For more than a few reasons, more and more Americans are beginning to support the impeachment of Donald Trump or at the very least believe he will be impeached eventually.
Short of Trump trying to establish himself as king, I think impeachment is a very bad idea.
That is not to say I want him to be president. I don’t. On a daily basis I think he is proving in any number of ways that he is unfit and unprepared to be the nation’s leader.
But I don’t think impeachment or hoping for his resignation is the best solution to the problems his presidency is posing.
For one thing, seeking his removal would be a futile effort while putting the nation through needless trauma.
No president has been convicted of impeachment charges brought by the House of Representatives. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton weren’t, and Nixon resigned before a Senate vote. Whether the required two-thirds would have voted to remove him is something we will never know.
Removing Trump would be the first time in our history that an impeachment led to a conviction. Since both chambers are under Republican control, neither House impeachment nor Senate conviction is a likely outcome.
Given what the nation has been through during the last 20 years, the spectacle of trying to remove Trump would not serve the nation’s best interests. Think about it.
We have seen the Republican effort to impeach Bill Clinton, the tragedy of 9/11, two unnecessary wars started by George Bush that we are still fighting, a severe recession and the immoral growth of economic inequality, eight years of rampant racism directed at a sitting president, an obstructionist Republican Congress that rendered our government essentially dysfunctional, and one of the ugliest presidential campaigns in our history.
How much more can our country endure?
It seems to me that the impeachment of Donald Trump, doomed to fail as it would be, would do nothing more than add to our considerable collective pain. He is not worth it.
His removal is also a bad idea because impeachment is not a criminal procedure, but a political one that would enrage his base support all the more.
“High crimes and misdemeanors” is an ill defined phrase by intention, according Professor Greg Weiner of Assumption College in a recent provocative article in the NY Times: “Criminal law looks backward toward offenses committed,” he says. “The object of impeachment is not to exact vengeance. It is to protect the public against future acts of recklessness or abuse.”
From this perspective, Trump’s removal would require that two-thirds of the Senate believe his current behavior is a sure indication that he poses a real and present danger in the future.
That is a very high bar to get over, Weiner notes, just as the founders planned for it to be.
Convicting a sitting president of crimes he might commit in the future is an extremely difficult case to make. It also strikes me as a very slippery political slope for our country to go down.
The Republicans went down it with Bill Clinton and succeeded only in exacerbating bitterness and division in the country. It also had the unintended consequence of making Clinton more popular rather than less.
But the primary reason trying to remove Trump or hoping he will resign is a bad idea is because there is a better way to do damage control.
It’s called the 2018 mid-term elections that will provide an opportunity for voters who oppose Trump’s presidency to do more than complain.
We can go the polls and elect a Democratic Senate, House, or both, thus laying the groundwork for taking back the White House in 2020.
Trump’s behavior and the actions thus far of the Republican Congress make one of those victories in 2018 quite possible
When and if that happens it will be the equivalent of the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone, stopping both Trump and Republican efforts to take the nation back to pre-Great Depression times.
It is critical that those of us who are social progressives not lose sight of the fact that we have as much to fear from congressional Republicans as we do from Trump himself.
If they have their way Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemployment compensation, Food Stamps and all social programs will suffer major cuts, just as they are trying to do now with healthcare.
Trump’s removal would do nothing to stop them. If anything, a Mike Pence presidency would increase the likelihood that their agenda would prevail.
That does not strike me as a better outcome than Trump continuing in office,
The mid-terms are a different story. A single Democratic victory would represent a decisive victory for our democracy as a majority of Americans use the power of the ballot box to say we have had enough of the Trump circus and Republican extremism.
Yes, the nation would still have Trump, but he would not have the nation, and in the end that is what would matter most.
linnposts.com 
I think the biggest reason why Trump shouldn’t be impeached is because the next person in line is Mike Pence, & he’s much more dangerous than Trump
We agree, Tom.
Well said Jan, while Pence is likely much more competent, his policies would be just as harmful to most Americans. The question though is how do you get the those who oppose Trump, which is the majority of Americans, to vote? What does it take to get people to participate in the process?
Wilbur, if they don’t have the motivation now, not sure they really care about the country. In that case, there is nothing we can do about them. But I believe 2018 will be different.
I think you’re correct. I also think that many who voted for him realize their mistake, and many who didn’t vote cause they thought Hilary was a sure thing will show up this time. If nothing else, it seems a Trump presidency is likely to shake people from their apathy.
Thanks so much guys you really help me understand this. I have trouble reading and understanding, now i know what to do for the debate in school.
Thank you for reading all of this. Let us hear from you anytime.
Since I don’t regard Trump as a legitimately elected President,
I confess I support something far more disruptive than impeachment or Trump’s resignation: a new election without Russian interference and FBI antics. And that won’t happen unless a sufficient number of people take to the streets to immobilize the nation until elections are called.
I understand what you are saying, Craig, but Trump is president regardless of how it happened. Recalls are not in the Constitution and above all else, that is what we must preserve. I still think 2018 needs to be the focus. What you want seems to me to be a distraction that will get us nowhere, though I feel the same way you do about him.
In full agreement! Time to activate and get some grassroots movement going. Oust all we can who go along, and focus on ’18! This isn’t idealism talking, it’s pragmatism. It’s also reinforcing the importance of citizenship in this republic. It takes a lot of work, and we must make full use of our rights. Call your reps. Look for people doing good work and get to know their story. Raise them up, tell your friends, vote them into office.
We’ve seen the worst of America (hopefully), let’s start to bring about the best!
I am with you all the way, Luke. We have to break through people’s apathy, or they have to break through it themselves. One way or the other, we hold the key to bringing about the best in our nation once again. Frankly, among the many things about Trump I find abhorrent, I think the fact that he is a drag on the American spirit is the underlying cause of how I feel. 2018 is the next best opportunity we have to tell him we will make things better without him.
Much as I would like to see Bozo Trump out of office, I have to agree with your view. I also think Pence would simply be another mistake, just a different kind of mistake. So we are stuck with what we elected. And I think you are right in that the best we can do in the short term is cut them off at the knees in 2018 by electing a Democratic Congress. In any case, we must make sure that America does not re-elect this “dynamic duo” in 2020.
Wally, it is amazing to me that the feelings you express cut across generational lines. I think that is something very encouraging. It’s not just one age group that wants better from our president than we are getting.
You are so right, Jan. The turmoil resulting impeachment proceedings, the intensified rancor that would ensue, the political result that is foreseeable, all should inspire everyone who is dissatisfied with Trump’s chaos to seriously mobilize to elect control of the Senate and House to the Democrats. That would nullify his “agenda.” Should a conviction follow impeachment proceedings, try the following antidotes, sobering doses: PRESIDENT Pence, PRESIDENT Ryan, followed by PRESIDENT Constitutional cabinet officers.
Cheerz!
Gene
Your last sentence, Gene, should stop everyone who thinks impeachment is the way to go in their tracks. Thanks.