Impeachment is a powerful tool within the Constitution. The Constitution features a series of checks and balances to keep the branches in order, but impeachment allows for the direct removal of officials from government. So why isn’t it used? With the exception of former President Bill Clinton, there has been no use of the process in recent memory.
Does this mean all modern Presidents of the United States have acted with the utmost integrity? Hardly.
Former President George W. Bush was widely despised by Democrats. Liberals and progressives were regularly protesting a man they saw as a hardcore warmonger. The invasion of Iraq was widely criticized, and the continued escalation of conflicts within the Middle East drew the ire of the left. Numerous Democrats also sounded the alarm on the increase of government power, whether it be the enlargement of the Surveillance State or passage of questionable legislation like the PATRIOT Act.
But outside of scattered fringe attempts to impeach, there was no actual effort to remove Bush from office.
The same applies for Republicans and former President Barack Obama. Obama was much like his predecessor. He increased the size of government, broadening and expanding the surveillance state. Despite campaign pledges to end war, he continued involvement in the Middle East. Drone strikes increased despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He also took aim at the healthcare industry with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.
Republicans regularly sounded the alarm about Obama’s repeated power grabs, but nobody in leadership wanted to remove him from office. If he was really that bad, why wasn’t he impeached?
Now look to Democrats and President Donald Trump. Democrats use the highest level of hyperbole when it comes to the current President. Because of his words and actions, President Trump is described as a dictator in policy with an unstable personality. Liberals often cite his control of the nuclear arsenal as a reason to fear the worst. The view is he is a racist sexual predator who is hellbent on destroying the United States of America.
So if this is all true, impeach him. But Democratic leadership won’t touch removal. Why?
There’s a recurring theme among Democrats and Republicans regarding impeachment. Despite often describing impeachable offenses, they refuse to impeach. Why does this occur?
The short answer is that the Democrats and Republicans at the federal level share the same power. Big government never shrinks, so when Democrats take over from Republicans, they enjoy the big government they inherited and make it bigger. The same is also said of Republicans from Democrats.
President Trump likely will not be impeached. Democrats are heavy in hyperbole, but won’t act on their own rhetoric. This is consistent with their reaction to former President George W. Bush, who was also referred to as a dictator and often called a Nazi.
The overt opposition to even consider impeachment for offenses openly acknowledged as impeachable shows us everything we need to know about Washington D.C. They love the power and neither political party is prepared to give it up. All the impeachment whining is just another dog-and-pony-show deception from the swamp.
The president does not serve at the pleasure of Congress. Congress must have caused for impeachment, “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Congress cannot impeach a president for executing his constitutional authority. Although I agree that Dems and Repubs have a parasitic relationship towards the expansion of government, the impeachment argument seems rather erroneous.