I'm against impeachment... partly

The biggest point I want to make is that what Trump did was wrong and was an abuse of power, and not a minor one either. He deserves to be investigated and his actions revealed and reviled. But should he be impeached? Should he be removed from office?

If previous presidents were asking for personal favors before releasing aid, then they were also abusing their office and should be unmasked. The policy of the US is not for personal gain or personal political advantage. It's supposed to be for the benefit of the country, not for benefit of a corrupt leader.

However I think the House should have continued to hold hearings, followed up on subpoenas, and released as much evidence as possible. Though Trump abused his power, I don't think he should be removed from office for one infraction. If it was a pattern, definitely he would deserve to be removed, but not for one incident, even though it does fit the definition of high crime and misdemeanor and does meet the constitutional requirement for impeachment.

I'd like to see the bar on impeachment be higher still. Either a single very grievous act or a pattern of abuse of power. Trump is a vile person and very unpresidential, but he can't be impeached for those characteristics.

Unfortunately, the GOP moved the goalposts on what is impeachable with their stupid partisan action against Bill Clinton. The Dems have been happy to go along with that change when it hurts a Republican, so now we have a lower standard (along with a lot of lower standards now).

Some Democrats were looking for any excuse to impeach Trump, and have been since he was elected. But that is the minority of Democrats. The majority of Democrats in Congress were realistic that there had to be legitimate grounds. The pressure therefore became irresistible as soon as there were grounds, which happened with the Ukraine scandal. So conservative critics are partially correct when they say that Dems have wanted to impeach Trump forever. But they ignore that Trump gave legitimate grounds for impeachment. The claim that impeaching is groundless and illegitimate is bogus.

What I support about impeachment

I support holding the president accountable, gathering evidence, hearing extensive witness testimony, and basically taking the situation seriously. I'd like a real inquiry without a foregone conclusion, but one where the evidence was respected above everything else.

Impeachment is a very serious undertaking, and the Dems are taking it seriously. I can't say the same for the Republicans, but that's a topic for a different post.

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