Impeachment is on the way, that much is clear, but when that will happen seems to be a complete mystery, even to the Democrats fighting for it. Regardless of when it begins, the Democrats have already lost the impeachment battle. According to our own impeachment precedent, the president has been complicit in many clearly impeachable offenses. He regularly disregards his advising staff, as with our recent removal of troops from Syria. He used the power of his office to try and dig up dirt on his political rivals, as with Hunter Biden through Volodymyr Zelenskiy. There was the collusion with Russia, as we saw in the Mueller Report, and many more, too numerous to name individually. The fact that is has taken Democrats, under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi, this long to even realistically consider impeachment is inexcusably long especially for a party so loud about the president’s misgivings or, indeed, crimes. 

The Democratic Party’s position of minority in the Senate has made it difficult to be certain that anything will come of the impeachment process, but an impeachment inquiry gives them the ability to bring certain things to light and lets them address testimony and other legal processes which are effectively hearsay until a real investigation is underway. Democrats have cited Trump’s polls, which hover in the low 40% range according to news site FiveThirtyEight, as the reason for their trepidation in impeaching him. But, according to Gallup polling, Richard Nixon had an approval rating in the mid-60s before the impeachment process began, then sank to the low-20s when the truth came out about Watergate. Democrats need to get the word out and bring these allegations to light, or our democracy will become as flawed as it ever has been. 

Republicans need to step up, too. This is not a couple of guys at work making fun of your favorite football team. This is about standing up for the ideals you espouse and not letting a corrupt president get away with degrading the office just because he shares the same “R” next to his name as you do. Lifelong Republicans, like Mitt Romney and John Kasich, who have been critical of the President are going to be crucial to the impeachment vote if the Democrats ever begin the formal process. If you believe in small government, family values, and fiscally conservative policy, it is time to step up to the plate and act like it. The Democrats have been equivocating over impeachment for years, but this should have come from the Republicans who have a strong vision for the future in America and not some sort of vague notion of “just block whatever the Democrats are doing and call it communism.” This nonsense has got to end and it is high time for Republicans get on board and Democrats to push forward. 

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