Tomdispatch is a site worth reading, if only for Engelhardt's introductions to the articles.
" Donald Trump was always the symptom, not the cause. He was the suicide bomber whose way into the White House was paved by twenty-first-century Washington. Now, he’s there -- beyond there -- with that same heartland crew still supporting him, roof collapsing or not. All in all, it’s quite a spectacle and who likes such things (especially when focused on him) more than... you-know-who. Today, TomDispatch regular Andrew Bacevich considers the latest chapter of that very extravaganza and what to make of the impeachment spectacle that has swept us all away. What “high crimes and misdemeanors” actually lie behind it? Or, to be more precise, what high crimes and misdemeanors put The Donald in the White House in the first place?"
This is the introduction to Bacevich on impeachment. Bacevich expands on an article by Moyn in the Guardian:
Moyn:
"For liberal and conservative centrists, inured to taking turns in power for decades, Trump’s rise in the Republican party and his success in beating Hillary Clinton within the appalling rules of the American game was the real affront."
"the centrists are deploying a transparent strategy to return to power. Trump’s shambolic presidency somehow seems less unsavoury than the fact that neither of these sides are able to admit how massively his election signified the failure of their policies, from endless war to economic inequality."
"Centrists simply want to return to the status quo interrupted by Trump, their reputations laundered by their courageous opposition to his mercurial reign, and their policies restored to credibility. Meanwhile, rightwing Republicans hope to benefit from his ascendancy, doubling down on tax cuts. No wonder progressives’ greatest fear is allowing the first group to return to the failed policies that produced Trump himself, and the second to capitalise on his rise to entrench their rule indefinitely."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/26/impeachment-america-political-crisis-donald-trump-centristsBacevich amplifies:
"The effort to boot the president from office is certain to yield a memorable spectacle ... A de facto collaboration between Trump, those who despise him, and those who despise his critics all but guarantees that this story will dominate the news, undoubtedly for months to come."
"The looming threat posed by climate change, much talked about of late, will proceed all but unchecked. For those of us preoccupied with America’s role in the world, the obsolete assumptions and habits undergirding what’s still called “national security” will continue to evade examination. Our endless wars will remain endless and pointless."
" the most probable: while the House will impeach, the Senate will decline to convict."
"while Trump is being pursued, it’s you, my fellow Americans, who are really being played. The unspoken purpose of impeachment is not removal, but restoration. The overarching aim is not to replace Trump with Mike Pence -- the equivalent of exchanging Groucho for Harpo. No, the object of the exercise is to return power to those who created the conditions that enabled Trump to win the White House in the first place."
"These centrists share a common worldview. They believe in the universality of freedom as defined and practiced within the United States. They believe in corporate capitalism operating on a planetary scale. They believe in American primacy, with the United States presiding over a global order as the sole superpower. They believe in “American global leadership,” which they define as primarily a military enterprise."
"Trump’s critics speak with one voice in demanding accountability. Yet virtually no one has been held accountable for the pain, suffering, and loss inflicted by the architects of the Iraq War and the Great Recession. Why is that? "
"What are the real crimes? Who are the real criminals?"
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176613/sidd