Donald Trump has destroyed his own presidency.
It doesn’t matter how impeachment turns out, Trump is a de facto lame-duck president who can still do much damage, but cannot accomplish anything good, not least because it is not his disposition even to try.
He has built up no goodwill in Congress or in the country. He is for all practical purposes a President without a country. His strategy of stoking the passions of a radical base has worked, except that it has remained small, very small, destined to get smaller.
Given the man he is and always has been, Trump’s demise as a political leader was as predictable as it was inevitable. Trump is a corrupt man to his core, and in most instances corrupt people eventually undo themselves.
This week Trump hit a new moral low, and Forever Trumpers followed right behind him, as together they attacked the character, honor, and service of Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman, a staff member of the National Security Council.
Even before he testified before the House Impeachment Inquiry, they launched their assault on Vindman because his opening statement that was released to the public the night before made it clear he was going to tell the truth about what the content of Trump’s phone call to the President of Ukraine was about. He could do so because he was among the national security staff who listened in on the call.
Trump’s response, along with his supporters, was to do what he and they always go — they attacked the messenger. There really is no moral low to which Trump will not go, and that is why his removal has become a necessity on which the future of our country depends.
Let’s be clear, though. Trump’s rise to power has a history. Its roots lie with the Tea Party movement going back to its beginnings in February of 2009.
The radical conservative Republicans who started it had a specific agenda — to bring down the federal government as an institution, cut federal spending for everything except the military, and to dramatically cut taxes, especially for the rich, and unmercifully attacked the Obama presidency with lies about him as a person and as President to achieve their aims.
They gained control of the Republican Party through intimidation by threatening to launch a primary challenge against any Republican incumbent who refused to support them. Because they had the Koch brothers money backing them, they had virtually unlimited resources to put behind their candidates.
Their influence continues today through the Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives whose power was greatly enhanced when the election of Donald Trump became the crown jewel of their life as a political movement. Members of the Freedom Caucus are the heart and soul of the Forever Trumpers, and, as such, they will die defending him.
Nothing good can come from them any more than it can from Trump because they want to turn the country against the diversity and social change many of us believe have made America a better country.
Further, they believe liberalism and multi-culturalism are a threat to the America they once knew and long to re-establish, with Fix News serving as the primary Forever Trumpers voice. It should surprise no one that it is less about “news” and more about the “fix” with which they spin it.
Trump’s unexpected presidency gave the “tea party” agenda that took over the Republican Party the access they needed to try to re=shape America into their image, a kind of perfect storm that is allowing Forever Trumpers in Congress to rip apart the fabric of American society to this end.
American democracy was established in such a way that it needs common decency to survive.
That common decency is altogether absent from Trump and the Forever Trumpers, which leaves us with no alternative for saving the nation except to rid itself of Donald Trump. Once again, his removal from office is a moral imperative.
Impeachment in the House and conviction in the Senate is the best way to accomplish this end.
It can also happen with an acquittal in the Senate in exchange for a behind-the-scenes guarantee to Republicans that he will resign or choose not to seek re-election.
It can happen as well with an acquittal in the Senate, his running again and being defeated by a landslide that will also give control of the Senate to the Democrats along with holding a majority in the House.
Contrary to what many people believe, Trump’s removal is no longer a partisan political issue, as conservative columnist George Will argued in an October 10 article. He believes Trump’s stonewalling in the Impeachment Inquiry represents an assault on our democracy, the likes of which we have never before seen.
He says Trump must be rebuffed by the courts, but that it is equally critical for the Congress to stand up for itself against Trump’s abuse of power. Thus, for any Republican who refuses to do this, he had some very sobering words: “In 13 months, all congressional Republicans who have not defended Congress by exercising ‘the constitutional rights of the place’ should be defeated.”
I could not agree more, not because I agree with George Will politically.
It’s because I agree with him as an American, and so should everyone who actually understands what genuine patriotism is.
Trump must go, and with him every Senator and Representative who refuses to acknowledge the threat he is to the country he abandoned a long time ago.
linnposts.com 
tell the 60 million plus people who voted him into office that. All this impeachment activity is doing is strengthening & expanding his base. Wait until the 2020 election & vote him out the way our democracy allows us to do.
You cannot be serious. Why would anyone allow Trump the freedom to do everything in his power (which is considerable) to rig 2020? Our democracy also allows for impeachment, unless, of course, you want to pick and choose which sections of the Constitution you choose to follow.
I rarely, comment about your posts. In fact, if
I didn’t agree with your posts, I wouldn’t upset
myself by reading them. However, I totally agree
with this post.
I recently responded to a survey asking me if I planned to vote for the Democratic candidate for president. I stated I would vote for whomever the Democratic candidate may be. I added that I would vote for the Democratic candidate even were it Satan.
This is quite a strong statement coming from
me since I have not always voted for Democratic
Candidates and have frequently crossed party
lines. I simply am unable to stomach the lies and lack of truth espoused by Trump and his
supporters. Can people not think and
determine when they are told such obvious
lies? I am simply appalled by the situation in
our country. I
Many of us are as puzzled as you are, Anne, about some people’s apparent lack of concern about the kind of man Trump is and what he is doing to the country. I am trying to accept the fact that I don’t understand them, probably never will, but also realizing that we can and must defeat them in every way we can. We cannot let them control our nation’s politics. Thanks for commenting.
Impeachment is about conduct while in office, not about elections. His conduct is reprehensible! Be gone!
Absolutely, Rollie.
Jan,
As your friend, I know I can be critical at times of your posts, not the content — on which we always agree — but the approach or “angle” you take toward the people and groups who have enabled a deranged despot to be our president.
This latest post is masterful in ALL respects: background going back at least a decade; candor about spineless Republicans; and specifics regarding Trump’s latest immoral attack on a patriotic veteran!
As RollieB echoes, he must “be gone” as quickly as possible, while folks like Charles Anthony sit on their hands with their heads and fingers in a certain
place….
Bill Blackwell
Bill, that is fine praise coming from you. And, as usual, your language is descriptive to the point where it is easy to imagine the way Forever Trumpers are sitting. Thanks, my friend.
Beautifully said! Jon Roark LC Class of 76
Thank you, Jon, and also thank you for taking the time to read it. By the way, I was Chaplain when you graduated.
Well say Jan. As you’ve said, President Trump and his supporters can’t defend his behavior so they attack the messenger. A perfect example is all the clamoring about who the whistleblower is which doesn’t matter one bit. What’s important is that what was revealed has been proven to be true. Trump must be impeached.
What amazes me, Wilbur, is that Republicans can keep switching their argument with a straight face. I have never seen liars and hypocrites as skilled as Trump and Forever Trumpers are.