Calhoun: Impeachment is bad news for Dems in 2020

DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump pictured with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Boatner Calhoun, Sports Editor

The threat of impeachment against Trump is nothing new. From Russian hackers to bold claims out of ‘the squad,’ impeachment has lingered over Trump’s presidency for a while, never becoming a foreseeable reality, until now. It’s happening. 

After Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last Tuesday that the house is launching an official impeachment inquiry into President Trump over his dealings with Ukraine, impeachment seems to be almost a certainty, with close to every House Democrat, and even some across the aisle, supporting an impeachment inquiry on Trump. 

If the article passes, Trump is impeached and will be tried for his crimes in front of the Senate. From there, the Senate will decide the President’s punishment, needing a 2/3rd majority to remove him from office. While the Democrats have a majority in the House, the Senate is held by Republicans, and with senators not wanting to lose support from Trump voters, the chances of Trump being removed from office are practically zero. However, the efforts made by House Democrats to achieve their dreams of a Trump-less oval office will not turn out as they hope. 

If impeachment proceedings move forward, it would hurt the Democrats’ chances in 2020, catapulting Trump back into office.

How? Well, Trump has been adamant that he will not concede and is ready to take his opponents down with him. This is the case for the Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, whose own dodgy dealings with Ukraine were thrown into the spotlight after the inquiry launched. Biden has been the outright leader in the race since he announced he was running and is generally considered to have the best chance at beating Trump. Pairing the scandal with his blunder-filled campaign trail, Biden is struggling to hang onto his lead.  As hands get dirtier and words get harsher, Biden’s chances of beating Trump lower and, therefore, so does the chances of a Democrat being elected. 

Is Trump even allowed to run again after impeachment? Actually, yes

The Senate can either remove him from office or remove and also disqualify him from future office. However, neither of which will happen with the Republican majority and without a 2/3th majority vote for either and Trump would technically be acquitted of his crimes. 

There has never been a similar case in American politics as Nixon and Clinton were in their second terms, and Johnson, the only president other than Clinton to be impeached, was denied the nomination by his party, a move the Republicans today will not make. 

Impeachment actually raised support for Bill Clinton, to his highest approval rating ever, and in Trump’s case, he will feel the same effect, if not stronger. If Trump is acquitted, his aggressive rhetoric would only gain another weapon, finally having found the “not guilty” verdict he could not from the Russia investigation. Emboldened by his declared “innocence,” Trump would be seen as a martyr by his supporters, rallying to defend their ‘innocent’ leader. Motivation from his supporters to keep Trump in office would skyrocket after their fearless leader barely survived the malicious attempt on his life, honor and office by the Satan-worshipping, baby-eating, communists-sympathizing Democrats and corrupt “swamp” dwellers. 

Seriously, though, Trump will most likely garner support from impeachment, not lose it.

As the standard of Democratic candidates moves farther left, adopting socialist policies and evermore extreme gun policies, moderates will undoubtedly be shifted further away from both sides, left without a preferable option, choosing the lesser of the two evils or to not vote at all. If the moderates that voted for Clinton in 2016 do not vote Democrat in 2020, rallied and emboldened Trump supporters will see to it that America gets four more years of their god-king in office.

 

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the Senate needs a 3/5th majority vote to remove the president from office. The Senate needs a 2/3rd majority vote. Additionally, it was previously stated that most House Democrats are ready to pass articles of impeachment. This has been corrected to say that they support the impeachment inquiry on the President.