I was watching as the House voted on the two articles on impeachment the other night. I had to turn the volume down as the mainstream media talking heads droned on about the "significance of the event"..blah..blah. There was the also the cutaway to the usual Trump Nuremburg type rally in Michigan, with what looked like a bunch of extras from Children of the Corn in the background. I have written previously on this seemingly imbecilic adult American adulation of the President. They remind me of people that buy sports jerseys with the names of other adults on the back...as if whoever they really are is inconsequential. So two things came to mind. First, impeachments are rare, yes, but by next summer it will all be forgotten. Second, this American fealty to the President is a problem, and not the way a true democracy should work.
Life...Liberty...and...
The office of the presidency was pretty much an afterthought when the founding fathers wrote the constitution. It really boiled down to requiring a branch of government to enforce laws. Yes, other powers included appointment of federal judges, establishing treaties and veto power over legislation. However, there was very little debate over this position, in part because of the presence of George Washington, who they all knew would be the first President. No one wanted to offend him with debates over power and authority, as pretty much everyone knew this would not be an issue with GW. The founding fathers, however, knew that people are basically greedy and power hungry, hence the impeachment article. The bottom line, with the exception of that loon Hamilton, the founding fathers did not want a strong executive. The country had just thrown off the yoke of a monarchy, so that was the farthest things from their minds.
...Dear Leader
I sort of get the Republican politicans and their fealty to the current President. They are making their calculations based on potential impacts to their re-electability. There is not much soul-searching going on in the GOP. At this point no one knows how that will play out in the long run. Polls suggest that none of the impeachment proceedings have really changed anyone's mind so far. My point is, support or don't support impeachment, but don't blindly worship an individual. Use some critical thinking and logic and take the individuals out of the equation. Instead focus on what is expected of the position.
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