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Impeachment 2020: A Lifetime of Education
The curtains are about to come down. The audience is leaving the auditorium, shaking their heads either in dismay or victory, having seen the 
whole show. Even if they see the play again, they will never see anything quite like what was presented in this arena.
It has all been like a show. Yet, the impeachment inquiry and trial have been an education like I would never have imagined. It will take a while for me to fully digest what I have witnessed. But this is my first take . . .
The Constitution—Democrats’ and Republicans’ references to the Founders and the Constitution were drastically different. The House Managers often referred to both, but it was clear that they were using them not to bolster their case, but to manipulate the meaning of both. The President’s Defense Team on a number of occasions pointed out that Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were misquoted or misinterpreted by the House Managers. (The Democrats have frequently shown disdain for the Constitution, except when it is liberally interpreted to meet their agendas.) On the other hand, the President’s Team not only referred to the Constitution and the Founders, but expressed their alarm and their reasons for their concerns that the very foundations of our country were in jeopardy if the President were impeached. They showed reverence and appreciation for the brilliance of the Founders in creating the Constitution, in some occasions their drawing on English law, but in many cases drawing on their concerns with the English law to create a new framework that would suit our nascent country. The Founders were prescient in their identification of the laws of impeachment that could damage the process, and the laws that would allow House members and Senators to wrestle with those rules, but find a way to resolve their difficulties. To think that our Founders could create such a masterful and powerful document that can guide our nation for over 200 years leads us to an awesome realization: we live in a country that still holds to the rule of law.
Politics—people from both sides of the political divide have, for the most part, acknowledged that the impeachment process is a political one. The Founders emphasized the danger of partisan politics and political parties, and they were brilliant in their forethought and wisdom to try to limit the damage that could be done. Yet, they may not have been able to anticipate the willingness of one party to go to such ends as the Democrats have gone.
The investigation was biased beyond belief. Republicans, as much as possible were shut out of inviting witnesses and were hamstrung in interviewing them. The President’s counsel was not permitted to attend hearings. The President was not allowed to ask questions. No witnesses could be called on behalf of the President. And witnesses could not be represented by counsel.
Perhaps worse yet, the trial has been nothing short of embarrassing (or should be) to the Democrats and they are an embarrassment to this country. Throughout the trial, they lied, misrepresented information, left out critical information, and accused people with no evidence. They attacked the President’s Defense Team, ignored the brilliant factual presentations of the Team, and insisted on repeatedly relying on their own set of “facts.” They stated ideas with certainty, convinced that they could interpret the President’s intentions which were from their point of view corrupt, selfish, unpatriotic and damaging to our country and our national security. The House Managers could never justify the rush in their investigation to protect the country, but then stopped short before the Christmas break and didn’t present the Articles of Impeachment for over a month. They were not interested in meeting the requirements of articles that explained the bribery, extortion and high crimes and misdemeanors that were committed (because there were none), but thought they could slip these terms into their presentations when it suited them. Then they expected the Senate to take over their investigative role. There were many more things that I learned, but I’d like to spend the rest of this post describing what I learned about the overall process.
* * * *
The Impeachment Process
I learned more than I might ever have wanted to know about the impeachment process, and what it says about our government:
- I believe that the integrity of the overall process has survived, in spite of the manipulations of lawmakers.
- I learned that desperate lawmakers will do just about anything to meet their agenda, including lies, hyperbole, defamation, and distortions.
- I now know, more than ever, that the Left disdains, rather than appreciates, the limits of the Constitution.
- The Left does not care about, nor trust the citizens of the United States. The goal of the Left is to do whatever they need to do to convince the Left that they are acting on the citizens’ behalf.
- The Democrats do not care about finding a way to work with the Republicans, but are only interested in dis-empowering and destroying them.
- They don’t care about the future of this country, unless they are able to wield power with full control.
* * * *
A part of me nearly wishes that I hadn’t followed the process so carefully. In many ways it was disheartening, frustrating and implausible.
Yet, no matter what the final results are (this is written before the vote on witnesses and the final vote), the country has survived, and my heart is still beating. The process reminds me once again how incredible our country is, even with its chaotic and reprehensible governance.
God bless the Constitution and the Founders. Let’s hope the country survives another 200 years.
What have you learned about the impeachment process?
Published in Politics
From Susan Crabtree at RCP: Bolton’s security clearance in Jeopardy in Wake of Book Leaks:
“Seeing his security clearance revoked is an almost certainty for Bolton once the impeachment trial is over, according to two government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, as well as legal experts – all of whom say Bolton could face additional fallout for his role in the impeachment drama this week.
Several media outlets have reported that the irascible veteran national security official circulated a draft manuscript of the book containing the quid pro quo arguments to close associates before delivering it to the White House Records Management Directorate for pre-publication review, as required, and could face criminal prosecution if proof he did so surfaces.
“If your manuscript includes classified information, then you’re committing a felony by passing it around,” a former White House official told RealClearPolitics.”
“Bolton now faces the wrath of not just Trump but his legions of loyalists for volunteering to testify against the president in the impeachment trial, thus bolstering Democrats’ arguments that the president threatened Ukraine’s president with a quid pro quo over U.S. aid to extract a commitment to investigate Joe Biden and his son’s dealings in that country. “
From Joseph Duggan at American Greatness:
“During his four decades as an accumulator of power in the nation’s capital, a holder of high offices in the State Department, and finally a stint as President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton has been well known for his scrupulous attention to the hiring and firing of his staff.
He always has demanded unwavering personal loyalty as well as fealty to his own—not his president’s—policy agenda. …..
“The extremes to which Bolton goes to enforce his Bolton-centric scheme of things were exposed dramatically in the episode of his handpicked choice as deputy national security advisor, Mira Ricardel. The latter had a well-deserved reputation as “Bolton’s Bolton”—that is, a screamer, a browbeater, and a toxic boss par excellence. Ricardel’s exercises in Attila the Hun’s management methods were so over-the-top that they attracted the displeased attention of First Lady Melania Trump, who took the rare step of publicly calling for Ricardel’s dismissal. Ricardel had denigrated and disparaged members of the first lady’s staff.”
“The strange case of the Vindman twins (Alexander and Yevgeny) should be examined in the light of Bolton’s Roi du Soleil management style.”
“In July 2018, three months or so after becoming President Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton hired both Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman as a Ukraine policy specialist for the National Security Council and his identical twin brother, Army Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, as deputy legal counsel in the NSC’s “ethics” office.” I once respected John Bolton, but now the truth about has come out. He has trashed his career to the point no one should listen to this power mad – fame seeking nutcase ever again.
A big lesson for me is the confirmation that the MSM can’t create and control a narrative any more. They were comical in their attempts to convince us how “historic” the whole sordid mess was and how inspiring Schiff’s presentations were. No one paid them any attention. I imagine there is a lot of status anxiety at CNN NYT WaPo MSNBC ABC CBS NPR right now.
Susan, just wanted to thank you for providing the very best single-word description of this entire disgrace I have ever seen — “obscene” best describes what these wretched “elites” have done and in my very humble opinion they are going to pay a very enormous price for it come November.
Sincerely, Jim.
Democrats: “Hold our beer while we keep digging.”
I am watching Dr Zhivago on Turner Classic Movies. In one scene they get the news that the Tsar has been shot and all of his family. Zhivago’s father-in-law, Alexander, exclaims “What is it all for!” To which Zhivago responds, “To show that they are never going back.”
And that is what this impeachment was all about if it were to successfully remove President Trump: To show that the Progressives had well and truly gained control and they are never going back. They will continue to come. Be ready.