The 2020 presidential race is almost upon us, and with it has come an uptick in political discussion. In every political camp, people are discussing the major issues they find important, and many issues are getting traction on social media and other online platforms.
As someone who aligns relatively far left, I see a lot of liberal issues given space on social media and in the news outlets that I read most frequently. One of those issues has been a constant since the election of President Donald Trump back in the 2016 election: Trump’s possible impeachment. With the testimony of Michael Cohen at the end of February, the discussion around impeachment has again reached a fever pitch.
The problem is, the pipe dream of impeachment is not only unrealistic—it’s completely illogical. Given the speed at which special counsel Robert Mueller and his team have worked thus far, it is unlikely that they will be able to product any evidence convincing enough to get Congress to move on impeachment before the 2020 elections are upon us. Even if Mueller’s team were able to produce said evidence, what would that leave us with? We would have Vice President Mike Pence as acting President for several months—an unsettling enough proposal in itself—and a revitalized Republican base, angry enough at losing the president to which they are currently so desperately clinging, showing up to the polls with new determination in November 2020.
It is time to leave the discussion of impeachment as a viable course behind. Instead, we should be focusing on keeping our elected officials accountable, especially at the federal level. Elected officials are supposed to represent those who elect them, and yet we have seen very little true representation from our elected officials since long before Donald Trump’s presidency. It is time that we the people begin electing politicians who are beholden to their constituents, not lobbyists, billionaires, and big business. It is within our power as citizens to upset the status quo of our national politics for the better, but we have to keep our focus on things that will actually effect change, not pipe dreams that won’t solve the underlying problems of our political system.