Andrew Johnson Impeachment

Trump Reaction To Impeachment Monitors Andrew Johnson, Very Different Than Richard Nixon And Bill Clinton

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As Donald Trump faces impeachment on Wednesday, one can monitor his behavior as being similar to Andrew Johnson, and very different from Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

Trump refuses to take responsibility for his behavior and actions, as was the case with Andrew Johnson in 1868.

Richard Nixon was intelligent enough to realize the game was up, and to resign in dignity, while Bill Clinton profusely apologized for his behavior.

Donald Trump’s behavior has been reprehensible his entire life, but finally, he is being held accountable, and his future obituary will include that he is the fourth person impeached by the House Judiciary Committee, and the third to be impeached by the House of Representatives, and put on trial before the US Senate.

Nothing he can do can escape that fate, no matter the result of the Senate trial!

It’s Official: Donald Trump Becomes 4th President To Have House Judiciary Committee Adopt Articles Of Impeachment

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It is now official!

President Donald Trump has had two articles of impeachment adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, making him the 4th President to face such a situation!

Andrew Johnson in 1868; Richard Nixon in 1974; and Bill Clinton in 1998 preceded him.

Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868; Bill Clinton in 1999; and Richard Nixon resigned before the entire House of Representatives could vote to impeach him, which was a certainty, and therefore the US Senate did not conduct an impeachment trial in his case.

The impeachment trial will take place in January, with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding, as previously, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase in 1868; and Chief Justice William Rehnquist did in 1999.

The Case For The Impeachment Of Donald Trump For The Historical Record, Even With Understanding That Republican Controlled Senate Will Not Remove Trump From Office

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The time has come for the House of Representatives, under Democratic control, to begin the ground work needed for the impeachment of Donald Trump, for having committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” in office.

The historical record needs this impeachment action, even with the understanding that the Republican controlled Senate will not remove Trump from office.

If the Republicans went ahead in 1998-1999 to impeach and attempt to convict and remove Bill Clinton from the Presidency, on a case far less abusive and dangerous than Donald Trump, knowing it would not succeed, then there is no excuse for the Democrats to avoid doing the same.

The Republicans will be condemned for allowing the abuse of power that Donald Trump has been waging since Day One of his Presidency, and while it will distract somewhat from the basic agenda of ideas that Democratic Presidential candidates are pursuing, it is part and parcel of the essential responsibility that the Democrats have, to hold Donald Trump accountable.

If they fail to do that, they will be pilloried in history for having overlooked and ignored the movement toward authoritarianism, and it would encourage future Presidents to abuse power in the same manner.

So this is a character lesson for the future of the American Presidency and American democracy, and there is no room for weak leadership, whether from House leadership or Senate leadership of the Democratic Party. Courage and principle are required, and Donald Trump needs to be held accountable, so that in future generations, young people will learn about the evil and the wrongs visited upon the American people by a very evil man, far more evil than even Richard Nixon.

Our future national security and ability to have foreign alliances with democratic nations is also at stake, as well as the perpetuation of the wonderful domestic programs promoted by Presidents of both parties from Theodore Roosevelt through Barack Obama.

When one looks back at impeachments in the past, not only that of Bill Clinton pales by comparison, but also that of Andrew Johnson. And as dangerous as Richard Nixon was, he looks like a choir boy by comparison to Donald Trump.

“The Nineties” Series On CNN, Part 2, This Evening, Examines The Truth About The Bill Clinton Presidency, Warts And All!

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This evening, CNN’s “The Nineties” Series, Part 2, will examine the unvarnished truth about the Bill Clinton Presidency, warts and all.

It will NOT be a whitewash of the Clinton Presidency, arguably the most scandal ridden Democratic Presidency in American history.

Some of the Clinton “Scandals” were conjured up by the right wing hatemongers, no question about that.

But Bill Clinton caused a lot of his own damage, and he cannot be made blameless, and one could say that the Monica Lewinsky Scandal, and other scandals surrounding women, including Paula Jones, disgraced the Presidency.

I wish to point out that when the scandal became public news in January 1998, this author felt that it was a disgrace, and that Clinton should resign immediately, but he refused, and put the nation through hell for an entire year, until he was found not guilty of impeachment charges by the US Senate. It was not an issue of morality, but rather the fact that his behavior could have compromised the national security if any of the women had been connected to Russia or some other foreign enemy, who know how to utilize women spies to blackmail a President or other public figure.

I never believed that Clinton should be impeached, and the hypocrisy of Republican leaders who were cheating on their wives with women, and yet putting Clinton through a constitutional crisis, was infuriating.

But CNN is not glorifying the Clinton Presidency, as much more could have been done during his Presidency, if only the President had known how to behave!

So my suggestion is to watch and think about the damage Bill Clinton’s behavior did to harm the nation, and remember that the first or second paragraph of his eventual obituary will mention that he was the second President impeached by the House of Representatives and brought to trial before the US Senate, after Andrew Johnson.

And now, we face the eventual possibility of the impeachment of Donald Trump, at some point, if he does not resign!

Congressional Republicans Growing Unease About Donald Trump

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Less than two weeks in office, Donald Trump is starting to see growing unease among some Congressional Republicans about his independent, go it alone, style of leadership.

