Impeach or Perish: Why Republicans Must Choose Between Trump and the Constitution

Impeachment isn’t just a political strategy; it’s the last defense of our Constitution. Republicans must act now, decisively and unapologetically. If they do, they may yet save America and themselves…

Donald Trump and many of the people surrounding him have become explicit threats to what’s left of our democratic republic. And now they’re saying that my (or your) simply saying those words may be enough to get us locked up or otherwise legally, financially, or physically destroyed.

In 1964, like Hillary Clinton, I went door-to-door with my dad for Barry Goldwater, and later read both of his autobiographies, Conscience of a Conservative and With No Apologies. There’s no way Goldwater — or any Republican of that era — would tolerate the ways Trump and his toadies are ripping apart our constitutional order and flagrantly violating our laws and traditions.

And now he’s trying to pick a Made-For-Fox “News” fight in Portland; if one kid throws a Molotov cocktail, it will become the justification for another massive loss of our constitutional rights of free speech and assembly all across the nation. Cheered on by rightwing media for profit.

If Republicans don’t stand up soon and impeach Trump — and demand Vance reflect the traditional values of republican democracy or similarly face impeachment — history will judge them beyond harshly.

Trump is moving so fast, in fact, to turn America into an autocracy that this may be the GOP’s last chance to claw back the rule of law for our nation.

Democrats can’t do this themselves; Republicans control the House, Senate, and the Supreme Court, as well as a majority of the states. If our republic is to be saved, it’ll require at least a large handful of Republicans to step up and honor the oath to defend our Constitution they took when they were sworn into office.

Consider the ways Trump is tearing our nation apart, trying to pit us against each other and encouraging violence against constitutionally-protected free speech and protest.

Most recently, Trump signed a National Security Directive (this one is labeled as NSPM-7) saying that “anti-American” (aka “anti-Trump”) or “anti-Christian” rhetoric is — in Minority Report fashion — an indicator that a person may, in the future, commit a crime and therefore should be targeted now by our federal government at virtually every level.

National Security Directives are not like Executive Orders, which can be challenged; they’re often secret or even top secret documents that instruct the police and military branches of the federal government how to behave under certain circumstances.

Specifically, what they’re targeting with this one is our free speech right to criticize Trump and his administration. As journalist Ken Klippenstein reported on Saturday:

“The Trump administration isn’t only targeting organizations or groups but even individuals and ‘entities’ whom NSPM-7 says can be identified by any of the following ‘indica’ (indicators) of violence: anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity, support for the overthrow of the United States Government, extremism on migration, extremism on race, extremism on gender, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on religion, and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on morality.”

This is the thought police, the speech police, the writing police on steroids. As Klippenstein notes, the directive says:

“The United States requires a national strategy to investigate and disrupt networks, entities, and organizations that foment political violence so that law enforcement can intervene in criminal conspiracies before they result in violent political acts…” (emphasis Ken’s)

Impeachment at this point isn’t optional. It’s the one constitutional mechanism designed for exactly this type of assault on the foundations of our democracy.

Consider Trump’s record:

• The January 6th insurrection and attempted assassination of our Vice President, incited by Trump himself, was an effort to overturn a lawful election. No greater betrayal of the Constitution exists.

• Indicting former FBI Director James Comey — and going after other former Republican officials including James Clapper and John Bolton — as acts of revenge shows his willingness to weaponize justice.

• Pressuring Red states to gerrymander congressional maps reveals his contempt for free and fair elections.

• Deploying troops and masked secret police to U.S. cities to intimidate citizens undermines civil liberties.

• Harassing comedians like Kimmel and Colbert signals his hostility toward free speech.

• Taking $2 billion from the UAE for his personal company as a blatant bribe in exchange for Trump directing our government to sell that nation — which has joint military exercises with China — the AI chips that are forbidden to such foreign governments flaunts his corruption.

• Disappearing protesters off the streets erodes due process.

• Separating legal immigrant families and deporting brown-skinned legal residents tears at the moral fabric of our nation.

• Elevating conspiracy figures like Bob Kennedy at the CDC undermines public health.

• Rolling out the red carpet for Putin while abandoning allies like Ukraine weakens global democracy.

