Boy do we live in interesting times.
What was it that Hegel said about history and happiness? The pages of history regarding happy times are empty, or something like that. Nobody talks about when things are great.
Oh, we all think we remember when things were great. “Why can’t we go back to the good ol’ days?”, I always hear. Why can’t we? Because we progress, I say. Because the good ol’ days actually sucked, I add. History has a skewed lens. I suppose so does prophecy.
But we live in interesting times, to be sure. These times will be remembered.
This week, at long last, the Congress opened an impeachment inquiry on the president. I know for some people out there, some people very close to me, this seems like a travesty of justice. The greatest president of all time, the most mistreated world leader ever, is being chased down by those rotten liberal democrats in another witch hunt. Anything to bring down greatness, right? So jealous are those progressive libtards. They never had a leader they could count on, who didn’t lie to them, who did what he actually said he was going to do. Traitors.
The American people by and large agreed with that stuff. Well, not all of it. Really, not much of it. But they have been largely against impeachment overall. Who can say why? Donald Trump had a positive favorability rating from the American populace for about a week after inauguration and has been in the negative ever since. Most people don’t like him. Most people see through him. If we’re to believe the reports, many Republican senators would vote in favor of impeachment if it were a secret ballot. Even some of his ardent supporters in my circle secretly tell me they wish he’d shut the hell up.
So why are we against impeachment overall? Are we still?
Flash polling in the days since the Wall Street Journal broke the Ukrainian story show that support for impeachment has ticked up, so maybe it was just a matter of time. When you have a president who lies an average of 15 times/day, on record, I suppose it is. The Mueller Report, as damning as it was, didn’t move the needle, so why this? The Mueller Report was long. It was drawn out for a couple of years. The White House mafia boss bullied it from his pulpit the entire time. Maybe it was largely misunderstood and produced fatigue instead of the necessary outrage.
But this.
This came suddenly, from a right-leaning periodical, and it was easy to understand. Nancy Pelosi rounded up the democratic troops in the house in a hurry and got the investigation underway posthaste.
Let’s remember, though, that that is all this is. An investigation. Impeachment doesn’t mean ouster, it means investigation. Will this investigation lead to ouster, or resignation as in the case of Richard Nixon’s similar path some years ago? The Senate ultimately decides the verdict, the Senate has a Republican majority and the vote is not private, so that outcome is highly doubtful. Still, one never knows.
The important thing is the process. A man who has lived a lifetime of corruption and deceit happened into the Oval Office and is living a presidency of corruption and deceit. Were he a competent man, as well, we might be in some real danger in America. Tyranny often follows such a path. But, luckily, Donald Trump is an incompetent boob who always steps into his own shit. Luckily there are people around him willing to do the right thing when it is called for. And thank goodness our president is so dumb.
But boy do we live in interesting times.
Tom Being Tom 
We have to hold a meeting as to whether we want to have a meeting that would discuss where we should meet.
Maybe that’s a good thing here. This shrill whistle may have come at a bad time. 2017? sure, 2018, maybe. But today? The rational folks in politics had been playing the long game. 2020, 2024… Let this IBI (incoherent bloviating imbecile) slosh around in his own slough until the next election, and then we’ll destroy the entire Ridiculous Righteous Right.
Getting mired in an impeachment now? Inconvenient. One might almost consider it was planned by the Rabid Red to hoist drumpf up on a pathetic pariahal pedestal.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I hadn’t considered the rabid red herring scenario. Yikes. But I do remember thinking at the beginning of the week that this was the least of what we already know that he has done, why should this change the momentum? Then again, maybe Nancy and the other Dems who have suddenly come on board were waiting for the next proverbial shoe to drop. Or maybe they WANTED it closer to the election to get fresh ads out of it. Or since Pence is named in this as well perhaps Nancy sees her chance to upend the entire West Wing, cuz guess who’s prez if Trump and Pence both fall? Can we say President Pelosi?
I don’t know. I tended to think “if it hadn’t happened yet, it won’t” and I was wrong. Now we’re here. In more interesting times.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s going to be very interesting to see how this plays out. Odds are, like the last time this happened, one part of congress votes in favor of impeachment the other does not, and he survives his current term. Hopefully damaged beyond repair. Intelligent people have to get sick of this train wreck at some point in time, don’t they?
I find the timing exquisite, however. Many of his staunch supporters in the Senate are up for re-election, and what a quandary they have. Continue to defend this guy and risk losing any swing vote because of it, or do the right thing and lose the far right vote. Neither option is good for their political futures.
