Trump’s impeachment strategy (and its possible consequences).

The Cynic has not opined about impeachment for one reason: it seemed like an open-and-shut case — in the president’s favor.

The president asked Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. The Democrats contend that the request was for the express purpose of securing info on Joe Biden to, in turn, rig the 2020 election. The trigger for the entire House of Representatives investigation was the assertion that the president withheld, or threatened to withhold, aid to Ukraine until such an investigation was commenced.

The president then released a transcript of his conversation which he claims exonerates him. The Democrats, MSNBC (Chris Matthews) and CNN (Jeffrey Toobin) insist, on the other hand, that the transcript condemns the president.

So, after a hurried investigation, the Dems in the House voted two articles of impeachment: obstruction of Congress (really?) and abuse of power.

The Republicans keep yelling for anyone who will listen that the aid was in fact delivered to Ukraine in spite of the conversation, or in American vernacular, “no harm, no foul.”

But this argument by the Republicans seems shallow. It encourages the dismissal of the articles without addressing the alleged transgression. The president’s request to Zelensky to investigate continues to dangle untouched, for any of Trump’s opponents or enemies to point to as evidence of the president’s unfitness to hold the world’s highest office.

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September observations (and an apology).

The Cynic sees it has now been over two months since his last post. Accordingly, he apologizes for the radio silence, and promises to try and do better about the frequency of his posting from here on out.


A few random observations on recent events:

  • It seems to the Cynic that by allowing hearsay as a “whistleblower” complaint, the Federal Government is actually encouraging leaking by Federal Employees.
  • The NCAA has, in the past few years, changed the game of NCAA basketball to the point that it has become virtually indistinguishable from the NBA. Now, it appears that the state of California will force the issue of paying college athletes (over and above full-ride scholarships) onto the college governing board. The lawsuits, Title IX consequences and, in all probability, outside money can’t help but have a deletery effect on college sports. But it will be fun to watch the consequences play out. Speaking of which…
  • Many of the Cynic’s friends and relatives are now certain that Trump has finally crossed the proverbial line and will be removed from office for his latest “crimes.” They watch MSNBC, CNN, and the major networks (as they always have). Any bets on whether these networks, which have been hopelessly and notoriously wrong since the 2016 election, will be right in this case?