"In the wake of the killing of Renee Nicole Good, Congresswoman Robin Kelly has announced the filing of three articles of impeachment against Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. Predictably, reactions have been muted at best: with the GOP holding both the Senate and the House, impeachment can be dismissed as purely performative, a helpless response to an in and of itself understandable moral imperative of just do something!"
"But such dismissals are too quick: this administration has been running on a promise of impunity at all levels, and Democrats have to start signaling that actions have consequences. They also need to break out of a fateful dynamic: during Trump 2.0, misdeeds and scandals are following each other in such rapid succession that neither the press nor the public ever seem to get to focus on one. Impeachment can concentrate minds and slow down political time."
"Of course, on one level it is obscene to make a senseless killing immediately subject to political calculations what happened in Minneapolis is not a test of Machiavellian savviness, but of one's capacity for compassion and decency. Trump's sycophants have been failing it; they rushed into TV studios, spreading lies about Good's conduct as well as her character, outdoing each other in blaming and smearing the victim."
"They have also effectively communicated that anyone deemed somehow to stand in the way of Stephen Miller's will triumphing can be declared a domestic terrorist and treated like the law no longer protected them at all. As so often, JD Vance turned out to be particularly vile; he also falsely asserted that ICE officers have absolute immunity, reinforcing the message to American citizens that there is simply nothing they can do if one misbehaves."
Congresswoman Robin Kelly filed three articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after the killing of Renee Nicole Good. Reactions were muted because Republicans control both the House and the Senate, making impeachment appear performative. The administration has operated on a promise of impunity, and Democrats need to signal that actions have consequences. Rapid succession of misdeeds during Trump 2.0 prevents sustained public focus. Impeachment can concentrate attention and slow political time. Media figures and politicians spread lies and smears about the victim, and assertions of absolute immunity reinforce a message of helplessness. Lies that go unopposed stick and reshape political loyalty tests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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