Dec. 22, 2019
Our current political scene reminds me of being a little kid, growing up in Ferguson, Missouri and races, whether on foot, on our tricycles, or on roller skates started with the chant of, “One, for the money, Two, for the show”—exactly where we are now in the Impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives.
I had hoped and expected that Trump’s taking of ‘emoluments’ (using his power of office for personal financial gain) would certainly be the first Article of Impeachment or ‘One, for the money’. Instead the ‘powers that be’ in the Democrat Party, i.e., Nancy Pelosi, decided that ‘Two for the show’ would include only the two matters of Trump’s attempted ‘Extortion’ of the President of the Ukraine and his ‘Contempt of Congress’ in blocking key witnesses from testifying and refusal to submit documents demanded by subpoenas. So, If the vote is taken, maybe later today, (December 18) and If it is passed by the House, Donald J. Trump will be the third President in our history to be ‘Impeached’ and then the big ‘SHOW’ will move to the Senate for the fourth and final act in this bit of historical (and, sometimes, hysterical) drama.
At this point—before an actual Impeachment vote—it seems useless to speculate on Trump’s defense against the charges detailed in the Articles of Impeachment. However, his claims of, “I didn’t do it” and “if I did it, my actions are not impeachable offenses” appear to me to be a bit shallow. Donald isn’t known for his ability or desire to read—anything. I suspect that, in his mind, if he didn’t hear ‘it’ on Fox News ‘it’ doesn’t exist. And, I’ll be willing to re-state my wager on the fact that he has never actually read the Constitution of the United States of America. Although, by now, I’d also bet that someone has read, at least, parts of it to him. So, at this time of my Wednes-day, I’m going to take a break from banging on my computer keyboard and listen to the oral arguments for and against impeachment being presented in the House Chamber. I expect the day will be divided into particles totaling approximately 5 hours of Democratic endorsement of the verdict for Impeachment and 5 hours of Republican denial of any impeachable offense having been committed by their ‘Perfect’ President. Stay tuned! This is ‘reality TV’ at its’ best—and worst!.
And, the next morning, “What to my wonder there should appear—” a rolled up newspaper in my driveway and when I un-rolled it, a big word in very bold type ‘IMPEACHED’ was there. Sorry, I went to bed and had fallen asleep before the vote was taken.
Now, the drama has shifted to the battle between Pelosi and McConnell over the rules under which the trial in the Senate will be held. Suffice it to write, Pelosi wants the trial to be fair and as long as possible and McConnell wants it to be rigged and as short as possible. In old Western terms, this will be a ‘Texas Standoff’ for sure! During the intermission, we the people and the media were treated to another ‘gunslinger’ event—a Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate! (Drumroll, please!)
Somehow, I stayed awake for the entire program. My unprofessional evaluation of the contest hasn’t changed much. Amy Klobuchar still makes the most common sense—but still doesn’t quite seem ‘Presidential’. The funny thing is that she seems to me to be the ‘Most Opposite of Trump’ candidate on the stage. She makes sense, seems honest and knows what she is talking about. Uncle Joe stayed awake almost to the end, and Bernie, and Elizabeth are still the two economic wonders of the world. Pete is a really smart ‘alec’ who probably has learned a lot about California winemaking this month, and Andrew is making more sense by giving less money away. Nobody else really mattered. Maybe I missed something? However, it is nice to see another Billionaire in the field. Can you imagine Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg in a future debate?
Maybe this is the time to add the third line of the playground chant before a race—“Three, to get ready”? That’s certainly what Nancy, Chuck, and Mitch are doing, each in their own way. Fortunately, for all concerned (except Mitch), grade school has just been suspended for a ten day Holiday Recess. This is the perfect ‘kick-start’ for Nany’s delay-of-game program and for Chuck to get his play calling cards stacked in the right order. I think that Nancy will delay turning over the articles of Impeachment Documents until Chuck gets Mitch’s OK on the witness list and documents subpoenaed but not released by Trump and a time schedule that will allow both witness and documents to be given a fair hearing in the trial. If any of you readers believe Mitch will ever agree to that you had better turn in your MAGA cap and red tie.
Personally, I’m going to use this period of ‘peace and joy without the usual amount of political chatter on the rooftop’ to brush up the winter coat of Hubris, and shovel out the horse biscuits he has deposited as his ‘Christmas presents’ for me in the corral. While I am doing that, and if Hubris is paying attention, we are going to try to guess just what ‘game-plan’ Chuck and Nancy are going to develop and implement to keep Donald hanging by his thumbs until Mitch gives them the reasonable tools they deserve to have in the Senate trial. Then Hubris and I will shout, “And Four, we GO! But that hasn’t happened, yet. So, until next week and, probably, a lot longer, it’s only Hi Ho Hubris, Aawaay!
Lou
Copyright, December 22, 2019, Louis J. Christen