2016 Nov 13^th

It may be that Donald J. Trump’s days of presidential power are numbered; some believe that the number will not make it into triple digits. Wouldn’t that be a hoot? No, this is not just wishful thinking, there are some highly paid prognosticators who are pushing this idea.

One of the top dogs in this kennel is Professor Alan Lichtman of American University. Lichtman is a political historian, who, in spite of many opinions to the contrary, predicted a Trump win. There were many other people who predicted a Trump win, all of the Trumpettes and certainly Trump himself. The difference here is that Lichtman has correctly predicted the presidential election results since 1984.

Lichtman, after having been right on his election call, has gone a step further and predicted that Trump will be impeached.  This, he says, is not the result of his usual pre-election forecast, but just a “gut feeling.” He is not alone in this prediction either, although no Trumpettes are joining him on this one. Such luminaries as Bouncy-bouncy Limbaugh have also suggested this possibility.

Why would the Republicans want to get rid of the guy who helped them avoid a Hilary Clinton presidency? Easy answer: Trump is not a Republican and his agenda just doesn’t fit the Republican world view. True, he is for massive tax cuts and that fits, but then these cuts will lead to massive deficits and an increase in the national debt. Claiming that these deficits will be offsets by economic growth is pie in the sky and the Republicans know it.

Trump is unwilling to cut entitlements; Social Security and Medicare are to remain intact. Republican orthodoxy requires  that Medicare be replaced by a Medical Savings Plan in which citizens can set aside income before tax to pay for medical expenses. How does that help the unemployed? Suppose your medical expenses exceed the amount you can afford to set aside; what then?

Social Security should be privatized so that the money set aside can be invested, with the help of knowledgeable brokers of course. Later the money will be there for the use by the retiree and the procedure will certainly provide a financial bonanza for the brokers.

There are many other differences between Trump’s plans and Republican orthodoxy, building the wall and deporting aliens are just a few.

Why impeach Trump? Then instead of the hopelessly unpredictable Trump you get the doctrinaire Mike Pence, Pence is a known quantity, pliable and very predictable. Everything Donald Trump is not, so why not get rid of Trump and get Pence?

What grounds for impeachment could there be? How about the 75 pending lawsuits against him. His presidency does not protect him from these legal actions. This was decided by SCOTUS when Bill Clinton was sued by Paula Jones, The court allowed the suit but it was settled without Clinton admitting guilt. The point here is that Clinton, as president was not immune from a lawsuit and neither will Trump…and Trump faces 75 of these legal actions; good luck Donny boy!.