I mean, like, it's weird what is impeachable. Andrew Jackson told the Supreme Court to fuck off while he did a genocide, and he gets to be on our money. Harry Truman's decision to detonate Fat Man was probably unnecessary, as the Japanese government was still trying to figure out wtf happened in Hiroshima. That killed at least 40 kilohumans. Dick Nixon, even just before he was elected, made a deal with the South Vietnamese to prolong the war -- which led a lot of people to die -- and both parties of the deal to lose everything at the end. In a lot of ways, what Trump has done is, on an absolute moral scale, not very bad. The conflict in the Donbass is certainly terrible, but not on the scale of any of the others.
But politics takes lives or saves lives as a matter of course. Even the most humble city councilman makes decisions on, say, road safety or policing, that can quite literally be a life and death decision for someone. A politician who kills few is rarely appreciated, a politician who kills many is typically celebrated. Such is our species.
So what exactly were we all mad about again? Well, it comes down to the fact Trump isn't playing the game right. Not only is he doing the game all wrong, but he's cheating. And cheating, well, that's just too far! Burn the land and boil the seas, but you can't cheat me. Trump withheld funding from an ally in a war, because he wanted to get them to announce an investigation into his rival. This is beyond dispute. He confessed to it on live television, and no witness in the impeachment hearings said anything to the contrary. However, they do look like they're in the middle of a cover-up as well. Only recently resigned government employees, as well as current employees who ignored mandates not to testify, made up the evidence. No subpoenaed documents were handed over. Looks like more cheating. But if it is, I don't understand the reason for it -- why cover up something when you've already offered a willful confession?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and think that people don't think this kind of cheating is all that important, because everyone cheats. Or at least, everyone in politics cheats. People who cheat themselves are much more likely to think everyone cheats. But see, there's a game to this, and in politics, everyone cheats within the rules. Heck, they even get to make the rules. Like, Congressmen are exempt from insider trading statutes, insofar as their elected duties give them knowledge of law changes. But he's the goddamn President, you know? Cheating outside the law, while simultaneously being the person responsible for executing the law is not acceptable. Cheating with government resources to benefit oneself is considered fairly bad in a republic, especially when it involves arms, like that time Gaius Julius Caesar cheated the law by crossing the Rubicon with an army. This is why the liberals are in an uproar -- the difference between your garden variety cheating like campaign finance rules, and cheating that crosses the line into actual corruption.
So I think the main dispute has never been about facts, but about whether or not this is worthy of removal from office. The standard is not about what is good and moral, it's about what is acceptable behavior in politics. This kind of stuff used to be acceptable in the U.S. up until the 1910s until, all of a sudden, it really wasn't. Civilization has a ratchet effect. Unfortunately, we still like doing violence to each other an awful lot, so we haven't got around making that completely unacceptable.
But what if it really was about how good and moral Donald J. Trump was? Can anyone offer an argument about how good Trump is? Would you want your child to grow up like him? Come on guys, this is the time! Stand up and say that Trump can't possibly be a criminal, because it's not in his character. Regale us with tales of his wise and moral decisions. Republicans have been doing a great job attacking the witch hunt -- keep it up guys -- but why isn't anyone defending Trump's moral certitude? The House just did the indictment, and the trial is coming up. This is the time to defend your man -- tell us all how our self-proclaimed "chosen one" will lead us with the faith of Joan of Arc and the wisdom of Solomon. Or even just the faith of Billy Graham and the wisdom of Mr. Rogers. Be a character witness.
C'mon. I dare you.
But politics takes lives or saves lives as a matter of course. Even the most humble city councilman makes decisions on, say, road safety or policing, that can quite literally be a life and death decision for someone. A politician who kills few is rarely appreciated, a politician who kills many is typically celebrated. Such is our species.
So what exactly were we all mad about again? Well, it comes down to the fact Trump isn't playing the game right. Not only is he doing the game all wrong, but he's cheating. And cheating, well, that's just too far! Burn the land and boil the seas, but you can't cheat me. Trump withheld funding from an ally in a war, because he wanted to get them to announce an investigation into his rival. This is beyond dispute. He confessed to it on live television, and no witness in the impeachment hearings said anything to the contrary. However, they do look like they're in the middle of a cover-up as well. Only recently resigned government employees, as well as current employees who ignored mandates not to testify, made up the evidence. No subpoenaed documents were handed over. Looks like more cheating. But if it is, I don't understand the reason for it -- why cover up something when you've already offered a willful confession?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and think that people don't think this kind of cheating is all that important, because everyone cheats. Or at least, everyone in politics cheats. People who cheat themselves are much more likely to think everyone cheats. But see, there's a game to this, and in politics, everyone cheats within the rules. Heck, they even get to make the rules. Like, Congressmen are exempt from insider trading statutes, insofar as their elected duties give them knowledge of law changes. But he's the goddamn President, you know? Cheating outside the law, while simultaneously being the person responsible for executing the law is not acceptable. Cheating with government resources to benefit oneself is considered fairly bad in a republic, especially when it involves arms, like that time Gaius Julius Caesar cheated the law by crossing the Rubicon with an army. This is why the liberals are in an uproar -- the difference between your garden variety cheating like campaign finance rules, and cheating that crosses the line into actual corruption.
So I think the main dispute has never been about facts, but about whether or not this is worthy of removal from office. The standard is not about what is good and moral, it's about what is acceptable behavior in politics. This kind of stuff used to be acceptable in the U.S. up until the 1910s until, all of a sudden, it really wasn't. Civilization has a ratchet effect. Unfortunately, we still like doing violence to each other an awful lot, so we haven't got around making that completely unacceptable.
But what if it really was about how good and moral Donald J. Trump was? Can anyone offer an argument about how good Trump is? Would you want your child to grow up like him? Come on guys, this is the time! Stand up and say that Trump can't possibly be a criminal, because it's not in his character. Regale us with tales of his wise and moral decisions. Republicans have been doing a great job attacking the witch hunt -- keep it up guys -- but why isn't anyone defending Trump's moral certitude? The House just did the indictment, and the trial is coming up. This is the time to defend your man -- tell us all how our self-proclaimed "chosen one" will lead us with the faith of Joan of Arc and the wisdom of Solomon. Or even just the faith of Billy Graham and the wisdom of Mr. Rogers. Be a character witness.
C'mon. I dare you.
"Kitto daijoubu da yo." - Sakura Kinomoto