Biden shouldn't ask for whom impeachment tolls. Plus: No anthem, says Cuban; 'Woke' scrutinized.

By Gary Abernathy

Biden should not ask for whom impeachment tolls

After Tuesday, the political weaponization of impeachment is now complete, which is bad news for all future presidents – and maybe some more past ones, depending on how vindictive senators can get.

 It’s interesting to read various news stories declare that the U.S. Senate determined Tuesday that it is constitutional to hold a trial for a president who is no longer in office. For example, TIME magazine reported, “The Senate affirmed the constitutionality of holding an impeachment trial for a former president on Tuesday, paving the way for the final showdown over Donald Trump’s extraordinary presidency. By a vote of 56 to 44, the Senate voted that it has the jurisdiction to try a president once he has left office.”

Some reports I read concluded that the question has now been settled once and for all. Of course, it hasn’t. Future senates, less driven by vengeance, could face a similar impeachment issue, put the question to a vote, and determine it does not have the power to impeach a president no longer in office.

It does not appear that private citizen Donald Trump will be convicted, but if he were, the penalty prescribed by the Constitution is removal from office. It would be interesting to see from which office the Senate would choose to remove him, since he holds none. Presumably they could pick the office of their choice, anything from dog catcher to governor to president.

Again, Trump’s refusal to concede the November election and his failure to tamp down an angry crowd of supporters in Washington on Jan. 6, some of whom participated in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, are indefensible actions which will cost him the political support in the future of many Americans, including yours truly.

But holding an impeachment trial for a president no longer in office is lunacy. It has three ulterior goals: 1) forcing Republicans to go on record voting to acquit Trump; 2) shaming Trump as the only president impeached twice, and; 3) legally preventing Trump from running again, which could happen through a second Senate vote only if he is convicted first.  

It is sad that the Senate – mostly thanks to Democrats, but with the help of a few Republicans – has chosen twice now during Trump’s presidency to turn impeachment into a political weapon. Once such precedents are established, both parties tend to employ them at will, which is not good news for President Biden, regardless of whether he’s president or a former president.

No National Anthem? That’s Mark Cuban’s answer.

Are we understanding this correctly? The way Mark Cuban has decided to tackle the problem of players and others kneeling during the National Anthem is to simply stop playing the National Anthem? That’s apparently what the Dallas Mavericks’ owner has decided.

Here’s what’s interesting. We have been told all along that kneeling during the National Anthem is not disrespecting the country, it’s just bringing attention to the cause of social justice and racial disparities. Many of us have responded that there are other ways to do that without disrespecting the men and women who have given their lives for our freedoms. Now, thanks to Cuban, ironically, players, coaches and others who have knelt will indeed have to find other ways to protest on behalf of social justice – ways that many of us have said they could have found all along.

For sure, other pro sports teams will quickly follow Cuban’s lead because it will be easy. Some say that playing the Anthem before every game is a tired, worn-out idea anyway, that it lost its meaning years ago. What a shame if that is true. That we can’t spend two or three minutes standing with our hands over our hearts to honor America is a sign that we have lost something once valuable to us. But such signs are multiplying with each passing day.

France recognizes U.S. ‘woke’ culture as a threat

The New York Times is reporting that “French politicians, high-profile intellectuals and journalists are warning that progressive American ideas — specifically on race, gender, post-colonialism — are undermining their society.”

In other words, our “woke” culture is a threat to other nations. “Emboldened by these comments, prominent intellectuals have banded together against what they regard as contamination by the out-of-control woke leftism of American campuses and its attendant cancel culture,” the story notes.

It’s probably too late for us, but kudos to other countries for recognizing the threat before it’s too late for them, too.  

Sign up and share this newsletter

Please sign up to receive this newsletter directly into your inbox Monday through Friday, or, if you are already a subscriber and reading this by email, share with a friend using the convenient button below. Thank you!