The feeling of many Democrats

According to the polls and predictions, Democrats are expected to win the U.S. House majority in the November 3 midterm elections. The U.S. Senate contest, and the likely margin of victory, is much closer. If the Democrats win the House majority, they will have the power to impeach Donald Trump and other administration officials. However, such impeachment likely will not result in conviction and removal in the Senate. That’s because conviction requires a two-thirds vote, and at best, either party will likely have a very slim Senate majority, or even a tie, beginning in January. This means, even if the House Democratic majority votes to impeach Trump:

–if Republicans keep their Senate majority, they probably won’t even bring the impeachment up for trial
–if there is a 50-50 Senate tie, Republicans will maintain control via their tie-breaking vote for Vice President J D Vance, with the same likely result, i.e. impeachments of Trump and/or his administration officials wont even get a hearing
–if Democrats win a narrow Senate majority, they can bring the impeachment for trial, but it will likely fail to get the 2/3 vote for conviction and removal

These scenarios raise the question whether it is worth it for Democrats to impeach Trump. Kamala Harris recently went on record saying it is not a good plan. She gave two principal reasons:

–“Just because we have limited resources, and I think the energy and the resources need to be put into accountability, need to be put into investigations.”

–“Remember, I was in the Senate for the last go-around, and the votes aren’t there.” [for conviction and removal]

Vice President Harris makes some valid arguments. However, the better choice is to impeach Trump if the facts warrant it upon investigation. Here’s why:

Google data center, Council Bluffs, IA

With control of Congress on the line in the midterms, a wave of bipartisan opposition to AI data centers has become one of the more unexpected developments of the campaign. Rising electricity bills tied to data center growth already helped Democrats flip a Georgia utility regulator’s seat last November, a preview of a fight now spreading into House and Senate races nationwide.

The anger fueling this fight is shared by voters in both parties, and it goes well beyond electricity bills. A poll found 77 percent of Americans are concerned data centers will raise their electric bills, with two-thirds of Democrats and half of Republicans saying they would oppose a data center in their own community. Independents are just as uneasy: a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll found 71 percent would oppose an AI data center in their own community, a higher share than the Republicans polled and close to the Democratic number.

American icon Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton died last week at age 80, after a brief battle with cancer. She was known for her philanthropy in addition to her music and acting. For decades, as one example, she quietly ran a program that mailed free books to children from birth to kindergarten, delivering more than 332 million books.

Her humility showed up in both smaller and larger moments. Parton once entered a Dolly Parton look-alike contest just for fun, without telling anyone who she really was. She piled on extra makeup and bigger hair, and lost to a contestant who judges thought did a better impression of her. And then, when nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly only reluctantly accepted, stating, “I just didn’t think that I had done enough in the rock world to be considered… when there were so many great rock artists that are not even in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

Contrast this with Donald Trump. Despite persistent inflation that is a major issue for voters, Trump repeatedly makes wildly false statements like “the economy’s the greatest economy we’ve ever had by far.” Modesty has never been part of his personality.

Likewise, Trump has drenched the Oval Office in gold trim and gold-plated ornaments, calls this tacky makeover the”best ever” and claims that “foreign leaders freak out when the see the quality and beauty.” Trump also wants to build a 250-foot gold-topped “triumphal arch” in DC, and got his hand-picked National Capital Planning Commission to give it preliminary approval. When asked by a reporter who the monument was for, Trump replied: “Me.”