put country before party.
119
Just another issue in the "Democrats are damned if they do and damned if they don't" fantasy of Trump invincibility. Frankly it's tiring reading another opinion promising that whatever they do redounds to Trump's account. The truth appears to me to be that if the Democrats do nothing Trump will continue to chisel away at this election until he has enlisted enough foreign support that when added to his domestic dirty tricks, including illegal voter suppression, he can squeak by with yet another minority of the popular vote. Facing this, desperation is not a bad thing. In some cases, it really is never to early to panic, and this is one of them.
The difference between Mr Buskirk and me, and perhaps between Mr Buskirk and many Democrats, is that if the Bidens are dirty, I want to know and I want them gone. I’m not rooting for a sports team here. It would be good if Mr Buskirk remembered that as well.
Now, I expect nothing to come of any investigation into the Biden’s. The utter failure of Whitewater to discover much more than an affair and the Benghazi investigation’s failure to turn up, well, much of anything about Benghazi, suggest to me that it’s just more blowing smoke.
That the Mueller report, or the sex scandals, or the Wolf book didn’t end Trump’s presidency is because, of corse, nobody acted to end his presidency. The action must precede the result. In this case, Democrats are acting, and it’s pretty clear to me that they have a good case. Of course, they may screw it up, but it seems to me that by hiding the files, White House counsel clearly thought there were illegal acts in all those hidden conversations.
Granted, what’s at stake here is not starting a war on false pretenses or selling arms to Iran in exchange for hostages. But it’s also a lot more weighty than lying about an affair.
Whether the Senate convicts or not, I’m glad that the House is finally moving forward on impeachment. Mr Trump is the most repugnant human to hold the office of President in my lifetime, and I remember Nixon. This isn’t about teams. This is about our country. Try to remember.
1
A censure of Trump by a Democratically controlled House? Who could have seen the possibility of that coming? One cannot control their genes, that’s why there’s the insanity plea.
1
We aren’t scared. Fear is what drives the Right, but truth, liberty and justice drive the majority of this country.
1
This whole piece reeks of desperation. Trump is this clown’s ride and you can just sense his desperation.
1
Giuliani on This Week with George Stephanopoulos--Desperation Incarnate--Called Adam Schiff an Illegitimate Chairman--Mocking George Stephanopoulos in how he questioned Giuliani--it was rude, stupid, and cringeworthy
1
The baseless assertion machine is stuck.
1
Just so much to adore here of “American Greatness,” starting with the fact that there are actually people dim enough to give anything such a title.
But not ending there. Oh my, no.
The exaggerations about how, “Fire and Fury,” was spozed to, “lead to impeachment.” The passing mention about the “propriety,” of Trump’s grotesque phone calls on behalf of himself and Putin, so we can get on to the gussied-up version of Newsmax’s demented claims about the Bidens. Calling a grown man “Hunter,” to keep up the fantasy that he’s a child Joe Biden could have kept in line, while tripping lightly past little things like, oh, Javanka’s bailout “loans” from Kuwait. Rendering Trump’s 40-44% poll numbers as “bouncing,” around, when a better term would be, “remaining mired.”
And of course, the aged rewrite of Bill Clinton’s impeachment, the snotty lecture on how Nancy Pelosi—Nancy Pelosi!—don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no politics, and the attempt at dissolving Trump’s whole ugly shebang into politics as usual.
It is fun watching you guys whistleblowering past the graveyard in more and more hysterical ways, though, Chris. TDS acting up again?
1
Bingo!
2
The NYT and others have extensively fact checked the allegations regarding the Bidens and concluded that the assertions made by Mr. Buskirk about their actions are unfounded. That being the case, why is he allowed to re-assert these falsehoods as fact in this "opinion" piece without being required to provide at least some proof that the previous fact checking by multiple organizations was in error? NYT's allowing the continued propagation of known false statements is an egregious lapse of it's responsibility to it's readers.
1
yes, it's an act of desperation to save our constitution and the republic.
You should join us.
American
1
I'm all for giving consideration to sane opposing viewpoints. But I'm puzzled as to why the Times feels the need to publish Mr. Buskirk's MAGA propaganda on a regular basis.
3
lock him up, lock him up.
1
So, Buskirk, treason is forgivable. Your next effort should argue for the exoneration of Benedict Arnold.
1
Trump supporters can’t get their heads around the fact that this is not a game show. This is about the survival of democracy; about justice, principles, morality.
The memo of the July 25th transcript issued by the White House is incriminating by itself. There doesn’t need to be any argument about the partisanship of the whistleblower. In fact, the White House memo confirms the whistleblower complaint. The Trump-appointed Inspector General reviewed the whistleblower complaint and interviewed witnesses and concluded that the complaint was credible and urgent.
What part of the White House memo is confusing the rightwing? Lots of facts are already known, like the Trump administration withholding military aid from Ukraine for nearly a year - aid that was voted for by Congress.
I think the Ukraine affair was just too much for even the reluctant moderates to ignore. Let's see what comes out in the investigation.
Meanwhile, I haven't heard a lot of working people commenting on how much their lives have improved as a result of the Republican takeover of virtually the entire country.
I have a lot of social media "friends" many of whom go back to the Vietnam War military and even high school. Some of them are hard-core Trumpistas. What I have seen is they are digging in their heels and instead of posting picture of their grandchildren or their latest vacation, are putting up political memes, many of them incendiary, easily disproved or both. This is what desperation looks like.
If there is anything that will get Trump re-elected it will be voter suppression.
Mr. Buskirk acts as though the president had actually been exonerated by the Mueller report, and as if a solid majority of Americans weren’t looking for some moral and ethical leadership from Republicans on the Ukraine matter. The only rational way to avoid impeachment might be to nominate an untainted Republican; since that won’t happen, there is no turning back. . Thanks for the advice, Mr. Buskirk, but no thanks.
1
Impeachment is being investigated only. Where a president refuses to abide by the rule of law, subpoenas, contempt of Congress, it leaves no choice but to go down this road. Who would vote against anyone participating in this inquiry is voting for another kind of government. This, this is Democracy.
3
Beware of right-wingers giving advice. It's anything but sincere.
6
Really tired of hearing about how this is a bad move by the Democrats. This is the mechanism set forth in our laws by which we investigate and check someone is potentially violating the laws. So Basically people like Mr. Buskirk are saying the political election calculus is more important than making sure that people are held accountable for breaking really important laws.
Are we a nation of laws or of political calculations. You can be absolutely sure that shoe on the other foot the GOP would have initiated impeachment long ago. Not pursuing this investigation would just make the Democrats look weak. Sorry but it's more important that Trump is held accountable. That we as a nation show some backbone when leaders like Trump unequivocally thumb their nose at the system of laws. McConnell and company won't convict but this is going to damage the GOP and Trump. Barr, Guliani et al. all need to be locked up.
10
Trump told us we would soon be sick of winning.
Well, if this how Trump wins, we are sick of it.
So Dems and Trumpist now join agree: we're sick of this insanity, sick of all this winning. One way or the other, impeachment is the only cure.
3
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I understand that the Times wants to present a variety of opinions, but this is getting ridiculous. Just last week you had an opinion piece by John Yoo, the man who under George Bush, that torture was OK. He was against impeachment.Now this pro Trump blogger, who also is against impeachment. Neither of these men’s opinions are worth the print and column space. Nor does your endless coverage of the pro Trump cultists warrant so much coverage. No matter what he does or what the Democrats do, they will not change their adoration of him. So impeachment to them is a moot point.
What does matter is the viewpoint of the 60% or so of the people who are disturbed and appalled by much if not almost all of what Trump has been doing, from his attacks on the environment, immigrants, people of color, our allies.the Press, Congress and finally the Constitution itself. Why not interview everyday people who have had enough of this and who favor the impeachment, or print pieces from left wing bloggers or Republicans like Rick Wilson, who favor removing this madman from office. We all have voice. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to hear what we have to say about this.
6
The only act of desperation was Trump's request, surrounded by conspiracy theories to make your head spin, to find dirt on Biden. The losers are going to be Trump himself and possibly Joe Biden.
5
The New York Times has become practically overrun with right-wing conservative opinion pieces like this one from the "publisher of the journal of American Greatness".
Bret Stephens, Bari Weiss, David Brooks, Ross Douthat, on any given day you wade through a seemingly endless selection and variety of Republican talking points dressed up as opinion.
David Brooks thinks that impeachment is a mistake. Frank Bruni thinks that impeachment is a mistake. This writer thinks that impeachment is a mistake.
We get it. The majority of the country thinks that impeachment is not at all a mistake, but the New York Times is intent on reflecting a more conservative view than that. Yes the editorial board has written in favor of impeachment but that sits surrounded by a sea of Republicans and concern trolls warning against it.
Yes, conservative opinions have their place but those are all too available in the FOX and right-wing radio world that people reading the New York Times generally are not interested in wallowing in, at least not this many, good grief. It's depressing and it doesn't reflect the country and certainly not New York City.
1
Mr. Buskirk nails it. Impeachment is above all a political act, but the Democrats are not thinking politically. Twenty Republican senators are not going to vote for impeachment. Trump will be acquitted, claim he has survived another witch hunt over purely partisan political allegations, and receive a big boost on his re-election chances. OR by some miracle the Senate does impeach, Pence becomes President, and rides his honeymoon period to a big 2020 win and a term that will substantively be a Trump second term, just slightly more polite. Either way, impeachment at this time is idiotic if your goal is to get rid of Trump and restore some sanity to the government. All impeachment does is enable Democrats to virtue-signal to themselves (no one not already convinced that Trump is a con man and a crook will be swayed by anything the House hearings come up with) and claim that they are progressive without actually having to do anything remotely progressive. The so-called "resistance" is beyond pathetic.
2
What a bunch of nonsensical partisan drivel. No facts. Nothing based on reality. Just a stream of unsubstantiated puffery.
"In reality, everyone knows that Ms. Pelosi’s pursuit of impeachment will not result in a conviction in the Senate and the removal of Mr. Trump from office."
With crystal ball insight like this, who needs propaganda? The articles of impeachment having even been drafted yet! And with each passing day more and more evidence of Donald Trump's sleazy underhanded behavior and attempted cover-ups are exposed. And the polls show that the number of people supporting impeachment is now a majority, and that percentage keeps growing by the day.
I suppose this author thinks we should give Trump a gold star and a raise for having asked a foreign government to interfere in our elections on his behalf - for the second time - that wee know of.
What hogwash.
3
And “everyone knew” that Donald Trump would never be elected president, right? (Also, after last week’s polls both in Iowa and nationally, Joe Biden is no longer the Democratic “front runner.” Try to keep up, son.)
Trump seems to have broken the law and that needs to be thorpughly investigated. All other other things surrounding this are subservient issues.
