Moving On...

So, the House impeachment inquisition is moving on -- to its Judiciary Committee and I assume the outcome of their hearings is already pre-determined, as evidenced by the comments of the Speaker this week.  It’s nice to know as a Catholic, one who believes in the killing of the unborn by the way, she is incapable of hate and this is all moving forward to save the Republic.  Her invocation of faith reminds me of the last great Catholic inquisition where those who didn’t agree with the church were tortured and killed for their own good and to save their souls.

Just as in the Intelligence Committee hearings the opening witnesses offered opinions, for that is all “legal experts” can offer.  Not one of the witnesses has first-hand knowledge of the “high crime” that will result in the bills of impeachment but were called to supposedly shed some light on the severity of the allegations or the intent of the founders in allowing for impeachment.  The fact most of them have been part of the “Resistance” movement since the election should in no way influence their expertise.

Listening to excerpts of the testimony I think I am on safe ground in saying bribery will be one of the charges.  They might also throw in some stuff about self-enrichment and violations of the emoluments clause even though they have failed in the courts with that charge. 

There is an interesting observation floating around, one which resonates with me.  “The bar for impeachment has been set so low we can now expect to see it used routinely, but the bar for conviction is so high it has never been reached.”  For those who would bring up Richard Nixon, I would just point out he resigned before the trial ever began.  I am pretty certain it won’t be reached in this case.

The question for us as we approach the next election is really about what form of government do we want?  Do we want what we have today where the politician’s primary concern is about destroying their political opponents, or do we want to reshape the landscape to force them to see the error of their ways?  That latter option is not likely and is perhaps impossible but if the Republic is to survive it is the only true option.  The only way to achieve the latter option is to completely reshape the Congress by voting out every incumbent and starting over with a new House and a 1/3 new Senate. Of course, the danger here is no one in the House would know how to act as a Representative and the professional staffers would be in complete control.  So maybe that’s not a viable thing either?

Oh well, I guess we’re doomed to keep living this Ground Hog Day scenario for as long as a Republican is in the White House.

So, Let's Sum Up

What follows is based 100% on hearsay, which is okay since that is the new standard for criminal investigations.  I have watched about seven minutes of the Congressional investigation of President Trump, and none of that was real-time.  I’ve read what others have said and looked at the witnesses’ background, but to determine my position, I’ve watched a couple of news shows, and for the most part, choose as a truth whatever is opposite of what they are reporting

We are entering day-2 of the investigation, which the House leadership would like us to believe is akin to a Grand Jury investigation, although it is public (but only because they weren’t getting a lot of traction on their double-secret investigation).  So far, they've called two career state-department employees who had risen to the rank of Ambassador.   

For those who might not know it, all government service is rank-based.  In the State Department, they have fancy French titles, but for the most part, they are plain old government employees until they reach the equivalent of a full Colonel in the military.  Then they become “ambassadors.”  They’re still plain old government employees, but they just have a little bigger aura of respectability.

Next, we are told they will roll out another Ambassador, one who was appointed by Obama and fired by Trump.  She also has no direct knowledge of the central issue.  I assume her testimony will be as equally damning (from the Democratic perspective), or weak (from the Republican perspective).  At this point, other than pollsters and their 1500 or so subjects, no one really cares what the average citizen thinks.

The two witnesses Representative Schiff called for his opening salvo were at best loyal deep-state partisans.  They had no first-hand knowledge of the phone call that allegedly set this whole shipwreck in motion, but could only report what one of their staff had overheard and speculate on the President’s motives as evidenced by whatever his lawyer Rudy Giuliani was running around Ukraine doing.

In summary:  We can expect the investigation to continue until even CNN drops the gavel to gavel coverage.  I have to wonder what the true agenda for the Democrats is?   The partisan media and all their talking head experts can’t seem to figure it out, and I’m beginning to wonder if the Party Leadership actually has a plan?  Or is this all part of the illusion/diversion while they play three-card Monty with the upcoming 2020 election?