To Impeach, Or Not To Impeach

That is the question.  I watched Bill Maher last night and heard an interesting discussion between him and Gavin Newsom.  The question is whether it is better for Congress to remove Trump from office or let him continue for the remainder of his term.  Maher and Newsom hold different views on this, with Maher advocating removal, and Newsom arguing that we'd be better off leaving him in office.  It's an interesting question, and worth exploring a little more.

Now that Steve Bannon has been removed from the White House, I think we all have reason to be happy.  I have been looking forward to this for some time.  Bannon has been undoubtedly the single most destructive influence on Trump, with his support of the alt-right movement that fosters right-wing extremism, and his deconstructionist policies that threaten to neuter every part of government that protects or benefits individuals, the environment, the stability of the economy, etc.  Trump may share Bannon's attitudes, but he lacks the knowledge and ability to put those policies into place.  Bannon has been a major driving force in bringing some of those harmful policies to fruition, as well as creating an atmosphere of dysfunction and instability that threatens to wreak havoc in the White House, particularly at times of crisis, when cooler heads should prevail.

If there is a positive side to the chaos of the Trump-Bannon team, it is fact that the American people can now see more clearly just how absurd the Trump administration really is.  That became most evident in the aftermath of Chrlottesville, when Trump echoed Bannon's alt-right views, much to the total disgust the entire nation (with the exception of his hard-core supporters, who were delighted by the whole affair).  Don't get me wrong - I deplore what happened at Chrlottesville, and I deplore Trump's public statements about it.  This is a sad day for our country, dragging us back to pre-civil-rights era.  But at least it has cost Trump some of his support, and with any luck, it just might contribute to a willingness of the American people to eventually dump this guy in favor someone who isn't so destructive.

And that brings up last night's discussion between Newsom and Maher.  Should Congress hasten the process of Trump's removal, or just let him continue in office?  Maher's position is that Trump should be removed, and Newsom thinks that we are better off if he stays.  Basically, Maher believes that despite the horrible prospect of Pence in office, he's not as bad as Trump.  At least Pence is patriotic, and has a measure of rationality that is lacking in Trump.

The rationale behind Newsom's position is basically two-fold.  First is the idea that focusing on investigations and impeachment is a political loser.  It is likely to turn away voters in the next election.  The other is the recognition that we would then have Mike Pence as president, and since Pence is more intelligent and savvy in the ways of working together with Congress, he would undoubtedly be more successful in getting his horrific right-wing agenda legislated.  Newsom correctly notes that Trump has had little success in this arena.  Therefore, the country as a whole would be better off with an incompetent Trump in office than a competent Pence. 

Newsom makes good points, especially from the perspective of a politician.  But I think I have to agree with Maher on this debate.  Yes, Pence would be a terrible president.  His policies are horrendous, and I agree that he would have greater success than Trump in getting them passed.  But I'm not just looking at this issue from a political perspective.  My concern is for the real long-term damage that Trump could inflict on our country during the long four years of his term.  Trump is a con-man and a criminal, whose only real concern is self-preservation.  He has no morals and no honor.  And in the interest of self-preservation, he will sell our country down the river.  And that could be more harmful than any right-wing legislation that Pence manages to get passed.

Whether or not Trump actually colluded with the Russians during his campaign, he is clearly under the thumb of Putin.  He has extensive illicit business ties with various Russian oligarchs, and even the Russian mafia, having served as an illegal money-laundering service for them.  All of this has been meticulously tracked and documented (if not orchestrated) by the Russian government.  And it puts him in a position of severe compromise.  He will do anything to protect himself.  Which explains his seemingly irrational benevolence toward Putin.  He is already working on gutting the State Department, which has been the single most troublesome element of the US government from Russia's perspective.  He has refused to take any measure to stop the on-going cyber-attack on US electoral systems.  Given another three and a half years, I fear the damage that Russia could inflict, while Trump stands by and allows it to happen, or even abets them in the process.  Furthermore, with their continued efforts to manipulate elections, they might just succeed in turning the US into a permanent puppet-ocracy.

So with all due respect to Gavin Newsom, I believe that this issue is much bigger than domestic politics, and who wins the next election.  I think Donald Trump is an existential threat to the security of US.  The sooner he leaves, the better.