Robert Reich: Trump's moral squalor, not impeachment, will remove him from power

[Soph0571]

But let’s be real. Trump will not be removed by impeachment. No president has been. With a Republican Senate controlled by the most irresponsible political hack ever to be majority leader, the chances are nil.

Which means Trump will have to be removed the old-fashioned way – by voters in an election 19 months away.

The practical question is whether the Mueller report and all that surrounds it will affect that election.

Most Americans hold a low opinion of Trump. He’s the only president in Gallup polling history never to have earned the support of majority for single day of his term.

Yet Mueller’s report probably won’t move any of the 40% who have held tight to Trump regardless.

So how to reach the 11% or 12% who may decide the outcome?

Democrats and progressives tend to shy away from morality, given how rightwing evangelicals have used it against abortion, contraceptives and equal marriage rights.

But that’s to ignore Americans’ deep sense of right and wrong. Character counts, and presidential character counts most of all.

[link:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/21/donald-trump-impeachment-white-house-2020|

He has a point but that will not work with the cultists

[uponit7771]

1. The Russian's will make sure to keep Red Don in power, no way they're sitting this one out

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. Russia will probably fund Howard Schultz' campaign, and send bit actors to his rallies.

Schultz might pull enough votes from the Democratic ticket to give Trump a victory in the Electoral College.
They'll also continue to fund Jill Stein. That way, they pull votes from the Dem left and the Dem center.

[uponit7771]

20. +1,

[Hortensis]

2. Here in the Bible Belt saying "damn" will get disapproving glances

at very least, and words like bullshit and fucked will often activate public reproof and refusal to associate in future. A lot of people see taking immediate action against vulgar language as a civic duty (always making me think longingly of West Hollywood).

In these days of mega-identity politics, I expect they will want to give Trump an almost complete pass on that at the voting booth, just as they have for his world-class dishonesty, vicious cruelty, and criminal, traitorous, and sexual predator behaviors.

Agree, though, that if support grows for removal, his moral squalor will probably underlie a lot of it.

[OnDoutside]

3. He's right. Ironically 25 years of smears by Republicans had

painted Hillary as the more morally dubious than Trump, for a crucial section of voters...those who didn't know enough but voted.

[qdouble]

4. It is morally bankrupt for congress not to hold the president accountable for impeachable offenses.

Impeachment will be a stain on his record and will put him on the defensive whether or not the Senate convicts. If his approval ratings drop, it doesn't matter how the Senate votes.

The only reason Bill Clinton got a bump is that nobody cared about the president lying about getting a blowjob. What Trump did was 100 times more heinous.

Making everything about winning the next election and continually cowering is the reason why so many progressives are disillusioned and apathetic in the first place.

[DLevine]

7. +1

[samnsara]

8. i agree..even if he doesnt get impeached by the senate....

...the Dem base is NOT going to quit supporting the dems. I think they will be even MORE fired up!! I think this attempt at least will give us some meat ( Im tired of being a vegetarian.. I want a rare bloody steak now). Hell we KNOW it wont get through the Senate but it will put every one of them on record of having to defend this vile man. Watching Trump squirm for a year will be good too!

[Scarsdale]

12. I agree.

He is very well aware that he should not be in the WH. Most of the gop know it, too, but hey - he has an (R) after his name, so ANYTHING goes. Right? I say expose the cretin for what he is, a sub-par human being with absolutely no morals or shame.

[Hortensis]

5. We need to focus on character every bit as much as the Republicans.

The difference, of course, is that we always have someone of good character to vote for, this time at least several serious contenders. The trick is to know that in spite of all the swiftboating money can buy every election.

[watoos]

10. The last election Republicans voted against Hillary,

I live among them, that's what they told me.

In the 2020 election they will use the same excuse and vote against whoever our nominee is. It's easier for them that way than admitting they are voting "for" a racist, bigot, sexual assaulter possible sexual pedophile, criminal, Putin puppet.

[Hortensis]

16. Of course. But they're a minority. What will the rest of all

those who condemn them now from their armchairs do on November 3?

Some right here once again show the same signs of weakness in understanding and disaffection that caused so many to fail. Russia targets those with tactics proven to work. Fortunately, the actions of Trump et al are helping some redevelop some moral backbone and belief in the need to oppose them. But it'd be great if the process didn't require further atrocities to help those who still can't tell good from bad.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. We have a different definition of "character" than the Repubs.

We pillory a senator who, as a joke, pretended to grope the bulletproof vest of another performer.

They applaud someone bragging about grabbing pussy and getting away with it.

Character.

[delisen]

6. Its not just Trump; it's the Republican Party

Robert Reich is a fine person, an economist, experienced at the highest level of government in the Clinton administration, and a respected academic.

However I think that often his assessments are not fully focused on all aspects of a situation. The political is not just political.

While no president has been removed from office through impeachment, we have had only one president resign the office and that has been due entirely to the threat of impeachment. So impeachment is directly tied to a president leaving office without finishing the term of office, and this occurred in modern times during the so-called era of the imperial presidency in which the executive branch power had become paramount.

Right now we are witnessing and participating in a possible turning point in the imperial presidency-international power dynamics are in flux; we may be engaged in a new kind of global warfare in which overt violent action is being largely displaced by a War of Intelligence; our congress is engaged in an attempt to assert power abdicated during the imperial presidency which began after World War II.

While we have only had two impeachments throughout the entire history of the US, and one of these two has been in this modern era- impeachment of President Clinton. From the beginning of that impeachment process, it was a foregone conclusion that the Senate would never convict-but the the impeachment process-the investigations and congressional hearings had an effect on the Clinton presidency. While he remained popular, his agenda and the momentum of his presidency was slowed down.

It is extremely important to slow down or stop the agenda of this current presidency. The hearings getting underway are extremely important, so is crowdsourcing and disseminating information, especially to counter the lies and machinations of the new Intelligence War being waged.

It is the road to impeachment that is important-the gathering and disseminating of information and the engagement with the war wagers in countering their use of the tools of this modern war that is essential.

Reich is right about the raising of the issues of morality. The Law is derived from our sense of morality, not the other way around.

Adam Schiff's approach is appropriate. He is presenting clearly and seriously the moral issue, he is engaging by gathering and disseminating the facts needed to reach a point where a vote may or may not be taken on Impeachment.

[safeinOhio]

11. " War of Intelligence", I'd put my money on Adam Schiff.

I'm terrible at predicting political events and outcomes, but I can hope.
I think with enough rope and lots of picks and shovels, the Publican Party will end up as burnt toast that can't be saved.



pub·li·can
/ˈpəbləkən/
noun
1.
BRITISH
a person who owns or manages a pub.
2.
(in ancient Roman and biblical times) a collector of taxes.
"publicans and sinners"

[delisen]

18. I see Adam Schiff as the best prepared for battle right now nt

[watoos]

9. The best way to remove Trump from office at the ballot box,

is by impeaching him, otherwise we will never see all of the grand jury information.

[CTyankee]

13. i agree. For all the reasons listed here and elsewhere!

[bullwinkle428]

17. We are morally bankrupt as a NATION if we don't vote him out. And I'm certainly not

willing to bet my life that we WILL vote him out.

[FakeNoose]

19. Please let this be true!

Moral squalor - he's got it in spades. Whether we American voters are finally exasperated enough to shut down this shit-show, well that remains to be seen. I certainly hope we are. I really want to believe we Americans can still be disgusted and embarrassed enough to do something about it.