President Donald Trump has had a controversial run during his three years in office. But with the allegations and potential investigation on Trump, and his lack of cooperation, the idea has been thrown around once again. Whether this investigation or impeachment will go through, only time will tell. But with the idea of impeachment coming back, some choose to say that impeachment is only a tool of the democratic party to use for themselves. Even though these naysayers have the right to think this and have some ground, the ground they stand on doesn’t hold very much validity for a valid argument in terms of the idea of the idea of checks and balances and the core of a democratic government.
When Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into President Trump, it came as no surprise that the majority of the conservative base and political leaders flocked to his aid, providing a multitude of defenses. Downplaying the significance of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Volensky, claiming lies and falsified evidence, and more. One argument that stands out from the others though, that has been widely spread among republicans is the idea that the democrat-led impeachment inquiry is not an appropriate and needed use of checks and balances, but a partisan attack against Republicans, and thus an illegitimate use of power.
But even if it wasn’t a democratic-led impeachment, the idea of impeaching President Trump is still a valid choice given his controversial decision making. If there was a president in the Democratic Party who was also making massively public and questionable actions, Republicans would want to impeach them as well. And if they don’t want to have the argument of “it’s a partisan choice to carry on with their plans,” how is that any different from the current situation we find ourselves now?
This rhetoric of playing offensively rather than defensively in the face of evidence is not a new tactic and is understandably quite popular among conservatives, but here it fails to hold up under scrutiny. Technically, claiming that democratic leadership is overstepping with Speaker Pelosi’s decision to push forward with impeachment doesn’t hold much power in Congress, especially when evidence to back up such a claim doesn’t exist. But it doesn’t need to hold up in Congress, as it has a different use. It gives the larger conservative base a reason to disregard the evidence against Trump. When it comes down to it, while the Senate has the power to remove Trump from office, republican senators are only likely to vote for impeachment if they believe their base would also support impeachment. Claims that an impeachment investigation is an overstep by democrats no matter how flimsy those claims are still influence the republican base, and thus the senators that represent them in their decision to vote Trump out of office or not.
It’s also worth noting that the investigating party of an impeachment investigation doesn’t determine the motives and validity of such an investigation. It’s true that the removal of Trump from office (or at least impeachment by the house) is something that many democrats have wanted for a long time, and conflict of interest is definitely something to consider throughout the investigation. However, claims that the phone call between President Trump and President Volensky are nothing more than democratic fake-news and propaganda are simply incorrect, as the record of such a call has been confirmed by the White House, as well as a transcript of its contents released.
It is ok to turn a blind eye at a topic or situation that you’d rather not pay attention to, but when you choose one side and start discrediting the other with little to no base to go off of just puts you in a corner that leaves you open for scrutiny. Much of what President Trump has done by claiming that “This is the Greatest Which Hunt in US History.” Of course there might be some more personal and partisan gains for the Democrats, but at least they have more solid ground to impeach President Trump, who could arguably have had many reasons to be impeached anyways. There is solid and public evidence for this investigation to go through and we, the people, at the least need answers.
