IMPEACHMENT?

The Duce

The Trump

                                         

Donald Trump with his jutting jaw and his grandiose self satisfied demeanor very much brings to mind the 1930's fascist dictator of Italy Benito Mussolini. Trump is so far not (not yet anyway) a Mussolini. He has no real program, no ideology, he is no war veteran, has no mass following (although a dangerously large one), and has not actually presided over any 'trains running on time'. But like Mussolini he did get in by legitimate parliamentary means by using working class discord and playing the nationalist card and then proceeding to consolidate power. Trump has a way to go yet but certainly has already adopted some of the Duce's mannerisms and inclinations, and that's scary.

We have allowed a proto-fascist, cheap hustler to take over the levers of power. And almost daily he finds new ones to pull with unknown results (or legality). He is proving to be quintessentially dangerous both to our country and to the world at large, and must be removed from office ASAP. But how, when nearly half of the voters support him either for Republican agenda real politick reasons or are deluded Kool Aid drinkers? It is clear impeachment can't do it. While our impeachment process was designed for something exactly like this, it won't work in this situation. The Repubs have long since ceased being any kind of 'loyal opposition' and will back Trump even as they despise him. And Speaker of the House Pelois is wary of 'the optics' of it and how it can be spun by the WH, the Repubs and pro-Trump media. As we know the Repubs have misused and thus debased the tool of impeachment by using it on Bill Clinton over his lying about his personal life. Impeachment as a Constitutionally mandated process for removal of a dangerous POTUS, packs far less wallop and carries far less disgrace than it once did. It now looks too much like mere political theater (or a cheap political maneuver as in Brazil with the “impeachment” of Lula's successor).

Nevertheless I have come around to believe that the impeachment process must be used even if it cannot actually drive the him out. The seriousness of the situation increases daily. He is running a muck. Hopefully the impeachment process will tie up the WH staff and slow down his rampage. Otherwise unimpeded he will continue to discover new outrages to commit. His impeachment is our duty to the institution of democracy even if it might not yield his actual expulsion. The political warfare will continue with or without an ongoing impeachment. But let's take our time. It's needs to be in-process when the 2020 presidential contest in full force. Trump does not need to have enough time to portray the failure to impeach as a badge of honor as he has the Mueller investigation's failure to indict. Have it still 'underway' on election day.

Having recently returned from Barcelona I can you tell that post-fascist Spain with the Socialist Party presently in power at least from a tourista point of view looks like a worker's paradise compared to the Bay Area where I live. They have lots of functional if not spiffy public high rise public housing, clean fast public transportation, excellent coffee, (somewhat) safe streets etc. I saw no street crazies; I only saw one panhandler and zero sidewalk tents. And Spain was one of the hardest hit countries by the great recession. The decaying shab factor so evident in here in the US didn't seem evident at least in the parts of Caledonia I visited. After Franco I think they appreciate democracy. I don't think we do. Many didn't bother to vote for or against Trump. We have let the Repubs jigger the voting process so that Demo Party inclined voters (Blacks, Latinos, college students) have a harder time voting. Also the positions of the candidates on the issues are less important than their expensive psychologically manipulative advertising spots. That's sad. Voting is supposed to be about expressing your position on issues not your emotional reactions to candidates.

Anyway, the forces that turned over the House of Representatives to the Demos in 2018, a laudatory accomplishment, need to again be unleashed and come together to throw out this bum in 2020!