A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

President Andrew Johnson being served with the summons of impeachment by Congressional Sergeant-at-Arms George T. Brown, as sketched by Harper's Weekly in 1867. (Library of Congress) If President Donald Trump were impeached and Mike Pence became president, how long would his term be? Would it be for 4 years or would there still be a 2020 election? First, let’s clear up certain misconceptions that are laid bare by the wording of the question. Impeachment does not mean “automatic removal of a Federal official by Congressional fiat.” It is a trial under specific conditions that have to be met Impeachment only results in removing a President or other official if, as implied by the term “trial,” if he or (eventually, she) is found guilty by the Senate It’s now late July 2019, and the 2020 election cycle is currently underway. As in, there is a group of aspiring Democratic Presidential candidates already jockeying for prominence and a decent shot of winning the nomination of...

Do any liberals see ways to work with Trump to make improvements for us all, or are they only about getting him out of office? Short version: No. Detailed version: In all honesty, this question is based on a flawed premise, which seems to be this: Donald Trump is working hard to make things better for all Americans, so why don’t the Democrats in Congress and the voting public work with him instead of trying to kick him out of the White House? This is the narrative that Trump supporters, even ones who claim to be middle-of-the-road voters who are “socially liberal but fiscally conservative,” try to push, especially on social media. The Devil, as they say, is in the details. And the details show, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this narrative simply is not true. Or, as George and Ira Gershwin so wittily put it in a song from  Porgy and Bess: It ain’t necessarily so. First, it is my firm belief, based on careful observation of Trump’s actions and utterances sin...