New York Times Prompt Editorial: What Recent Events Will Most Likely Be Featured in History Museums Someday?

Austin Keller
​PrideTime Editor-in-Chief
November 16th, 201

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The Shock of election night 2016 will inevitably be looked back on as one of those “where were you when…?” moments in history. But, for now, let’s talk about impeachment.

​TO SUMMARIZE: For just the fourth time in American history, the first in over twenty years, the House of Representatives is in a public, open, full-blown impeachment inquiry - hearings are now televised and open, a step-up from closed-door deposition. Day one’s witnesses, Ambassadors to Ukraine Lt. William Taylor and The European Union’s Asst. Secretary George Kent, corroborated a damning story

They made it clear that the President of the United States uses his office for personal gain, and, in fact prioritizes it over the nation’s collective interests.

THE CASE FOR IMPEACHMENT: In other words, being re-elected has proven to be far more important to Donald J. Trump than securing a firm foreign policy that protects both citizens at home and allies abroad. A bevy of evidence suggests Mr. Trump manipulated Ukrainian leaders to organize a smear campaign against his likely opponent-to-be next year, Joseph R. Biden Jr. Otherwise, they would not receive military aid from the United States, the kind essential to fending off Russian infantries. Vladmir Putin--who Mr. Trump has called “a friend”-- invaded with his army in 2014, now occupying over 7% of Ukranian territory. The siege took over 13,000 lives.

There have been intentful lies, numerous instances of obstruction of justice, and a resulting, increasingly phony defense from Republicans. At first, the insinuation from Mr. Trump, was no such thing had occurred. We, the media, quickly learned this to be false. When pressed for answers in September, the White House released a transcript of Mr. Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Valdmir Zelinsky. Though it is believed to be in some ways doctorred, the document contains evidence of a Quid Pro Quo. Upon mentioning that Ukraine will be needing more military aid, and would like to cut a deal purchasing ammo, Mr. Trump uttered his now infamous line, “I would like you to do us a favor though.” 

At first, there was a denial in the days following, from the White House, that anything was contingent on anything. However, that subsided into blatant admissions of guilt, some of which on live television. When met with scrutiny, his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, deflected towards the press pool “I have news for you, get over it.” Mr. Mulvaney’s comments were exacerbated by Mr. Trump’s the day after, where he, on live television, openly asked China for the same favor: a digging up of dirt on Mr. Biden. 

Why does it matter? 

Well, what does the public think? 

​Let’s look at a microcosm, our diverse population of McMahon. One one end of the political spectrum sits Christopher Scalise, the advisor for BMHS Republicans. On the opposite is Daniel Wagenberg, a registered member of the Working Families Party, who has endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2020, following Sen. Bernard Sanders in 2016. Both are informed, loyal politicos, with substantial knowledge of history. Like Kent and Wallace, both are more concerned with the prosperity of the country they love than any one party’s rhetoric - hopefully an exemplar for the rest of level-headed voters as we approach a new, undefined decade. 

Some Americans, a lot of them actually, are not sold on the inquiry. 

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“While Trump's style can be crass, abusive, and unpopular, when it comes to substance it seems as though he is following the constitution when it comes to protecting citizens and investigating past election fraud and quid pro quo dealings between the Biden family and the Ukraine leadership.I think it is unfair that an accuser is being shielded by Schiff.  Whistle blowers are supposed to be allowed to keep their jobs but they aren't supposed to be able to hide in our system. Also hearsay evidence is usually not permissible in our courts of law so I think the entire impeachment proceedings are political rather than legal. Some people hate to lose elections and will do anything to evict a legally elected president.”, Mr. Scalise told me.

“I grow more and more convinced that the most potent danger to our republic is the unwillingness of a growing proportion of Americans to even attempt to seek common ground, to find areas of agreement. The focus on disagreement, the increasing acceptance of ad hominem attacks, and the use of labels rather than logic to arrive at a conclusion is distressing to witness,`` professed a careful Mr. Wagenberg in contrast.

The latest fivethirtyeight polling data from Nate Silver shows 48.5% of registered voters supporting impeachment and removal of Mr. Trump, whereas only 45.7% were opposed. The hearings are still just getting started, the inquiry is still in its infancy - but these numbers do not bode well for Republicans, as in this stage of the process Richard M. Nixon, who resigned the office in disgrace, had more Americans in his corner - in opposition to removal, that is - according to Pew Research. So is the same for William Jefferson Clinton’s impeachment.

As the House has now approved an impeachment report with even more damning testimony detailing all the hours of testimony and deposition and then some--previously unknown information that further indicts the president and his allies. Even worse, California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes appears to have been communicating the whole time with the defendants in their conspiracy, while acting as a judge effectively and dismissing their very case as illegitimate, as the Ranking member on the House’s intelligence committee in an unprecedented fashion. Phone records further proved in the report the collusion between Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Trump and their allies was a priority, and further corroborated the testimony that “everybody was in on it”. 

    This moment in history could very well be remembered as the John Dean testimony of Trump’s presidency, the proverbial hump that broke the camels back. The latest Politico reporting confirms Democrats’ impeachment witnesses “plan to testify that Trump’s actions towards Ukraine were the worst examples of misconduct in presidential history”. Even if Republicans in the senate acquit Mr. Trump, articles of impeachment passed against you is an eternal stain on the legacy and image of a president and his presidency--he would be just the third in history to receive it. ​