Donald J. Trump has been impeached for the second time – and all within a single year. There are many ways to break records. This should not be one of them! The House passed a single article of Impeachment: to the effect that the President of the United States incited his radical followers to march on the Capitol building and begin an insurrection against our democracy. All of the Democrats and ten Republicans in the House voted in favor of the article of Impeachment: “Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors ….” The document ends with the words: “He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United. States. Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”
A year ago, Trump was impeached for seeking the aid of a foreign leader to find foreign-based evidence that would prevent Joe Biden from being elected. Now claiming that Biden stole the election from him, he proclaims to his Trumparians that the forthcoming inauguration will establish a fraudulent presidency. Therefore, they should “fight like hell” to preserve the democracy which he, himself, should continue to lead. Following his speech to his assembled disciples, they vandalized the Capitol halls in which Congress was assembled to confirm the results of the majority of the Electoral College, as well as that of the majority of the voters last November. There was the appearance that these invaders would, if given the chance, hold Congressmen as hostages. They even shouted to “Hang Pence,” the current Republican Vice-President, who has been a very loyal partner with Trump for the past four years.
At the moment, some 2,500 National Guardsmen are stationed within the Capitol building. At the moment, there are more troops sleeping in the halls of Congress than there are stationed in Afghanistan and the Middle East. I pray that they will not be called upon in the days, or weeks, to come, as the Senate debates and votes to support the House’s impeachment. I assume that Mr. Trump will actually no longer be President when the final vote is taken, since the Inauguration will occur within a week from now. But a positive response would (perhaps) preclude his running for the Presidency in four years, as he claims he will do.
The scenario occurring at the moment continues to seem to be a narrative that is not real. Somehow, we, as a nation, will suddenly awaken and realize the sham which has been occurring. Even Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, for the moment, of the Republican-controlled Senate may be in favor of voting for this second Impeachment, having led the attack against the first one a year ago. A lot can happen within a very short time. I may, yet, see a return to sanity, with an awakening from this nightmare and a dismissing the phantoms of the past.