3
"Maybe [Democrats are]... addicted to the intoxicating high of moral outrage." Ahh, the 'boys-will-be-boys' defense. Buskirk is not bothered by Trump's behavior because 'boys-will-be-boys', after all. And if the rest of us feel queasy when we observe our President grossly abusing his office for personal gain in a way that benefits only two people, himself and Vladimir Putin, then it must be because we are secretly... girls. Got it.
1
I would be interested to know what, in Mr. Buskirk’s opinion, aside from being a Democrat rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
1
Whether it is Mr. Buskirk, Mr. Brooks or Mr. Stephens all expressing essentially the same punditry about the impeachment one can detect the real fear in their words. They offer so much advice to Democrats on how to "win the election" as if they want Democrats to "win". Hogwash. What the fear is that a focus on all of the Republican players in this trump made for TV scandal including the Republican Senate will result in the destruction of the GOP which isn't looking too grand these days. I have every confidence in Nancy Pelosi to conduct and steer this impeachment effort and in the Democratic candidates to instead focus on the issues. Trump will need to focus on both, neither of which he is doing a very good job with. In the end yes we all know the Republican Senate will not convict trump but that is a stain that they will have to live with and the realization that they surrendered the Republican Party to trump. We are not talking about defending Honest Abe here but a malignant narcissist. Time would be better spent by theses three pundits in advising Republicans what to do to restore some truth, good judgement, honor and responsibility in their party.
1
An important component in preventing Trump from gaining from this is to recognize it is not a criminal proceeding. With that in mind, the Democrats must control the narrative starting now. Pick a spokesperson and in a loud and forceful voice shout all of Trumps discovered assaults on our democracy as they are uncovered. Include some that are already known. Point out the egregiousness of these acts. Above all, they must not respond to Trumps assaults on and insults hurled at them. They must turn public opinion against Trump with the mountain of facts. This must be constant.
1
You are so generous and kind to the Democrats. I do hope that they appreciate the gesture and thank you appropriately. I am doubtful that they will suddenly un-begin impeachment investigations; one rarely can un-begin things. I think you should also try to extend yourself and attempt to see their viewpoint. Trump continually is committing illegal acts, betraying his oath of office. That is why those that wish to investigate, not all Democrats by the way, feel compelled to proceed. Not for themselves, for indeed they may get burned, but for the country and fidelity to their oaths of office.
3
It'll only be the same as the Mueller investigation if the Administration is allowed to keep the evidence and the results covered up, with one difference: a cover up will itself be incontrovertible evidence of a crime. It was one of the main counts that made Nixon's impeachment investigation effective.
No. Arguing that Trump can't be held accountable with impeachment because he'll win re-election with a sympathy vote is a truly desperate defense.
Who's going to feel sorry for a 'billionaire' president who spends his time playing golf and watching TV?
Some voters might like "some of his policies." Others may even hate Pelosi more than Trump. But a sympathy vote for someone who separates children from their parents and lacks even the pretense of empathy?
1
Before a few weeks back I sort of agreed with this analysis, though I am a Democrat who hates all that Trump and his corrupted party stand for.
Then, Ukraine.
And since this morning, when it became clear that there have been multiple calls to foreign leaders that have been put into that classified database because Trump aides realized how terrible they are, I say full steam ahead with the investigation. There is no alternative.
Increasingly I am reminded of Rod Blagojevich and Patrick Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald initially wanted to keep listening in on Blagojevich's phone conversations, because they were providing more and more evidence. At a certain point, however, he decided, and I quote, "Governor Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree." Nancy Pelosi, like Fitzgerald, had no choice.
We must stop this crime spree. We cannot let it continue.
8
Thank you Mr. Buskirk for such a clear headed, well reasoned assessment. I distinctly remember how my dislike of Bill Clinton clouded my judgement about his impeachment. I gave full throated support to the proceedings, not because of the weight of the evidence and logic of the case, but rather the emotional angst I felt about him. In hindsight, of course, it is now clear and obvious that his impeachment was a misguided political vendetta that ended badly for the Republicans. We are about to see history repeat. We should not confuse that which is disgusting from that which is criminal.
2
Extorting assistance from another government, in a manner which damages our national security, in order to win an election is one among many of Trump's high crimes and misdemeanors. It is not merely disgusting, as Clinton's sleazy liaison and despicable coverup were. To believe that the two are comparable is nonsense on stilts.
Both political parties in a pickle.
The worst that can happen to the Democrats is that the impeachment falls flat, and Trump is either not impeached, or the GOP-majority Senate does not convict him (this is not the same as "exonerating" him, as many will claim). The sequelae are unclear, but will most likely include continued wandering in the wilderness.
The worst that can happen to the Republicans is that the impeachment falls flat, and Trump is either not impeached, or the GOP-majority Senate does not convict him (this is not the same as "exonerating" him, as many will claim). This may lead to Trump's re-election. The world, much less the US, can not tolerate an additional 4 years of the economic and foreign policy chaos this administration has engendered.
Impeachment is the last, best hope for the GOP to redeem itself. If they get their current wishes, by 2024 there will be serious manure going through the propeller. And not only will the presidential candidate be spattered, but a large number of down-ticket candidates, including state-wide races in "purple" states. The national GOP needs to look at what happened to California conservatives when they thought they could play hardball in a centrist state.
"American Greatness". This guy is living in another century, or at least another decade. But certainly in general he is proselytizing for a cause and for people that ignore the truth and undermine our country's values and its best nature.
6
Mr. Buskrik seems to be under the conviction that Trump’s ability to practice the distortion of reality and to convince his followers to only believe what he says are proof that he is invulnerable. He and Barr successfully spread the message that the Mueller report exonerated him when it never did. But he got the message out and circulated before the public heard the facts and so never bothered to determine the facts for themselves. Trump’s ability to repeat what his audiences feel gave him a bond with them that condones anything that he might do. He’s defying the fundamental trusts given to the President.
TheDemocrats are on the right track and if they stick with facts and upon people's desire for fairness and integrity in government, Trump is going to fall and it will be very undignified, his worse fear.
1
Inquiry of Impeachment is a process and inherent in our Constitution for co-equal branch,The Congress, to do.
Voters not numb rather mobilized to vote on ad nauseam political inaction
to issues impacting their survival and vote to protect open, democratic society.
Swing states and mobilized groups will vote enmasse for their issues.
Voter suppression. gerrymandering, etc. will not stop voter turnout rather it will
increase momentum for greater turnout.
Bottomline for me: if you can’t drink/use the water and breathe the air all other issues are moot.
Fed Clean Air amd Water Standards, basic to public health and welfare, enforced for 50 years.
Current administration rolling back these regs. and guidelines so vote in a Pres. who will be a steward.
Voter is aware and empowered which is vital for a healthy democracy.
1
It's a question of morality. Is it the moral duty of Congress to impeach and remove a President whose criminality is so blatant that he admits it and says "So what if I did?" about it? Is it the moral duty of the democratic party to fulfill their obligations as Congressmen and women, even if that means they will suffer for it politically?
That's what people who lack any semblance of integrity or morality do not seem to understand. It is the duty of the House to impeach this President. Even if the outcome of that battle is a foregone conclusion, it is their duty to fight it. Even if they know the Republican Senate will abdicate its duty to examine the evidence and instead choose loyalty to their party over the Constitution. Even if we know all that going into impeachment, and most of those things DO seem pretty certain, impeachment is still the right thing to do.
I personally think voters will remember. Because even if Donald Trump wins this fight and humiliates the Democrats in the House, that will only embolden his criminal behavior. A time will come, perhaps in November of next year, or perhaps not for another ten, or twenty years, when people will remember that one party stood against corruption and a criminal President, even when doing so harmed their own political prospects. Because it was the right thing to do.
The real question at stake here, is whether or not the concept of "the right thing to do" is one that a majority of Americans care about anymore.
8
Perhaps Mr Buskirk is right on target when he suggests that impeachment will boost Mr Trump's re-election chances. On the other hand, he seems to have totally forgotten the offences Trump has committed. But then again, he has reminded me on why it is said in the media these days that the Republican Party is Trump's Republican Party. And this article coming from the editor of 'American Greatness'? 'Greatness' how? Never mind...
6
"Surely Ms. Pelosi must know that there are not 67 votes in the Senate to convict President Trump of anything relating to his phone call with President Zelensky."
yet.
White House lawyers have reclassified Trump's phone calls and locked them away in the special code system so that not even the National Security Council could see them. The lawyers' actions tell us they know the calls are radioactive. It alarmed the whistle-blower who did due diligence strictly according to the whistle-blower statute and over several months spoke with alarmed White House officials. The reclassifications for non-security political
purposes could lead to prosecutions. Steven Engel at the Office of Legal Counsel stopped the complaint from going to the appropriate Senate and House committee, which is a blatant violation of the whistle-blower statute and short-circuits its purpose. Engel may be in jeopardy, too. So don't presume to advise us about Democrats, Mr. Buskirk. They are pursuing facts about criminal activities while the president unravels before our eyes.
3
Buskirk is correct to point out the political risks inherent in impeachment, although he may be overstating them. It's not surprising that today's GOP enablers, like Buskirk, don't understand that sometimes one takes risks to do the right thing, and to reaffirm values one holds dear. Apparently "American Greatness" consists of ignoring any ethical or legal perspective and making every decision based on political and financial self-interest.
11
Nobody wants this guy out of the Oval Office as much as I do, but I was willing to abide by the electoral process in 2020 - the voters elected him and the voters must remove him.
But here is what has changed: he tried to use my tax dollars to extort help from a foreign country to rig the election in his favor. If we do not hold him accountable for this and prevent him from continuing to do it, then my right to a free and fair vote is eroded. Why wait for an election if he will be allowed to rig it via foreign government interference? NO - impeach him and at least make the attempt to protect my vote!
27
Mr Buskirk, the Democrats have been clear and concise in how they have handled Trumps attempt at extortion of a foreign leader to assist his reelection .
Since the Speaker announced the impeachment inquiry poll after poll has shown support is growing for impeachment .
The majority of Americans have long ago come to the realization that this President is not good for the country. They now recognize that he is also poses a threat to our democracy.
In terms of Independent voters I would advise that Mr Buskirk takes a look back to the midterm elections of 2018, where the Trump brand proved to be poison as far as Independents were concerned . As far as I am concerned nothing much has happened to change that equation, I certainly don't see how Trump being impeached is making Trump more electable with Independents.
As the Impeachment process weakens Trump, so too will it weaken his stronghold on Republicans in the Senate .
This is frankly a wait and see game, as each day passes its playbook is not making a case for Trump.
Before he is impeached, it would be best for the country if he resigned from office . Though I think we all know he is not likely to do so, as he appears enjoy wallowing in his own self pity.
