The time has come for the House of Representatives, under Democratic control, to begin the ground work needed for the impeachment of Donald Trump, for having committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” in office.
The historical record needs this impeachment action, even with the understanding that the Republican controlled Senate will not remove Trump from office.
If the Republicans went ahead in 1998-1999 to impeach and attempt to convict and remove Bill Clinton from the Presidency, on a case far less abusive and dangerous than Donald Trump, knowing it would not succeed, then there is no excuse for the Democrats to avoid doing the same.
The Republicans will be condemned for allowing the abuse of power that Donald Trump has been waging since Day One of his Presidency, and while it will distract somewhat from the basic agenda of ideas that Democratic Presidential candidates are pursuing, it is part and parcel of the essential responsibility that the Democrats have, to hold Donald Trump accountable.
If they fail to do that, they will be pilloried in history for having overlooked and ignored the movement toward authoritarianism, and it would encourage future Presidents to abuse power in the same manner.
So this is a character lesson for the future of the American Presidency and American democracy, and there is no room for weak leadership, whether from House leadership or Senate leadership of the Democratic Party. Courage and principle are required, and Donald Trump needs to be held accountable, so that in future generations, young people will learn about the evil and the wrongs visited upon the American people by a very evil man, far more evil than even Richard Nixon.
Our future national security and ability to have foreign alliances with democratic nations is also at stake, as well as the perpetuation of the wonderful domestic programs promoted by Presidents of both parties from Theodore Roosevelt through Barack Obama.
When one looks back at impeachments in the past, not only that of Bill Clinton pales by comparison, but also that of Andrew Johnson. And as dangerous as Richard Nixon was, he looks like a choir boy by comparison to Donald Trump.