Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
The National Enquirer admits that it paid off Trump’s paramour to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Between that and last week’s revelations regarding Trump’s alleged complicity in campaign finance fraud, the president’s legal exposure is increasing. How do Republicans in Congress react? Also, Theresa May narrowly survives a vote of no confidence, but her government is crippled.
Subscribe to The Commentary Magazine Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.
One of the bigger mistakes is thinking that if they whack Trump that they won’t try and expand a law or definition to whack Pence for “benefiting” from Trump’s “illegal” activities.
Emoluments now means business dealings from prior to the campaign, the Logan Act now means the transition team can’t do their job, etc.
I think that’s a ridiculous claim, but let’s take it at face value for a moment. In order to get rid of Trump, you need the cooperation of no less than 17 Senate Republicans. You’d need the same to get rid of Pence afterwards. Do you think the Democrats will succeed in doing that? Do you think the American public would look upon them favorably for doing that?
There’s a bit of an issue in translation here, and it’s probably on my end. I don’t think conviction by the Senate is feasible. I think the notion of “if we get rid of Trump we can somehow make things better” is short sighted right now. None of the Republicans who want to challenge Trump are good enough politicians (in rhetoric or policy) to beat a Democrat campaigning on “You’re a xenophobic racist homophobe who wants people to die because you don’t want single payer.”
I don’t think impeachment is a good idea though there is a strain of people on the Right that mistakenly believe giving them Trump is going to “save” us. I think the base of the Left *really* want it and have rationalized that Trump’s unpopularity will offset any public misgivings, because the real sin of impeaching Clinton wasn’t what it did to our process but because he was so popular that people hated Republicans for it.
Personal anecdote here, I moderate a politics section on a message board (under extreme duress as being the lone conservative people are consistently trying to prove I’m abusing my power even when I go away for a week). There’s a sect I can only put as “hyperfocused” where they don’t even care if the Russia collusion is true any more, they’ve moved onto Emoluments or Campaign Finance as the magic bullet, but that if they get *SOMETHING* that means not only can Trump no longer be President, but that means anything related to Trump . So if they get Trump, it means they have grounds to impeach Pence and get President Pelosi. they also have grounds to then impeach Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, etc and then “make things better” because Trump never should have had those picks.
These are things millennial progressives believe to be true about our process.
I disagree with the premise. If we get rid of Trump, it most definitely will make things better. We will be a more moral party. Yes, the Democrats will always accuse us of being racist, homophobic, misogynistic bigots —- but if we get rid of Trump, at least it will no longer be true!
Might we lose elections? Sure. But we lost two presidential elections in a row and the world didn’t end. Losing a presidential election is nothing compared to losing our soul.
And as for the lunatic millennials… so what? Let them believe whatever they want. We can cooperate with them to force Trump out of office if necessary, but if they start frothing at the mouth trying to remove Pence that will just make the Republicans look like the sane party again, which helps us win elections.
I miss being the sane party, honestly.