Impeaching Trump a third time would be ‘setting a standard,’

Ro Khanna went on Meet the Press and called a third Trump impeachment “setting a standard.” That is a confession, not a plan. Imagine telling the American people that the standard is: whenever the other party wins the House, fire up the impeachment machinery. The only precedent being set is that Democrats will never stop trying to overturn an election they lost.

The standard Khanna wants is permanent political warfare. He and his colleagues must know they don’t have the votes to convict in the Senate, and they don’t care. Impeachment is no longer about high crimes or even evidence. It’s a fundraising email with a gavel in the background. If the Democrats take back the House in November, this is what they’ll do with it. Not border security. Not inflation. Not crime. Trump, again.

Khanna says Democrats should not be “refraining from investigating.” But a third impeachment isn’t investigation. It’s reenactment. The first two failed, and voters rewarded Trump with more votes than any Republican in history. So the wise strategy is to try the exact same thing a third time? That’s not a standard. That’s a symptom.

The real standard should be simple: contempt for the office. We don't say every president deserves a do-over like this, regardless of party. If House Republicans ever did it to a Democratic president, Khanna would call it a threat to democracy. He’d be right. The Democrats are setting a terrible expectation, and they are setting it on purpose. We hope voters are watching. A third impeachment would be a third waste of everyone's time. They can call it a standard if they like. The rest of us can call it what it is.