Watergate occurred when I was a teenager. But I remember vividly that the mood at the time was different from now. As the investigation continued, it became clear that profound issues were at stake: the Constitution, our democracy, the presidency, the rule of law.
Those words get used a lot today. And there is no question but that the stakes are every bit as high or higher thanks to the serial abuses of Trump and his supporters and the specter posed by Trumpism, a malevolent, hate-driven, racist, nationalist movement as destructive as any we have seen in our country\’s history. Trump has already shown a disregard for the institutions of the country and our values that surpasses by far Nixon\’s criminal enterprises. He seeks power for himself, to satisfy his greed and his ego.
He has failed every test of leadership put to him. HIs betrayal of the country to a foreign enemy is the most despicable, most damage traitorous act in our history. The gutting of our Department of Justice by Bill Barr far surpasses any damage done by Nixon\’s cronies.
Mitch McConnell has shown an unwillingness to place country before party or personal political gain at every turn rendering the Senate into an obstacle to justice and the will of the people rather than maintaining its tradition as the world\’s greatest deliberative body.
No, the crimes of Trump exceed those of Nixon in every way, as does the damage he has done and the threat he poses to the future of the country. And yet, something feels different this time that is also a great threat, a threat to Trump, McConnell and Barr ever being held accountable.
The tone of the national debate at the moment seems more shrill and less serious. Certainly there are serious voices out there and sound analyses. But in general the feel of the moment seems more like some great sporting event than it does a battle to restore a damaged nation.
This is due in part to the nature of 21st Century politics, to the superficiality and emotion of social media debates, to the lunatic fringe fatuousness of media outlets like Fox, but also to the sound-bite, story-of-the-minute shallowness of most broadcast networks.
I\’m not nostalgic for Watergate. But watch the video of the era, read the news stories. They had gravitas. It seemed most major actors–not all to be sure, but most–realized the stakes and that history was the audience that would ultimately judge them.
We need to stop a moment and recognize the stakes, the grievous nature of Trump, McConnell & Barr\’s crimes, the preciousness of the institutions and values they are defiling, and the unspeakable damage to America and the world that would be caused were justice not to be done.
We must put our best selves forward, our best leaders, our best voices. We must prepare the case against Trump and his co-conspirators as if all will be lost should we lose, we must prepare to persuade the most skeptical and demanding judge.
We need to find rigor and moral certainties and the words to frame our actions and our goals. We need to realize this is a different time from a week ago. The next few months will and must resonate for decades and centuries to come if they are handled properly.
If we allow this to be more of the vituperative circus of the past 3 years, we will cede victory to those who are obliterating what is best about our government, seeking to bend it into a tool of their own personal greed and ambition & that of some of our worst enemies worldwide.
Speaker Pelosi is seeking to do this. Chairmen Schiff and Nadler and Cummings are doing likewise. But we all have a role in this. We all define the mood and the moment and the direction in which America\’s political tides will flow from now forward.
Look backwards, look at history, weigh the stakes. And look forward, look at your children and consider what failing might mean for them. It is one of the moments by which we will all be judged, by which posterity will judge our collective character.
Trump will be impeached. What happens thereafter will be the consequence of whether the impeachment process and what comes after is handled by a people who are acting as though the future of one of the world\’s great nations depends upon–as it most undeniably does.