Trump clearly feels he was elected without true party unity, and intends to govern in an authoritarian manner, but there are Republicans who are unhappy with his style and manner.

These include:

Arizona Senator John McCain
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
Ohio Senator Rob Portman
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
Maine Senator Susan Collins

Also, some Congressmen are also speaking out, so Trump may be a President without a party, and to find that, one must go back to the 19th century, where two Presidents, who succeeded a President who died, had massive headaches trying to deal with the party that had accepted them, members of the opposition party, as their Vice President, due to the wishes of the Presidential nominee, but with no expectation that the President wold die in office.

I am referring to Democrat John Tyler, who ran on the Whig Party ticket with William Henry Harrison in 1840; and Democrat Andrew Johnson, who ran on the Republican “Union” Party line with Abraham Lincoln in 1864.

Both Tyler and Johnson would have never ending headaches with their adopted party, with major battles over Supreme Court and Cabinet appointments, and a threat to impeach John Tyler, and an actual impeachment trial for Andrew Johnson.

Could Donald Trump be on the way to similar resistance and possible impeachment? He is alienating Congress by being a “lone wolf”, showing his disdain for Congress and the party line he ran on.

One must recall that his victory for President was the worst ever in popular vote loss to his opponent, and seventh lowest percentage ever, but with all those Presidents with lower percentage of vote, having had two or three opponents who gained electoral votes, instead of just one opponent.

Republican Party Historically On Corruption And Impeachment: It Speaks For Itself!

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The Republican Party has a very interesting history when it comes to corruption on the national level, and to the issue of Presidential impeachment.

The “self righteous” party, which tries to convince us that they are “holier than thou”, when it comes to corruption and scandal, has been responsible for the four most corrupt Presidencies in American history, and arguably, the fifth most corrupt Presidency as well!

At the same time, it is the Republican Party, in the 19th, 20th, and now the 21st century, that has constantly pursued the idea of Presidential impeachment as a weapon against Presidents of the Democratic Party!

Witness the following:

The Presidency of Richard Nixon, along with that of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Ronald Reagan saw widespread corruption on a regular basis, and these are the four Presidents to have been in charge of the worst examples of corruption in American history, bar none!

Nixon is remembered for the Watergate scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Grant is remembered for the Credit Mobilier scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Harding is remembered for the Teapot Dome scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

Reagan is remembered for the Iran-Contra scandal, but there is much more than that to be recognized as corruption.

And, by the way, George W. Bush is remembered for numerous scandals and malfeasance, much of it still hidden, but to be uncovered as time goes by, and once the junior Bush leaves us, when documents become much more available.

There is no one among Democrats who can match these five GOP Presidents in corruption, although many make out Bill Clinton and his personal demons as a scandal on the same level. But most of the so called other “scandals” under Clinton are conjured up, are manufactured, just as with Barack Obama and his so called, but not real “scandals” over Benghazi, the IRS, and other controversies which are not indeed “scandals”, but instead part of the plan to undermine him, as was done with Bill Clinton.

Sure, there were personal scandals under John F. Kennedy, and rumors of scandals under Lyndon B. Johnson, and minor scandals under Harry Truman, and accusations of scandals under Jimmy Carter, but none ever worked out to be on the level of scandals under Nixon, Grant, Harding, Reagan and the second Bush! And only Nixon was a justifiable case to bring impeachment charges, as he actually abused the Constitution and the Presidential office, and was, rightfully, in process of being removed from office, had he not resigned in 1974!

Meanwhile, the Republican Party historically has worked to promote impeachment of Democratic Presidents on a regular basis, and have brought unsubstantiated and unjustifiable charges against:

Andrew Johnson in 1868 over attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton

Bill Clinton in 1998-1999 on his personal life scandals

Also, they have promoted impeachment threats or attempted moves to remove:

Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934-1935 over the New Deal
Harry Truman in 1951 over the firing of General Douglas MacArthur
Jimmy Carter in general, working to undermine everything he promoted

So the so called party of enforcing the law and the Constitution has been involved in a systematic attempt to promote the cause of big business corporations and personal power grabbing while moving to undermine most of our Democratic Presidents in the past century and a half!

Part of this is also the attempt, constantly, to besmirch the record in office of Woodrow Wilson, FDR, Truman, JFK, LBJ, Carter, Clinton and now Obama! Conspiracy theories have been rife in the Republican mind!

Realize that since Abraham Lincoln’s election, our first Republican President, there was constant deterioration after, until Theodore Roosevelt still upheld the good image of the GOP overall. But then there was rapid decline after, with a temporary revival under Dwight D. Eisenhower, and then constant decline after, with a smidgen of decency and class under Gerald Ford, and then much more rapid deterioration up to now. The GOP wishes to be regarded with respect, when it does not deserve it, based on the historical realities!

Also, realize that since 1861 to 2017, a total of 156 years, from Lincoln to Obama leaving office, we have had 18 GOP Presidents from Lincoln to Bush II and only 10 Democratic Presidents from Andrew Johnson to Obama. Republicans have held the White House for 88 years and Democrats for 68 years!

So the historical reality of the Republican Party being the party of corruption and lawlessness, and yet having the gall to threaten three Democratic Presidents with impeachment, two Democratic Presidents with actual impeachment, and on the road to impeaching Barack Obama on flimsy charges, speaks legions as to their lack of ethics and morality!