Great Britain Is A Warning for U.S. Progressive Politicians
By Christopher Arps
RedState.com
Last week House Democrats unveiled their two articles of impeachment against President Trump. The first article of impeachment claims President Trump abused his office when he asked the Ukrainian president in a phone call to “do us a favor” and investigate 2016 election interference and the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
The second article of impeachment the Democrats have concocted is obstruction of Congress. This charge stems from the President refusing, through executive privilege, to allow Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to testify at one of their dog and pony show impeachment hearings.
Last time I checked, the executive branch is still a co equal branch of government along with the legislative and judicial branches. The President has every right under the Constitution as president – and as a citizen – to exercise his right to seek redress from the courts. That’s why this article of impeachment is especially ridiculous. No man or woman is of course above the law but no man or woman should be below the law either.
The Supreme Court decided yesterday to review lower court rulings involving subpoena’s directed at the president by congressional Democrats and the partisan United States Attorney from the Southern District of New York. Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz argues House Democrats should consider dropping the obstruction of Congress charge:
“That second article of impeachment charges President Trump with obstruction of Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas in the absence of a final court order. In so charging him, the House Judiciary Committee has arrogated to itself the power to decide the validity of its subpoenas, as well as the power to determine whether claims of executive privilege must be recognized, both powers that properly belong with the judicial branch of our government, not the legislative branch.”
We have been hearing almost since his inauguration that President Trump has committed criminal acts while in office. That’s why I find it most curious that the two impeachment articles focus instead on constitutional violations rather than on criminal violations.
Last weekend on the radio show I co host in St. Louis, I was fortunate to interview Wall Street Journal editorial board member and FOX News contributor Kimberly Strassel on impeachment and the Democratic presidential race.
“If Republicans win, I’m not sure that this Resistance stops its tactics. I fear if Democrats win, they will see that as approval of their tactics and they’ll double down on them.”
Another takeaway from my interview was Ms. Strassel’s excellent point that Democrats should take heed at what recently happened to Great Britain’s Labor Party. Labor was soundly defeated at the polls by Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party and many believe Brexit, along with Labor’s progressive policies, is what ultimately did them in.
“I think there is an interesting warning that just came out of Great Britain where Boris Johnson and the Conservatives won such a commanding control of the Parliament. Part of that had to do with Brexit but part of it had to do with his opponent Jeremy Corbyn who is one of those progressives. The agenda he was putting forth to England, the English people could not accept.”
Will the Democrat progressives in this country heed that warning?