• Destabilizing the economy with chaotic and unconstitutional tariffs hurts working families.

• Escalating conflicts in Venezuela to the point of violence in international waters risks global war.

• Burying the Epstein list raises questions about corruption and blackmail.

There comes a time when history demands a choice. For Republicans, that time is now.

Donald Trump has attacked America’s democratic institutions, unleashed chaos at home and abroad, and put his own personal power and family financial interests above the Constitution and the good of our nation.

The only remedy is impeachment. Anything less is complicity.

Republicans control the entire federal government: they can’t pass this buck to anyone else. If they refuse to impeach Trump, they’ll go down in history as the party that enabled an authoritarian coup and ended America’s 250 year experiment with democracy.

If they do impeach him, they may well save both our nation, democracy around the world, and their own integrity. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

We all must help Republicans understand the cost of inaction. By refusing to impeach, they aren’t simply protecting Trump; they’re aligning themselves with his crimes. They’re staking the future of their party, their reputations, and possibly their own freedom on a man whose every instinct is authoritarian.

Failure to stand up to Trump at this critical moment could spell the end of the modern Republican Party. Voters may forgive bad policies like tax cuts for billionaires or gutting healthcare for average Americans, but dismantling democracy itself is an unforgivable sin.

Like the leaders of the Confederacy, they’ll stain their own names forever. Just like McCarthyism and segregation taint the legacies of past politicians, Trump’s stench will follow them down the echoing halls of history for all time. Their children and grandchildren will carry that shame forever.

Cracks are already appearing: current Republican members of Congress Thomas Massey and Marjorie Taylor Greene are defiantly demanding the release of the Epstein files. Ted Cruz, Don Bacon, and Rand Paul took on Trump when they objected to his attempt at censoring late night comedians.

Former GOP politicians openly calling out Trump’s authoritarianism or opposing his previous candidacy because of his antidemocratic and unconstitutional behavior include Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, John Boehner, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Larry Hogan, Charlie Baker, Jeb Bush, Christine Todd Whitman, Tom Ridge, Charlie Dent, Barbara Comstock, Fred Upton, Joe Walsh, Will Hurd, Denver Riggleman, Susan Molinari, and Ken Buck.

Former senior Republican officials who’ve awakened to the danger Trump represents to our republic include James Mattis, Mark Esper, HR McMaster, John Bolton, Rex Tillerson, Bill Barr, John Kelly, Miles Taylor, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Olivia Troye, Stephanie Grisham, Sarah Matthews, and Anthony Scaramucci.

And former GOP leaders, strategists, consultants, and conservative thinkers who’ve called out Trump’s authoritarian behavior include Karl Rove, Bill Kristol, David Frum, Peter Wehner, Mona Charen, Charlie Sykes, Tim Miller, Amanda Carpenter, Lev Parnas, SE Cupp, George Will, Michael Steele, Joe Scarborough, Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt, George Conway, Reed Galen, Mike Madrid, Jennifer Horn, Ron Steslow, Stuart Stevens, Tara Setmayer, Jeff Timmer, Chris Vance, and Fred Wellman.

As you can see, today’s elected Republicans — who hold the power of impeachment in their hands — are not without allies if they choose to take on Trump and impeach him from office.

And not without role models: from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan, no previous president has ever openly proclaimed their “hatred” of Democrats or non-Republicans and set about to openly destroy the lives of those who’d opposed them or called them out.

If Trump isn’t held accountable, these could become the new norms for America and shatter our constitutional order. Republicans have spent decades waving “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and wearing slogans against government that reaches into individual lives with threats and intimidation. Will they stand up for our nation now?

Impeachment isn’t just a political strategy; it’s the last defense of our Constitution. Elected Republicans must act now, decisively and unapologetically. If they do, they may yet save America and themselves. To let them know, the phone number for the congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.

If they fail, their legacy will be sealed forever. Not as patriots or conservatives, but as cowards willing to abandon the American experiment in exchange for momentary power and the praise of an autocrat.

Louise’s Daily Song: “Impeach or Perish”

The song that was inspired by this article is here.
My reading this article as an audio podcast is here.
My newest book, The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink is now availble in bookstores nationwide.
You can follow me on Blue Sky here: https://bsky.app/profile/thomhartmann.bsky.social