Viewing past presidents by the light of a dumpster fire

As we endure the dumpster fire that is the current impeachment effort, it will ironically enough, overlap with President’s Day, or the observation of George Washington’s birthday next week. Although it’s Washington’s birthday, adjusted for the government calendar to the third Monday in February, we are instructed to reflect on all Presidents, including Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Lincoln, and the other greats. Instead, it is usually observed in the form of auto and mattress sales.

We should indeed take a moment to remember the noteworthy statesmen who have held that office, but there are eight who are overlooked by most people. One of my favorite bar bet tactics is to casually mention that George Washington was our ninth President. That usually gets people’s attention and between our faulty education systems and our stubborn belief that we know what we know, it is reliably good for at least a beer, if not a twenty-dollar bill.

As a child, I was repeatedly told that Columbus discovered America, that Pluto was a planet, and George Washington was our first president. We have held on to that numbering system through the years up to Mr. Biden, the 46th. That’s true if we only count those under the current Constitution. What we forget is that even though we declared independence in 1776, The United States Constitution wasn’t ratified until 1789.

From 1781 through 1789, we operated under the Articles of Confederation, which had limited powers of taxation, no unified currency, and no authority for a common defense. Under the Articles, there was no separate executive branch as we know it today, but each session of congress had a President who served a one-year term. The official title was “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” The holders of that office (in order) were John Hanson, Elias Boudinot, Thomas Mifflin, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock, Nathaniel Gorham, Arthur St. Clair, and Cyrus Griffin. So our first President was John Hanson of Maryland, who served from November of 1781 through November of 1782. Do we teach that in school?

As for this current mess, it couldn’t be much uglier. The events of January six were tragic and shameful, but as of this writing, the Democratic “managers” have failed to demonstrate any direct incitement of insurrection as alleged in the impeachment charges. I took a considerable amount of time to watch the rally held on that day in its entirety. Yes, Mo Brooks of Alabama gave a fiery speech, and when Rudy Giuliani spoke, he did use the word “combat.”

After a dozen or so speakers, Mr. Trump appeared and laid out his evidence, state-by-state, as to why he believed that the election was not conducted properly, and he did implore Mike Pence to reject certification of the electoral college results. That much is undeniable, and I’m guessing that was a conversation that had been held in private as well. Throughout the nearly four-hour rally, I never heard anyone suggest that the Capitol should be breached or any incitement to violence. Interestingly, the timeline also suggests that many of the bad actors set upon the Capitol before the rally ended.

The Managers have done a fine job of demonstrating that Mr. Trump is a loose cannon and prone to hyperbolic, incendiary comments. We have had four years of that, so it’s no surprise. They nonetheless are attempting to stretch that into evidence of an incitement to insurrection and sedition. In a normal court of law, that wouldn’t hold up for a minute, but political trials work under a different set of rules. His inflammatory language will be enough for most (if not all) Democrats and at least a half dozen Republicans.

The standard that the Senate needs to convict is all Democrats plus 17 Republicans, which, unless someone drops a serious bombshell, it’s unlikely to happen. What I find more interesting is their backup plan. Under the 14th Amendment, Section Three, any individual who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” may not hold any public office.

It was written into the Constitution to sideline former Confederates while reconstruction was underway, and my understanding is that even if they fail to prove the initial accusations of insurrection, they can still exercise the disqualification clause. While the impeachment requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate, disqualification only requires a simple majority, so Mr. Trump can easily be barred from holding any future office.

He’s not a young man, so I’m not sure that he would run anyway. Given his enlarged ego, I imagine that he would be just as well off letting Ivanka or Don Junior seek office while he spends time on the golf course. The good news is that both sides of the aisle want to get this over with as soon as possible.

What I would really like to know is who and what organized the riot. Of the 200 or so people arrested so far, it’s been reported that they traveled to D.C from 38 different states. There was clearly a coordinated effort. As much as I prefer to be in denial about extreme elements within our country (because I don’t know anyone like that), it’s becoming hard to deny. Whether it’s QAnon, militias, or agitators with outside agendas, something went horribly wrong that day and I hope we never see it again. Stay warm.