It’s time to move on now that impeachment is over

By: Tim Klapac, Senior Editor

It’s finally over. After months of rule settings, hearings, arguments, conspiracies and finger pointing, the impeachment as ended with the acquittal of President Donald Trump. The president was acquitted by a close vote, mainly along party lines, and will not be removed from office for his role in withholding military aid from Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into the Biden family. 

There were a lot of memorable moments during this process. From Nancy Pelosi saying that she doesn’t hate the president when she announced the articles of impeachment to Gordon Sondland’s testimony to the House, we have all had plenty to talk about.

But all good things must come to an end and now that everything is all said and done, it’s time to look at what will happen in our government post-impeachment.

For starters, Republicans will continue to parade Trump’s vindication and accuse the Democrats of a witch hunt and simply pushing for impeachment because they’re still upset about the 2016 election. Conservative media will use the acquittal as a way to drum up the loyal right and use this to give the president the needed support for reelection.

On the other side, we could see a split between moderates and progressives within the Democratic Party. Progressive Democrats have been calling out their elected officials to launch the impeachment process and seemed convinced that Trump would be booted from office, despite what all logic says.

Moderates were often hesitant to seek impeachment because of the unlikelihood that Trump could be convicted. The odds that enough Republican senators could break party lines and vote to remove a Republican president were slimmer than the Orioles winning the world series this decade. The end result could lead to moderates blaming progressives for giving Trump ammo while progressives will argue that moderates are not true Democrats.

Not that the process is over, the politicians involved in this process will have to answer their constituents. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was one of two Republican senators to vote in favor of convicting the president.

“Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violence of one’s oath of office that I can imagine,” he said.

Romney, who was the Republican nominee for president in 2012, made it clear how difficult it was to make his decision.

“This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life,” he said. “I have gone through a process of very thorough analysis and searching, and I have prayed through this process.”

Reactions from Romney’s decision have varied based on what side of the argument you find yourself. Democrats are praising Romney for not giving in to the fear of breaking with party unity and following what he believes.

“I agree, @MittRomeny,” tweeted Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Voting to convict the president is an act of patriotism. Thank you for yours.”

Republicans have been calling out Romney for breaking unity and have expressed their disagreement with him. Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, who is also Romney’s niece, tweeted her displeasure with his vote.

“This is not the first time I’ve disagreed with Mitt, and I imagine it will not be the last,” McDaniel said.

With the dust finally settling around the District, we won’t truly know the impact of the impeachment until Election Day. That is when the true feelings of Americans will come out. Until then, it’s time to get back to governing and focus on improving America every day.

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