Given that half of the country thinks President Trump committed an act so egregious it warrants his impeachment, while the other half thinks he is the victim of the largest witch- hunt in modern history, it would be nice if there was an election that could sort this out. Fortunately, there is an election in 13 months that will allow the voters to decide, but MSNBC Live guest host Yasmin Vossoughian wondered on Friday what it would mean for democracy if voters made the wrong decision.
Vossoughian was joined by former Acting Attorney General under Bill Clinton, Stuart Gerson, whom the MSNBC graphics department described as a, "Conservative Attorney Calling For Trump's Impeachment." The MSNBC host asked, "Say the president is actually impeached by the House, but not by the Senate and then is reelected in 2020. What does that mean for democracy going forward after a president has broken the Oath of Office multiple times and then you'd have a Democratic Party feeling very much defeated?"
Gerson's replied with Walter Kelly's parody of Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, "Well Yasmin, I don't know if you are old enough to remember Pogo and Walt Kelly writing 'We have met the enemy and he is us.' I mean the responsibility for what goes on in the country and rests with the citizenry, with the American people." He then reminded viewers that Richard Nixon won a landslide re-election 1972 before resigning over Watergate.
Not prepared to accept the idea that the voters make that decision, Vossoughian again asked, "What if that does not unfold? Then do you have a president unchecked for four years?"
This time Gerson was more critical of Republicans. After talking about the courts, he hoped that, "perhaps the Congress will stop acting like a parliament and act like an independent branch and especially in the Senate and act for the well-being of the country... let's see what happens and take it a step at a time. Your hypothetical's about three steps down the road and one hopes we don’t get there."
What if voters do get there? What happens if voters look at this Ukraine controversy and still make what Vossoughian has determined to be the wrong choice? Is democracy only a good thing when the candidate MSNBC likes wins?
Here is a transcript for the October 11 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Live with Velshi and Ruhle
1:13 PM ET
YASMIN VOSSOUGHIAN: I want to look ahead here for a moment. Say the president is actually impeached by the House, but not by the Senate and then is reelected in 2020. What does that mean for democracy going forward after a president has broken the Oath of Office multiple times and then you'd have a Democratic Party feeling very much defeated?
STUART GERSON: Well Yasmin, I don't know if you are old enough to remember Pogo and Walt Kelly writing “We have met the enemy and he is us,” I mean the responsibility for what goes on in the country and rests with the citizenry, with the American people, but I will tell you that I do remember, I was involved in the early stages of the Watergate prosecutions when I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. You will recall that President Nixon was re-elected amidst a lot of furor and after the election, when he was something of a lame duck, his own party along with their opponents turned against him. We could very well see a scenario like that unfold if the facts evolve the way you describe.
VOSSOUGHIAN: What if that does not unfold? Then do you have a president unchecked for four years?
GERSON: Well, there are some of these issues the courts will acknowledge. In steal seizure case, the court envision certain disputes where the political branches are at loggerheads and the courts stepped in. That's very rare but you paint a dark picture. I mean either that happens or we exist for another four years with our institutions ever weakening and perhaps the Congress will stop acting like a parliament and act like an independent branch and especially in the Senate and act for the well-being of the country where let's see what happens and take it a step at a time. Your hypotheticals about three steps down the road and one hopes we don’t get there.