5
The writer states that the Republican's paid a price for the Clinton impeachment. But they really did not. Yes, they lost a few seats in Congress. But they retained control and they won the next presidential election. Hardly a big price.
And then lets look at the underlying conduct. Mr. Clinton got impeached over a garden variety fling that he lied about. It is hard to see how Mr. Trump does not have this one coming. People, even opponents, liked Bill. Nobody really likes Donald.
5
There's a huge difference between now, and Trump's impeachable crimes, and the Clinton impeachment of 1999.
Then, the "crime" that Clinton did was to lie under oath about an affair with a consenting adult, and note: the lie would not have happened at all except that Ken Starr entrapped him into it, and Starr only did that because he was frustrated that he couldn't get Clinton on a real estate deal.
The lie was bad, but it had nothing at all to do with running the country or our economic well-being or our security, and I'll repeat: it would not have happened at all except for Republicans doing everything they could to make life difficult for Clinton. (… sound familiar?)
Trump's committed his many impeachable offenses with no help whatsoever from the Democrats.
In 1999, many recognized (as I did) that what Clinton did was very unimportant, so we reacted against the corrupt Republican establishment.
Today, it isn't just our national security that Trump is attacking for his own personal benefit, but it's our economic security as well and the entire set of laws that make this country work for people.
It's true that Trump and the Republicans have a powerful propaganda machine (Fox "News," etc.) on their side, which Clinton did not have, but I'm confident that there are enough intelligent citizens who pay attention to recognize what's really going on here.
Impeachment will be a good thing for Democrats, if they handle it well.
4
I believe Mr. Buskirk's analysis fails to recognize where President Clinton really won his victory. The battle for hearts and minds are for the NonPartisans not the rank and file of the political parties. Middle of the road voters just didn't believe having an affair while President reached the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors. Subsequently, the voters came out on the side of Democrats. So yes, the Republicans overreached and paid the price.
Democrats, learned from these lessons, and focussed on the secretive dealings of President Trump's administrative actions instead of his personal life. Something the Republicans tried and failed to succeed at with President Obama. Although the Russian investigation is not technically done playing out, Americans are reminded again that Trump is a cheater and only plays for himself. Worse, it once again illustrates using foreign powers for his personal advantage in an election. Trump hasn't helped his cause either. If you are innocent, why are you trying to hide the truth or obstruct the investigation? People are reminded again, that he talks a good game but never offers any proof for what he says. Eventually, regardless of the facts, people in the middle will decide that this President does not represent their beliefs of personal integrity and honesty. If the Republicans fail to find a way to exonerate this latest battle with verifiable facts instead of just barricading the castle, they will lose Bigley.
I don't see what choice the House has other than launching an official impeachment inquiry; the Trump/Zelensky phone conversation memorandum combined with the whistleblower's complaint seem to reveal a president in the very act of subverting his fiduciary duty to the U.S. Constitution for personal (and corrupt) gain.
4
What is striking about this argument is that it ignores the most important question—did Trump break the law, and what would it mean for American democracy to let a president get away with such an offense? This is not a question of partisanship, but rather, how much abuse of presidential power is Congress willing to allow before acting to protect rule of law?
6
Mr. Buskirk's comments are well thought out and made to make sense, but I think he is totally off mark. The 2016 presidential election was a turning point for the Democratic caucus, one from which they have never recovered. The Democrats all but promised that Clinton would ascend to the presidency and continue on with the Obama legacy. Donald Trump was nothing more than a sideshow barker with money and no political experience. There was zero chance, given her political pedigree, that Hillary Clinton was going to be denied her just destiny. Then, in a few short hours on November 8, 2016, what was once considered unimaginable, became a stark reality for the Democrats. Everything they had worked and fought for was swept away. They became and remain to this day, enraged.
My concern is that with Trump's victory in the next election, the attacks by the Democrats will only intensify. The President will have no other option other than to govern by executive order and operate strictly within his Constitutional mandate. Social legislation will wallow in Congress and their constituency will suffer. Perhaps all this won't matter if Trump can manage to keep the economy strong, unemployment down and level out our trade imbalance. The collective wisdom of America is stronger than any political party.
4
Did you know that the trade deficit has actually increased under President Trump? If you don't believe me, look at his own Census Bureau's statistics. And nothing he's done is going to lower it. China may suffer, but its jobs will simply move elsewhere in Asia or Africa.
So what if impeachment is a desperate act--it should be. It should be the last resaort to maintain our democratic system. And in this case, it is. Mr. Trump has admitted, by releasing the summary of his call with Mr. Zelensky, that he acted corruptly by using the power of his office for his personal political (and, this being Mr. Trump, economic) gain. That conduct not only justifies, but demands impeachment. (And for those who may still think that the best course is to defeat him at the ballot box, what assurance is there that we shall have the chance to do so if he is permitted to continue his corruption through the 2020 campaign?)
5
Buskirk completely ignores the sworn Constitutional duty of Congress to hold the President accountable for his actions. Buskirk only considers the political calculus and likely outcome of a Trump impeachment. He is likely correct that the GOP Senate will continue to protect this corrupt President. But does that mean that a President who blatantly abuses his power should not be held accountable, because they don’t have the votes? No, impeachment is the right thing to do, even if destined to fail. Congress must not ignore Trump’s betrayal of American democrac.
5
Impeachment is an act of desperation? Only for Democrats. Never for Republicans. Funny how conservatives flip the narrative. Of course, they are so good at it, too.
5
Well, all I can say after reading this bit of right wing propaganda,is, the Constitution has provided a nonviolent choice for removing a criminal President. Other countries have other methods, which are not compatible with our way of life. Let’s hope we don’t adopt other methods.
7
The Deep State changed the rules for whistle blowers to set up this latest attempt to overturn a presidential election. I hope the public can see through their scheme and reelect Trump and help put the Deep State out to pasture...
1
Yes, yes. Let's abolish the CIA and the FBI, hobble the state department, replace all career civil servants with mobsters and sycophants, and replace the law with the will to power. How great our nation then will be!
If you work for a company with a corrupt CEO and you know the Board supports and your speaking up will have no effect, do sit quiet or leave? If you deem the situation ethically unacceptable you leave and may or may not speak up. Most of us will not leave the US if Congress sits quietly by. But I expect the people’s House to not sit by quietly. It is their duty. If the case is compelling and the Senate does not convict then it tells us that the “board” is complicit. If this happens and Trump is re-elected then it is a gauge on the moral character of the Republc.
1
I am a former life long left leaning democrat (45 years) who turned left leaning independent 6 years ago out of dismay over Democrats’ self righteous elitist defeatism couched in “the right thing to do” which always ends in disaster for both the Democrats and the country. Now, with electoral victory at hand, the decision to impeach the bafoon, which is little more than an acknowledgment of the Dems repeated failures to reign him in, will yield electoral failure yet again, and we will all be the worse because of it.
1
I have read this article twice and cannot find a sentence in it that supports the proposition that trump is allowed to commit multiple felonies and impeachable offenses because he was elected President.
If the author were serious he would validate trumps assertion (as morally and legally valid) that he is entitled to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
4
Great choice of a photo. An empty stadium with a few last folks trickling out. That about sums up the near future of the Trumpist phenomenon.
Your movement, Mr. Buskirk, is starting to crack at the seams. The 38% is heading toward 37%, and downward from there.
There is desperation, all right - the desperation borne of knowing you are on the losing side of history.
6
The argument against impeachment seems to be "it will hurt Democrats."
Not: What Trump did isn't an impeachable offense.
So...
1
Wrong. I had to do a double take when I saw the phrase, "the Kremlin said on Friday that it hoped the contents of Mr. Trump’s phone conversations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would not be made public".
Obviously Putin has decided that chaos in the American political system offers the Russian oligarchs immediate leverage. The protest was not a protest but a back handed, transparent goad and direct invitation. However, all of the filth of this administration's criminal dealings must be exposed. All of it. For better or worse, America confronts the pressing need for a complete house cleaning.
If you think that you can deal with cancer by either ignoring it or only surgically removing the most obvious manifestations you either need to save lives by retiring from the profession or go back to medical school.
The American people have both the right and pressing need to defend themselves from this active assault on their democratic rights and that means full exposure, impeachment, and the removal from office of anyone associated with this egregious and criminal betrayal of the public trust. Ignorance might mean temporary bliss but that's merely a short term respite leading directly to disaster and death.
4
“Regardless of one’s view, there is no way to look into the rectitude of Mr. Trump’s call with Mr. Zelensky without also asking a lot of uncomfortable questions about Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine during Barack Obama’s second term and Joe Biden’s actions while Vice President”
This is right-wing tripe!
Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma. As far as I am aware, the allegations of malfeasance, such as they are, involve the management team of that company. The board, as a whole, and certainly, any individual board members, including Biden’s son, are not implicated. Indeed, this is typically the case: name me one corporate malfeasance prosecution in the US that involved the Board of Directors.
Besides which, all reports are that the investigation of Burisma was dormant, so that would/could not have been the motive for removing the prosecutor, even if you discount the fact that the entire European Union was calling for his ouster for inaction on corruption.
The impeachment process is not an act of desperation. It is necessary because Trump and his inner circle of corrupt grifters broke the law by soliciting the government of Ukraine - and possibly other foreign governments - to intervene in our 2020 elections on his behalf.
Donald Trump has over the past three years continued to walk over the ethical and legal boundaries of the law. To continue to allow him to do so, especially in this brazen attempt to win at all costs, would be to validate the sense of entitlement he has that he is above the law. A true sociopath.
He and his handlers need to be held accountable to protect our democracy. If Republican supporters in Congress don’t understand this then they are unfit for office, and definitely NOT the patriots and defenders of the US that they always claim to be.
3
Sometimes, "ya gotta do, what ya gotta do" because it's the right think to do even if it will likely end badly.
Of course, the most important issue not being addressed in the impeachment hullabaloo is the fate of the people of Ukraine. The article states that independent voters have zero appetite for hearing “Ukraine” for a year, and it is correct. But if the Democrats insist on yelling it in the ears of the American public, how about explaining what actually is going on there? Hunter Biden’s ripping off this poor country by collaborating with a corrupt oligarch is inexcusable. Trump’s behavior in withholding weapons Ukraine needs for self-defense against the Russian aggression is inexcusable. If one is the reason for impeachment, the other is the reason for criminal prosecution. But instead of a sober discussion of American foreign policy in relation to Russia and Ukraine, what we have is a fit of narcissistic self-righteousness by the Democrats that will lead nowhere. Trump is not going to be removed from office and may be re-elected. Biden is toast. And Russia will continue its aggression in Ukraine unopposed because American politicians are interested in grandstanding rather than doing their jobs.
