From time to time there are indications of the American Society experiencing certain guideposts. As these events occur we normally note them and try to learn from them. We learned from Pearl Harbor and its disaster, we learned from 9/11 and its catastrophe. We learned more about how to defend ourselves and we set up the Homeland Security Department to be our own best sentinel against future disasters. But those disasters came from outside the country. They were caused by warlike factions that we had no control over. Other benchmark moments have not been so clearly noted and apparently we have learned very little from them. We continue to stub our toes on the failures to recognize the harm that we are now causing to ourselves. In 1974, the Nixon administration was rocked by a threatened impeachment. Richard Nixon was accused of hiding evidence that would have shown his awareness of the Watergate break in during his presidential campaign. He refused to turn over 22 minutes of a taped telephone recording from the White House files. Both parties of Congress were ready to impeach Mr. Dixon on his failure to produce evidence. Nixon was forced to resign the presidency–the only president ever to do so. In 1997, the Bill Clinton administration also faced impeachment. He was accused of having an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. There were also other charges that were disproven. But the American public found his behavior, if proven, unacceptable according to societal norms and was willing to consider his impeachment even though it had nothing to do with his political performance as president. Fast forward to the Trump years. Trump was tried through an impeachment court in Congress twice. The first time he was accused of withholding aid from Ukraine unless the corrupt president of Ukraine would support his accusation of wrongdoing by his political enemies. During that impeachment hearing Trump advised 8 individuals who received subpoenas from the US Congress not to appear at the impeachment proceedings. He also withheld thousands of pages of documents that would have shed light on his culpability on the charges being brought. His unwillingness to cooperate was supported by the Republican Party, which defended its president as he refused to provide evidence that could have cleared him of all charges. In his second impeachment hearing, brought about by the January 6th 2021 riot, there were several charges levied at the president including his support for thousands of rioters who attacked Capitol Police officers and destroyed much of the building and celebrated. All this was captured on TV. Do you see a difference between what resulted in Richard Nixon’s eventual resignation and the handling of the two Trump impeachment proceedings? Blame the GOP for shirking their sworn duties to uphold and defend the US Constitution and abandoning their ethical principles. The GOP has revealed that they value holding onto their own jobs more than serving the best interests of America. Let’s hope the voters remember that at the 2026 election.
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