Impeach! Impeach! Impeach!

Yes, impeachment is something that is possible and it has been done. But look first at the history and the reasons for impeachment:

Clinton

The impeachment of Bill Clinton was related to an act – having sex with an intern in the Oval Office. Seems reasonable! That is, not the sex in the Oval Office, but the impeachment. Yet the impeachment did not remove him from office, it was simply a point of record, disgrace and admonishment. It worked. He did not, to anyone’s knowledge, have sex in the Oval Office with an intern again, although it seems it did not reduce his libido or escapades.

Nixon

Here we are on shaky ground because Nixon was never impeached. He resigned rather than face impeachment. It was all related to the Burglary of the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate building, and although it was possibly not orchestrated by Nixon it was probably done with his knowledge and consent. We shall never know the exact details in that the proceedings were terminated with his resignation.

Bush

In the case of the Bush Impeachment effort, the issue was his ordering troops into Iraq, and the opposition of that act by Democrat, Dennis Kucinich. The debate on Presidential powers was long and unresolved, and remains a political issue rather than a moral one.

Impeachment is the equivalent of an indictment by a grand jury. It does not lead directly to removal from office. It is the House of Representatives that conducts the impeachment process and then it is the Senate that is responsible for the trial, so to speak and the sentence, which can be removal from office, but not necessarily.

The list of presidents facing impeachment include:

• Andrew Johnson, February 24, 1868 – Impeached, but not removed from office by the United States Senate.
• Richard Nixon, February 6, -August 9, 1974, Resigned before formal vote
• Bill Clinton, December 19, 1998, Impeached, but not removed from office by the United States Senate.
• George W. Bush, June 11, 2008, Resolution referred to committee, no further action taken.

In each case there was an incident and an act that precipitated the investigation and the action.

Now we have yet another move for the House of Representatives to impeach a president. But this time, there is not a precipitating act or incident, but a general search for something, anything, everything, by which to impeach. It is not an outrage at an event but a general political hatred looking for a reason to impeach. It is not the House acting to protect the people but the singular political party in majority, trying to overthrow the power of the president.

This is unique and could be a very dangerous precedent, should it go much further. It is clearly a political difference looking for a way to overpower another separate and distinct branch of our government and the ramifications that are quite serious. Co-equal powers are a hinge pin of our form of government. It is sacrosanct to our longevity and success. To use those powers, to unbalance the system, is without precedent and could have more serious ramifications than the circus it is now.

The obvious drama of it all is that another election is coming up and it appears that the successes of our economy, a budget surplus, and worker support will sweep Trump into office for another term. The left is attempting to circumvent the system and see that this does not happen.

The tactics of this push is impeachment, the overthrow of the Electoral College in our Constitution and a continued flurry of accusations, investigations and hoopla! The end result will be at least an America divided. Let us hope that we can make it through this time of drama and theatrics.