1
Mr. Buskirk
Yes, approximately 57% of the nation is desperate after eight years of the conniving Bush II regime (remember his phony war that killed hundreds of thousands, many of whom were our own citizens, and left us trillions in debt, his mindless de-regulation, his Crash, his attempt to privatize Social Security, the economic inequality his policies accelerated, and his/Rove's constant deployment of wedge issues that appealed to the worst within us?) and now three years of Trump who is a far crasser version of Bush II, with a heavy dose of racism and ignorant nativism mixed in.
At this point in our history what person in his or her right mind who care at all about the country and retains the merest whisp of conscience would not be desperate?
I certainly am, and though I know the impeachment path is riddled with political pitfalls, I''m pleased the House has the courage to reflect and represent my desperation.
Mr. Buskirk has it backwards, the desperation lies in the not so subtle attempt to make a reasonable argument seem reasonable, but in the idea that by doing nothing the Dems can win the election. The circumstances are different from Newt Gingrich's lame attempt to embarrass Bill Clinton by impeaching him. Certainly Clinton came out looking like a toad, but his "crime" was far less egregious than Trump's. To say the Dems will lose the election because of this episode is a desperate stretch of a quasi-journalist to frame an insincere argument in the cloth of informative narrative.
Nixon: Resigned before impeachment for using powers of office for punishing political enemies.
Clinton: impeached for lying under oath about an extra marital affair.
Trump: Impeached for using powers of presidency to have a foreign leader punish Trump’s leading political rival.
Desperation? Whose?
Mr. Buskirk, I read a lot of words telling us how this impeachment is going to fail Democrats, but nary a word on what you think the solution is, or if you actually think Trump is worthy of being President or not. What ought Democrats do? I note your fellow conservative Ross Douthat has a suggestion on how the Republicans can get rid of Trump. What say you to this?
Old enough to remember people saying the same thing about Watergate and Nixon. People like these two commit acts in secrecy and the thing they fear the most is that they will be found out during an inquiry.
Let’s see how this plays out - Pelosi and the Dems are doing their constitutional duty, unlike Trump who believes in nothing other than himself. Let the chips fall. My guess? Trump is toast.
Wow. What blindness to facts.
I can just imagine your next column: a defense of the right's nasty lies about the students who have rallied for gun control and to save the environment.
Perfect ending to your essay. It's all about winning and not about what's right or wrong.
Did you really think anyone thought the Wolff book would lead to impeachment?
If that is the best you can do, good luck!
The Democrats may be pressing for impeachment based on "moral outrage" and well they should be. Trump aided in large part by his cronies are systematically destroying the government (see sending parts to the hinterlands) by infiltration and attrition.
1
Several comments cover the many partisan bills that have been passed by the House. Why aren’t Democratic leaders talking in detail about these bills & what they would have accomplished? As long as the media is obsessed with impeachment, those “accomplishments” won’t penetrate the public consciousness.
And...perhaps, the Biden story is the real reason that Obama hasn’t endorsed Biden. Read the New Yorker piece on Hunter Biden & then tell me that the 50k a month was proper reimbursement for his “talent & experience”.
“ All Viewpoints “ is fine in theory, but in practice it’s often nauseating.
Seriously.
Not once does the writer even consider the obvious observation that Trump was using Presidential power to pressure a foreign government to dig up dirt on a political rival. The alternative is to turn a blind eye to Presidential misdeeds which in Trump's case encourages more excursions into corrupt behavior.
Another thought piece from Trumpland full of whataboutism and devoid of logic. Are we all really supposed to stand by as Trump continues to ruin the nation, silently waiting for the election to rid ourselves of this pile of trash? Congress is doing its' job and impeachment is warranted. Let the chips fall where they may on the political calculations but I think the presidential nominee will let the House provide detail on the case for impeachment while they clearly lay out their plans for infrastructure, healthcare, the environment, immigration and tax policy. And of course on these areas they will have a mountain of evidence to show how Trump and the morally bankrupt GOP has failed us. The real tragedy of Trump is the waste of a presidency and we just cannot afford to waste time with more fools in the White House.
First of all, I’d have a lot more respect for you and the rest of Trump’s GOP sychophants if you and they would at least admit to your hypocrisy; i.e., if the roles were reversed and this was President Obama they’d already have Articles of Impeachment on the House floor. Second, I actually don’t care if Trump wins in 2020 because: (i) impeaching him is the right thing to do and (ii) if he gets re-elected in 2020, by 2024 he will have turned the Republican Party into the Whigs. And I actually think Mitch McConnell knows it. McConnell has gotten pretty much everything out of Trump that he wanted and has to be thinking if now is the time to get rid of him. I know most would think this is nuts, but I believe these conversations are happening in the Republican Senate.
Questioning Biden's role in Ukraine while his son was on the board of one of the most powerful oligarchs is a legitimate concern warranting our own investigation without soliciting the aide of a foreign government. The timing of the withholding of congressionally approved aide to Ukraine predicated on their investigating Biden is extortiion and in violation of the Presidents role in ensuring national security. Sounds pritty impeachable to me.
I've read other op-eds by Mr. Buskirk and been impressed by their lack of facts and sense. After seeing the title of this op-ed, I didn't expect otherwise:
"Impeachment is an Act of Desperation"
Of course it is. Americans are desperate to end this failed presidency and to remove this deeply corrupt president. Who with any sense wouldn't be desperate to remove Trump?
Blindly sycophantic partisans like Mr. Buskirk are willing to overlook the abuse of political power, the monetization of the presidency, the incessant lying, attacks on our constitutional checks and balances and on the rule of law: all crimes against governance that conservatives have loudly declaimed over the years they stood for. Not to mention overlooking the chaos in his economic policies (e.g., wildly oscillating tariffs, budget-busting tax cuts), the deliberate cruelty towards immigrants, the denial of science and rollback of environmental protections, and other policies that seem to arise only from a desire to hurt Democrats, minorities, and other Americans who don't belong to the Trump in-group.
But the clearest manifestation of desperation in the US today is not this impeachment inquiry. It's the clinging to an idea of America that never existed except in the minds of Buskirk and the 91% of Republicans who approve of everything Trump says and does. I feel sorry for Buskirk and those like him. One day in the future they'll be looking back and wondering how they supported this rotten presidency.
1
Just the title of the journal, American Greatness, for which Mr. Buskirk is an editor makes me laugh. His entire piece makes me wonder why it is so easy for people to make excuses for Trump. The Republican party is now a souless shell of a party. That is not good democracy.
Mr. Buskirk and his vanishing ilk have literally nothing to say about the facts presented by the Intelligence Community's whistleblower, and can only whine about politics. The fact is we have a President who is using his legal powers and our money to pressure a foreign country to punish a US citizen - Hunter Biden, and by association Joe - who is not a criminal. In my memory no U.S. President has ever done that. We all know the choice was made to give him more talking points on Biden, even though they're all proven lies. Trump gets the "liar's dividend" in the media swirl and that's all he cares about.
What is possibly gained by having Buskirk gaslight us with pieces like this? This is pure post-Truth bilge. It doesn't even try to spin facts, it just ignores them, giving us what Buskirk and the GOP pretend happened instead.
This piece floods us with doublespeak as to why an impeachment inquiry was triggered, when it couldn’t be simpler: Trump did it. If any doubt it, just ask his staff. All those loyal Republicans, not a Democrat in the lot, frantically tried to cover-up Trump's criminality and self-dealing with a Foreign Power. Those Republicans understood that the Founding Fathers regarded what Trump had done as the worst of all "High Crimes".
There's nothing like a bunch of Republicans, including William Barr, tripping over themselves to cover-up Trump blatantly violating the law which says to Americans that Trump is actually blameless and innocent and being framed by an ever cautious and reasonable Democratic Leader of The House, Nancy Pelosi.
In times as perilous as these, the media can't confuse and exalt a misguided idea of "balance", as if it's the same as "fairness". There are already too many Trump propagandists everywhere spinning disinformation, giving false information intended to mislead.
Here's some Truth: In his purportedly reasonable conservative website, the journal of American Greatness, Buskirk has made Trump the epitome of American Greatness while using The Gateway Pundit, a far-right conspiracy and disinformation website, as a primary source.
3
You’re thinking like a politician. Time to start thinking like a person who believes that integrity and respect for the law are fundamentals of leadership. Our current scofflaw president is in serious need of being set straight on this point also. Unfortunately, impeachment is the only path at this juncture.
1
This might as well be titled “How to be an Apologist for an Unfit President.”
He bottom line it this - the memo of the phone call is clearly an attempt at pressuring Ukraine to do Trump a “political favor”.
That’s enough to impeach right there.
If Trump had robbed a bank, and gotten away with it, that doesn’t mean he can rob as many banks as he wants now. He needs to be held accountable for his actions. After all, he works (occasionally) for us.
I wouldn't be as certain as the author that Republican senators would never vote to convict; to me it all depends on public sentiment. None of them have ever demonstrated any "profile in courage", instead they are cowards who don't vote what they think just what the polls tell them to do. Many of them hate Trump privately so given a some evidence it might not be career ending for them, they'll jumpship.
1
Unless it's true.
Here we have the Great Mouth of American Greatness, an aggressive business enterprise surfing on the misbegotten allegiance of Trumpsters nationwide, doing his best Tokyo Rose (yes, I;ve seen the movies):
"We see what you're doing, Joe; it can never work. Your leaders grow desperate, unable to stop Trump on his way to certain victory.
Do you really believe the folks back home, you're wives, your children, care about "democracy"?
They want you to put down your Biden, your Warren and go home. Stop this foolishness. You cannot overcome Trump, admit it, Joe, and go home. Now."
One hopes once this desperation reaches its conclusion, Trump behind gilded bars, NYT will use the ensuing peace to gather its thoughts, find better representatives of Conservatism, deploy them a little more responsibly.
1
Mr. Buskirk’s article, along with those of other Republican pundits, is an act of desperation. They see the Trumpian chickens coming home to roost, and they’re making a mess. The corruption of this administration, which they have been more than happy to ignore for so long as long as conservative judges keep filling up empty benches, is plain in view. It not what his minions did, it’s what he did and how his minions helped.
These pundits are seeing the house of cards falling down piece by piece and they are desperate. It’s even worse that this all is taking place after the Black President, whom all these people hated, had eight years in office without scandals.
Time will tell whether impeachment helps or hurts Trump, but the most important reason for acting is to hold the president accountable constitutionally. This goes way beyond 2020 and Trump.
Trump is a serial liar and is shamelessly corrupt. Like Nixon, he is insecure. Furthermore Trump lacks a foundation of American history knowledge and experience governing. I suspect that he never read a book in its entirety. He excels only at making noise and being devicive.
I caution you that Trump only cares about Trump and will turn on people like you in a flash in order to save himself.
Lastly I turn to Lincoln and advise you to heed his wisdom:
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time"
To do nothing at this point, as Mr. Buskirk suggests, is to condone the clearly illegal acts of this president and to encourage him to continue his rampage of damage to our democracy for the remaining year of his presidency.
