Tag: impeachment

The Illusions of Hope & a Painful Truth

  

Pastor Robert Jeffress is one of Donald Trump’s most fervent evangelical defenders. He has recently tweeted the following: “If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.” What bothers me about this tweet is the exaltation of a man to the point that removing him from office would be tantamount to the kind of division… Read more »

When Rule of Law Prevails

  

The release of the Mueller Report has had the predicted result: very few partisans have been convinced to set aside their preconceived notions about either the guilt or innocence of Donald Trump with respect to contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign or his actions to obstruct justice in the investigation. What is most dismaying to me, though, is that partisans for Trump have rarely looked at key sections of the Mueller Report. Some won’t because they consider Mueller to… Read more »

Principle Above Politics: Conscience Is Forever

  

Bill Clinton was acquitted of impeachment charges in February 1999. The next month, I was in Washington, DC, attending a conference on constitutional history. It included a session in the chamber of the Supreme Court. I was thrilled to be there. Years before, while earning my doctorate at American University, I had worked in the Supreme Court history office and had even sat in on one of the cases presented to the Court. The thrill, though, disappeared as I listened… Read more »

An Agenda at the Clinton Library

  

I conducted research at the Bill Clinton Library this week for my project on spiritual advisers to presidents. In the documents, I found what I expected to find, namely that some of those spiritual advisers were decidedly liberal in their theology and politics, thereby giving “cover,” so to speak, for the policies Clinton put forward, including his agenda for the acceptance of homosexuality in our society as normal. The research room staff was professional and nice to work with. The… Read more »

America’s Nero?

  

So now we’re sending humanitarian aid—finally—to those displaced in Iraq by the bloodthirsty ISIS terrorist organization. And we’re dropping a few bombs on ISIS positions. I wonder how many Americans have been fooled into thinking this somehow represents decisive action? I don’t recall which military spokesman it was, but someone in the last day or two clearly stated that our pinprick policy of bombing wasn’t going to put any real dent in the ISIS forward movement. Back when President Obama… Read more »

What About Impeachment?

  

Talk of impeachment is beginning. President Obama’s latest power grab, declaring publicly that he will act without Congress to get done what he considers his priorities, is rankling those who are committed to the delicate separation of powers established by the Constitution. Is this just talk? Are there sufficient grounds for impeachment? Is it even politically feasible? Impeaching a president is a big step. Two presidents have been formally impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. A third, Richard Nixon, resigned… Read more »

Repealing Obamacare: Tactics vs. Strategy

  

I spend a lot of time writing about principles. One of my key warnings is that we remain principled in our thinking and our actions; pure pragmatism is dangerous because it neglects the basic truths. Yet that doesn’t mean that principled people shouldn’t be wise. Jesus told His disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. He said that as He sent them out to deliver His message. On occasion, Jesus even told people He had healed to… Read more »