Impeachment, day 1: A few thoughts
The first day of public impeachment hearings went as well as could be expected, if not more.
The first two witnesses to testify—longtime State Department official George Kent and Ambassador William Taylor—were from central casting. They weren't wild-eyed partisans. They weren't there to bury Donald Trump in Democratic-inspired opprobrium. They are public servants of long standing, serving under presidents of both parties. As Taylor said, they were there as fact-witnesses; what the committee does with the facts is up to it. But good Lord, what facts they laid out.
Taylor's peroration, especially, was devastating. In intricate detail, he laid out how Trump's holding back of military aid to Ukraine literally cost lives. Ukrainian soldiers were killed due to the withholding of aid. Ukraine, a frontline state facing Russian aggression, was left to twist in the wind in the service of Trump's petty grievances and political machinations. I'm not one to pretend that US foreign policy is as Caesar's wife; however, I can't think of any point in American history where a vital foreign policy goal, which enjoys bipartisan support, has been held hostage to a president's corrupt whims. (Yes, I'm using the "p" word in relation to Trump, because, like it or not, that's what he is at this moment.)
In devastating fashion, they laid out a litany of malfeasance and double-dealing at the highest level of our government. As I was listening to Taylor's opening statement on my way to work, as he went through the timeline of the entire sordid affair, I was again struck by the louche and stereotypical mobster air of it all. The way that the two witnesses described the actions of EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland was straight out of a cheap mafia movie. The language Trump used would have embarrassed Mario Puzo. Trump is a penny ante mobster surrounded by consiglieres of mobster origin—Kelly Anne Conway and Rudy Giuliani. To understand this regime, you have to imagine what would have happened if John Gotti had somehow been installed in the White House. This is the shameful pass in which we find ourselves. We often speak of Russia being a "mafia state". That's what Trump and his circle want to turn the US into.
The questioning was no less devastating, on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats laid out a clear catalog of criminality. Their questioning was precise and measured, drawing out more information from the witnesses.
Meanwhile, Republicans flailed around, trying to muddy the waters, impugn the witnesses, and play to the only person they cared about, Donald Trump. Democrats were speaking to Americans who were concerned but still on the fence. Republicans were speaking to a Trump rally crowd. They're already on board on calling this a witch hunt; they won't win the election in 2020.
What was made clear is that our democratic institutions are slow to move, but once they do move they do so with alacrity. As I wrote earlier, Trump was never ready for the weight of our institutions to turn their stern gaze to him. He thought that as president, he had unlimited power. He had no idea that his power, such as it was, was circumscribed. He wouldn't be able to fill all levels of government with his toadies. Patriots would fight back, and fight to uphold the Constitution. That's what's happening now.
And don't forget the most important factor in how we got to now: the American people.
They didn't fail in 2016. Hillary Clinton would be president anywhere else. They were failed by the very system which has now turned against Trump. And in 2018 they acted to make sure that the system which acted to place Trump in power would now act to mete out justice. Yesterday's events were made possible by an enraged people which has no desire to live in a mafia state. Their faith was made manifest in that hearing room. You can be ironic or roll your eyes; if we lose faith in our better natures, we will collapse into chaos.
Yesterday was the GOP's best chance to derail events, and it failed miserably. It will only get worse from here on out. While I don't want to get ahead of myself, how the next few weeks unfold will reshape our country. I don't exaggerate when I say this is a world-historical moment. May we be up to the challenge.