Day 1181 Clinton vs Trump Impeachment – There is a Difference
Friday December 20, 2019
324 Days until the 2020 election and 405 days until the Inauguration
The president has been impeached for “High Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Only three presidents have ever been impeached. One in the past few decades and I think it’s worth taking a look at what Clinton was impeached for and how it came about, because many of the same players that were involved in that impeachment are involved in this impeachment. However, their high minded rhetoric of years past has been replaced with fawning obsequiousness toward the current occupant of the White House.
Donald Trump has that ability. The ability to make people grovel and get down in the dirt and the muck to do his bidding. It’s not hard to understand. It’s the classic behavior of those around a schoolyard bully. By sucking up to him they are hoping to not be picked on. It’s like the closet gay who denounces gay people hoping someone won’t notice. I get it. When it comes to Profiles in Courage there ain’t a Republican in Congress who merits consideration. Maybe, that will change. We can hope, but let’s not be naive.
Speaking of hope and change I heard that Stephen Miller is engaged. I hope that the possibility that he might get laid will moderate his racist misogynistic views. The lady looks of Asian extraction. She might be an immigrant! I hope he doesn’t have to lock her up in a cage and deport her. Just sayin’. (Ha ha, funny right? No? Oh sorry.) Well, if she is an immigrant it’s another case of immigrants willing to do a job no ‘Merican would do. God bless her.
Back to the comparison. Clinton was impeached – finally, after Ken Starr wandered around for years calling everyone he could think of to testify about a land deal that was clearly not a problem from the get go – for having six blowjobs from an intern, only three of which were successfully concluded. Clinton initially lied about it because he was embarrassed, then came clean. Sort of. One thing that I think drove the Republicans crazy was Bill was way smarter than they were and they could never quite nail him, but boy did they try! Lots of high minded talk, but in the end the Starr Report mentioned – mentioned – Whitewater six or nine times, and that was what they were supposed to be investigating. Then came Monica and the news and everyone else went ape-shit. Why not? It was easy, everyone knew the players so it made it easy to do thirty second sound bites. Of course, the reason this 21 year old intern was able to get close to the President in the first place was the Republicans had shut down the government. If they had done their jobs, instead of that goofy shutdown, none of this would have happened.
Let’s also not forget that Clinton kept doing his job as President. He had a 67% approval rating when he was impeached. The Republicans had control of Congress and were pushing all sorts of mean spirited ideas. Clinton did a masterful job of brunting their assaults. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” while condemned today, we forget that this was done to stop the Republican idea of having a Constitutional anti-gay amendment. “Stop and Frisk” now decried as racist was also done to stop more callous legislation. Clinton didn’t have a lot to work with, little support, but he worked with what he had and he did a lot.
Trump? What has Trump done? He’s pulled us out of multiple deals, enraged our allies, run up our debt, ignored and insulted just about every department in our government, and committed multiple crimes and violations of ethics and morality, all of which are ongoing!
He and his Republican sycophants are repeating Russian disinformation and talking points as his defense. We know that Putin himself told Trump many of these things. I don’t know exactly where his buddies are getting their Russian talking points, but one of the Republican Congressmen was shocked – shocked – when he was called out on the House floor for repeating them there. Oh the outrage! And these same people were concerned when Obama wore a brown suit, or didn’t have a American flag lapel pin.
But Seth reminded us of Trump’s many crimes and moral failures – both past and ongoing in his Closer Look of yesterday:
Now there is an interesting civics lesson coming up. Turns out the House doesn’t have to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate. They can sit on them. Right now that is what they are doing. Why? Turns out the leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell has promised to not call any witnesses or gather any evidence, that he is working hand in hand with the defense to rig the outcome – not exactly the high minded rhetoric when Clinton was impeached. Lindsey Graham likewise has promised not to convict the president, nor does he need to hear any evidence or listen to any witnesses because his mind is already made up.
What happened to fairness? To the rule of law? To giving a person their day in court?
That has all gone out the window.
There is so much weirdness here. The Republican talking points, by and large don’t make sense. I’m not talking logic here, I’m talking grammar. They don’t even attempt full sentences, but like the president, shout words and phrases disconnected from one another. It’s very weird.
Comparisons to the Salem Witch Trial, to the trial of Jesus, to “the clock and the calendar” (whatever that means), but through it all not one Republican has said Trump is a good man, that he never could have done the things he is accused of – not one. Why is that? Maybe, it’s because the evidence is plain to see.
While Gordon Sondland was testifying under oath and saying there was a quid pro quod, Fox News was running the headline at the bottom of their screen “Sonderland Says No Quid Pro Quo.”
While Jim Jordan and others say, “The president said there was no quid pro quo.”
The president’s Chief of Staff said there was a quid pro quo. That it’s done all the time and “get over it.”
Then there’s the “perfect phone call.” The one that the White House released the partial transcript that shows not only a quid pro quo, but attempts at bribery and extortion. Get over it, they say. Nothing to see here. There is no case.
Except for reality.
PS Last minuter Christmas gift idea – A Star Wars CPO-3PO popcorn popper. Sure to be a collector’s item!
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