By Karen Fleshman
The occupant of the White House is inciting violence against people of color, and his acolytes have responded by killing people in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Christschurch and El Paso. He is separating families at the border, losing their children and awarding contracts to his supporters to build concentration camps.
Foreign powers are enriching him and his family as he alienates long-standing allies and engages with dictators.
Sixteen women have come forward with credible accusations that he sexually harassed or assaulted them.
President Trump is treacherous and illegitimate, having attained his position with the assistance of an enemy of the United States. In investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, Special Counsel Robert Mueller found a sufficient factual and legal basis for a congressional investigation of obstruction of justice by the president.
Our democracy is ablaze before our eyes, and Democrats won the House in 2018 promising to do something about it.
So what is Hakeem Jeffries doing about it? Joining his pal Speaker Nancy Pelosi in dilly-dallying.
"The Judiciary Committee should continue to follow the facts, apply the law and be guided by the Constitution, as it relates to holding the president accountable for any high crimes and misdemeanors that may have been committed," said Jeffries.
We can't wait. People are dying.
No one is above the law. It's his job to enforce it. That is what the Constitution says and what New Yorkers elected him to do. And if he thinks the American people don't understand the necessity of impeachment, it's his job to explain it to them.
Jeffries is not only failing to fulfill his moral and constitutional responsibilities, but also making a huge political error that will make Trump's re-election more likely.
Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro put it well during July's debate: "What's going to happen in 2020, if they don't impeach him, is he going to say, 'You see. You see. The Democrats didn't go after me on impeachment. And you know why? Because I didn't do anything wrong.'"
Conversely, if the House does impeach the president and the Senate acquits him, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can be held responsible. We'll be able to say, "They impeached him in the House, but his friend Moscow Mitch let him off the hook."
People are dying, and our democracy is dying. We can't risk Trump's re-election, and we can't wait. Impeach the president now.
Karen Fleshman is an attorney, activist and the founder of Racy Conversations, a workshop facilitation company.
