I read an interesting oped, over at Newsmax, where it was suggested that these Democrats would have impeached Abraham Lincoln. It really surprised me so I thought it was a closer look. Especially after noting the author, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 for abuse of power and corruption through attempting to sell Obama’s vacant Senate seat. He would probably know a thing or two about what the Democrats have accused Trump of.
In his oped, Blagojevich said that today’s Democrats would have charged Lincoln with obstruction and abuse of power for the Emancipation Proclamation. If you recall, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Lincoln, a Republican, said, “all persons held as slaves…are, and henceforward shall be free.” Democrats have long argued support for executive action based on the Proclamation by Lincoln.
What many do not know is the proclamation only applied to certain locations, not the entire country. Only the states that had seceded were mentioned. Slavery was not ended until the 13th Amendment. The amendment was not passed until 1865, long after the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln’s proclamation made southern Democrats angry. Only two Democrats gave support to the proclamation when Congress voted on it. So yes, I could see today’s Democrats calling this an abuse of power.
Blagojevich continues saying that Congress would have called Lincoln’s attempts to have General Robert E. Lee take command of the Union forces collusion. To give you the back story, Lincoln offered command to Lee one day after Virginia seceded from the union. Two days later, Lee resigned his post in the Army saying he could not fight against his own people. With the timing of the events, I would certainly agree that the Democrats would accuse Lincoln of collusion.
Another of my favorite stories about Lincoln is about how he secured the 1860 nomination. You want to talk about some corruption and bribery, that is exactly what happened. Lincoln devised a plan to take the convention from Seward that included use of fake tickets and bribery. You can’t tell me the Democrats would have stood for this today. They would have easily pounced on this and attempted to impeach Lincoln for the bribery in horse trading that took place.
One other line in the oped really stands out and we should take note of. Blagojevich says, “No president is safe if a majority of hyperpartisan House members from the opposition party are willing to abuse the Constitution and vote to impeach.” Wow, what a statement. While I do not agree with what Blagojevich did while governor of Illinois, he certainly makes a few great points here.
First, let me start off by saying that Trump is far from Lincoln. I think Trump has done some great things while President, but he is not as strong a leader as Lincoln was. But can you imagine if the Democrats had tried to impeach Lincoln? Can you imagine the difference in our country had Lincoln not been President and accomplished all he did? It’s possible we would still be a separated country.
In one sense, I can understand the frustration of the Democrats. I experienced a lot of the same frustrations while President Obama was in office. It certainly was not pleasant watching while Democrats rammed Obamacare through Congress. The list could go on and on. What you did notice is that while people may have liked Obama’s personality (the media friendliness certainly helped), they did not trust the Democrats since they voted Republicans back into the congressional majority.
Democrats have the majority in the House now. It’s a pretty close Senate as well. The 2020 election will play an important part of what our country becomes in the future. While President Trump is polarizing, the House and Senate seats are of major importance this year. If Democrats win majorities in both houses, Trump’s reelection will not matter and his presidency is over. If the situation remains the same, I doubt much happens in our government for 4 more years. But if the Republicans can win control of both, my hope is that they don’t waste the opportunity like they did the last time.
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