How the world turns! Four years of unjust accusations hurled at President Trump, who just survived a second impeachment, and now Democrat Governors are in unprecedented trouble.
New York’s Governor Cuomo may be impeached for lying about pushing 9,000 COVID patients into nursing homes – killing innumerable others. California’s well-coifed Governor Newsom faces a likely recall. Others reel from popular disgust over endless lockdowns, lost rights.
While talk of accountability is encouraging, bringing unruly leaders to heel is often complex, time consuming, and fraught with obstacles. Still courageous Americans are motivated to recapturing their rights, lives, and livelihoods. They know who took them, and it was not Trump.
In New York, impeachment can only be achieved by arduous effort. Still, it has been done – and the threat has produced a resignation. To get there, articles must be voted from the Assembly (lower chamber), a trial in the Senate then produce a two-thirds vote for conviction. State law mirrors federal, and the New York legislature is Democrat controlled.
That said, public anger is running high, nursing home deaths hit Democrats as hard as republicans, and Cuomo is dodging reporters and responsibility, which amplifies public disaffection. See, e.g., https://www.wivb.com/news/new-york/new-york-republicans-say-cuomo-is-unfit-call-for-impeachment/;
Moreover, what constitutes an “impeachable offense” is vague, and it has been done. In 1913, New York Governor William Sulzer was impeached. Similarly, in 2008, Governor Elliot Spitzer resigned as impeachment articles were being drawn up.
In recent days, based on revelations about Cuomo’s decision to place thousands of COVID patients in (obviously) vulnerable nursing home populations, which triggered a cascade of foreseeable deaths – and then apparently covered up the fact – impeachment is being seriously discussed.
Could it happen? With a year left in his term, maybe – but the bigger issue is growing public concern about this Democrat governor’s way of governing, which is reflective of how many other Democrat governors are governing.
The notion of elites stripping regular people of public health and safety rights, constitutional prerogatives, and their essential livelihoods, never mind public schools for their kids, protection from mobs, the right to worship, and basic respect – is getting to people.
The resentment of Democrat governors’ heavy-handedness – and elites in power generally – is not limited to New York. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently wrote on the topic, noting a Rasmussen poll found 72 percent of Americans say “”political elites believe they are superior to everyday Americans,” and only 11 percent disagreed.
Moreover, 78 percent of men and 68 percent of women believe elites hold themselves above the rest of us, including a surprising 77 percent of suburban voters. Newt is right, Americans are sick of being dictated to by hypocrites.
California’s Governor Newsom is feeling similar heat – maybe hotter. In California, recalls are laborious, time consuming, and create a fight. That said, momentum is building across party lines for Newsom’s ouster. His arrogance is grating, the effort accelerating.
Historically, California is no stranger to recalls. 178 attempts have been made since 1913, 55 to unseat governors, and the last successful in 2003 – sending Gray Davis packing, bring aboard Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
To date, the petition – saying Newsom “continues to destroy the lives and businesses of hardworking Californians” and asks help “to stop this tyrant before it is too late” – is on a roll. It has more than 1.4 million signatures, has built a pool of 80,000 volunteers, may well succeed. Desperate to stop it, the Biden White House is now actively opposing the effort, putting them in the odd position of favoring clampdowns disdained by most Californians. See, e.g., https://recallgavin2020.com/; https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-opposes-effort-to-recall-californias-newsom-white-house/ar-BB1dxwXy?ocid=uxbndlbing.
These Democrat governors are not alone. Across the country, Democrat governors face an upswell of discontent. The discontent is manifesting itself in pressure for impeachments, recalls, and censure. Kentucky’s Democrat Governor Beshear is now on the rails, among others. See, e.g., https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/02/04/this-governor-faces-impeachment-over-covid-19-mandates/. Democrat Chief Executives from Arizona, Michigan, Washington and elsewhere are getting enormous blowback. See, e.g., https://www.libertynation.com/governors-in-trouble-covid-19-inspires-recall-efforts/.
All this amounts to a major crosscurrent, a new development on the political scene – and perhaps a powerful roar-back against perpetual state economic lockdowns, infringement of fundamental rights, and even the hasty, untoward second impeachment of former President Trump. How the world turns! Even before 2022, Americans are flexing their political muscle. Wait until 2022.