Over the weekend I read an article from the Washington Post stating how democrats should be wary of impeaching Donald Trump. The article implied that impeachment could likely do more harm than good. It stated how impeachment was basically DOA once it reached the senate and talked about how impeaching Trump could rally and energize his base. The article also floated the idea of formal censure as an alternative. Needless to say, with respect to the author, I found this article ridiculous (not to mention typical). The article did everything to reinforce the narrative that democrats are weak and will always back down in the face of opposition. It also reinforced the narrative that democrats, particularly establishment democrats, by and large are still afraid of Donald Trump.
I mean let's start with the idea of formal censure. I tweeted "Who believes that President Twitter Fingers is going to be moved an inch by formal censure?" Why would he even care? Censure is a weak, hollow, pointless gesture that would accomplish little beyond showing Trump that you're not going to do anything and showing your base that you lack the fortitude to hold him accountable. Now some would ask "Isn't impeachment also pointless because it's dead once it reaches the senate?". The answer is no. Impeachment would show Trump in no uncertain terms that democrats are willing to get up in him and fight him. It would show the base that they are not at all afraid and are willing to use every option at their disposal to defeat him. It would place the onus on Republicans to do their jobs and hold their president accountable.
Then there is the even more ridiculous notion that impeachment would rally and energize his base and encourage those who may be on the fence to get behind him. That is a bad joke. Anyone who votes for Donald Trump, knowing who he is, seeing how he has behaved, and knowing full well what he's done over the past 3 years, was going to vote for him anyway. Trump's base is already motivated and energized. They're already eager to vote for him again. Trump remains a habitual liar. Trump remains morally bankrupt. Trump remains a bigoted narcissist. His base and supporters know exactly who and what he is. It's WHY they are voting for him. What establishment democrats should be thinking about is how they can energize their OWN base. Showing you are willing to impeach an unqualified, lawless president would go a long way to garnering some confidence from those who you're counting on in 2020.
In my opinion fear of impeachment and this fear of Trump is rooted in the foolish notion that the path for victory for democrats is down the center. Establishment democrats still believe that they can "win over" independents who voted for Trump and moderate Republicans. This silly idea has been has been perpetuated by many prominent democrats and democratic presidential hopefuls. They are afraid to rile up Trump because they foolishly believe they can peel some of his supporters away. This is nonsense and will do nothing beyond taking the air out of their own base and ensuring another four years of Donald Trump fuckery. Establishment democrats have a long history of shooting themselves in the foot.
If democrats truly want to make a difference in 2020 they are going to have to let go of this irrational fear of Donald Trump and show some backbone. I mean let's be honest. If this were Barack Obama impeachment proceedings would've began months ago. Right now the image of democrats is still one of flaccid weakness and spineless ineptitude and this fear of impeachment is just another highlight. It's past time they take stock and start finding the strength to aggressively challenge Trump. Stop giving the bully your lunch money.
Thank you for reading.
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