Ask Not What You Can Do to Impeach But What Impeachment Can Do For You
I don't know what the title means either, but let's just go with it
On Saturday, the Senate acquitted former President Trump in his second impeachment trial. No one is truly surprised by this verdict as the modern Republican Party has metaphorically been paying rent to live in Trump Towers since early 2016.
But something I feel like many Americans are only just starting to talk about —even though historians have been saying so for years now— is how “Trumpism” and the trending of the GOP (Grand Old Party, to those who practice) further to the right is actually far bigger than just D*nald Tr*mp himself.
This argument is not just due to my lack of desire to inflate Trump’s ego any more than it already is. There’s actually a similar modern historical precedent set by someone tied in various ways to Trump (shockingly, we’re not even going to get into who you all think we’re going to get into today. Sorry to ruin your betting pool about how long it’ll take me to discuss the person we’re all thinking about):
We all know that Senator Joseph McCarthy was the face of the anti-Communist Red Scare, a moment rooted in ideologies of paranoia and incredible distrust. McCarthy came on the political scene in a big way in 1950 with his claim in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia that there were 205 Communists working in the U.S. State Department, and he had proof of it.
We don’t have time to get into the entire history of post-war anti-Communism in America so I’ll boil it down to this: McCarthy’s four-year crusade of trying to weed out Communists and other subversives hiding in America was not the start of the practice we now call “McCarthyism.”
We can trace the roots of McCarthyism (practices defined by fear-mongering, false allegations, and preemptive actions prompted by fear of Communism) up to and through the end of WWII— aka before McCarthy was ever even elected to office. Much in the same way, Trumpism can not be wholly attributed to Trump.
Now, you may be thinking, “This week’s newsletter is going to very clearly break down Trumpism and all the little nuances of it.” Not exactly. This was all a long-winded way of getting to my main focus today which is the spike in articles with headlines like this:
What the fuck is this?
This argument that many elected Republicans have been clinging to and many outlets have been reporting irks me so much because it does not allow for any accountability but also reveals how out of touch they are with their own recent history. Let’s break it down:
Before Saturday’s verdict, many senators were floating the idea that Trump was guilty of a crime, but should be found guilty in a criminal trial rather than an impeachment trial. The world watched the former president egg on his supporters both in the days leading up to the attack on our nation’s capital and on January 6th itself.
I have a little working theory as to why the majority of Republican senators were willing to acquit Trump of a crime we watched him commit which is that maybe Josh Hawley, TedCruz, and the rest of their fucked up book club didn't want to find the president guilty of inciting the insurrection because then they’d have to admit they’re also guilty of the same crime. If we really wanted to “turn the page on Trump,” accountability wouldn’t solve everything but it sounds like a really nice first step.
The reason why House and Senate Democrats were pushing for impeachment (in addition to a criminal trial) was that our legislative bodies have the power to bar Trump from ever holding office again. If Republicans, as The Hill article and the increasing number of others suggest, truly want to rid their party of Trump, wouldn’t they want to block him from ever running under their big tent title again?
That’s where we get into the “out of touch with history” component: what many of these elected officials seem to not recognize —and what a lot of news outlets aren’t explaining all too clearly— is that they are the party of Trump because they created the party Trump embodied. Just as McCarthy’s censure didn’t rid America of the anti-Communism fervor that permeated throughout the entirety of the Cold War, denouncing Trump after he’s gone from office won’t offer Republican officials a brand new chance to be best.
Actions and statements that they’ve been taking and making for years have created a political party hospitable enough to house Donald Trump and those willing to lead a violent revolt in support of him. You should not get to have your coup and eat it too.
GAME BREAK!!!
Let’s play a round of everyone’s favorite game, Is That a Power Granted By the Constitution?
Friends, is it constitutional to remove a senator or representative from office through a means other than an election?
If you answered YES, you’re correct!!!!
According to Article I, section 5, clause 2 of the Consitution, “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” The GOP may still be the party of Trump, but literally no one likes Ted Cruz. There are always options!
All of this is to say, that you can talk a big game about moving forward and turning pages but in the end, it means nothing if you never learn a thing from history. Remember: always keep your friends close and your elected officials closer.