A Capital Idea
Last edited Wed Mar 22, 2017, 10:36 AM - Edit history (1)
“You own your lies. Even if it takes a while, every lie you tell will eventually catch up to you. So try very hard to tell the truth. That's what I think. It's better to tell the truth.”
Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman
The opening quote originally came from an interview I did with Paul that was published in 1994. It is very important in traditional Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) culture for the leadership to be open, honest, and trustworthy. If a chief were to tell a purposeful lie to smear another person's reputation, there would be consequences. First, it's possible that a Clan Mother would give him a stern verbal warning. It is also possible that she would “de-horn” him, meaning formally removing him from his status as chief.
Several of the most influential of this nation's Founding Fathers had modeled modeled our government after the Iroquois Confederacy. This is evident in the 1754 Albany Plan of Union, the Articles of Confederation, and then the Constitution. Under President George Washington, some in Congress believed that treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton had “misused” funds. Thus, Congress used its power to vote on a resolution to censure Hamilton. The vote fell short, but this action established their right to censure. Although the Constitution addresses the process to impeach, Congress does have the power to make resolutions.
Although censuring may seem merely symbolic, the fact that Congress has a limited history of even voting on such resolutions suggests it is viewed seriously. Being formally denounced by Congress in a public manner has a sting to it. It's interesting to note that even a congressional committee has the ability to vote upon a resolution to censure.
After yesterday's initial congressional hearing on the connections between the Trump campaign and administration, and Russia, there appears to be potential cause for impeaching the current president. Those connections certainly require a remedy that goes far, far beyond a censure. And despite the public utterances of republicans these days, the vast majority of those in the House and Senate would prefer that Trump would disappear.
This process will require several more steps. Republicans are not to the point that they believe Trump is wounded to the extent that they can safely impeach him. We can be confident that both the FBI investigation, and Trump's behavior, will continue damage his presidency. Yet, as citizens, we have the responsibility to assist the president in his foul self-destruction.
Trump's claims that President Obama wire-tapped him were disgraceful. His refusal to admit that he lied is disgusting; his attempts to move the goal-posts results in his aides humiliating themselves by pretending his rant was reality-based. And that becomes dangerous, when they repeat nonsense about President Obama using British intelligence to spy on Trump. And the continue to insult the two intelligence officers who testified to the House committee yesterday.
He can't stop himself. He lacks the intellectual and ethical capacity to change.
We will not accept him, or his behavior. And we have a unique opportunity now, that we should try to take full advantage of. Clearly, the Democrats on the House Intelligence Community, not only know Trump's presidency is corrupt and dangerous, but they find his refusal to apologize to President Obama unacceptable.
We should focus our grass-roots' efforts right now on contacting the offices of Representatives Adam Schiff and Terri Sewell, and urging them to introduce a resolution, within the House intelligence committee, to censure Trump. He needs to have consequences for that lie, and the damage it has done.
We can't be sure that our efforts will work, of course, but it's worth a try. Let's see how the system works in 2017. Surely, if it does, Trump will react in an even more out-of-control manner. And that will move things closer to impeachment hearings.
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