Can you imagine the Republican reaction if a democrat did what Trump did? I am no partisan voter by any stretch of the imagination, but I despise hypocrisy, and Republicans in the House and Senate have had been the standard bearers for that, at least in regards to presidential politics for years now.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree, the Pubs have blown up what we used to call the “norms of democracy.” This era of hyper-partisanship can’t be blamed solely on them, but they get the edge in blame, at least. I believe, however, that the Republican party is shrinking. I don’t think the old way of thinking will hold up in the long run. The times, as they say, are a-changin’.
But maybe Nancy is smarter than we think. Maybe she has been waiting for the election season to come nearer before launching her crusade. Everyone will be pushed into a corner now; let’s see who has the right stuff.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I usually offer precious little optimism in my political comments, so when I find some, I ought state it publicly: as far as voter support for the impeachment process goes, remember that at the time of the Nixon impeachment inquiry opening, the process had a 19% approval rating among voters. Then John Dean walked into Congress and presented incontrovertible and shocking proofs to the nation. If this moves to actual articles being drawn, these types of witnesses (and we know there are at least a half dozen of ’em) will be compelled to deliver the same, in open proceedings covered on every single TV network.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Man, I didn’t realize public support was THAT low when the Nixon thing started. In retrospect it was a no-brainer. I think if we get any kind of corroborating cooperation from others in the circle of this shrinking ship this could end in dismissal. But will Trump accept the ruling? Will his base? Oh lordy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Here’s an interesting fact from the “good ol’ days”: during his impeachment Bill Clinton was still willing to meet and work with Newt Gingrich on matters unrelated to his impeachment. Bill Clinton who, according to some people in my immediate family, has never told the truth in his life, and I won’t even go into some of the other ludicrous claims they’ve made, was willing to meet and work with a man who was actively trying to remove him from office.
Trump, by contrast, has, in the past few days, declared Nancy Pelosi is no longer speaker of the House, and called for Rep. Adam Schiff to be fired. More than two years into his presidency–almost three if you count the post-election transition–he doesn’t understand how the government works.
Congress’s power to question the president’s competence, or even to invoke the 25th Amendment may be limited by the separation of powers, so I understand why some have been more inclined to wait for something truly damning, knowing it would come.
Anyway my own memory of the “good ol’ days” is that there were some things that were better, but there are things now that have improved. Now here’s hoping the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t an oncoming train.
LikeLiked by 5 people
I think from the moment Donnie slipped through the process to be named commander-in-chief this has been scheduled for a train wreck. There are just certain people you don’t let lead. Everything he touches crumbles, and he’s got so many fingers on those little hands to point to someone else’s fault. Surprisingly, he’s got about 19% of the American adult public thinking he’s right. It’s the libs. The Dems. The deep state. The Muslims. The Mexicans. Satan? The truth is that Donald Trump is incompetent, but he throws the weight of his futility around well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Investigation seems good to me. It’s a start. A process may turn into a trial.
LikeLiked by 2 people
There’s plenty of evidence to bring to discovery, that’s for sure. All that has been hidden ought to come to light.
LikeLiked by 2 people
As for progress, “those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” – Rosa Luxemburg.
LikeLiked by 4 people
This one’s gonna fester. I gotta get up and move around a bit. 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s a great meme circling up here in the Great White North likening the attempts at impeachment to Wile E Coyote’s attempts to take down the Roadrunner. Meep meep! 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahaha! Yeah, I’ve seen a few likening the “very stable genius” Trump to Wile E. himself. I guess in that meme the Roadrunner would be democracy. 😏
LikeLiked by 2 people
This turn of events is so overwhelming me right now, all I can say to myself is: “Wait and see. Do what you can to support the ideals you care about. Keep fighting. Don’t expect things will fall into place.”
I feel everything going on right now is more complex and more deeply interconnected than humanly imaginable. As you know, I’ve been writing against Trump’s policies and ideas (or lack of ideals) since the beginning of my blog, I even wonder if the horrible shock of his election was what actually pushed me over the edge to vainly insert my opinions into the public sphere (probably😄). At the same time, I have family members that love to attend his rallies, the same family members that read my work and also “support” my artistry and beliefs. What to make of that? No matter what I do, I am unable to get them to change their minds on supporting Trump!
