What Was the Second Impeachment Suppose to Accomplish?

What was the purpose of the second impeachment; the real purpose? To answer that question, we first need to ask what's the purpose of an impeachment in the first place? The Constitution says it's to remove anyone found guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors", but what does that mean?

Simply put, high crimes and misdemeanors are any crimes, regardless of the scale or type committed by an elected officer, whether is simply a matter of conduct, morals, or actual crimes such as thief of public funds, physical assault. Trump was accused of sedition because of text messages taken out of context, which ultimately proved to be a red herring.  So, was there an ulterior motive?

The purpose of the second impeachment was simply not just to remove Trump from office, but to ensure that Trump could never run for office again. They also have to destroy his character so that not just was his reputation ruined, but so was his credibility. Lastly, he had to be destroyed financially. They will keep Trump tied up in court on charges ranging from serious to petty, but all fictitious. Donald Trump has to be not just rendered a spent force, never to rise again, but also held up for all the world to see as a warning. 

As an aside, care to guess what the impeachment cost taxpayers? According to Yahoo Finance, the first impeachment cost about $11.5 million. As for the second impeachment, we simply don't know. Estimates range from 1.83 million up to $33 million.  The investigation and impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1994 cost approximately $80 million dollars. I suspect there's an estimate of the cost of the second impeachment out there...somewhere, but they just don't want us to know about it. 

Trump saw himself as a reformer; a crusader. Someone who was going to expose the corruption of the Beltway Mafia. A lot of politicians promote themselves as a reformer, but the truth is that they never are. They always claim that they are going to "stand up" to the villain de jure or that they are going to tell Congress, the State Legislature, or City Hall that we aren't going to take it anymore.

The truth is that no single individual is capable of doing a damn thing. Not even a small group of well intentioned crusaders can affect much change. The fact of the matter is, despite their intentions, they will either conform to the corruption, or they'll be isolated and removed.   As former Speaker of House, Sam Rayburn (D-TX) once famously said, "to get along you have to go along".

Once you're elected, your time and energy are directed to committees (especially fundraising for the party and committee chairs). The dirtier your hands get, the more you're trusted, the better the committee assignments and the higher you rise on the greased poll of seniority.  You stay so preoccupied, you have no time for actual reform other than, perhaps, superficial changes. "Window dressing" is always popular to sooth the unruly mob out in "flyover country".

 If you don't "go along", you'll be kept off important committees like the Ways and Means, Education, Appropriations, Budget, or Labor, and cut off from any campaign financial support. When reelection rolls around, the party bosses will find an "opponent" for you and you'll find few, if any friends, among your associates. some might give you words of encouragement but no actual support.

Their loyalties are to the committee chairs and to the party. They dare not risk "offending" the hand that feeds them.  If you manage to survive your contested election, consider yourself warned. You might not be so lucky the next time around. That's how politics is played.

Trump was elected to drain the swamp that is Washington. Instead, he found himself waist deep in a swamp filled with all sorts of nasty creepy crawlies. Every one of them has multiple heads with at least two faces. Trump was isolated. He had few he could trust or confide in that had any real clout.  We was cut off from his base.

Trump is now viewed as a warning to all current and future reformers by the Status Quo. There may be some typical cosmetic changes, but nothing of substance will be changed.  Power is never willingly surrendered. The elites on both sides of the aisle will take steps to ensure no one like Donald Trump will happen again while making it appear that all things are now possible.

That isn't to say that change can't or won't happen. It will when we start realizing that we have more in common than not and that we aren't each other's enemy regardless of race, gender, or any other artificial barrier leveled against us by those who seek to keep us divided.

The real enemy is a system which seeks to control and subjugate us for its own benefit; which has substituted our democratic Constitutional Republic with a Corporatocracy managed by a handful of super wealthy Oligarchs. It has gradually replace freedom with politically correct "right think" to quote from George Orwell's book, "1984".

We've become a surveillance state on our way to becoming a police state. Is that what we want for ourselves? Our children or their children? It will be, after all, the legacy we bequeath to them if we continue to do nothing.

The second impeachment attempt of Donald Trump was a more than a symbolic warning shot across the bow of our country. It was intended to let us know that any further attempt at resistance won't be tolerated. Our compliance is no longer being politely requested by the Status Quo. It's to be expected. Speak out and you'll be silenced. Resist and you'll be "cancelled". Act out and you'll be demonized, ridiculed...or worse.  

So, what will we do? Will we meekly return to our daily existence, perhaps muttering something formerly patriotic to ourselves as we shuffle along? Will we resort to acts of passive resistance like tearing off bumper stickers, wishing someone a "Happy Fourth of July", a "Merry Christmas", or flying the American flag?  Maybe we'll quietly cheer on someone who bravely and openly supports the Second Amendment or perhaps we'll discreetly read a non-conformist political blog!

Resistance is never futile. Nothing is too small. Every act, however insignificant it seems, is important. The Status Quo must never feel it's fully in control. It can never be comfortable with its power. It must always question itself and its decision.

Some people dislike Trump. Some were even happy with his impeachment. That's understandable. He can be abrasive, argumentative, and petty. He has flaws, just like the rest of us, but on a bigger scale because he occupies a bigger stage than the rest of us. The spotlight magnifies the man--warts and all---especially when it's his enemies behind the spotlight.

Nevertheless, we must look beyond the man to what he represented. Trump was seen as the embodiment of the "ordinary American"; as someone who loves this country and what it stands for, and has come to despise what it has become. We wanted Trump to "drain the swamp", and try as he might, the swamp, with its creatures on the Left and Right, was too wide and too deep. It stunned us. We were devastated to see who fought against him, and to what extent they would go to destroy him.

They weren't ultimately intimidated by Trump because they weren't afraid of the American People. The system was so corrupt that it insulated them from those they were supposedly elected to serve. We saw who they really represented, and it wasn't us. The mask had more than merely slipped. It was dropped and we saw the grotesqueness of what our once proud Republic had become.  

Now, we're back to business as usual. The Status Quo is back in charge. Of course, there will be some changes.  Both parties will make sure no one like Trump will again threaten to deprive them of their control and power. Challenges to the Status Quo will no longer be tolerated.

We're already seeing it on social media, TV, and even with our cultural icons like Dr. Seuss, Bug Bunny, John Wayne, and so on.  What was once seen as a threat will now be dismissed or ridiculed at best or demonized at its worse. Compliance will be made to be seen as traditional and rational.

Trump supporters are portrayed as buffoons or racists just as those who looted, rioted, committed vandalism and arson in 2020 are now labeled as "peaceful protesters". They may even be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, which has long lost its sheen. Education seeks to install a distorted view of America. Colleges and universities discourage critical thinking and the open critique of ideas.

A timid society must be made timid from the beginning and kept timid. It must be reinforced by the media and incorporated into entertainment in order to be seen as normal and acceptable. That is how to gain and maintain control. It's happening. It's been happening.  The question is whether or not we will allow that to continue?

How much will the Trump impeachment trial cost?

Fact check: No evidence to support online claims impeachment cost $33 million