Democrat victories portend impeachment coup

A disturbing movement to change the country’s government is afoot across the nation. This is not the usual midterm gains by the party out of power. No, this movement is a sinister and fairly open attempt to remove a duly elected president and other members of the government by individuals and a political party traumatized by the 2016 election and determined to overturn the results by any means possible. 

We are seeing a shift from the old idea that all politics is local to one where the only politics is the overthrow of the government. Recent stories and comments suggest a large number of voters are not discussing property taxes, jobs, infrastructure improvements, and other issues of local interest. Instead, they increasingly promote the need to elect Democrats so that a Democrat-controlled Congress can impeach the president and then move to remove Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. What they could not accomplish two years ago, keeping Trump out of the White House, they want to do now by removing him from office before the end of his term.  

Party leaders do not like to use the word impeachment in public right now. In May, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi danced the political two-step when she discouraged the use of the word while giving members her approval to discuss it in their districts. Pelosi says impeachment is not a priority, but she has never said it is off the table, because representatives Al Green of Texas and Maxine Waters of California are singing and dancing on the table.  

Green forced an impeachment floor vote last December that 58 Democrats supported. A second vote in January garnered 66 votes. Waters claims the impeachment movement is not a witch hunt or fake news, but one based on real charges of criminal behavior that will lead to articles of impeachment. 

Big-money donors keep pumping lots of cash to fund the impeachment movement and party leaders are either incapable or unwilling to stop it. Last week, Pelosi told MSNBC that an impeachment commercial underwritten by billionaire Tom Steyer was a great ad.  

Democrats must flip 23 seats to regain control of the House where articles of impeachment originate. They could take control of the Senate, but they are nowhere near the 67 votes needed to remove a president from office. 

So, what is the big deal with this impeachment rhetoric? The big deal is the real probability of two years of political division and hate to make the last two years look like a love fest. And it will begin in January with a flurry of subpoenas and public hearings Democrats have promised to unleash in their efforts to hamstring the Trump administration. The Kavanaugh confirmation was an example of what awaits senior administration officials and future nominees who will face allegations and pillories disguised as hearings designed to erode public confidence in their government.  

History is on the side of the Democrats this election. In 1994, Bill Clinton’s approval rate was 46 percent, and the Republicans gained 54 seats in the House. In 2010, Barack Obama’s approval rate was 45 percent, and Republicans gained 63 House seats. Four years later, the GOP picked up another dozen House seats as Obama’s approval rating dropped to 40 percent. Trump’s approval rating is somewhere in the mid-40s. 

Younger voters may not have taken civics classes in high school, but if they had, they would know that “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” are the criteria for a presidential impeachment. These are not times for logical thinking and the rule of law, apparently. New York Democratic congressman Adriano Espaillat, a supporter of impeachment, told The Hill last week that he sees a Watergate moment when he walks through his district and talks with his constituents. And Kevin Mack, lead strategist for Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach campaign also told The Hill impeachment is an unavoidable topic people everywhere are discussing. Self-serving, yes, but true, nonetheless. 

Ken Starr is not a popular guy among Democrats after heading the investigation that led to Clinton’s impeachment. Starr knows a thing or two about this topic because he has seen a thing or two, and he says allegations against Trump are not even close to impeachment material. 

But logic and common sense have taken the last train for the coast, and it is looking more and more like the American people will be the ones railroaded because powerful people do not have the patience to work harder during the next two years to accomplish their goal the way the nation’s founders intended.