Impeachment is defined as a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office. In today's political climate, where we face severe polarization of political parties, we hear a lot about impeachment; specifically the want to impeach our current President, Donald Trump. The accusations splatter all over the target, and I do not wish to analyze the validity or intent of any of these accusations. Instead, I want to look at the process of Impeaching a U.S. President. What would the consequences of impeachment be? How would this affect the United States Today? At this point in the Presidency, is it still valid and, for lack of a better term, worth it to continue to try and impeach President Trump?
All of these questions are extremely broad, but by looking into them, I hope to gather a deeper understanding of the power of impeachment. Alder, Jenkins, and Shipan state that impeachment is "the ultimate power Congress has over the President." Within Article II Section 4 of the Constitution, this power is expressly defined and given to Congress. Essentially, if one holding office is convicted of a crime/ misdemeanor, that person will lose their position in Office. Given the history of the United States, however, Impeachment has never seen someone exiting office on account of conviction. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson were both impeached by the House Of Representatives, yet remained in office as no conviction was made by the Senate(Adler 339). With today's Polarized government, I believe it would see very little progress to attempt Impeachment, as history has shown that one part of our divided government can allow someone to continue to hold office. This would probably infuriate the public today, as, according to a 2016 Article by The Guardian, the public feels less represented by a government with more extreme leanings. This comes more specifically from the 2016 American Values Survey, which saw that most of their sample of 2,010 adults from all 50 states were more moderate in political affiliation than either Liberal or Conservative. With the "public" (and I use that term loosely) feeling less represented with a polarized Government, that population is less likely to accept the decisions made by the Government that should be representing their state and district Values.
At this point in the Presidency, it is unlikely that we will see the Impeachment of President Trump. With Democratic Primary Debates already well underway, It is more likely that we will see President Trump lose the re-election than lose his current position. The measure of worth falls on the individual, as it is wildly subjective, but with the ongoing debate of impeachment constantly plaguing our daily news, internet ads, and even local conversations, it is important to understand how effective Impeachment has been in the past and how the United States public may react to Impeachment or the lack thereof.
All of these questions are extremely broad, but by looking into them, I hope to gather a deeper understanding of the power of impeachment. Alder, Jenkins, and Shipan state that impeachment is "the ultimate power Congress has over the President." Within Article II Section 4 of the Constitution, this power is expressly defined and given to Congress. Essentially, if one holding office is convicted of a crime/ misdemeanor, that person will lose their position in Office. Given the history of the United States, however, Impeachment has never seen someone exiting office on account of conviction. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson were both impeached by the House Of Representatives, yet remained in office as no conviction was made by the Senate(Adler 339). With today's Polarized government, I believe it would see very little progress to attempt Impeachment, as history has shown that one part of our divided government can allow someone to continue to hold office. This would probably infuriate the public today, as, according to a 2016 Article by The Guardian, the public feels less represented by a government with more extreme leanings. This comes more specifically from the 2016 American Values Survey, which saw that most of their sample of 2,010 adults from all 50 states were more moderate in political affiliation than either Liberal or Conservative. With the "public" (and I use that term loosely) feeling less represented with a polarized Government, that population is less likely to accept the decisions made by the Government that should be representing their state and district Values.
At this point in the Presidency, it is unlikely that we will see the Impeachment of President Trump. With Democratic Primary Debates already well underway, It is more likely that we will see President Trump lose the re-election than lose his current position. The measure of worth falls on the individual, as it is wildly subjective, but with the ongoing debate of impeachment constantly plaguing our daily news, internet ads, and even local conversations, it is important to understand how effective Impeachment has been in the past and how the United States public may react to Impeachment or the lack thereof.
Adler, E. Scott, et al. The United States Congress. W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.
Jones, Robert P., Daniel Cox, Betsy Cooper, and Rachel Lienesch. “The Divide Over America’s Future: 1950 or 2050? Findings from the 2016 American Values Survey.” PRRI. 2016.
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