I have read the letter President Trump's wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday as he faces imminent impeachment from the House of Representatives and would like to share five observations with you.
My first observation is that this letter could have been written by a child angry at his mother for denying him ice cream or angry at his teacher for giving him a bad mark. It could also be written by a child caught for stealing a cookie and claiming innocence despite all evidence to the contrary. (More on that shortly). In this case, the letter was written by a President of the United States preposterously claiming that the Speaker of the House of Representatives had no right to hold him to account for his conduct even though the Constitution states it is Congress' duty and purview to do so. Contrary to Trump's claim, Article II of the Constitution doesn't say he can do whatever he wants. Since Pelosi outmaneuvered him during the government shutdown earlier this year she is something of a maternal figure whom Trump cannot either please or manipulate. This frustrates Trump to no end.
My second observation is this letter is a reminder that we cannot accept anything Trump says at face value. If Trump had "a totally innocent conversation" with Ukrainian President Zelensky then why did the White House go to such great lengths to conceal its existence? Trump also falsely claims, "You know full well that Vice President Biden used his office and $1 billion dollars of U.S. aid money to coerce Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was digging into the company paying his son millions of dollars." In point of fact, the Ukrainian prosecutor wasn't digging into Burisma Holdings let alone corruption of any kind.
Trump is also claiming he has been "deprived of basic Constitutional Due Process" adding, "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials." If that was true then Trump would have been hung long ago. Trump also claims this impeachment proceeding are intended "to overturn the will of the American people and nullify their votes" and "undo the election of 2016." Even Richard Nixon who won 49 out of 50 states in 1972 never tried this line of reasoning. In the event Trump were actually impeached and removed from office it would be Mike Pence who would be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Presumably Pence would continue Trump's policies which he so proudly boasted of in the letter to Pelosi. Last I checked Pence was on the ballot with Trump. So how would a President Pence undo the election of 2016? Unless, of course, Trump is planning to drop from Pence from the 2020 ballot. Trump is a man who plays for keeps and this is about keeping office and the constitution be damned. Trump doesn't want Mike Pence or anyone else not named Trump carrying out his aims and objectives and attaining his legacy for whatever that may be worth.
My third observation is that Trump is insinuating that anyone who votes for impeachment is a traitor. While Trump has used the word treason quite casually in his tweets, he does not use the word in the letter but he has used the word treason to describe the impeachment proceedings when on Twitter. What does it suggest when Trump characterizes the constitutional process of impeachment as "an illegal, partisan attempted coup"? He accuses Pelosi and Congress of "violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy." Indeed, Trump goes further than that:
Any member of Congress who votes in support of impeachment - against every shred of truth, fact, evidence and legal principle - is showing how deeply they revile the voters and how truly they detest America's constitutional order. Our Founders feared the tribalization of partisan politics, and you are bringing their worst fears to life.
What Trump is really saying is that Congressman who votes for impeach is being disloyal to him. Trump cares nothing about the Constitution except to the extent that it ensures the preservation and enhancement of his authority. If anything is it Trump who, in the words of Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper #1 is "of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants."
Which brings me to my fourth observation. Projection is a common behavior of a demagogue aspiring towards becoming a tyrant:
You are the ones interfering in America's elections. You are the ones subverting America's Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish personal, political and partisan gain.
Let us be clear and unambiguous. Trump's supposedly totally innocent phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky was undertaken only with selfish personal, political and partisan gain in mind. How did withholding $400 million in military aid already approved by Congress advance America's foreign policy interests? It did not. In view of this fact, who stood to gain making this aid conditional upon an announcement from a foreign head of state launching investigation into a man who just happened to be running for the office that Trump now holds? Only one person stood to gain the imposition of this condition - Donald J. Trump. True to form, Trump projects his "qualities" upon those who dare to challenge him in any way, shape or form.
My final observation is notwithstanding my four previous observations, there is a critical segment of the population that will eat Trump's bullshit, swallow and proclaim it was ice cream and want more. As long as Trump has this segment of the population behind him he will not only continue his illegal behavior, but it will get much worse for everyone including those who are now supporting him. I wish I could end on a more optimistic note, but it would be dishonest to do otherwise even if the House does impeach Trump. Because we already know what the Senate is going to do or, in this case, not going to do.
Brovo well said LOL
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