Impeachment and Revolution

This has to be one of the slowest coups d'etat in history, if not the slowest. I mean, most of the time it only takes a few days... or a few hours... or a few seconds (if the hapless leader in question is slain by his or her opponents). But this one has been dragging on for.... well, actually, since Trump announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015... for two years and seven-plus months. Of course, some fussbudget is going to argue that a bonafide coup d'etat can, by definition, only be launched against a sitting leader, but we can ignore such quibbles, since the planning got underway, it is safe to say, before Trump got back on the escalator at Trump Tower after making the announcement.

And someone else is bound to argue that since impeachment, and the procedures thereof, are included in the Constitution, the removal of Donald Trump from office is not a coup d'etat after all, but a perfectly legitimate, lawful exercise. But again, this is a mere quibble, since if no actual “high crimes and misdemeanors” are proven, then Trump will have to be impeached – call it Plan B – simply for being Donald Trump. (That may, in fact, be a high crime and misdemeanor, but it has yet to appear in the U.S. Code, as far as I can tell.)

The one question no one asks as this process unfolds is: “What happens then?” And by that, I don't mean Constitutional technicalities like who then becomes president; I assume it would be the sanely, and saintly, white-haired Mike Pence. But maybe not! If it should turn out that Trump's presidency is declared illegitimate because he “stole” the election (try finding a legal precedent for that!) then his entire administration would be declared illegitimate as well. And then what? A new election? Or – more likely – Hillary will ride into D.C., climb the White House steps with flag in hand, and declare herself rightful president, in the great tradition of revolutionaries down through history. And who would argue? In any case, I'm sure the Supreme Court would be called upon sooner or later to settle the question. (I should point out that a “Constitutional crisis” is not, as most people seem to believe, something that happens when the Constitution is quite clear as to what course of action to take. It happens when the Constitution provides no guidance.)

That brings us to the heart of the matter. Regardless of how, or when, Trump is impeached, or the rationale thereof, the message to his supporters will be crystal clear: Elections mean nothing; the results of elections mean nothing; your vote means nothing; and you mean nothing. You are, indeed, “deplorable”. Now this message will not fall on the ears of snowflakes and pajama boys; it will fall on the ears of regular people – denizens of flyover country – who preferred a loose cannon named Trump to a known totalitarian and would-be dictator named Hillary. And those people are, indeed, “bitter clingers”, as Obama said – and one of the things they cling to is guns.

I pointed out recently, in another context, that the most dangerous enemy is one who has nothing to lose. What happens when the entire electoral process turns out to be a sham and a lie? What if the results of an election are allowed to stand only if the Regime approves of them – or at least does not strongly disapprove? What if it turns out that any election can be overthrown for any reason if it results in the wrong people taking office (or attempting to)? Aren't we talking here about one of the alleged pillars of democracy? How, in fact, is democracy even possible without legitimate elections? And isn't democracy one of those ideas for which – for better or worse – we are supposed to show utmost reverence and loyalty, even unto venturing overseas and killing perfect strangers in its defense, and possibly getting killed in return? And aren't the “deplorables” the ones who usually wind up doing this – i.e. joining the military and following orders handed down by schemers, plotters, and cynics for purposes which bear absolutely no resemblance to supposed American ideals? Would this not mean that the last mask has been stripped away, and it's “the man behind the curtain” who has been in charge all along?

Well, how would you react? Or – how do you expect the masses of the trodden-upon, despised citizenry -- the ones who don't enjoy any sort of victim status but who are only expected to pay their taxes and shut up -- to act? Sure, they could shrug and go on about their dreary lives, resigning themselves to the newly-clarified reality. But what if they don't? What if even a small fraction of them don't? There are, after all, marches on Washington all the time – almost daily, it seems. And most of them seem to be by the people who are already in charge – or at least whose interests are regularly preferred over the interests of others. And, on occasion, the “under-privileged” march on Washington – but they are still working within the system; they have a well-defined role to play. But what if the system turns out to be totally corrupt? What, then, do those who grew up fervently believing in it do? Has anyone thought about this? Perhaps they have; there is a team of snipers who are regularly assigned to man the roof of the White House in case of trouble (this is when the wrong people are marching or demonstrating).

The Trump voters were characterized by Trump (and by themselves, on occasion) as those who were “silent no more”. But historically, there are plenty of times when those who were silent no more also decided to be passive no more, and to fight back – not just in the voting booth but in the streets – and this is especially likely when the voting booth has turned out to be no more than a pint-sized house of mirrors.

Nothing would serve to confirm what many people, all across the political spectrum, believe – that we have become a banana republic – than a coup d'etat followed by a revolution. I hope that all of this can be resolved peacefully, but when you awaken a sleeping giant one too many times you may not like what happens.