Unlike the silent Republicans, Democrats have chosen to defend the laws, the constitution, the integrity of our country and the balance of power our democracy requires, until the American people have the chance to throw the bum out in the next election. In God we Trust.
Trump no longer has anyone to rein him in. If he becomes completely untethered, which seems increasingly likely, there is nobody to tug at the other end of the rope. No doubt there are a core group of supporters who will enjoy the spectacle and will cheer him on, but for the rest, it will become hideous to behold. By November of 2020, their finances will have also taken a hit, so the prospect of voting for a sweaty, flailing, foul-mouthed windbag just won't have the same appeal it did in 2106. They will have had 4 years to judge him on his complete lack of accomplishments, and will see little reason to even get out of bed on Election Day, probably calling in sick.
This time is different because it is a clear, blatant violation of his oath of office. Additionally, Trump has become the single biggest threat to our national security. He is loyal to himself not to the country, and aside from bribing/extorting a foreign power to help him engage in an information war against the country he was sworn to protect, who knows what national security secrets he has divulged out of stupidity or selfishness. The Democrats are defending our republic and our constitution. All of your arguments are not about what is best for our country but about politics, and that’s says everything we need to know about you.
This is one of the very few articles in the NYT which has some truth to it.
Nancy & company (Nadler, Schiff, Waters, and the others) may give Trump a
McGovern level victory especially as they have no viable candidates at this time.
Rumors say Mrs. Clinton is tempted to relaunch. That ought to be a hoot!
2
This article strikes me as an act of desperation from a Trump supporter who realizes that his guy has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar!
This article is what every Republican needs to read and what every Democrat already knows. The former independents who turned Republican will return to the Democratic Party. I hope President Trump reads this article and has a "heart attack" considering how well the NY Times has documented his criminal and morally bankrupt activity that harms the country he swore to protect. Mr. Buskirk...you underestimate the character of the American people!
Minor correction to this missive from Mars:
Mr. Buskirk tells us there is no doubt that the votes for impeachment are not "there" in the Senate.
Actually, we already know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they're there. We have been told - by Republicans 'in the know,' no less - that at least 30 Republican senators are in favor of impeachment.
if, that is, votes were taken anonymously.
So, knowing that, the essay, if honest, would have read something like this:
We know, of course, that a large majority of Republican Senators would be quite happy to convict Trump. However, we also can say - if not with certainty, then certainly with considerable assurance - that they won't, because they are amoral, spineless cowards.
You're welcome.
www.remember-to-breathe.org
Mr. Buskirk's premise: The Democrats haven't been able to make any of the other crimes committed by Trump to stick, so don't bother. Anyway, it's Biden's fault. What pithy conservative insight, the sort of intellectual treatise that seems to ripple through conservatism now: I'm right. you're wrong, because I said so.
1
This opinion piece exemplifies the cynical gaming mentality of far too much of the media. Confidently predicticing the future is a fools game. How about respecting values and principles as a guiding star and allowing the process to play out instead of always opining in terms of winners and losers in an election that takes place more than 1 year from now?
It is hard for me to watch the devolution of conservative-republican people who don't know what to call themselves these days. The confused attitudes, embarrassments and blunders of their leaders lead to the rejection of democratic principles."Conservative" media commentators (and their followers) are rapidly becoming as foolish in their commentaries and declarations as are their leaders-Trump, Barr, McConnell, etc.- becoming treacherous to our constitution and nation, degenerating to what I call disabled citizens, one step away from becoming citizen cowards.
In other words, let Trump’s crimes continue.
Like all things Trump, I would take not pleasure, but nauseousness, in his impeachment. To congress, please make it quick, then we can be back to the task of electing a true American president.
Who is this guy, Buskirk? Can someone please tell me? ‘American Greatness”. Consider the America of just the last 60 years. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, the undoing of civil rights progress, the further concentration of wealth to a small group plutocrats, the sub-prime mortgage scandal that resulted in the 2008 crash, the theft of the 2000 presidential election by Republicans which resulted in “Bush II’s election, and the theft of the 2016 presidential election through Russian hacking. ‘American Greatness.” Beyond farcical.
Tell me where the rock is this guy crawled out from under - please!
LOL whatever gets you through the night sweetheart, most of the county is for impeachment now, lets see how voting to acquit Trump does for Susan Collins, John Cornyn, McSally and all the others that are facing defeat in 2020.
Right on the money. Impeachment sounds like the latest from Wile E. Coyote, Suuup-er genius! From the Hollywood Access tapes to the Mueller report, the democrats have been looking for way to get rid of Donald Trump. Mistaking effect for cause, none of their schemes work. The democrats lost almost 1,000 seats at the state and national level under Obama. Instead of focusing on Trump, they might want to focus on what they're trying to sell the America people.
trump commits multiple felonies and impeachable offenses.
trump is caught committing multiple felonies and impeachable offenses.
trump admits committing multiple felonies and impeachable offenses.
You say...."Impeachment is an act of Desperation"
My hope is that no one commits a felony to your person, is caught, admits it, and a prosecutor says charging the felon is an act of "desperation"
1
Trump (and you) seem to hold on to the idea of "American Exceptionalism." I do as well. Your president has committed some exceptional crimes. Congress is about to something truly exceptional - impeach the most corrupt and unprincipled president in our history.
Excellent points. Must read.
1
The author cites "stagnating wages" as a reason the electorate will blame and vote against the Democrats despite it having been Trump and a Senate majority at the helm responsible for the handling (actually mishandling) of the economy. It's never a good idea to prognosticate political outcomes based on the premise that the public is stupid. They are not, and many see and are revulsed by what has been going on.
There will be an impeachment because Trump is a criminal. Trump has breached his oath of office. Outcomes are not what matters because sometimes justice is blind in the face of corruption where proof beyond reasonable doubt is difficult to prove. In the world of public opinion "though", not so much. Over 100 contacts with Russians by what 19 different members of the Trump team. That is collusion, that is aiding the enemy, and that is treason. Asking again for foreign intervention in our elections forces impeachment upon us as a country. We the people didn't break our laws, Trump did. Oh and the irony of other things on a "hidden" server. Where are those emails? where are those conversations with Putin? Why were they not recorded? You can spin things anyway you want but the facts matter, and principles matter more. Fact, there is no new health care from Trump, a promise broken. The midwest farmers are suffering, self inflicted by nonsensical policies that don't address the situation. Rising prices from tariffs that are about as effective as a wall when Americans pay the cost. Nepotism, corruption and constant lying are the hallmarks of the Trump presidency but breaking the law has consequences. Or have Republicans lost the principle of law? of decency? of American values? I think that greed and power have corrupted absolutely and time for change. "It's going to be "Storming" more than you can imagine soon.
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No mention here about right and wrong or how history will judge Trump.
Either way you view Trump, he will not stand the test of time.
Nor does he survive any honest moral evaluation.
Regardless whom you compare Trump, he comes up short.
3
I agree that the Democrats are in a difficult position. Impeachment will most certainly not lead to a conviction in the Senate. Trump may very well be re-elected and Democrats could lose a majority in Congress. However, have you looked at the alternative? By not pursuing an impeachment inquiry Trump and future Authoritarian minded Republicans will know they can get away with anything. Our Republic was founded on checks and balances and the rule of law. At some point you have to make a stand for what is right even if the end game looks grim. Perhaps Democracy and America are in an inexorable decline but should we throw up our hands and give up? Do the Democrats want to be viewed in the future as cowards who did nothing while Trump and the Republican party trampled on the Constitution and betrayed our Republic? If Democrats had not acted what would Trump do next? Withhold aid to Ukraine? Conspire with Putin to get re-elected? Convert the CIA to an arm of his re-election team? Even if Democrats lose this battle it is a battle that must be fought. By fighting this battle the war (preserving our Democracy) may still be won in the end.
1
I'm not buying it. There is so much more to come out. Even the Republicans are going to come around. Just wait.
7
"Whataboutism" has been the calling card of Trump and Republican for several years. The search for "moral equivalence" in "whataboutism" has led to a whole Party departing from the rule of law, the search for the truth, embracing science, and then engaging the "big lie" theory of propaganda,
Fortunately, facts about specific events, conversations, actions, and documents that are original, and not "contrived", will be the focus of an impeachment inquiry. "Whataboutism" will have no place in this proceeding.
5
The core fault in our stars lies with the Trump voters. Although many of them supported him in good faith at the time of his election, we don't know whether or how many of them will defect for reasons heretofore shown, or now after the Ukraine breaches. To that end, while I would dearly love to have him out of office, the process of reaching that good end almost becomes more important than the end itself...if you believe in the electoral process. Supposedly we all do believe, as we are citing the need to preserve democracy as demanding his impeachment. I think we need to be very careful here; impeachment is likely to take a very long time and since Trump isn't bright enough to want to resign to preserve a "legacy" and is too wealthy to care, I can see the election of 2020 becoming a civil nightmare. The referenced article below is worth reading on the subject as it states impeachment is not mandatory and an electoral defeat may be best.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/impeachment-isnt-mandatory--even-if-trump-committed-impeachable-offenses/2019/09/26/ae65b62c-dfca-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html
While impeachment over the Mueller report's findings was deserved, it would have been a very rocky road and difficult to pursue because it relied on points of law that clearly went over most people's heads. It wouldn't be hard for Trump's acolytes to justify their ignorance, as it's just so much easier to accept a narrative spun by Fox and Friends.
That said, this is different.
The blowback against Republicans after the Clinton impeachment was different. After YEARS of a fishing expedition clearly leading nowhere, Republicans finally discovered an affair and impeached Clinton over lying about it. There was no imminent danger to anyone other than personal embarrassment for Clinton and its intimate fallout. I would argue that most people saw that and pitied the man and thought he was an idiot, and perhaps reacted to what looked like desperation in the Republican's overreach.
Trump's solicitations of the Ukraine's imaginary "dirt" on Biden shows a willingness on his part to not only compromise foreign relations but it also kind of sticks it into the Mueller probe. How could he think this was OK after enduring such a long lesson telling him it wasn't.
Impeachment is necessary now. Republicans weren't on board with Nixon's impeachment until they were. That shift only came about after investigation showed the public the breadth of his involvement. They were different times and very different Republicans.
What will it take for this group to come around?
89
The American people have had enough of this criminal enterprise.
The silent majority, in this case, those who care about our country and the deterioration of our institutions, wants Trump to be taken to task for his corruption. It will galvanize our country.
The Republicans are on the wrong side of this argument and will be the party paying the price.
