Does impeachment = accountability?

I have been reading Ed Kilgore since he was blogging for the Washington Monthly. With amazing consistency, Ed is sensible, sober, well-reasoned, stubborn (gracefully) and deeply moral.

So when someone I respect as much as Ed calls on us to consider the moral consequences of a second Trump term, as a result of potentially blowing it with an impeachment attempt, I’m listening. Hard.

Though I have championed impeachment, after coming around to it reluctantly, I have to admit that what’s driving me most isn’t so much Donald Trump’s unfitness. It’s the demands of justice.

In other words, impeachment is one way to hold a president accountable. But if that’s too dangerous, politically and morally, there are other avenues to explore. While I can see the wisdom of those saying we should not impeach, I cannot see the wisdom of just letting Trump get away with his crimes.

We’re far from that, however, but the potential is great if consider Occam’s Razor. It’s just easier to say goodbye this very bad period in our history and pretend it never happened. Indeed, it’s seductive.

I’m not sure how I’d feel if the Democrats did that.

Thoughts? —JS