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Impeachment: Dump Trump or dump Democrats
By Melissa Martin, Ph.D.
Impeachment. Yay or nay. What do you say?
House Democrats are conducting an official inquiry into allegations
that President Donald Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
Impeachment and U.S. Presidents. “While only three previous presidents
faced serious threat of removal, one out of four confronted formal
accusations in the House,” according to a 2019 article in The New York
Times.
President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House but acquitted after
Senate trials. Is the current chaos a form of liberal revenge for the
past sex scandal in the Oval Office?
President Richard Nixon resigned before the full House could vote on
impeachment. Does the Trump “Smear Gate” even compare to Watergate? Or
is it a worse offense?
“The House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times but
less than a third have led to full impeachments. Just eight—all federal
judges—have been convicted and removed from office by the Senate.
Outside of the 15 federal judges impeached by the House, two Presidents
(Andrew Johnson in 1868 and William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton in 1998),
a cabinet secretary (William Belknap in 1876), and a U.S. Senator
(William Blount of Tennessee in 1797) have also been impeached.”
www.history.house.gov.
“The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United
States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction
of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”— U.S.
Constitution, Article II, section 4. www.history.house.gov.
Do politicians cry wolf when they don’t get their way? “Indeed, I don’t like this or that, so I will cry impeachment!”
How many hands in Washington D.C. are clean? “But my hands are somewhat
cleaner than your dirty hands!” Step forth politician without sin and
throw the first stone.
We teach children that character matters. Yet, a leader with character
defects and disturbing behaviors (i.e., lying, cheating, stealing,
spying) is not necessarily mentally ill. A leader that lacks altruism,
empathy for humanity, and kindness is not necessarily mentally ill.
America has elected a leader that does not fit the norm—that doesn’t
mean he is mentally ill. Trump is narcissistic, disrespectful to
females, discriminating against minorities, and a billionaire that
misuses his power. His impulsive tongue and emotional reactions are
what lands him in hot water, along with his twitter tantrums. He
probably missed the lesson on how to agree to disagree with tact (i.e.,
diplomacy, sensitivity, thoughtfulness) in grade school.
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump is a 2017 book. More than 27
psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health experts offered their
consensus view that Trump's mental state presents a clear and present
danger to our nation and individual well-being.
The 2017 rebuttal book is called Twilight of American Sanity: A
Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump. “Calling Trump crazy allows us
to avoid confronting the craziness in our society—if we want to get
sane, we must first gain insight about ourselves. Simply put: Trump
isn’t crazy, but our society is,” declares the author.
Both the American Psychological Association and the American
Psychiatric Association have policies stating it’s unethical to
diagnose public figures from afar.
I didn’t vote for Donald or Hillary. I am not in cahoots with Republicans or Democrats. I belong to the Disillusioned Party.
Impeachment. Yay or nay. What do you say?
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and
therapist. She lives in Southern Ohio. Contact her at
melissamcolumnist@gmail.com.
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