Summary
Efforts to impeach Donald Trump for a third time are intensifying as he begins his second term.
The non-partisan group Free Speech For People launched the “Impeach Trump. Again” campaign, citing constitutional violations, including his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riots and breaches of the emoluments clause.
The group also accuses Trump of campaign finance violations, xenophobic rhetoric, and abuse of power.
However, impeachment remains unlikely with Republicans controlling Congress. Democrats may revisit impeachment if they regain control in 2026.
Unfortunately this is just a sign of how bad the US has gotten.
There have been impeachment attempts on Clinton, W Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden. Impeachment was supposed to be used to stop a president acting illegally but its just become another political weapon in the US capitol.
The US system is so unbelievably broken. It entirely depends on bipartisan support to get things done but things are now too polarised to function and the electoral system prevents 3rd parties access at any level.
The two parties have destroyed democracy. It could be fixed but it would need to start at the state levels with 3rd parties coming in and rebuilding the electoral system. But the 2 parties have even gerrymandered the constituencies so only the two parties can win.
Even other countries with first past the post systems have other viable political parties - look at the UK, Australia and Canada. Fptp is flawed and breed an replacing but the US version is next level for locking in the status quo.
There actually was no impeachment attempt on W. Bush, Pelosi intentionally took it off the table.
Similarly there were no serious attempts on Obama or Biden either. Threats, definitely. Obama specifically was threatened with impeachment over military action in Libya without congressional approval, but then that became “WhY DiDn’t yOu dO AnYtHiNg aBoUt bEnGhAzI?”
It’s not “the two parties”. The Republicans impeachment efforts have universally been partisan witch hunts - even the successful one against Clinton. (And I am no fan of Clinton. He should have been ostracized by the Democrats a long time ago). W Bush and Trump both committed crimes worthy of removal from office. It’s not the same at all.
I don’t think they have been witch hunts, per se; republicans don’t seek impeachment for things they rightly could because, well, they like the illegal things presidents do. They like when presidents don’t enforce the law or drag usninto wars or fund foreign enemies and topple governments. Democrats too. If rightful impeachment isn’t on the table, what else can it be but a political weapon?
Oh, you feel like it hasn’t? Well I feel like it has . Fuck your feeling, right repub?
Alright, pal. I don’t know what to tell you. Ronald Reagan was a criminal, both Bushes are criminals, Clinton is a criminal, Obama is a criminal, and Biden is a criminal. If there was a will to impeach for something real, it could happen.
But there are criminals and there are criminals. Running a disinformation campaign to justify invading a sovereign country is worthy of removal from office. Withholding aid from an ally that was specifically allocated by Congress in a scheme to try and create sort on a political opponent is worthy of removal from office. Lying about a blowjob isn’t.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Biden is a “criminal” beyond a bunch of unsubstantiated bullshit that never amounted to anything. The Republican House was desperate to impeach Biden, and could never get it off the ground.
The Clintons are sketchy as fuck, but clearly know how to keep their scamming within the confines of the law. The same goes for Obama to a lesser degree.
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When Biden tried to just pause bomb shipments to Israel, the House passed legislation to force him to resume. If Biden pushed Israel enough, it’s likely Congress would override him and take away whatever leverage he had over the situation. I think Biden’s handling of Gaza was pathetic, but not that it rises to the level of criminality.
If Obama is a war criminal, then Carter is too. He armed and and enabled a genocide in Indonesia. A realistic take on foreign policy should recognize that it’s going to be a dirty business, no matter who is in the Whitehouse.
Carter IS a war criminal, yes.
To provide an actual counterargument: That’s not necessarily true. Just because there is a category of crimes that politicians tend to ignore for impeachment purposes, that doesn’t mean there aren’t also real crimes that would trigger impeachment.
Sure, it doesn’t follow logically. I don’t think the right operates on logic. Impeachment only exists as a political weapon to them since it does not serve to hold presidents accountable.
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bOtH sIdEs
Yes. Both sides can be bad, with one being clearly worse.
Problem is, “we look forward, not backward”
Just an FYI, Australia doesn’t have first past the post, rather we have preferential and compulsory voting. We’re quite proud of it. An independent organisation creates voting districts which means gerrymandering is minimised
That sounds civilized and reasonable
I fear in the next US election people will vote with their guns
Thanks, was going to say the same, the AEC deserves a similar respect as the NHS for this reason. A truly apolitical electory body.