Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., attempted to force a vote on the constitutionality of impeachment and our North Dakota senators voted to try and force this conversation. Unfortunately, a vote in the Senate does not make something constitutional or not… the Constitution does. I ask that Sens. Hoeven and Cramer forgo political pageantry and do your job to advocate for the US Constitution.
If a Trump impeachment is unconstitutional, there is literally a branch of the government (the judicial one) whose job it is to review constitutionality. If you are constitutionalists, advocate for that process of checks and balances to happen. It is your job to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Historical precedent, scholarship, and the words of the Constitution all suggest an impeachment is constitutional to me, but this specific instance could be considered unsettled law. Maybe. You can help make it settled law. For our senators to participate in class popularity contests like the Paul Rand vote, while not pushing for real action, is lazy and dangerous.
It is lazy because if you are going to claim an impeachment to be unconstitutional, but not back that up with the work you swore to do, it would seem like a dereliction of duty. It is dangerous, as you are leaving opinions in the public court and not in the rule of law.
Be Constitutionalists. Advocate for a constitutional decision. Help make this settled U.S. Constitutional law. Or, maybe, that isn’t what you want.
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Ben Myhre lives in Fargo.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.
