Ranting and Raving (v4): It's not the Impeachment, Stupid

So, there's this WaPo column, "Let's be honest. Impeachment hurt Trump's response to coronavirus," making the rounds on social media.

 The column was written by Henry Olsen., who joined the paper last year, and, according to the announcement that he'd be a daily columnist, he's "a widely respected thought leader in American politics and conservatism... His work will offer a steady stream of new ideas, informing and challenging readers to explore issues from his unique perspective."

OK - challenge accepted. Here's Olsen's premise:

President Trump has been roundly criticized for allegedly failing to prepare for the coronavirus crisis before it arrived in the United States. Those critics conveniently overlook something else that could have been distracting the president’s attention during that crucial period: impeachment.

It seems forever ago, but Trump’s impeachment was the major story in January and early February — the same time that disease was forcing China to lock down cities. Despite the near certainty that Republicans would not vote to convict the president, Democrats and most of the major media were almost entirely focused on impeachment. As a result, the White House was focused on addressing this threat to its survival, not on preparing for a threat from China that might never even materialize.

Olsen admits that "Trump's efforts to prepare the nation for this pandemic ha(ve) been far from perfect," and I think that's a fair assessment. No one, not even a Never Trumper like me, expects any president to be perfect. I mean, that would be even sillier than expecting My Sweet Baboo to be perfect, or any of our cats.

Trump did ban travel from China, as Olsen indicates - and he did take flak for that from many quarters: unions, medical professionals, the ACLU, members of Congress, the international community, etc. GOP hardliners agreed with it; Dem hardliners did not, which should be to no one's surprise. But Olsen takes a huge leap at this point, saying

Given that impeachment managers were regularly calling Trump a king or incipient dictator, a more forceful response against the virus in January or early February likely wouldn't have gone well.

That one made me laugh out loud. We're talking about Donald Trump, who blurts out whatever he feels like blurting, whether it's a policy change, a threat against a Republican who dares disagree with him, any number of insults at any number of Democrats or just random crap directed at random citizens. He doesn't shrink away from anything - he tells us that all the time. If you need an example, ask the McCain family.

Olsen moves on to suggest that

In fact, the situation could be even worse today had the Democrats gotten their way. Imagine if Republicans had buckled under the pressure and backed the Democratic move to subpoena witnesses. The Senate would have spent most of February interviewing witnesses in depositions and probably fighting in court to force recalcitrant witnesses to testify.

Four witnesses. Four witnesses. That's what the Democrats wanted.

If the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees can't depose four people (some of whom publicly stated their willingness to testify, and for whom the questions basically wrote themselves) in a matter of days, not weeks, shame on them. And if the other 50-some-odd Senators not on those two committees can't find something to do during that time, shame on them, too.

Yes, I understand that after the depositions, there would be a continuation of the trial in the Senate, and that would have occupied all of the Senators, I get that. But to pretend that these men and women are incapable of, say, legislating in the morning and listening to testimony in the afternoon, or that they are incapable of doing anything at all while their colleagues are doing their work, is an insult to all of them.

And, do you remember the issue with the witnesses who testified before the House Committees?  None of them, we were told repeatedly by House lawyers and GOP Representatives, had any direct conversations with the president on any relevant subject. Not one of them was truly a 'fact witness' the GOP said, because they didn't talk to Trump. That being the case, there was no need for any of them to testify in the Senate trial.

And that's exactly why, if you're like Olsen and looking for a reason that it would be "extremely unlikely that the matter would have been over by the end of (February)" look no further than the Senate witness list, which included these people: Adam Schiff, the whistleblower, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden - for Pete's sake, they'd be as relevant as the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Easter Bunny, a unicorn or two, and Bigfoot (or Darryl). Hypocrisy much, GOP?

I do agree with Olsen on some things, though, including that "impeachment's lingering stain is damaging the country even today." We just disagree on why - and who - contributes to that stain.

Olsen suggests that Trump and Pelosi not speaking during the COVID-19 crisis is an indicator of the lingering stain, but it's a completely different stain, one painted with layers and layers of Trump's and Pelosi's actions starting before the impeachment ever happened.

Not only that, but Trump's failure to invite Pelosi - or a single Democrat - to any number of bill signings (including the recent one for the pandemic stimulus package) is indicative of a deeper stain on the country than impeachment: the president is a petulant belligerent child, a narcissist, and a jerk, He knows it, Olsen knows it, and so does everybody else.

Olsen laments that "any action (Trump takes) is subject to criticism." Seriously? Seriously??

Name a single politician, in the history of this or any other country, who has not been in the same boat? And don't forget that Trump, by his words and actions, rains criticism upon his own head - regularly, under normal circumstances. During the coronavirus crisis? Almost daily.

And then, Olsen continues,

Had he acted decisively in February when he had time, many surely would have accused him of manufacturing a crisis to distract the public from impeachment. Now that we are suffering from that month’s relative inaction, he is attacked for failing to act in advance. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. 

To drive home that point, he lists out the things that other world leaders - including "the sainted Canadian Prime Minister" - also didn't do in advance of the pandemic. I wouldn't say Trudeau is 'sainted' but I would accuse him of being an empathetic human being, an accusation that has never been made about Trump. Olsen continues, "the rational analyst sees these facts and notes that it is extremely difficult for politicians to foresee an event unprecedented in modern times and act accordingly."

Funny how it we haven't seen it presented as being "extremely difficult" for politicians not to act like bastards when it comes time for them to respond to such an unprecedented event. You know, like going to the CDC and saying that he prefers a couple thousand people stay on a cruise ship so that his numbers don't look bad. Or that we haven't seen it presented as being "extremely difficult" for politicians to not say these other things.

Why is it not presented as "extremely difficult?"  Because it's not difficult  at all for any politician, other than Trump.

Yes, "it must end," Olsen says, the "hyper-partisanship that views any act that (Trump) could possibly take as presumptively tainted and wrong. " And, I'll note, Olsen did not, the lockstep marching by the GOP, which started well before impeachment and continues through whatever day it is that you're reading this, also must end, as must the GOP view that any act Trump takes is presumptively correct, as if each and every one is individually the greatest thing since sliced bread.

So, too, must Trump's insistence that he be showered with truckloads of flattering flatulence at every occasion. That is another lingering stain on our country.

It's not the failed impeachment that brought us here; impeachment is the icing on the cake, the dressing on a salad, the salt on the caramel, the... you get the drift. It's the whole of the Trump that has brought us here, and the whole of those Democrats who are their own worst enemies.

Yes, it's surely time to "put country over party." That applies to Democrats, whether they're Never Trumpers or not. It applies to Never Trumpers like me, who have left the Democratic Party in our rear -view mirrors. It also applies to Independents.

And it most assuredly also applies to Republicans. Asking only people on the left to make the "country over party" declaration is as absurd as expecting the president to suddenly start acting like some who was elected leader of the free world. Don't tell me that - tell him that. He acts as if he doesn't believe it to be true, and he still has a laser focus on all who suggest he was undeserving.

Nope. It's not impeachment that's making it harder for Trump, but I know what is: people like Olsen, who set the bar so much higher for people like me, than they do for the president they so adore.