This editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune. The Trib didn't endorse either Clinton or Trump - they didn't believe either possessed the basic and essential ethics to hold the position..
https://www.chicagotribune.com/colu...0191216-tckivuw7q5gnzhnc5pe56uhiwy-story.html
From the moment he took office, Donald Trump’s impeachment was inevitable. Democrats knew it. Republicans knew it too.
This week, House Democrats will get what they have craved for three years. They are expected to vote to impeach the 45th president of the United States.
No one was “out to get” Trump or to trap him, as Republicans insisted throughout the impeachment hearings. There was no need to. All Democrats had to do was wait. They knew it would only be a matter of time before Trump dug his own hole and buried himself deep inside it.
Democrats were never the dragons Trump needed to slay, though. His reckless impulsiveness and his deep-seated insecurities were his greatest enemies. His insatiable need to prove his legitimacy as president was the Achilles heel that enveloped him in controversy during much of his first term in the White House.
The majority of Americans realized that Trump was a self-indulgent fraud from the start. We knew he had traveled a corrupt and treacherous road his entire adult life, and given the chance, he would drag our nation along with him.
We heard him take the oath of office and doubted every word.
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Trump would never be able to live up to such a high standard. No one so dishonorable could. His lack of integrity was never in question. Long before he became president, Trump told us who he was.
America foolishly elected a self-proclaimed deal-closer who had filed for bankruptcy six times and has a penchant for ripping off innocent people. He founded the now defunct Trump University, which New York prosecutors accused of “swindling thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars.”
Last month, a judge ruled that his tax-exempt Donald J. Trump Foundation had misused funds to subsidize his for-profit businesses, boost his 2016 campaign and pay for frivolous things like a painting of himself. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million in damages and shut the foundation down for good.
Beyond that, Trump was a dangerous and greedy Washington neophyte, whose imbecility made him a sitting duck for political vultures like Russia, which identified him immediately as someone who might easily be manipulated.
If Democrats failed to impeach, they would be as complicit as Republicans in allowing Trump to go unchecked as he bucked the Constitution and put our democracy at risk. But the timing had to be right and the charges abundantly clear.
Many Americans grew impatient waiting for House Democrats to make their move. Nothing he had done thus far, however, met the standard to impeach. Speaker Nancy Pelosi remained steadfast in her resolve, knowing that Trump would eventually provide them a chance to prove how ruthless he is.
In April, he handed Democrats exactly what they wanted. He made a telephone call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, asking him to delve into the 2020 election by investigating Trump’s political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for military aid and a White House meeting.
It was a clear and concise case of abuse of power, one of the articles of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Committee on Friday. Trump gave them additional ammunition by blocking witness testimony during the hearings and ignoring subpoenas. That was the basis of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress.
Yes, Democrats have long awaited this impeachment. Republicans will see to it that Trump remains in office, but his corruption will be recorded in history. Most importantly, though, the record will show that someone at least tried to stop him.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/colu...0191216-tckivuw7q5gnzhnc5pe56uhiwy-story.html
From the moment he took office, Donald Trump’s impeachment was inevitable. Democrats knew it. Republicans knew it too.
This week, House Democrats will get what they have craved for three years. They are expected to vote to impeach the 45th president of the United States.
No one was “out to get” Trump or to trap him, as Republicans insisted throughout the impeachment hearings. There was no need to. All Democrats had to do was wait. They knew it would only be a matter of time before Trump dug his own hole and buried himself deep inside it.
Democrats were never the dragons Trump needed to slay, though. His reckless impulsiveness and his deep-seated insecurities were his greatest enemies. His insatiable need to prove his legitimacy as president was the Achilles heel that enveloped him in controversy during much of his first term in the White House.
The majority of Americans realized that Trump was a self-indulgent fraud from the start. We knew he had traveled a corrupt and treacherous road his entire adult life, and given the chance, he would drag our nation along with him.
We heard him take the oath of office and doubted every word.
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Trump would never be able to live up to such a high standard. No one so dishonorable could. His lack of integrity was never in question. Long before he became president, Trump told us who he was.
America foolishly elected a self-proclaimed deal-closer who had filed for bankruptcy six times and has a penchant for ripping off innocent people. He founded the now defunct Trump University, which New York prosecutors accused of “swindling thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars.”
Last month, a judge ruled that his tax-exempt Donald J. Trump Foundation had misused funds to subsidize his for-profit businesses, boost his 2016 campaign and pay for frivolous things like a painting of himself. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million in damages and shut the foundation down for good.
Beyond that, Trump was a dangerous and greedy Washington neophyte, whose imbecility made him a sitting duck for political vultures like Russia, which identified him immediately as someone who might easily be manipulated.
If Democrats failed to impeach, they would be as complicit as Republicans in allowing Trump to go unchecked as he bucked the Constitution and put our democracy at risk. But the timing had to be right and the charges abundantly clear.
Many Americans grew impatient waiting for House Democrats to make their move. Nothing he had done thus far, however, met the standard to impeach. Speaker Nancy Pelosi remained steadfast in her resolve, knowing that Trump would eventually provide them a chance to prove how ruthless he is.
In April, he handed Democrats exactly what they wanted. He made a telephone call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, asking him to delve into the 2020 election by investigating Trump’s political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in exchange for military aid and a White House meeting.
It was a clear and concise case of abuse of power, one of the articles of impeachment approved by the House Judiciary Committee on Friday. Trump gave them additional ammunition by blocking witness testimony during the hearings and ignoring subpoenas. That was the basis of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress.
Yes, Democrats have long awaited this impeachment. Republicans will see to it that Trump remains in office, but his corruption will be recorded in history. Most importantly, though, the record will show that someone at least tried to stop him.
