The House Rules Committee voted yesterday to approve six hours of debate today on the House floor regarding two articles of impeachment. Unsurprisingly, the vote was along party lines.
Given its Democratic Party majority, it is likely that the House will impeach President Trump today or tomorrow. Given its Republican Party majority, it is likely that the Senate will then acquit the president.
According to a new poll, 85 percent of Democrats say the president should be impeached and removed, while 86 percent of Republicans say he should not. Independents are split 47 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed.
In other words, it seems that the two-party politics mirrored in the impeachment debate reflect the two-party divisions of our nation.
But I’m not sure things are that simple.
Five ways to view impeachment
At least five positions are at work regarding the impeachment process. We can examine them on a spectrum from the president’s strongest critics to his strongest supporters.
Some critics have been trying to impeach President Trump for years. A House member called for his impeachment in September 2017 after the president criticized NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem. The same House member then introduced impeachment articles in December 2017 after the controversy in Charlottesville, Virginia. Those who take this position have long believed that the president is unfit for office and seek his removal.
A second view focuses specifically on President Trump’s conduct with regard to Ukraine and his refusal to provide requested documents to House committees, claiming that these actions constitute grounds for impeachment. Nearly the entire Democratic Party membership in the House has taken this position, though some Democrats are expected to vote against impeachment.
A third view is that the president’s conduct has been irresponsible but not necessarily impeachable. Those in this camp…
… Read More
—
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.