CARRIED WATER FOR THE ELEPHANT

To impeach or not to impeach, that is the question.  Reasonable people have reached different conclusions.  Political statistician Nate Silver tweeted "’There's an election coming up soon so let the voters decide on the president's conduct rather than impeaching him’ is actually a really good argument.”  But I think that’s a false choice.

For one thing, impeachment hearings would be an excellent way to make sure voters have the information they need to judge the president’s conduct on election day.  The steady drip of negative information certainly eroded Nixon’s popularity during the Watergate hearings.  Until someone comes up with a better way to keep the spotlight on Trump’s unsavory behavior, I’ll advocate for impeachment.    

But there is more at stake than presidential election strategy, and at this point, obsessing about the unknowable impact of impeachment hearings on public opinion doesn’t strike me as a compelling argument for avoiding the “I” word.  Here’s my assessment of the arguments I’ve seen against impeachment.

The least persuasive argument against impeachment hearings is the fear that they’d rile up Trump’s base.  Trump’s base is always riled up.  Let’s face it, Deplorables are going to turn out en masse for their god-emperor on November 3, 2020, impeachment or no impeachment. 

Let’s not forget that there’s another base out there – the Democratic base – that is crying out for a meaningful response.  Now they’ve seen Mueller’s evidence, and feel a heightened sense of urgency.  Trump knows how to feed his base.  To be sure, he feeds them garbage, but he shows them he cares.  It’s time for Democrats in the House to step up.

Trump has two big advantages in the base mobilization game.  First, he’s obviously not constrained by actual facts, so he can say anything he wants, and the Deplorables will lap it up.  But almost as importantly, he’s the undisputed boss of his party.  What he says, goes.

But at least until there’s an official Democratic presidential nominee, Democrats have to move collectively, which means negotiation, compromise, and a slow pace.  I understand the obstacles, and I’m willing to be patient.  But I really want to see forward movement.

I am unpersuaded by the argument that there’s no point in impeaching Trump in the House because the Senate will never vote to convict.  It’s a mistake to fight only the battles you know you can win.  Fortune favors the bold, as the Roman proverb has it, and this looks like low-hanging fruit to me. 

One recurring theme in the Mueller Report is how weak Trump is.  His subordinates routinely ignored his orders, and often spoke contemptuously about him behind his back.  Why not rub his nose in it for the next year?  Impeachment proceedings would keep various aspects of the scandal in the news, which would, in turn, keep Trump off balance and tweeting hysterically. 

In March, at the Tucson Festival of the Book, I attended a panel discussion that included John Nichols, a writer for The Nation.  He argued that impeachment was an affirmative obligation for Congress, when circumstances warrant it.  And even with substantial redactions, the Mueller Report provides ample evidence that Donald Trump is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.  If not for the Department of Justice policy against indicting sitting presidents, Trump would likely have been the subject of a multi-count indictment for obstruction of justice.

As Senator Lindsay Graham said, “if we don’t punish this president for these crimes by impeaching him, when will we use these powers against any sitting president?”  Of course, Graham said that back in 1999, about Bill Clinton.  But it strikes me as a fair question today.  If Democrats in Congress believe that Trump is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, their obligation is to confront that uncomfortable truth.

I believe that the House should hold impeachment hearings, listen to the testimony, weigh the evidence, and vote accordingly.  I hope they force Republican senators – especially those up for re-election in 2020, like Susan Collins, Ben Sasse, and Martha McSally – to listen to the evidence and then tell their constituents what they think about it.  Yes or no, senator?  Do you find Trump’s behavior acceptable?  Of course, most Republicans will just shrug.  Their loyalty is to their billionaire paymasters.  But why not force them to declare their loyalty in public?

None of this means that I want Democrats to be all impeachment, all the time.  That’s a false choice too. I believe that health care, climate change, and all the other issues near and dear to progressives should be prominent elements of the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign.  But the Trump-Russia scandal will be a massive elephant in the room unless Democrats deal with it somehow.  You know damn well that Republicans are going to do their best to take the whole investigation through the looking glass and find a pretext to investigate Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.  Why cede the field to the crazy people?

Democrats can walk and chew gum at the same time.  It’s time to open a multi-front assault on Putin’s puppet.