Impeach Trump?

A few weeks ago, while not categorically opposed to impeachment, I thought congressional Democrats’ time was better spent elsewhere. Republicans certainly wouldn’t go along with impeachment, so it was doomed to fail in the House. It was futile and shifted focus from other priorities, or so went my thinking at the time. I’ve changed my mind in recent days, though.

There are obvious reasons to postpone impeachment efforts, namely the simple problem of math. Without GOP interest, there simply aren’t enough numbers for a majority to impeach the president. For many people, including myself up until a few weeks ago, that means failure. What if instead of thinking about immediate failures, though, we consider potential successes-both short-term and long-term?

• We energize people, particularly those who sat out the last time, but are starting to feel the real effects of Trump’s presidency. Perhaps those people can be moved to action by an energetic Democratic Party that they feel is speaking to their fear, frustration, and anger.

• We earn (or earn back) votes of Independents and “Republican-lite” voters who were motivated by Trump’s promises to fix the economy, but who are seeing clear signs the economy isn’t improving. Some may also be appalled by the administration’s detention/removal of citizens, legal residents, and non-citizens with no due process, its open defiance of court orders, and its attacks on judges.

Winning back these voters could secure the House majority needed for a future impeachment effort. It might also convince fence-sitting Democrats currently in office to sign on to impeachment efforts. Additionally, we get investigations and a chance to gum up the works in the machinations of the Trump administration.

The Senate, of course, is a different story. We currently have 47 Democrats in the Senate, and would need another 20 to convict Trump. However, we don’t need a Senate conviction to deepen the indelible stain of Trump’s presidency with a third impeachment. If past history is any guide, Trump won’t be looked upon kindly by future generations, and his transgressions may yield reforms similar to, and even more robust, than those that came after Nixon’s presidency.

Looking at impeachment through a myopic lens, it’s easy to write it off as a Quixotic, and ultimately fruitless, effort. But if we step back and look past the short-term, impeachment starts to look like a worthy and noble effort-one that has the potential to produce meaningful and lasting change for the better.