Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

To impeach or not to impeach... that is the question.


A friend and I were discussing Trump's possible impeachment, on another blog.  While s/he thinks Trump should be impeached for ethical reasons, I imagined how that might play out:

As a progressive democrat, I also think Trump deserves impeachment for what I see as his unstable actions.  So I wonder, do we democrats do the ethical thing and formally address his seemingly bad behavior with impeachment proceedings?  Or do we do the practical thing and let him keep destroying himself and his credibility, daily, to our political benefit? It really seems to come down to those two options.

Let’s say the Democratic House formally impeaches, but the Republican Senate doesn't convict. That likely riles up his base, getting the “feels sorry for ‘poor persecuted’ Trump” crowd and the “we’ll show ‘em” crowd even more indignant and pissed off, as Trump emboldens and encourages them, via his tweets and rallies. His supporters come out in force for the 2020 election, and Trump not only gets four more years, but maybe a complete republican congress again, to back his policies. Then, for Trump and McConnell, the sky's the limit... and then some! No holds barred! The statute of limitations has expired on Trump's previous actions, and he can no longer be held legally responsible (by a powerless democratic minority) for his so-called "wrongdoings." Plus, a new precedent has been set as to how a POTUS can act and what s/he can get away with. Yes, a lot of tentacles, as always. Many alternate scenarios can play out, granted.

Barring something coming out of the (semi) blue (e.g., he has a heart attack and dies [btw, look for a "fake one" for next year's October's surprise], or he up and quits, or he’s proven to be involved in a scandal of inescapable and monumental proportions, or he manages to get republicans to finally turn against him, openly and in force, etc.); barring such events, we have 14 official months (16 if we count lame duck period) of him to still put up with.  "God help us" in those two intervening months!

Our country is already a political mess, IMO.  We're losing worldwide support from all our allies who no longer trust us, plus all the other problems festering out there. I’m thinking, just wait it out and hope not to stir his hornet’s nest of followers into reacting in his favor, and hope a democratic administration takes over (i.e., gets their chance to mess things up too ;).
But it’s really difficult (at least for me) to guess which way to go: To do the (ethically) right thing, or to do the practical (selfish) thing? IDK.

What is your opinion?  Should Trump be impeached?  Please present your argument(s).  And thanks for recommending.

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