The "Leader of the Free World" has finally cracked
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| The Charlottesville Terrorist, aka the Pittsburgh Terrorist; aka the El Paso Terrorist, etc., by Spencer Means, CC BY-SA 2/0 |
I was all for Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats taking their time on bringing impeachment charges against Donald Trump. When you aim for the putative king, you'd best not miss. Impeaching him on Day One of Pelosi taking the gavel was not only unrealistic, but would play into his hands, as the country wasn't there yet.
What Democrats' methodical pursuit of Trump has done is ramp up the pressure on a very fragile mind. Drip by drop, like water torture, Democrats have been twisting the knife into Trump. Trump is a man who can't abide anything but adulation. Being subjected to the ignominy of having his crimes and incompetence held up for judgment and ridicule was eventually going to have an effect on him.
Today, he finally cracked.
In a six page screed sent to Speaker Pelosi, he let vent to his barely repressed rage. The swagger of his Twitter tirades was gone; what was revealed was a frightened old man whose world is collapsing around him. Complaint, grievance, conspiracy, hatred: they all flowed through him in impotent rage against a process he can't control and can't stop. He can't even be sure that Pelosi will send the articles voted on tomorrow to the Senate for a trial, or hang on to them, dangling them over him like the sword of Damocles, as she and her committee chairs gather more evidence and add more articles.
Trump has depended on his wealth and notoriety to absolve him of multiple malfeasance before he was installed in the West Wing. Contractors whom he didn't pay and sued him finally gave up the chase, as it was too expensive. Business partners were left high and dry as he declared multiple bankruptcies. He always found a way to come out on top of any sticky situation in which he found himself.
He thought that being putatively the world's most powerful man would continue his ability to escape censure. But politics are different than mobbed-up business deals. Washington isn't the Bada Bing Club. Everyone in DC is sure of one thing: his or her own power, and the will to exercise it when they feel the need. The presidency is not a kingship. The Founders put Congress as the first of the branches of government. Trump is, finally, learning that he made the gravest mistake of his life when he came down that gaudy escalator. His life has been opened to a scrutiny and level of attack he never had to endure as a private celebrity. Demagogues have come and gone; power remains. And that power now has all of its barrels aimed at an orange buffoon.
Trump won't be removed by the Senate. But he should be. This letter manifestly encapsulates that he's not fit to care for himself, much less occupy the White House. He is a danger to the Republic and the world. Republicans, too far gone, can't be expected to do their duty to the Constitution. That task will fall on us.