3
I am of the old school where rules and laws have to be adhered to in order for a country to run well to serve the great majority. I am afraid these rules, laws and civics are no longer taught in schools so that right or wrong, moral or immoral, lawful and unlawful are blurred by those with the loud dissenting voices backed by moneyed interests erroding the discerning public conscience. Impeachment is a lawful process and should send shake up the public conscience that democracy succeeds when the laws held sacred.
5
Mr Buskirk is essentially saying that a president's asking a foreign government to investigate a US citizen in order to collect dirt on a former Vice-President who is a likely presidential candidate him is OK.
Mr Buskirk is saying that probably illegal activity by the Commander in Chief is OK.
He is saying that no one should stand on defending the Constitution against scurrilous activity by the Chief Executive.
Yes, the Democrats are taking a huge gamble. But that is what happens in politics. To let the president run rough shod on the Constitution is to give permission to continue his tramping on American norms.
3
This isn't about winning. This is about doing what's right. And this is a problem: one side only thinks about winning and winning at all costs. When this is all that matters, the ends justify the means and it's easy to tolerate misuse of power.
6
What is missing is if all Trump cared about was fighting corruption, why were the only names mentioned Biden and his son? Surely there is other corruption in the Ukraine. There must be a lot of corruption in Russia, where Putin's friends make billions and his enemies are killed. There is corruption all over the world, including here.
But a smear is a smear. Biden will be hurt by this, he hasn't answered decisively yet, and I can't understand what he is waiting for. He does need to explain why his son sat on a Ukrainian energy company's board and what his qualifications and duties were. To me, he looks very week, including being the last to endorse impeachment. He was trending downward, and I think this kills his chances.
So if Trump's plan was to damage the candidate he feared the most, he has succeeded, and it will be up to the more progressive candidates to pick up the pieces.
Trump has one gear. Act for himself using the psychological weakness of others and see any challenge as a chance to double down again and again until the challenger quits.
This pattern of behavior is not that uncommon at a poker table. What is uncommon is to find players with this approach who do well in the long run against tough competitors.
Countering such a player usually requires patience. One cannot take a weak hand and, frustrated by having to fold over and over, reliably decide this is the time to out-bluff the bluffer. This might work once in a while, but it is not a strategy to bet the entire bankroll on.
One can use a fairly strong hand, say the Mueller report, and decide you will fully commit to impeachment. There will, predictably, be tremendous pressure to defend the assertions in the report. Enough lawmakers would likely lose their nerve in the process, even if they would win more often than not, that the play would fail. This means a political loss far bigger than from doing nothing.
The best strategy is to wait for an extremely strong hand, one that most people will commit to even though there will be tremendous pressure to back down. Part of this strategy is accepting that you might not get dealt such a hand all night and can do nothing. The Ukraine incident, however, is such a hand.
This is not an act of desperation, it is rational calculation. This does not mean it cannot fail, but folding a hand this strong is not what winning players do.
1
"Perhaps the Democratic leadership thinks that this is a good way to raise money..."
So writes a man apparently born without a moral compass. A man whose every action and utterance is calculated self-interest. No wonder an act based on concepts like the rule of law or doing the right thing so confounds him. No wonder Trump has been and remains his President.
6
Buskirk is engaging in a basic logical fallacy in assuming that the difference between Nixon and Clinton is the vote to impeach. Sympathy for Clinton wasn't based on how close the vote was but the sense that his crimes had little to do with his office. Trump's alleged crimes go straight to the heart of his office -- abuse of power, seeking foreign election interference, extorting an ally. There is certainly risk that impeachment (under any circumstances) will galvanize Trump's base, but there's no reason to assume this will play out like Clinton.
It's also worth remembering that Nixon enjoyed strong support among Republicans...until he didn't. As more and more evidence of wrongdoing came out, that support shifted. It's tempting in these highly-polarized times to assume that no amount of evidence can move the faithful in either party, but I think we're better than that.
3
A number of readers defending impeachment against the author, argue that "morality requires impeachment" or "Congress has no option". But neither of these statements are true, are they? Congress is under no legal or constitutional obligation to impeach. Would morality require impeachment if impeachments is not in the national interest? Is it really in our national interest so talk about nothing but impeachment until after the next election? Aren't there other pressing issues to be discussed? If this process actually helps Trump politically enough to win, is that in the national interest?
Should be posted on all available walls and or read aloud twice a day. Impeachment is a Constitutional remedy and not a political one. Claiming he was investigating corruption will be made a sound argument the more we uncover the corruption in Ukraine. That is a certainty. And when uncovered, it will make the claim for impeachment seem even more political. This will result is a strict party line vote in the House and that alone is damaging for Democrats.
As far as the Senate , such a submission by the House may never make it to the Floor. The Majority leader may ask for a preliminary vote on the merits of the Impeachment if it fails to carry any Republican support. In turn , the Republican majority in the Senate will reject it. As has been discussed by others, the Senate has full discretion as judged by Supreme Court as it is a political decision. Thus handed a political decision, the Majority Leader will act with a political decision.
15
Trump Groupies defend Trump to the end. Crimes? Hate? Lies? Rip up the Constitution? Big Nothingburger. Give right wing Court Appointees? Yes; give us more
"Claiming he was investigating corruption will be made a sound argument the more we uncover the corruption in Ukraine. That is a certainty."
The only certain thing thing here is false equivalence. The claim for impeach has nothing to do with corruption in the Ukraine is has to to with Trump asking for a political favor from a foreign government to get dirt on a political opponent.
Has Trump sent Rudy to Israel to investigate Bibi N no. Has Has Trump sent Rudy to Saudi Arabia to investigate the Prince no. Both places have plenty of Corruption
This is not a crime it is Treason!
There are two meanings of "political" here that are being confused by many. One means having to do with the body politic (and not with a legal system, or a religious or moral system, etc.). The other means being partisan. The Federalist Papers makes it clear that impeachment is a political process in the sense of having to do with the body politic, and therefore is not limited to laws or ideals. But they also realized it could likely become a partisan thing. They ultimately relied on the fact that Senators were expected to be mature and patriotic. So, by saying impeachment is a political thing is not a criticism. Let's hope it does not become too partisan. Let's hope there are many mature and patriotic Senators. And please don't laugh at that last statement.
This reliable cheerleader for Trump shares the same depressing utilitarian view as the rest of the hapless party that once styled itself "grand." It's all about political calculation. As long as one wins political power, ethical, moral and constitutional questions don't figure in the discussion while conscience has conveniently stepped out of the room. It is past time that a stand should be taken, despite the unlikelihood that it will lead to Trump's removal and the possibility it may even aid him politically. Conscience demands it of us.
10
If you have ever been on jury duty, you will have been told that the defendant will do anything he can to affix blame on the prosecutor for putting him in this mess, and will never once accept any blame for his own actions. The defendant will paly the victim to utter perfection and use your sympathies to wriggle himself off the hook. So it is with President Trump, who impeached himself by asking a foreign country to investigate a political rival, because he could not leave well enough alone after receiving Russian help in his first election. The President put himself in the dock, not the prosecutor.
3
I find it interesting that when Trump breaks all norms of how a president should behave, his enablers dismiss historical references with the same explanation. Trump is a different kind of president. But when it comes to impeachment, they suddenly look to history for guidance regarding how it will unfold. Impeachment didn’t harm Clinton. Well, perhaps impeachment will have a different effect on this different kind of president.
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The sooner this purveyor of discord (Trump) is removed from power the better it will be for the greater good of the country. This so-called leader has been yelling fire in a theater since Charlottesville, and how brazen it has been for him to go from dodging accusations (likely to be true) of a Russian conspiracy, to start using the same tactics colluding with yet another foreign power. Let's have hearings and encourage our representatives to allow us to be as informed as possible.
1
Concern trolling from conservatives. They say impeachment will help Trump, while also "helping" democrats by by encouraging them to stop the impeachment. I am not sure if they have correctly assessed the situation.
1
The facts already known show the president soliciting a foreign government to harass an American citizen. Setting aside all other surrounding circumstances, if that doesn't create doubts among Trump's supporters about his fitness for the office, it's hard to see how an impeachment investigation would make things worse.
1
Predicting the political future is much like predicting the stock market. On almost any day you can find a highly educated opinion that will predict up or down dramatically. We should take Mr. Buskirk's opinion similarly. What guides my decisions is an attempt to "do the right thing". Even when I fail, i am content with this approach. And I am confident that impeaching Donald Trump is the right thing to do. I can only hope that the voting public sees it the same way. If not, they deserve what they get. It's a big world and I can live in many places.
3
To call "desperate" an investigation into a President who was so "desperate" that he tried to bribe a foreign government with nearly $400 million in tax dollars to dig up dirt on one of his political opponents is rich.
Also, again as a lawyer, the role of a grand jury is not to determine guilt, but probable cause, and the only constitutional role of the House is to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that our President committed impeachable offenses -- for which the President is the smoking gun.
If the Senate, sitting as jury, decides to ignore the evidence and acquit the President, the voters can exercise their right to replace those who do so.
"That doesn't sound like winning to me" rings hollow when the issue isn't "winning," it is "fidelity" to the Constitution.
22
“In reality, everyone knows that Ms. Pelosi’s pursuit of impeachment will not result in a conviction in the Senate and the removal of Mr. Trump from office.”
In reality, when the new information about things such the transcripts of the secret conversations with Putin and MBS come to light, everyone will know that Trump has abused his office in ways unprecedented in US history.
9
Now, as I read that Putin is concerned lest his conversations with Trump become public, and that these conversations, too have been salted away in the tip top secret archive, I begin to wonder if it wasn't the mischievous Mr Putin who put a flea in POTUS's shell-like ear about Hillary's phantom server lurking somewhere in Ukraine? He is such a naughty boy.
I am sure when all the facts are laid out it will only become clearer to the American people when laid out in a open impeachment investigation that the accumulated acts of the President warrants impeachment. Wether the Senate votes for impeachment or not we need get all GOP senators on record with a vote.
My opinion is if the President is not convicted by the Senate it will be the Democrats and Independents who will be the most energized to vote him out of the office.
Also there is enough Republicans that also believe he not fit to hold the highest office.
5
I shouldn't be surprised, but I am sort of amazed that Republicans care so little about the behavior of the president. To refuse to even read the documents detailing the allegations, as some Senators say they have, is just a dereliction of their duty. No matter how partisan they are, they should want to know if the allegations are true. But, they won't even consider the possibility. Every American should want to know the truth and be willing to listen to the testimony of witnesses and look at the evidence. But, the way everything concerning Trump is so highly politicized it seems unlikely that we'll ever know the truth. I'm so sorry that our country has declined to such a degree. Unlike so many others, I have not made up my mind. I want to know about the investigation and hear what various witnesses have to say. I wish more Americans could set aside their partisanship and just be good citizens. All of us should want to know if our president did what he's accused of.
