I understand the sentiments of the pro-impeachment group, I myself am a passionate leftist who dislikes Trump’s administration. However, it’s important to note that impeachment is not the best way for Democrats to get Trump out, instead it may be a counterproductive way of leading to his reelection.
My fears first began with the fact that this storyline has happened before, with Bill Clinton making it out untouched. The impeachment actually caused a jump in his approval rating.
For Clinton, the House of Representatives took the impeachment to its farthest point, only to be shut down by the Senate. With that in mind this impeachment process is eerily similar, with a democratic-majority House and a minority in the Senate it’s clear that this will end similarly.
Unlike most Senate legislation, things can not be passed by simple majority, a two-thirds majority is needed, which is unlikely in Congress given it’s majority Republican. With that in mind what is point for trying?
Democrats have spent all of Trump’s presidency villainizing him and it has got to the point where their strategy has lost steam, with the president’s approval rating reaching a 2019-record high in October.
Anything less than an approval rating decrease helps Trump, so Democrats choosing to pick a path that has proven ineffective will get the sitting president reelected.
Democrats must take this foresight into account and take advantage of the path ahead of them. They need to build on their leads in the polls by propping up their top-three candidates. All Democratic candidates are predicted to beat Trump.
Democrats must focus on populist policies that a majority of Americans to regain the states they lost to Trump.
All they need to do is focus on policy, with two of their three primary front runners already doing so. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have policy proposals that are more enticing to the average American than what Trump.
Pushing these popular liberal policies is what will grab voters.
This may be a culture shock for a party that has spent a presidential term antagonizing him, creating a narrative that treats him like the end all be all for this era of corrupt officials in politics.
In reality, focusing on impeaching Trump, even in its most ideal scenario, won’t solve much. Americans need to realize that Trump isn’t the problem in this political system but merely a symptom of a much larger issue.
These issues won’t be solved by feuding with the president but instead fixing the broken political system that got him there in the first place. Democrats need to start focusing on policies that appeal to the American people as opposed to their big-dollar donors.
It’s not as easy of a sell to Democrats as impeachment, but it’s the necessary medicine if they wish to prevent any future incidents like Trump’s presidency.