It's really happening!
Even though doughfacedonny has about as much chance of being removed from office through the political process of impeachment as Merrick Garland has of being appointed to the Supreme Court, and for the same goddamn reason--looking at you Moscow Mitch--it is an historic day to hear the Democratic House leaders announce that two charges are being recommended for a full House vote. Removing donald from office will not reclaim the stolen election of 2016, it will not repair the damage he has done, and it will not redeem anyone who believed the republican lies. But it has to be done, this is the remedy our republic provides and it must be tried. The deep, underlying reason republicans continue to cling to this treasonous idiot wannabe gangster and dig deeper into ridiculous conspiracy theories to defend him is the subject for trained psychiatrists; maybe it goes no deeper than thinking these logical pretzels they keep twisting themselves into for the public spectacle is actually "owning the 'libs." Whatever that reason is however, right-wingers have chosen to handcuff themselves to a guy who was never really a member of their party, never held office before, looks like a complete fool in every appearance, and just regurgitates (badly) the same shit that fox news deposits in the skulls of every deluded, vicious meatbag. The next steps are going to be hard, times will get ugly, and we will be lucky to survive as a nation of laws.
What I want to caution against is any magical thinking like "history will judge them badly". Magical thinking is what led Democrats to depend almost solely on demographic shifts to let power fall into their laps and not energetically advance a platform of real progress. Magical thinking is also what leads elite media figures to dismiss the danger of doughfacedonny and fascism. They try to operate on the same "both sides are bad," "non-ideological pragmatic centrism is the only acceptable ideology for Democrats" procedures on TV that holds Democrats to an impossible standard while allowing republicans to get away with anything as somehow "balanced." Why that is magical is that it allows media decision-makers to believe they are insulated from danger as long as they refuse to confront the ever-present lies and fascism from bullies they keep inviting on the air.
I watched the announcement on NPR's live stream on Facebook. It was striking what I saw in the real-time comments. Striking because, what the hell is the point of every reprogrammable meatbag chiming in with fox talking points? Is this a real defensive strategy? Make enough noise and somehow the law will be subverted? Yes, impeachment is a political process and not a legal one, but is it really subject to public opinion? And from less than a third of the American voting age population? I suppose, like the clowns calling for parliamentary inquiries and points of order every thirty seconds during Judicial Committee hearings, the commentors think that distracting and obstructing has an effect on what is taking place. Or is it just further "owing of the 'libs"? Are these degenerates really going to care what history thinks of them?
Books about history are written all the time. It must be wonderful to sit in judgment on some historical episode and write about the truth of past crimes and abuses. How often to do any of them change popular perceptions-the real "judgment of history"-of the past? How often do historians get to influence the ability of the public to hold any past leaders to account? The current clamor to get Andrew Jackson off of the twenty dollar bill or changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day notwithstanding, it is very rare for us to look at the past and take action. The point of addressing this fallacy of history's judgment is that for an authoritarian cult like the contemporary republican party it is always the eternal now, they don't care about what happens tomorrow. Republicans do not stand on any principles, nor do they accept criticism from outsiders. So why would any intelligent person believe that what the future will say about their actions concerning the lawlessness, corruption, and lies of doughfacedonny will restrain them in the least?
Magical thinking is a cop out, an excuse for not taking action. It is passing the buck and responsibility to the next generation because of laziness or timidity. But it is troubling to think that most privileged generation of Americans, the baby boomers, are the driving force behind America's descent into authoritarianism. Given how hard-pressed the millennial generation is with financial, job, and debt concerns, does anyone think that this theoretical future generation is going to have time or energy to care about how their world came to be doomed? Much less do anything about it? No, we have to do it now and bringing impeachment charges is the first step toward defanging American fascism.