The only way I can make sense of it is to see him as they see him: A vehicle, a tool, a weapon to achieve specific ends. Yeah, everyone knows he needs to shut up and behave, but they are willing to put up with it because if he can achieve what they feel is the “greater good”, be it banning abortions, immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals, etc. Yet, I recently had a conversation with a friend who is a descendant of a politician who put Hitler in power. “What happened,” I asked, “How could he support such evil?” His answer: “He wanted to use him as a tool to push his own political agenda (which at the time was imperialism), unfortunately, he underestimated how dangerous he was, how much harm he was capable of.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so frighteningly true, what we are capable of supporting for our agendas. The hubris of it all to think that we are so right and others are so wrong that we must force our will upon the other. “America is greater than all the other countries.” “There is only one God.” “Abortion is murder.”
Don’t get me wrong, it goes both ways. A friend of mine, who is very liberal-minded, points out to me all the time that it isn’t just the Republicans or conservatives who cling blindly to their ideals no matter the consequence. Those on the left often see only the good in the likes of Barack Obama and ignore the faults like they do not exist at all. Admittedly, Barack Obama had nowhere near the stain of evil and corruption as Donald Trump but I understand his point. “Climate change will destroy us all in 20 years” could be the leftist equivalent of “the white race is being replaced” in the eyes of those on the right. Even “everyone deserves health care” is anathema to the conservative mindset. “Earn it” is their answer. “Work for it” is their counter.
I try to step back sometimes, and ignore my own core beliefs. I know there is no reality to the Christian myth, but what if there is but one god? If I believed that utterly I could probably believe that abortion is, indeed, murder. If the myth were real (to me) then the spirit could indeed be imbued upon conception. I don’t think any of that but I can see how they do. The answer never is “I am 100% correct and they are not,” for me or for them.
So the only sane thing to do is leave it up to a vote, so to speak. To think that one man or cause is all-being is authoritarianism, and I disagree with that entirely whether from the left or from the right. Even though I vehemently disagree with the Christian myth, if the majority of the society in which I live decides they will have Christian prayer in the morning at schools, so be it. I don’t see that as harmful, only misguided.
In an egalitarian society we will find compromise. Prayers allowed in school for those who want to participate down at the gym, so to speak. Universal legal gun ownership in society, but each individual must pass and maintain a stringent legal code to participate.
It’s complex. I don’t have all the answers (and neither do “they”). No one ever will. But it is only in working through the problems together, allowing for a variety of views, that we can progress. In fact, it is the only way we ever have.
Donald Trump is the worst American leader we have ever known. Possibly the worst in our history. He is the enemy of egalitarianism, of plurality, of democracy, and of societal progress. He is, as you say, a man without ideals. He is a charlatan and an opportunist. He could have just as easily rode in on the horse of pestilence (“Climate change will destroy us all unless you elect me! Only I can fix it!”) as death (“Those brown folk are coming to destroy our way of life!”). He doesn’t care what cause he stokes, only that it aggrandizes himself. Ardent followers don’t care, either, that he is a charlatan, they only care about the cause.
I say we need to stop that. No more charlatans. Good people with good ideals, whatever those ideals happen to be, and whether they ultimately coincide with my cherished ones or not. I long for the day when I look at the ballot and say “I agree with one of them, but I can live with either!”
Last time I couldn’t agree with or live with either.
Thanks for responding, sister! Miss you! Sorry I responded so long! 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an amazing response Tom! This comment alone is an excellent post! I love getting your thoughts on these issues, so it’s not long at all!
I’ve been noticing lately, it’s been bothering me, I don’t know if I’ll have the time to post about it: People claim to want to “fix” certain problems, for example: abortion or the animal cruelty in the meat industry but their “solutions” don’t actually solve the problem or even alleviate it. As the research shows, banning abortion doesn’t actually reduce them, just makes them more deadly. And why are vegans complaining about the new “mock” meats when it actually achieves their supposed goal of less mass-meat consumption? My only conclusion is their main priority is not actually “fixing the problem” but self-aggrandisement, they like to demonise the other side and hold themselves up to a higher standard. I hope for the human race that we can get past our egos to actually “fix” things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so interesting that after everything that’s gone on, it was the Ukraine that pushed it over the edge. We’re all watching with bated breath up here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is. Perhaps it is just the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back, so to speak. Of course, this morning’s tweet about Civil War might be even more damning for him, and a greater reason to impeach, according to one report. We’ll see. The sooner we end the Trump era the better.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree—even up here we’re sick to death of his antics. He’s going to get us all killed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We are waiting to see what happens. And yes, the good ol’ times sucked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Every day is a page-turner. The story is pretty bad but I’m expectant for a good ending. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so too😉
LikeLiked by 1 person