9
The overall impression given by these comments is that Trump’s behavior is what forms most of the negative opinions. Scott S of Brooklyn refers to Trump and the popular vote. Our electoral system is designed to protect ,not harm and has worked for 200 plus years.
We have an election next year. The opposition must think that they can’t beat Trump in an election. But they can if their policies on the economy,immigration and reform of broken are seen as beneficial to most Americans.
You omit that Trump's behavior, which someone in his own administration reported, solicited a foreign country to interfere with our election by threat of withholding military aid. Trump supporters know he can't win without outside assistance, like in 2016, and in this case with his thumb on the scale.
4
It's difficult to know from what direction to begin and which content to address, in order to rebut here. One thing that almost all pundits perhaps almost tragically beginning to think it unnecessary to mention has been the appalling trend of most people not registering and voting in this country. The situation is tragic, as it seems to have become almost invisible by now, when discussing how a remainder of people who do vote exercise that right. The corollary of sorts is the important point of a select non-majority who vote, often with the tail wagging the dog and producing "winners" of elections basically by default. Some evidence for how things would look if more of a popular majority voted might be included in the elections in 2000/2016 (with an Electoral College tail-wagging) and 2018, with the latter producing very important non-Republican results. I'm hoping to rely on such evidence of how the majority view things in this country and vote accordingly, especially if the broadcast evidence of Trump's malfeasance would nevertheless be rejected by Senate Republicans. To my mind, it would be a political advertising bonanza for non-Republican candidates, even those "radical" ones who espouse policies that many well-designed studies have shown to be favored by--you guessed it--that majority of citizens. So, we in that majority--let's please continue to turn things around by simply registering and going out to VOTE.
5
Or maybe, morality can be more important than winning.
7
Many of the readers' comments are better than the article because Mr. Buskirk clearly thinks losing is worse than doing what is right and he clearly thinks that if there is impeachment, nothing else can or will be talked about or remembered in the campaigns, especially by previous swing voters. Plus, he seems to think Trump and McConnell will be emboldened to do worse if victorious than if not called out and put on official record even to defend their positions in the first place. All those are precarious presumptions, and the first places politics above integrity, which is already done far too much.
24
Support for impeachment is steadily growing, which is why the concern trolling by Trump cultists like Buskirk are peddling that it's supposedly a disaster for the Dems. If he really believed that, he'd step back and let the Dems do it. What's sad is like Trump, he thinks he no one knows what he's doing. Dunning-Kruger Effect in action.
At this point, the collective evidence shows that Trump asked another foreign leader to examine what he and many others see as a breathtakingly abuse of power in the Obama-Biden administration when Biden specifically bragged about (and succeeded in) withholding foreign aid in order to have a prosecutor investigating his son fired. Reviewing this action by the previous administration may well be politically expedient for Trump, but it is also necessary. I'm a democrat who has felt increasingly estranged from the left over the last few years. The decision to open an investigation of impeachment based on a false narrative as advanced by Adam Schiff, rather than prioritize the needs of the American people is the final straw. I'll be supporting Trump in 2020.
4
Dara,
I hope the Biden information does come out. Because, from my limited access to information on the issue and my knowledge of internal investigations conducted by corporate board members, it probably will exonerate Biden and his son. The Obama Administration pushed for anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and the prosecutor you mention who was pushed out had been universally criticized as corrupt. Morever, Biden’s son’s involvement in the company at issue occurred after the events the prosecutor was investgating.
That said, whether it showed poor judgment on Hunter Biden’s part to join the board, I can’t say. Whether Joe Biden should have discouraged his son fron joining the board? Perhaps. Or perhaps he did, and his son went forward anyway. Who doesnt have kids who do stupid things you wish they wouldn’t? What I can say is that to the extent Hunter Biden’s involvement on the board caused an appearance of conflict of interest, it pales in comparison to the numerous examples of such conflicts in the Trump Administration. Putting aside the recent disclosures about AirForce stops at Trump’s Scottish golf club, does anyone really think the Saudis would have invested in Jared Kushner’s disastrously overpaid for 666 property, if they didnt think there would be payback from this administration? That’s also true for every foreign state and corporation staying at Trump’s hotel in DC. So vote for whomever you want in 2020. But be smart about it.
This article opens quite a window on the contemporary conservative mindset. Mr. Buskirk's speculations on the Democrats' motivations are confined totally to matters of calculation, strategy, and political advantage. Nowhere is there the slightest suggestion that there might be issues of law, morality, and decency involved. If the Republicans are now committed to gaining and keeping power as the only goal of politics, it's clear that the self-seeking amorality of Trump is not an aberration, as some on the right would wish, but the perfect embodiment of his party's values.
It's also interesting to note that Mr. Buskirk uses the Clinton impeachment as a model for what he expects to happen, and suggests that impeaching Trump will ensure his victory in 2020, even as he acknowledges that Clinton's party lost the White House in the next presidential election.
12
Except Clinton's party did not lose the election Gore won the popular vote and SCOTUS appointed Bush after the voting disaster in Florida.
Some battles must be fought, regardless of the likely outcome. Up to "Ukraine", Speaker Pelosi was right to hold the line on impeachment. But, soliciting help from a foreign government for a domestic political campaign is a bridge too far. Mr. Buskirk's argument that impeaching Trump is an act of desperation simply cannot refute the fact that Pelosi is doing what the Constitution and common sense requires. We can only hope most Americans will see these arguments for what they are. If she fails, we will have to chalk one more up for cynical Republican approach to turning the country into a autocracy.
8
If impeaching President Trump is such a bad tactical move for Democrats and will guarantee Trump's reelection, why is Mr. Buskirk so opposed to impeachment? He should welcome the challenge, after all it will "guarantee" Trump's reelection. And as Trump has done nothing wrong he will be completely vindicated when all the facts are provided to Congress and the American public. Even President Nixon called for a "thorough investigation" of Watergate at the onset.
12
Complete disagreement with this argument. Except for the Trump partisans, most people see this instance of corruption as very bad and very wrong, particularly on the heels of the 2016 election that has had unanimous declaration by US DOJ and Intelligence as having Russian interference. Yes, the Senate will acquit Trump. The outrage of most people will be such that 'Vote Blue No Matter Who' will drive people to the polls who may have never cast a vote and may never vote again. Trump is sure to show increasingly erratic behavior that will leave even some of his faithful thinking twice about fighting the anti-Trump mob to get to the polls.
17
An appropriate analysis, Mr. Buskirk.
Most likely, the Democrats have badly played this, and it is likely to haunt them.
Another thing that is likely to happen is that the impeachment debate will draw renewed attention to some of the alleged activities of Bill and Hillary Clinton. First, there is the so-called "Chinagate" scandal, briefly mentioned in the Times' reporting today, in which China was credibly alleged to have given financial support to Bill Clinton and the DNC in the mid 1990's in exchange for favorable treatment by the Clinton administration, including access to American technology.
Then there’s the Uranium One scandal that occurred during Hillary’s tenure as Secretary of State, in which it is credibly alleged, but not proven, that Sec. Clinton supported Russian-influenced transfers of US uranium supplies in exchange for monetary contributions to the Clinton foundation.
Finally, there are echoes of the Clinton email scandal, and the deletion of over 30,000 Clinton emails. Did Hillary’s team delete these emails because they were personal, or something more nefarious such as inappropriate communications between Sec. Clinton and advisors such as Huma Abedin.
The Republicans may, appropriately, raise these and similar issues, and they are relevant since Ms. Clinton was the 2016 Democratic nominee for President, and promised to make her husband part of her administration.
Memo to Nancy Pelosi: people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
3
Still trotting out Hillary are we? Good lord. Keep avoiding the obvious right in front of your eyes: a president abusing the powers of the office to get an advantage in an election. How much more obvious can it get? Boy are you lost.
We are desperate.
We have seen that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans will not do what is right for the country.
Along with Fox News.
11
Mr. Buskirk's logic is so one-sided, so narrow, so undistinguished, that you have to wonder if he is serious.
At the same time, this kind of thinking is pretty prevalent among Republicans these days. Frankly, it is why the party is despised among the majority of Americans who still retain a modicum of decency.
26
I find it interesting that Mr. Buskirk uses the term "moral outrage" to denigrate the people pursuing justice for the American people. After all, it is the Republican party that used morality--or their version if it--as the foundation of their beliefs about Bill Clinton's sexual improprieties, same sex marriage, abortion, etc. Yet somehow they become morally blind when it's a member of their tribe who is violating moral norms. So blind, that Mr. Buskirk couldn't even muster up a halfhearted sentence admitting that what President Trump did looks bad--at best--and could be illegal--at worst. To not see that removes any possible legitimacy from the rest of his argument. I also find it interesting that he uses about half of his essay to distract from the main issue and repeat FOX news talking points about Joe Biden and his son. Those allegations have been rigorously investigated and found to be without merit. Lastly, I find it interesting that he bases his predictions about this impeachment hearing on the outcome of what occurred with President Clinton. I would suggest that there are stark differences between an investigation that started with a president lying about an inappropriate but consensual sex act, and a president asking a foreign power to investigate the person likely to be his opponent in the coming election. Recent polls showing a sharp increase in Americans supporting impeachment hearings suggest fellow citizens can see that difference.
22
Actually, the Whitewater investigation was about Clinton's personal finances before he was president.
It went on for 4-1/2 years at a cost of $100 Million in today's dollars.
Only after they couldn't find anything did they impeach for lying under oath about Monica Lewinsky.
Now only if we could investigate Trump's personal finances before he became president.
10
This is a test for America. Does truth, justice, country and the Constitution matter anymore? Has the good life made us forget that all these things still matter and that nothing remains the same and can change in an instant if we don't take care of what is precious? Can the US be the next Venezuela or Russia? This is how chaos happens when people allow a con man to lead them astray and allow willful ignorance to undermine justice.
11
It wasn't just Russia, Russia, Russia. We had women's right to be CEO's, Trans gender oppression, black face, Jim Crow, end of world hysteria, and my kid can't get into Harvard stories. The Social Democrat thinks the average black person is more concerned with Justin Trudeau's behavior than the rising cost of health insurance. The populist issues that Trump champions aren't given consideration. It ain't unjust unless the Social Democrat says it is. Even when they agree on an issue the guy is still wrong because it came from Trump.
For those who have everything (except an electable candidate), Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine will be enough. The rest of us will consider it a coup. Why, certainly Trump shouldn't be president but if all you have is the above. Good Luck.
4
Please tell us Trump's health care plan.
Which is a more egregious violation of the oath of office, Trump's continuing lawlessness or looking the other way. Every single senator and congressman must defend the Constitution and remove this man. If they choose party over country, there will be no end to Trump's abuse of power. These are indeed desperate times.
10
I think the main point of your piece is your assertion that Pelosi's move is an act of desperation. As Monday morning quarterbacking, it makes the grade.
You make a reasonable case for the damage impeachment proceedings will do.
