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Déjà vu – But How Far Will It Go This Time?

Beyond the Rhetoric

By Harry C. Alford & Kay DeBow

We can’t believe what the Democratic Party is trying to do. They want to throw out a democratically elected President simply for political gain. The vehicle they are trying to use is called “Impeachment.”

Impeachment is an elitist move that shifts power from voters.

Many will call that a soft “coup d’état.” Soft or hard it is still a coup along the veins of a third world banana republic. The American ideal of “Democracy” is being threatened and most don’t seem to be alarmed. We may end up with ulcers!

This type of political gamesmanship started evolving during the 1960s. It was the product of a few assassinations such as President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and other charismatic giants who were literally born to lead us to peace and prosperity. They (whoever “they” were) were destroying our heroes and, more importantly, our dreams and values.

The ideal leadership appears to be lost. The crew with the most money and dirty tricks seems to be the ones who get rewarded in the end. As P Diddy said, “It is all about the Benjamins!”

Our first “taste” of the partisan hatred was back in Indiana when we went to work for the State of Indiana under a newly elected Democratic slate. Republicans had held the State House for more than 20 years. So, there was a lot of “house cleaning” to do regarding new jobs opening as the Republican team was being pushed out.

We screened a good number of businesses registered to compete for state contracts. We took the list to the statehouse for review. One of our bosses exclaimed, “I see some “G D” Republicans on this list!” Harry replied: “Really, we didn’t notice.” It became clear that all this good talk politicians give about “Level Playing Field” and “Equal Opportunity” was bunk. These political elections are about who is going to control the “buttons” and decide who gets paid what.

The key players in the Democratic party lived well under the Clinton administrations and survived through the George W. Bush administrations. But under the Obama administrations they took it to another level – like steroids. They assumed Hillary Clinton was going to step in and take it even further.

Donald Trump and the Republican Party shocked them with a 2016 election that was clear and simple. However, they still cannot accept that. The thought of impeaching Donald Trump began before his inauguration. It seems the various plans began immediately.

We must go back to the Nixon administration to find a good comparison. Richard Nixon won his two elections clearly. His re-election in 1972 was a landslide. The political climate was a mess, however. The Vietnam War seemed to be endless. The Civil Rights era was in full swing. To deal with these two challenges President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and declared Earth Day as a kick-off for the new environmental movement. It was to be a diversion against the anti-war and civil rights movements. In many ways “Tricky Dick” obtained his goals.

Eventually Nixon’s “Dirty Tricks” caught up with him. It had gotten so bad that impeachment was never in play. Spiro Agnew, Nixon’s vice president, was caught up in some blatant corruption and was replaced by House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as he went off to jail.

As impeachment was going to be a “slam dunk,” the Senate Republicans (led by Senator Barry Goldwater) marched over to the White House and demanded Nixon to resign or face the reality. He resigned, and Gerald Ford became the first person to become vice president and then president without having an election.

Ford defied the odds. He ended Vietnam by pulling our troops out and leaving South Vietnam on its own which did not last too long. However, today Vietnam is an ally and good trading partner with the United States. Nixon was nearing prosecution for his dirty deeds. How did Ford solve this big problem? He surprisingly gave Nixon a full pardon before any hearings were organized to deal with his demise. As Senator Goldwater would later say about President Ford during a 60 Minutes interview, “He healed us. He brought us together during a very tumultuous time.”

So now, let’s look at our current situation. President Trump’s record is actually very good.  Our military is once again strong; our economy is the best it has been in decades; unemployment for all races is at historical lows and world trade is at last on the mend.

It appears that his chances of being re-elected in 2020 are very strong. Thus, the move to overthrow him now is in full swing. The nation is moving in the right direction, but a certain component of our political infrastructure is saying “So What? We’ve got to get rid of this guy and impeachment is the best way. An election may keep him in the White House. Damn democracy!”

The proud democracy that is owned by our great nation is in jeopardy. Tricky Dick would probably be proud. Our Founding Fathers would clearly be in shock. May God save us from this uprising.

Mr. Alford is the Co-Founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Ms. DeBow is the Co-Founder, Executive Vice President of the Chamber. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Emails: [email protected] [email protected].

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