AS I SEE IT
For the second time, Democrats and a select group of Republicans have failed to impeach Donald Trump of misdoings, while he served as President of the United States.
Trump, who will now go down in history as being the only U.S. president to be subject to impeachment twice, was acquitted on charges that he incited the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Earlier in his presidency, Trump was also acquitted by the Senate on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges.
It is a foregone conclusion that Democrats have disliked Trump from the very moment that he took office following his defeat of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election. Democrats have used every opportunity that Trump gave them to criticize him. And over the four years in office, he gave them lots of reasons to be critical of him.
But at the end of the day, just because members of Congress dislike a president, doesn’t mean that they should constantly be working to use the impeachment process to remove a president from office. Doing so by a majority party, in this case the Democrats, sets a very bad precedent. And one has to wonder if they understand that they have opened a Pandora’s Box where every future president is going to be subjected to similar actions by partisan politics.
With the latest round of impeachment proceedings now over, it is time for Congress to get to work taking care of the business of the United States. And that starts with getting schools and businesses reopened, restarting the American economy and getting Americans back to work. They have to deal with immigration and securing this country’s borders.
The list of things that Congress needs to address this year and in the coming years is lengthy to say the least. But hopefully, the partisan politics that has played out in the past four years will not prevent the Democrats and the Republicans from reaching across the aisle and doing what is right for Americans.
Considering the rhetoric, which both parties spewed and that was further fueled by the national media, that led to rioting and looting in American streets this past summer, one of the first orders of business for Congress is to tone down their message of anger and hatred. Donald Trump was not the only person who said things that were inappropriate. There is plenty of blame to be shared by Democrats who championed the cause of those groups who were responsible for so much of the violence and hatred this past year.
Americans take their lead from their leaders. If our leaders choose to be civil toward each other, the American people will follow suit. If our leaders choose to be divisive and spew hatred, they shouldn’t be surprised to see Americans respond in a similar fashion.
When all of America is working together, we can move past our differences and make this the greatest country in the world.
The question is, is Congress willing to do that.
By: Neal A Shipman
Farmer Editor