It is tempting to try to get into her head as she made this decision; can anyone doubt that the points you make here did not inform her decision?
What, most importantly, was it that Ms. Pelosi was desperate to do? Impeach the President? Erode his support? Energize her own voters? Hold the party together? Avoid an oligarchy or something similar?
I recall during his run for the Presidency, Mr. Trump was saying things that didn't 'sound like winning.'
The fat lady hasn't sung yet. Depending on whose up against him, I might be hoping the tune will be 'You're fired'.
You’ve completely missed the most essential point: If Trump isn’t impeached he will, understandably, believe himself to be above the law and impervious to constraint, no matter how egregious his lawlessness and abuses of power. He has left the Democrats no choice. This is about preserving our constitution and our democracy, not political calculations. And in any case you’re wrong about the latter. Once the full story of Trump’s corruption is out this will be Nixon redux; any Republican defending Trump will face the wrath of voters, and the harsh judgment of history b
7
Ummm...the Dems have passed north of 200 bills on all kinds of things like immigration, healthcare, climate change, it’s a long list. Where are they? In Mitch McConnell’s pocket where they are being held to prevent senate discussion and vote. So, a strategy to continue pursuing bread and butter issues isn’t likely to gain much unless you understand the unwritten rules of inside baseball that McConnell plays. Pursuing Trump is necessary and proper. This gem, “Democrats see an impeachable offense. A lot of other people see one head of state asking another for an investigation into potential corruption involving the Bidens” is a tautology. They’re the same thing because a president isn’t allowed to do what’s stated here. Trump’s base is evaporating, women of all stripes are deserting him, even more than in 2018, Rural people affected by the trade war are wondering if he has a plan. The Tea Party and Evangelicals will stay with Trump but they aren’t enough for a win.
12
If I had seen this article on the "New Yorker" website, I would have thought it was an entry in the "Shouts and Murmurs" humor column.
No, Mr. Buskirk, Nancy Pelosi did not cave to pressure and/or frustration. She reacted to news of a serious threat to our national security. If you cared about the country, instead of relentlessly carrying water for his Trumpiness, you would see that. This man is an existential threat to our democracy.
11
I used to enjoy sitting back in the early evening hours and surfing around to the various news sites I visited every day for my news. Since we live in a world where ratings are much more popular than providing Americans the "news," I have to read the same story at two or three different sites in order to get the truth which always falls in between somewhere. I never liked Hillary Clinton and there are no circumstances in which I would have voted for her. But Trump made me very nervous and has since he took office. For these past three years I have been angry and defended him against what I have believed was extreme bias on the part of the media and democrats. Stormy Daniels, Russia, Comey, antifa, metoo, protest after protest, etc. etc. The blatant disregard for law and total ignorance towards those who have broken it in an attempt to unseat him had made me really dislike democrats. After the Mueller report I thought we may get a break until the election, but I was wrong. It was all I could do to read the news today. My dislike for democrats has turned into an intense hatred for both them and those who protect them like NYT, CNN, ABC, NBC, and pretty much everyone except Fox. This impeachment thing is past ridiculous and I lack the ability to put my anger into words over the whole thing. I was hoping another republican would get in the race but apparently not. You have all managed to see to it that we'll have four more years of Trump and all that entails.
4
Where to begin...impeachment is the discovery phase of this process. Based upon evidence provided by the whistleblower, there is a compelling case to investigate. That alone should shine a light on the numerous criminal activities perpetrated by this administration. If enough evidence is discovered (a likely outcome), the House passes the constitutional baton to the Senate where the actual trial occurs. There is always a political aspect to any D.C. event. However, to suggest this latest development is simply political theater is either wanton ignorance on the part of Mr. Buskirk or yet another example of crass partisan pandering. Let the process continue as the framers intended, produce the evidence and judge Trump accordingly. Anything short of this is an abdication of Congress’ constitutional duty.
3
What about upholding the rule of law? If a president is allowed to break the law, what does that say about our democracy? To me, it says that our democracy is a sham. As one of those voters who wants "to know what Washington is going to do for them", I want to know what Washington is going to do about a president who is clearly unfit for office and almost certainly breaking multiple laws. The democrats just did something for me. The GOP, as is usual, continues to sell us out and weaken our country.
4
Impeachment is not just an act of desperation. It is an act of extreme partisanship, revenge and a substitute for lack of a Democratic candidate who could predictably win. After trying to remove Trump from office by all possible means Democrats are delusional to think impeachment will be the kitchen sink that will bear result. Impeachment of Bill Clinton by the Republicans was wrong and impeachment of Trump by the Democrats will be wrong especially when they do not have a viable alternative who can appeal to independents. The same way Republicans lost repeal and replace of Obamacare because they had no alternative to replace Obamacare. It is common sense that if you have no viable alternative you have no chance. You are just futzing around. It is just that simple.
3
Girsh you would even a be a better alternative if you where a democrat as the Dems 2020 slogan is very simple "vote blue no matter who"
It's necessary for The Times to invite columnists of differing political loyalties to be included. If a reader can agree, she is hopeful; if not, she's worried. Will our fragile democracy be able to satisfy the hopes of us who yearn for an intelligent government interested in honesty, civility, accountability, a sustainable world, the common good?
We must be a people who refuse to accept making big money as the sole reason for human activity. Capitalism without rules is a false god.
4
We are desperate.
We are desperate because Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans won't do what is right for the country.
Same for Fox News.
4
The GOP-Trump fog guns were locked and loaded before Mitch gave his nod to the Senate for their unanimous vote for Trump to release the whistleblower complaint to intelligence committees. It felt like a foreshadowing of bad things to come for Biden and the House majority's efforts toward impeachment. (I hadn't yet thought about 2020 election distractions.)
I expect thick fog about Russiagate, missing emails, deep state, swamps, Biden & son, government agencies, they-did-it-first Democrats, and nothing-to-hide Trump/Rudy as they unashamedly tell-it-all in trust-me tweets and talkies.
Nevertheless, Pelosi persists. (Truth will out. Eventually.)
Dear Democratic Candidates: Stick to the issues that most concern American voters. Even Buskirk gave you that tip. Yours truly, Blue
Actually, the most desperate acts are the ones like this article, and the right-wing media twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain away what cannot be explained away. In short:
1. Only the most willfully ignorant are unable to see that Trump did offer a quid pro quo to Ukraine, withholding aid approved by Congress as his bargaining chip, a criminal act.
2. Trump solicited help from Russia in 2016, and now here he is again, more blatantly seeking foreign assistance to interfere in our 2020 elections. His own words testify to this. More criminal acts.
3. He has consistently supported foreign actors over Americans ever since taking office which is one of the "High crimes" defined by our Founders.
None of the above need any further corroboration than what Congress already has, or is in the public record. And, as Republicans begin to realize how vulnerable Trump is, they're going to come to the conclusion that it's better for them to "help" the Democrats impeach and convict Trump so that they can then replace him with a candidate who might be able to win in 2020. In this way, they can get the Democrats to do their dirty work so that they don't become the target of the Trumpists wrath.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
6
Mr. Buskirk flaunts, as does Mr. Trump, his moral relativism. He equates possible corruption by the Bidens with the fact of the President's corruption. That everything is measured by political strategem and no higher moral realm in the conservative world is why it is necessary to show them that higher moral ground exists, even in politics.
1
Not one word on whether what Trump did, in this instance or generally, is right, legal, or good for the country. Not one word. This essay is meaningless.
5
"Surely Ms. Pelosi must know that there are not 67 votes in the Senate to convict President Trump of anything relating to his phone call with President Zelensky"
So guilt or innocence of Mr Trump will be decided on party lines? Without looking at all the evidence?
Instead of the Kafkaesque "We'll give you a fair trial and then shoot you", we now have the no less bizarre concept that "We'll give you a fair trail and then exonerate you"
1
The only "desperation' I'm seeing here is this author's attempt to belittle the patriotism of those who demand that the President adhere to the ethical standards he hypocritically took an oath to uphold.
5
We are desperate.
We know that Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans are not doing what's right for the country.
Same for Fox News.
For all the bluster here, personal attacks on the author, and earnest but wrong assertions that some "crime" was committed by Trump, you will still lose the 2020 election. You don't have a strategy, you don't have the votes, and you don't have a candidate. And if, as seems likely, Ms. Warren is the nominee, contemplate the fact that she would lose to a blank piece of paper, let alone Trump.
1
Buskirk misses the point--potus took an oath and is finally being held accountable for his egregious abuse of power and failure to defend the Constitution.
1
Impeachment is an act of following through on the representatives sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and their oath of office.
Impeachment is the morally right thing to do.
Impeachment is an act of courage.
Impeachment is a no brainer since Trump broke the law and is a threat to our national security.
Impeachment is an imperative.
The wheels are coming off the kindergartener's tricycle.
In Trump's inner circle, they are all turning on one another to blame one another for the calamity.
The undoing has begun.
The author is clueless.
He has no moral compass.
He is wishing, because he is self-interested.
It goes with his territory.
Shame on him.
1
Generals are always fighting the last war, and so is Mr. Buskirk. I agree with him that impeachment is an act of desperation, but for very different reasons. The Democrats are confronted with a President who lies as easily as he breathes, alienates our allies and coddles our enemies. In the instant matter, as the attorneys would put it, President Trump openly admits to pressuring a foreign head of state to investigate his primary political opponent while withholding military aid that had already been appropriated ("the US has been very good to Ukraine"). Mr. Buskirk's account of this matter is cursory at best, and willfully ignorant and/or cynical at worst. He makes no mention of how both the State and Justice Departments appear to have been dragooned into coercing foreign governments into supporting Trump's reelection. No mention either of why the White House lawyers tried to cover up the call. His characterization of Nancy Pelosi is classic inside-the-Beltway dinner party prattle. She successfully resisted her left flank's rush to impeach, and she only came around after the moderates in her party, who face tough reelection fights, toppled into the pro-impeachment column following the disclosure of the "transcript" of the now infamous call. I look forward to rereading Mr. Buskirk's column after the election, or perhaps even post-impeachment, by which time many other cats will have emerged from a very capacious bag.
1
Actually, impeachment is a legal imperative when a president has gone off the rails and is attacking the very foundations of the nation he is sworn to serve. And this fraudster who is out to pulverize the Public Trust and put it all in his own family's pockets (while building his business ties with despots) was never legitimately elected in the first place. Not sure what planet Mr. Buskirk lives on.
4
Mr. Buskirk writes as though on puppet strings controlled by the most desperate arms of the GOP. After the incredible heap of Trump’s transgressions, topped by the fetid cherry that is the Ukraine scandal, we’re just supposed to hold an election where the results are preordained? Putin would be proud of this author’s work, except it’s so transparently dishonest as to make a case for the other side.
1