The whiplash of the last several weeks has come full circle. The Mueller Report has been out for 24 hours and it’s clear that Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia and did everything they could to obstruct justice.
Democrats have vacillated for the six months since establishing an electoral majority last November over whether to pursue impeachment. They have distinguished themselves with the work of governing: voting rights, civil rights for the LGBT community, restoring Net Neutrality and laying the groundwork for addressing climate change and health care. But this moment in history calls on them to do more than govern. Our nation has been under attack by a foreign power and a criminal is in the White House who poses a grave and ongoing threat to our national security.
They must also protect us. They must move immediately to impeach Trump.
I don’t argue for impeachment lightly. It was deeply chilling to watch the display recently of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnunchin and conservative activist Candace Owen creating sideshows out of themselves under oath before Congress. They sneered at our Legislators and practically daring them to arrest them for contempt of Congress. On the same day a Republican Congressman joined the action making an asinine word salad of some attempted insult at Democratic former Secretary of State John Kerry, implausibly acting like he questioned the validity of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
The result that day was a barrage of news clips that were straight-up reality tv. Outrageousness to take people’s attention away from Congress’ moves to hold the Trump administration accountable. It was, I believe, a message, delivered to Democratic leaders, telling them to expect an unending circus should Democrats attempt to use the power of their office as provided in the Constitution. It was a horse’s head in the bed. A new page in mobster intimidation.
It. Can’t. Matter. The Democrats must make all the information about Donald Trump’s crimes available in public hearings and they must impeach him.
Our nation, our people, and I’m sure, our legislators themselves, have been subjected to threats of violence from the inception of the 2016 campaign. It is wise to treat threats seriously and take steps to reduce potential harm. But appeasement gradually validates their fascism. It never dismantles it. As Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recognized in her statement endorsing impeachment yesterday, Democrats must now act to protect the nation.
The Republicans and their goons, the racist goons, the Russian goons, their NRA goons have been threatening a fight if we resist their corruption of our democracy. We have to refuse to be intimidated. We have to call their bluff, not because they won’t hurt people, but because we let them get stronger and consolidate power the longer we delay the confrontation.
People, those of us who marched in the Women’s March in 2017, and everyone who believes in democracy and the rule of law need to speak out publicly continuously now until this nightmare ends. We need to organize millions of us to occupy Washington DC. We need to march in our own communities. It’s as simple as today – make a sign and head to a corner.
I had a clear realization as I headed home from the Women’s March the day after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, that there will be no good news from here on out, except what we create ourselves. We are capable of creating this good news and ending this administration. It will take work and an enormous amount of our time for the coming months and probably through the end of 2020. It will change our lives.
Let’s let it change us. Let’s become a community of parents, organizers, artists, writers and teachers like we’ve only ever dreamed of. Let’s build new lives around the democracy we want to leave our children.
