Whether you support our president or not, as a nation we can take no joy from yesterday’s news. Impeachment of a president is not done lightly, by any means, but Trump has never accepted that a president can’t just do whatever he wants to do and I’m sorry it’s taken so long for the existing checks and balances to kick in.
It’s important to note that this first step is an inquiry as to whether impeachment is truly warranted and should be taken to the House floor for a vote. If that happens, and a simple majority of the House votes for impeachment, then the Senate would need a two-thirds majority to remove him from office and, quite frankly, I believe that is unlikely to happen.
So why go to all this trouble? For one thing, the proceedings should at least make Trump understand that he is not above the law, a one-man show with no holds barred, and hopefully reign in his egregious behavior somewhat. Maybe he and his appointees would show a little restraint before destroying more of what makes America a good place to be. Truthfully, I’m not sure I want Trump to be convicted and ousted from office because I believe Pence is even more dangerous because he is a man who would be taken seriously and some of his beliefs are alarming.
Whatever finally plays out, the coming months are going to be both painful and compelling. I have a strong sense of relief that many of our elected representatives are finally saying “NO” to the man and I hope it won’t backfire on us. If nothing else, it might help us regain a small bit of our reputation in the global community.
We’ll see.
