As fed up as we all are with the soap opera playing out in the US, I am nonetheless intrigued why no one in mainstream media sees the obvious about the unfolding Donald Trump impeachment episodes.
There are specific rules and processes that must be followed in order for impeachment to result in the removal from office of a sitting US President (or other qualifying public official). If I have this right, a key factor is who controls the two houses where this drama will be played out. The House of Representatives ( currently controlled by the Democratic Party) and the Senate controlled by the Republican Party.
As an aside, the politics in America seems to be no better than here in Africa, where individuals openly use political clout for personal gain. And, given all their pontificating, we thought Americans were above all that.
Interesting too that impeachment is an English Parliament term coined in 1376, yet we only ever hear about it relative to American politics.
But I digress.
So… if the graphic above ( pinched from a very informative Washington Post article) is correct, the impeachment process will sail through the House of Representatives resulting in a trial conducted in the Senate.
At the end of this trial the senators will be required to vote to convict and a 2/3rd majority, will be required in order for the President to be removed from office.
Now here is the obvious crunch. A 2/3 majority means 67 votes are needed. With 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats and Independents, the Senate would need 20 Republicans to vote with the Democrats (assuming they also all vote to convict).
Get my drift? In a country already divided on party/tribal lines, who can see this happening? He is in situ now like Jabba the Hut, only because his party sees fit to keep him there. One begins to understand why the Democrats baulked to impeach for so long. It is almost pointless.
The last president to face this scenario went on to serve a second term. Should this happen again, he will be completely insufferable (is that even possible?) and Mexico will need to build that wall to keep fleeing Yanquis out.
October 3, 2019
Last Updated on October 24, 2019
