The is and the ought of "impeachable offenses."

I’m gonna try really hard to go against type and keep this short. You guys can help me stick with this strategy by adding your own thoughts here, so I don’t feel the (absurd) need to expand it further.

;>)

Anyway . . . So, I understand the argument by some on the left that the latest kerfuffle is overblown and doesn’t rise to “impeachable.” I get it. In relative terms to Trump’s other crimes, it’s not that huge a deal. In relative terms to what pretty much every American president has done, as “official” policy for the nation, it’s not that huge a deal. But that’s all under the “ought” category. We ought to have impeached — or never voted in in the first place — presidents who had slaves, were okay with slavery, promoted it, exported it, committed genocide against Native peoples, encouraged and supported colonial conquests, annexations, empire expansion, unnecessary wars/war crimes — which would be 99% of them — coups, support for dictators, assassinations, torture, black sites, environmental destruction, forcing capitalism down the throats of those who don’t want it and so on.

The is part, however, is that the ruling class is going to protect itself and not get rid of people playing ball with them. It’s only going to allow intramural fights that don’t impact the bottom line and the basics of oligarchical arrangements.

Which means . . . we’re likely never going to see “impeachment” for the things listed above. But we will see them for things like illicit affairs and lying about them, break-ins, virtual and physical, of one party by the other, and using the power of the presidency to harm political opponents, because this doesn’t hurt the ruling class in the slightest, but it does break unsaid rules between the two shield-parties.

Since Trump is guilty of most of the stuff (and more) that past presidents have done that ought to be impeachable, I, personally, couldn’t care less if he’s tossed out on his butt for the lesser crimes. Again, Al Capone and tax evasion. Whatever works. Sometimes, banking on the ought gets in the way of a slam dunk is. This shouldn’t be one of those times.