Few things have demonstrated the dangers of electing a peddler of snake oil better than President Trump’s first few weeks in office. His tenure has been marked by the kind of rank incompetence that would seem more at home in a Broadway musical farce based on the lives of the three stooges than on the political ambitions of a cadre of Octogenarian, billionaire racists.
Oh well.
We’ve seen the unqualified nominated to cabinet positions. We’ve watched mouths agape as he has insulted world leaders. Some of us began digging fallout shelters as he reversed the long-standing peace initiative that is the One China policy only to halt construction as he flipped policy another 180 degrees.
Brake Dance 2
With Trump at the helm, the omnishambles is set to continue unabated; we are in for a runaway steamroller of a ride as his knee-jerk policy-farts careen through our collective consciousness with all the vociferousness of a dog with a hot sausage. His sense of governing will ride roughshod over our sense of equanimity. And little or no thought will be given to our need for a break from the political seppuku we are forced to endure.
It won’t stop. Not of its own volition.
Thank god for remotely operated brakes, eh?
Sure, the first set of brakes — the Electoral College — failed to kick in at the appropriate moment. Still, that they were more than willing to rubber stamp the imposition of baboon-handed, vindictive demagogue upon the country remains of secondary concern.
We’ll dismantle that anachronism at a later date.
For now, the intrinsic beauty of multiple redundancies has to be discussed, explored and then ruthlessly exploited.
Two options are available.
Viva Piñata!
To begin with, we could follow the wisdom of antiquity and simply remove him from his job with the kind of extreme vetting that he himself is so fond of. Multiple paths to impeachment seem to present themselves on an almost daily basis. Like an unwanted prick-tease pop-up advertisement, they appear unbidden from the depths of cyber space filling us with a mixture of fascination, excitement and a realization that something really ought to be done about such intrusion.
His refusal to separate his business interests from his elected office is an obvious violation of the emoluments clause. Trump’s creepy relationship with Vladimir Putin hints at possible treason. Meanwhile, multiple law suits against him offer him the chance to perjure himself.
His twitter finger alone might find him in contempt of court at some point.
There is a veritable piñata chock-full of abuses of power and conflicts of interest dangling over our heads. And all it will take for us to be showered in impeach flavored candy is a little elbow grease from the GOP.
For now, most Republicans seem willing to use the power of the executive to push through much-needed legislation such as the tearing up of anti-pollution regulations. Yet Trump cannot rely on their support indefinitely.
It took thirty-five literal strikes of a dagger to topple Julius Caesar as he addressed the Senate in 44 BCE.
In 2017, a mere 21 metaphorical swipes would end Trump.
Mar-a La La Land
For those who find the idea of 21 Republican senators voting to impeach Trump to be a little far-fetched, another option remains.
Trump’s erratic, bathrobe-clad, late-night, White House wanderings armed only with an unsecured android phone, a twitter account, and vocabulary that ironically does not include the term ‘sub-mental’ is surely of great concern even to his supporters. His love of cable TV. His obsession with conspiracy theories.
It all points to a mental collapse of bigly proportions.
The danger represented by an executive incapacitated due to injury or illness is one of those scenarios that the U.S. government made plans for.
The invocation of section 4 of the 25th amendment is more than sufficient to the task of retiring Trump to a quiet little room in the White House. There he could watch TV to his heart’s content. Strapped into his high chair, having his bib replaced at regular intervals and hammering down on the keys of a toy phone he would, at last, find some peace. As would we.
When You Wish Upon A Czar
How likely is any of this, though? How much of this is a projection of wish-fulfillment?
Well, according to a recent report by Politico the chances are better than you might think. Bookies have already started taking bets on Trump’s chances of lasting the full four years. And they have issued only one caveat.
If he croaks it while in office, all bets are off.
Still, British odds making giant Ladbrokes have placed Trump’s chances of leaving office via resignation or removal at just 11-to-10. That’s pretty much even money.
According to Irish bookies, Paddy Power the chances that he will be impeached this year, even with a Republican held congress stand at 4-1.
None of this looks good for a President that has not yet been in office for a whole month and judging by his performance, these odds look set to narrow each and every time the President drops the ball.
Get them while they are hot, I guess.
Trump knows all about Gambling. Take a look at his Failed Casino.
Featured image courtesy of Womentalhealth Blog.
