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Pardon might be the Trump card

President George W. Bush used to say he was a “uniter; not a divider” and in a lot of ways he was right. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of his conservative politics and I felt he jumped onto too many popular causes to solidify his constituent base. But he was good for the country, overall, and while I would have preferred both of his opponents, the country survived quite well under his leadership. While I rarely agreed with his political decisions, I never thought he was actually wrong — he just wasn’t as correct as I wanted him to be.

I can’t say the same for the current president. He’s inexperienced in government affairs and can’t distinguish between looking out for the good of the country and looking out for the good of his family. Plus, his lack of integrity (he lies a lot) suggests he’s not qualified to lead our nation. (It’s nothing personal. Most of us loved the guy when he was on David Letterman a lot and then started his popular reality TV show.) Essentially, his wealth, the novelty of his candidacy, and his television persona got him elected — not his leadership skills.

But that’s not surprising to many who voted for him. A few years ago, some Democrats were loudly discussing who should run against the current occupant in 2020. The most popular choice was Oprah Winfrey. You know her, right? She’s wealthy, her campaign would be a novelty, and her television persona would get her elected — not her leadership skills. Sound familiar? Thank goodness Oprah did exactly what Trump should have done — briefly revelled in the glory of being considered, then gracefully declining to be nominated.

It’s clear our celebrity culture is not working. It’s fun, but it’s not working. We need leaders in leadership roles, entertainers in entertainment roles, and a good educational system so we, the people, can tell the difference.

So, I don’t really fault the president for taking advantage of his celebrity status, wealth, and media savvy to satiate his ego and run for president. I blame, mostly, those people who didn’t see through his sham and elected him. And now, after several years of watching him in action, some of those people are willing to join in the Democrats as they try to impeach him.

I can’t stress enough how bad impeachment is for the country.

First, unless it is clear to members of both parties that impeachment is absolutely necessary, impeachment will turn into a political tool to attack opponents. Most know that only one president (Andrew Johnson) was impeached in the history of the United States prior to 1998. (Nixon narrowly escaped such a fate by resigning first). Bill Clinton was impeached for lying to a grand jury. Some Democrats considered it purely political and cannot forgive the Republicans for their dirty tricks. Enough Republicans consider this current impeachment inquiry as a political ploy, too, and won’t hesitate to start an impeachment as soon as a Democrat is elected president. See how bad this can get, fast?

Right now, though, I think Trump actually wants to be impeached, and even convicted. Has anyone noticed him acting more and more defiant as it becomes apparent that he has misused his office?

I have a theory: I have always thought that Trump’s political inexperience would backfire on him. He was elected in a very close race, and he knows he won’t be able to capture enough swing voters to get re-elected in 2020. So I think he’s figured that impeachment is better than losing an election. He’s now doing everything possible to ensure the House votes to impeach, knowing the Senate will likely not convict him. Then, he resigns, and his replacement (vice president MikePence) issues a full and unconditional pardon, much like President Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974.

It’s just my theory. For now.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News and an attorney in Esko who is finally hosting the longtime cable access talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7 again. His opinions are his own. Contact him at Pete.Radosevich@ PineKnotNews.com.

 
 

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