Vote Like Hell

A Trump acquittal means democracy is finally dead.  It has been heading that way for a very long time and the President's acquittal is the culmination of that journey. We have complained about politicians for decades, but fail to use the single power that we have to keep them honest.  Voting is our single biggest weapon against the erosion of what the founding fathers built.  Lets break this down.

Politicians from the last impeachment should not still be in office. Yes, I support term limits.  Their flip on witnesses from the Clinton impeachment should tell the voting public what they are truly interested in. The 51-49 vote does not match the public’s opinion. Who do they represent? The better question is what do they represent. Even a Fox News poll showed Trump should be removed.  In a representative democracy, their vote should have mirrored the people's voice.  I realize these and other polls show a slim majority leaning toward conviction, but it is obvious that the acquittal was voted on along party lines.  Voting will keep them loyal to voters and not the party issues they convince us are important.

This story does show a failure of the American presidency, but the bigger story is the failure of checks and balances.  Each branch does not work for each other.  The idea was for each branch not to have too much power and keep the others responsible.  This impeachment will for sure go down in history as the official end to another key desire of the founding fathers.  I used to joke in my classroom about how people will be written into the textbooks when my kids are in school.  Now, I'm not so sure how this fits in a history book.  Maybe it is the turning point for a political revolution in our country or maybe the beginning of a dark time in our history.

This shameful display will empower trump to behave worse and he will.  The lawyers argument that serving his interests is the same as serving the people's interests is dangerous.  If the people have elected Trump, then he is acting on behalf of the people to get re-elected.  This doesn't sound like an exercise in checks and balances, but rather an OJ style acquittal of a criminal.   Using this logic sends us a step closer to a dictatorship.  Yep, I said it.  What does it tell us that he is now firing those who testified and complied with subpoenas?  He thinks he is above the law and the Senate just gave him license to do that.

The only way to right this wrong is to vote like hell.  We have to communicate to candidates that we want public servants, not politicians.  Mitt Romney emerged as a hero in this regard, much like John McCain often did.  He's a Republican that voted the values of his constituency and himself (because he embodies the people he represents).  These are the people we should vote for.  Those who will publicly rise for what is best for the people he represents.  We have to demand more from both sides of the isle.  If we do, there might be no more isle and a different non-compliant Whitehouse official would be moving his stuff out this week.

I am happy to be a Democrat, but we have to recognize that this impeachment trial was a turning point for our country.  Vote like hell at every level.  Demand public service from our representatives.  Right now they are concerned about winning.  In the meantime, the people are losing.