APRIL 26, 2019 – Worry is a survival instinct, especially among descendants of Swedish immigrants to Minnesota in the first 12 years of the 20th century. This explains why I worry a lot.
About what? Examples include: distracted drivers; misuse of big data; computer hackers; the surge in deadly, drug-resistant bacteria; climate change on the cusp of irreversibility; the 2020 presidential election; global financial crisis; cumulative effects of consuming coconut oil; infirmities associated with advancing age; malfunctioning airplane sensors; an over-sized meteor striking earth; the 2020 presidential election.
No, the second “2020 presidential election” was not a typo.
Mention of that double trouble is prompted by what I heard recently from the mouth of Colonel Ralph Peters, formerly a FoxNews “analyst,” now a commentator in the pay of CNN. The guy is disturbingly sober. Quite probably he hasn’t laughed or smiled since he was 16. Certainly not since 2016.
Here’s a condensed version of the “Peters Imperative”: if the current occupant of the White House loses—he will be a worse than a loser. He’ll be a sore loser. Between Election Day 2020 and Inaugural Day 2021, we’ll be blasted by the worst and wildest executive orders ever to hit the asphalt. “The military won’t obey them,” said the retired colonel, “but we have to hope that no one else would follow the orders either.” He went on to warn that the president will not go quietly—nor will fringe groups that support him.
Additionally, Peters believes that because the president is so fearful of being indicted upon leaving office—and serving time—he will do anything to guarantee his re-election, including asking for (or permitting and encouraging) help from any foreign power and bending the rules in any way possible.
The inevitable imperative, Peters concludes, is to remove the president now and by constitutional processes.
Should we be worried by the words of this former no-nonsense military guy, former FoxNews analyst, former Republican? Should we urge our House reps to push for impeachment? Should we hope for invocation of the 25th Amendment?
If you support the president, what evidence can you conjure that counters the Peters Thesis? Not from “fake news,” but from what Tweet, off-the-cuff remarks to pesky reporters, public or private statement by the president, can we fairly conclude that Colonel Peters is nothing more than cheerless worrywart? Give me something, because I need time and latitude to worry about other stuff.
If you’re a Democrat, how do you weigh the Peters Imperative against the political risk of protracted impeachment proceedings followed by the near certainty of Senate acquittal? What if voters focused on “kitchen table” issues turn against Democrats, assure the president’s re-election and tip control of the House back to Republicans?
If you’re worried about the precedential effect of not pursuing impeachment, well, you’ll worry for a while, because impeachment is probably not going happen.
Okay, what else worries you?
© 2019 Eric Nilsson
