It seems to me that too many progressive Democrats are demonstrating something between learned helplessness and crippling pessimism. So, let me ask you a question. Every time I talk about President Trump being removed from office, I’m hit with a deluge of comments about how that is never going to happen, usually because the Republicans in Congress will never vote to impeach him and his own cabinet will never invoke the 25th amendment.
Those seem like safe assumptions. But why is President Trump so panicked about this investigation then? Why has he acted the way he has? Why did he fire Comey and why do people have to keep talking him out of firing Rosenstein and ultimately Mueller? Why has he obstructed the investigation and instructed congressional Republicans to obstruct the investigation?
Is he just stupid? Does he not realize that no matter what comes out in the investigation, he has absolutely nothing to worry about?
Or, maybe, does he realize that Michael Flynn cut a whale of a deal with the special prosecutor and it wasn’t to testify to things that congressional Republicans can just shrug off? Maybe he’s behaving like a guilty perp because he’s fully aware that his actions can’t stand the light of day.
Think about what you know about Trump. Think about what you already know about how he conducts his business, stiffing contractors and bullying people in court. Think about the model for his real estate licensing and the well established fact that his properties are used by mobsters, drug dealers and oligarchs to launder their money. Think about the fraud he’s committed, for example with Trump University. Think about all the sexual assaults and the bribes he’s paid to keep women quiet. Think about how likely it is that his denials are truthful denials.
Why won’t he release his tax returns? Why was he trying to make a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow as late as December 2015? Why did he hire Paul Manafort? Why was Roger Stone communicating with both Guccifer 2.0 and Julian Assange? Why does Trump act the way he does towards Vladimir Putin? What are the chances that any part of his story is going to hold up once Mueller is done writing his report?
I have no doubt that the Republicans in Congress can shrug off a lot, but the truth is that most of them don’t like Trump and most of them do like Mike Pence.
Spend a day on Capitol Hill and you’ll hear Republican elected officials who publicly say they adore Trump spit unthinkable invective off the record.
My opinion of Republicans could hardly get lower. I’m only asking people to have a little imagination and a little faith. My guess is that we’ll need at least one chamber of Congress under Democratic control to get this done, because we need to control some hearings and be able to call witnesses and make them respond to questions. But I’m not even sure that this will be required. I don’t think Trump is a smart or particularly rational man, but I think his behavior is the best indicator of the risk he faces. He doesn’t think he’s immune to accountability, so why are so many of you willing to lay down and assume that he has impunity?
