The Impeachment Follies Continue

After only three days of hearings and zero fact witnesses, on Dec 18 Democrat Members of the Judiciary Committee approved Articles of Impeachment sending them for a vote by the full House. A very sad day in the life of our great Republic and one that will also haunt future Democrat Presidents when there is a Republican majority in the House – payback time will surely come.

In spite Speaker Pelosi’s false justification for impeachment “at the expense of our national security” (BTW Ukraine has zero impact on the national security of the United States) and “abuse of power.” She herself withheld the articles of impeachment from the Senate which constitutional scholars state is an abuse of power.

Let’s be honest with our selves, the current “impeachment” has nothing with executing the will of our Founding Fathers, but rather it is about power and politics pure and simple. I would have more respect for Speaker Pelosi and her caucus is she was honest the American people vice acting out this charade – we are smarter than that.

The Democrats have made one thing perfectly clear throughout their impeachment crusade which began before his inauguration -- they will not rest if Donald Trump is president of the United States. This effort which borders on a misguided compulsion, represents the Democrats’ vain attempt to finally achieve the top item on their policy agenda for the past three years: to reverse the results of the 2016 election. Resistance and not governance have been an ongoing effort since day one of the Trump presidency and has been destined for failure from the beginning.

Unfortunately, even this current political disaster won’t be the end of the Democrats’ impeachment crusade. Trump’s free-market policies have fostered a booming labor market benefitting a broad cross-section of Americans. His success is an existential challenge to progressives that argue that more government is the most effective way to improve peoples’ lives. Following Obama legacy of widespread government expansion, suspect they find Trump’s success particularly offensive.

The facts: Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee failed the American people by voting out two unproven Articles of Impeachment against the President after only 3 days of hearings and ZERO fact witnesses. No matter how hard they try, they cannot prove that the President committed high crimes or misdemeanors as required by Article 2 Section 4 of the Constitution. Instead, the evidence shows four indisputable facts that will never change: both President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky have said there was no pressure on the July 25 call, there was no conditionality of aid in the call summary, the Ukrainians were not aware that aid was withheld when the presidents spoke, and Ukraine still received aid and a meeting with President Trump without taking any action. The claim that the President abused his power has not been proven. In fact, the only abuse of power is by Speaker Pelosi and her caucus as they try to remove the duly elected President from office and overturn the will of 60 million Americans.

The Articles also argue that the President has obstructed Congress. The Majority suggests that because President Trump has sought judicial review regarding his claims of executive privilege involving the possible testimony of his closest advisors, he has circumvented the law and Congress. We live in a country where the Rule of Law still exists, and to claim that availing himself of the courts is the equivalent of obstruction of Congress is ridiculous.

This partisan impeachment circus has been flawed from the very beginning. At every turn, both Congressional Republicans and President Trump have been denied fairness and due process. While transcripts of the testimony in the Intelligence Committee were eventually made public, most Judiciary Committee members were not able to watch the hidden proceedings, question witnesses, or ensure the accuracy of the transcripts. Chairman Schiff at times ordered witnesses not to answer Republican questions, lied about his contact with the whistleblower, and surreptitiously obtained phone records of Members of Congress and the press. Hearsay, speculation, and inferences are not enough to remove a sitting President.

As a moderate conservative I do not agree with every aspect of President Trump’s behavior and policies, but like it or not he is our duly elected President. For the good of the nation it is time for this partisan charade to end. All of us in the nation and the valley need move the country forward and focus on more pressing issues – enough is enough.