For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

Whatever your political persuasion, I think most of us could agree that Donald Trump’s biggest harm to our country was manipulating a subset of his supporters to believe that what was in his interest, was the country’s deepest political need. At the most abstract level, we all frequently do this in our sin: we rationalize that was is good for us, is good for everybody else. Almost no one gets up in the morning and thinks, “hey, how can I go out today and rip somebody’s heart out?” Instead, they’ll get up in the morning and convince themselves that ripping someone’s heart out is for a greater good. And that just so happens to be good for them.

I have posted that I think impeaching Donald Trump at this point is not a wise course of action, as “what good is going to come of it?” I don’t know whether constitutionally he can or cannot be impeached after leaving office–there are good arguments on both sides IMHO. But the fact that the issue is questionable is yet another reason to give pause. As always, just because you can do something doesn’t mean it is wise to do so. This does not mean that Mr. Trump’s actions didn’t rise to the level of impeachment–I certainly don’t quibble with those that think it did. The question is does this benefit our country, or is this a purely partisan exercise? I think clearly the latter.

Today’s WSJ op-ed I found to be absolutely spot on; for those w/access it’s a must read, and we’ll quote a few of the points for discussion. After pointing out the almost certain futility of a conviction,

So why hold this trial? The answer is transparently political. Hatred for Donald Trump is the Democratic Party’s single most unifying principle. Democrats have prospered politically since Mr. Trump was elected, and they’d like to keep him as a foil for as long as they can.

They know he divides Republicans, and they hope a trial will cross-pressure the GOP in 2022. Witness the state party censures of Rep. Liz Cheney and Sen. Ben Sasse for their criticism of Mr. Trump’s post-election conduct. If GOP Senators vote to convict, they will face Mr. Trump’s wrath in future campaigns. If they vote to acquit, Democrats will run against them as apologists for the Capitol riot.

“The answer is transparently political.” From a Democratic political perspective, this impeachment is all upside. The core Republicans that they will inflame already despise them, and so there is no political harm to them–at least they think. Their own self-righteous base will cheer–indeed, they would not let them choose any other path, as there is no higher morality than hating Donald Trump. And the middle? What’s showing on Netflix tonight? Can we have popcorn?

Yet I fear they are playing with fire. What happened on Jan 6 was not an insurrection*, but stirring the pot unnecessarily could one day lead to a violent split in this country. There are many things in this world that are driving us to further hate one another. Why add to the list?

For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

* I like the way the WSJ hit it in the op-ed: “The assault on the Capitol was a riot, and a violent one, but it wasn’t an “insurrection.” It wasn’t a coup. Law enforcement was overwhelmed but it was all on the side of the Congress. Once the mob was dispersed, the Members returned to the House chamber to count the votes. There was never any chance that Joe Biden would not become President on Jan. 20, whatever the fantasies of Mr. Trump and his courtiers.”