Article by Dennis L. Weisman in "The American Thinker":
In Profiles in Courage,
the Democratic Party's apostle, John Kennedy, observed that the
difference between a politician and a statesman is that a statesman is
willing to "cross the aisle" for the good of the country. The
impeachment vote in the House is proof positive that we have far too
many politicians and far too few statesmen. This is unfortunate but not
surprising. The emergence of the "politician" as profession unto
itself is a relatively recent phenomenon in this country and one wholly
at odds with what the founders envisioned. They imagined that
accomplished individuals would give back to society in the form of
public service. These individuals, baptized by the fire of the real
world, would possess the requisite wisdom, judgment, and acumen to
contribute positively to the fair and effective operation of
government. This has all gone by the wayside, and the country is worse
off for it.
President
Trump's predecessor, Mr. Obama, famously quipped that "elections have
consequences." They do, but a statesman, unlike a politician,
understands that just because you have the power does not mean that you
should take every possible opportunity to exercise it. Impeachment is
one case in point, and Obamacare is another. As a rule of thumb, any
legislative act that draws little or no support from the other side of
the aisle is one that should not be passed despite the power of the
party in the majority to do so. In the case of both impeachment and
Obamacare, ego trumped judgment, and politicians prevailed over
statesmen.
The
impeachment process is not one on which the opinions of reasonable
people can differ. The American people are a fair-minded lot, and at
the end of the day, country comes before party. The Democrats' denial
of due process, their refusal to allow the Republicans to call
witnesses, and the dubious choice of Democratic henchmen Nadler and
Schiff to run the kangaroo court will not resonate well with the
electorate. More than that, it was downright cowardly. When you have
the goods, there is no reason to "cover your ears" and refuse
to listen to supplemental information that may constructively inform the
debate. This is what they do in China, North Korea, and Russia and a
whole host of other countries that we choose not to emulate. We don't
act this way in the United States of America, and for good reason.
A
good general, like a good politician, knows that winning the war is far
more important than winning the battle. In ceding effective control of
the House to the radical fringe of her party, Mrs. Pelosi won the
battle over impeachment only to ensure that President Trump will skate
handily to a second term. Madam Speaker was dressed in black at the
impeachment vote on Wednesday evening not to signify the solemn nature
of the action of the House. She was dressed in black to mourn the fact
that with this action, the Democrats had lost the 2020 presidential
election. We might entitle this saga "Dead Democratic Candidates
Walking."
John
Kennedy was not a great president in terms of his accomplishments, but
he was a patriot, and he had a sense of decorum about how to lead this
country. He would not look favorably upon what his party has become or
the values it sacrificed in its shameless quest for power. John Kennedy
was flawed, but he was also courageous, and he had a sense of
destiny. A beacon of light for future generations, he was a true
champion and not an apologist for American Exceptionalism. It
is a shame that his descendants have seen fit to extinguish the torch
that he lit and in the process condemn the party's followers to the darkness that is sure to follow.
