Nancy Polosi and the Democrats believe that it is in the national interest to impeach President Donald Trump and support climate action. Trump is being impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. The two articles of impeachment are ‘Abuse of Power’ and ‘Obstruction of Congress’. It is hard to contest the fact that Trump withheld aid to Ukraine as leverage in a failed attempt to dig up dirt on his political opponent. Then he stonewalled Congress and refused to cooperate with their constitutionally endowed oversight duties.
Trump claims he did nothing wrong and he is trying to portray the impeachment as a hoax. It should be remembered that this is a president who dismisses climate change as a hoax. He derides the evidence for impeachment just as he derides the evidence for climate change. This is the same man who lambasts all unfavorable coverage as ‘fake news’. He is also the guy who said, “people should not believe what they see or what they read”. Trump is at war with the truth, with over 10,000 documented examples of deception, he has a well earned reputation as the biggest liar ever to occupy the Oval Office.
Unlike Trump, Democrats embrace facts including the facts about climate change. The Democrat controlled House of Representatives is committed to act on the climate crisis. At a COP25 press conference in Madrid, speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said this commitment is ‘iron-clad’. As reported by the Guardian, Pelosi led a delegation to the UN climate conference where she indicated the U.S. will reduce emissions and engage with other countries.
“Congress’s commitment to action on the climate crisis is iron-clad. This is a matter of public health, of clean air, of clean water, of our children, of the survival of our economies, of the prosperity of the world, of national security, justice and equality. We now must deliver deeper cuts in emissions,” Pelosi said adding, “This is not about incrementalism – this is about being transformative.”
The Democrats stand in stark contrast to White House environmental policies. This includes the Trump administration’s war nature, their policy of energy inefficiency and opposition to both clean energy and clean cars. Trump is a pariah who has been accused of “ecocide” by developing countries at COP25.
“We are outraged by the dithering and retreat of one of the most culpable polluters from the Paris agreement,” Lois Young, Belize’s permanent representative to the UN and chair of the Alliance of Small Island Developing States, told the conference. “In the midst of a climate emergency, retreat and inaction are tantamount to sanctioning ecocide. They reflect profound failure to honour collective global commitment to protect the most vulnerable.”
In a less than veiled reference to the U.S. UN secretary general António Guterres said, “We see already strong commitment from many governments and the business and financial community – the problem is that the most important polluters, the countries that have the biggest [emissions of] greenhouse gases are lagging behind.” Trump’s deregulation has pushed the U.S. into last place on global climate rankings.
Trump’s failures are catching up with him. He is the most unpopular president in U.S. history, even more unpopular than Jimmy Carter or George Bush at the same point in their presidencies (both men failed to be reelected for a second term). The fact that he lost the popular vote by 3 million ballots in 2016 does not bode well for Trump and the Republican’s hopes for 2020.
Trump hopes he can divert attention to the economy, but his economic performance is questionable. All
he did was cut taxes on the wealthy and remove
environmental safeguards. While this has provided a short term economic boost it has come at the expense of the health and well being of Americans. This is not a viable or sustainable course of action.
While Pelosi and the Democrats are on the right side of history the same cannot be said for Republicans and their commander and chief. The American electorate may not be kind to Republican legislators who have decided to defend this president and put their own interests ahead of the national interest.
Trump will be remembered for being the most dishonest president in the
history of the Republic and for his rampant corruption (more than a half dozen Trump associates have been indicted so far). Even more damning than his impeachment, Trump will be judged by history as the man who reversed
climate action at a critical time in human history.
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