Prepare for impeachment
While I highly respect Senator Tammy Duckworth, her avoidance of impeachment is ill-advised — especially the suggestion to let Donald Trump “save face.” A decade of Trump’s corrosive influence requires a decisive constitutional denunciation. This is not political retribution; the American people deserve systemic justice against the exact archetype of the “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled” man George Washington warned against.
Impeachment is no cheap political trick. As James Madison argued, it is “indispensable … for defending the Community against the incapacity, negligence or perfidy of the chief Magistrate” who might pervert administration into oppression. When crafting these defenses in 1787, George Mason objected to limiting impeachment to treason and bribery. Recognizing that subverting the Constitution might not legally meet the narrow definition of treason, Mason’s push for broader terms ultimately paved the way for “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Mason was uniquely terrified of unchecked executive power, particularly regarding military force. He opposed giving unilateral war powers to the executive branch because an individual could “not be safely trusted with it.” Given this philosophy, Mason would undoubtedly demand the impeachment of an Executive who subverted the Constitution by initiating a conflict in direct violation of it. As Madison observed, war is the enemy to public liberty because it invites executive overreach; therefore, the constitutional remedy must be applied swiftly.
O tempora, o mores! Under the Constitution, it is not for a senator to unilaterally decide whether an impeachment inquiry is appropriate; that power belongs solely to the House of Representatives. If the House votes to impeach, Sen. Duckworth will be required to take a second constitutional oath binding her to total impartiality as a juror. Instead of prematurely dismissing the mechanism designed to save the Republic, she should focus on educating the public on its profound constitutional importance.