After bingewatching The Man in the High Castle, I was stuck in a post-binge stupor with Nazis and Japanese Kempetei swirling through my brain, coups and resistance invading my every thought, and master races competing for absolute rule.  I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was living in that alternate reality.

I thought a switch to the impeachment brouhaha would hasten my reentry to reality.  Instead, the sensation of being caught in a dystopian nightmare actually intensified.  Watching the hearings, I had to ask myself Who are these Democrats wrapping themselves in the flag, referring to themselves as patriots defending the Constitution, whipping out and waving pocket constitutions they probably had to borrow from their Republican colleagues, puffing up their chests and extolling their newfound religion in the Constitution?  Who are these liberals who have historically (and hysterically) derided the Founding Fathers for their whiteness and privilege but are now magically declaring fealty to the Framers and paying obeisance to their words and original intentions?  Surely they are the imposters, not President Trump? 

And then there were my conservative brothers and sisters punching back against the Democrat posers with cries for justice and due process, shored up by noted and very liberal constitutional experts like Alan Dershowitz and Jonathan Turley.  I shook my head violently from side to side and pinched my cheeks just to make sure I wasn’t indeed stuck in a different universe.

Along with finding Jesus in the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, Democrats have become obsessed with “the rule of law” as if pounding one’s fist on the desk made their demands all the more real despite their spotty record of flouting the rule of law in sanctuary cities; concocting out of whole cloth articles of impeachment that do not fall within the clear limitations set forth in the Constitution of bribery, treason, and high crimes or misdemeanors; illegally spying on the Trump campaign (wasn’t that the basis for the attempted impeachment against Nixon?); knowingly using false information in their FISA applications; and denying the President any semblance of Due Process.   Although their impassioned cries might seem altruistic to a visitor from another universe, those of us who have been on Earth for the last few decades know that the “rule of law” is relative for Democrats.

Their talk of truth is nothing short of otherworldly as they repeatedly distort the truth, in plain sight, to construct a tall tale of outrageous and dangerous impeachable conduct:  lying about contact with the whistleblower, intentionally misquoting the transcript of the Zelensky call, inexplicably deleting the requirement that whistleblower complaints be based on firsthand knowledge,  intentionally misquoting the transcript of the Zelensky call, and defining “us” as “me” (“I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot….”) and then backtracking and claiming “us” means “the campaign” even though it clearly implies “the country.”

With all this flag waving and talk of truth, justice, democracy, and the American Way, I had to wonder if the effects of my bingewatching were irreversible and I was stuck in an alternate reality where 21^st century liberals in America were actually… Tea Party patriots?  When did I step off the Tea Party train and, even worse, when did Pelosi, Schitt, and Nads climb aboard?  One day Democrats are characterizing tea partiers as Nazis, domestic terrorists, and crazy clingers in an astroturf movement mired in a Constitution that was outdated and written by silly men in powdered wigs… and the next day it turns out the Founding Fathers were woke.  Who knew?

Impeachment fever struck some time after the 2016 election was called for Trump and Hillary had sufficiently recovered from the vapors to make a concession speech.  Then the Democrats began to carpet bomb a Trump administration that hadn’t even been formed yet, on all fronts -- from the inside out and the outside in.  The first front was actually #metoo and the pussy hat brigade during the campaign.  Mueller was another.  Persistent leaks by embedded Obamacrats, another.  Obstructing Trump’s ability to govern effectively by blocking his ability to fill vacancies and make appointments, yet another -- forcing the president to operate with a skeleton crew…something, it turned out, at which he was quite adept.  Angry left-wing activists, media personalities, and politicians reflexively attacked anyone on the Trump team and effectively drove them out of their positions based on rumor, innuendo, and false accusations.  Decent, devoted public servants suddenly found themselves defending their names and reputations with expensive lawsuits.  Most would resign.  Some were forced out.  That was the clear aim from that front.

In a sick way, you really have to admire the Democrats. Like any extreme ideology in which the ends justify the means, they demonstrate great skill and creativity as tacticians and strategists.  They’re nimble.  They’ve weaponized the law, the media, the courts, and the Constitution against their political enemies.  Their ability to coordinate on a national scale and walk in lock-step no matter what comes is impressive.  They outflank us in every way.  I shake my head again.  Maybe the totalitarians did win after all.

We’ll know any day now if the House will vote to impeach the President, but I’m not sure that’s Pelosi’s endgame.  I don’t doubt that Pelosi would throw herself on the sword for the party but only if the upside were all but guaranteed or things were so bad she had nothing to lose -- neither of which is the case.  As addled as she sounds at times, I find it hard to believe she’s lost her strategic mojo and is hellbent on taking down Trump uber alles -- personal consequences to her and the party be damned.  That would be asking her to throw away control of the House with the presidential bathwater.  Not to mention the mess she’ll have to clean up during campaign season after the Senate acquits Trump -- not a guaranteed outcome but the most likely one.  But the speaker has to know there is a 50/50 chance that a Senate trial could expose the House of cards on which the impeachment is built and derail both the presidential and congressional races for Democrats.  I think that’s too risky for her.

Nunzio Pelosi has a reputation for being a ballbuster -- tirelessly pressuring members to vote the way she wants under threat of losing cushy committee assignments or her support in their reelection bids.  If the Nunz wants her people to impeach, trust me, they will.  My gut is that Nunzio wants her cake (discredit Trump and weaken his chances for reelection without the risks and distractions associated with a Senate trial) and to eat it, too (while appeasing her base and cultivating their support) and do so without gaining any weight (without losing control of the House). 

If enough of those 31 seats up for grabs in Trump districts vote “no” for impeachment, should we be surprised?  I think that will have been the plan all along.  She’ll be able to argue to the base Hey, I tried to impeach the mother F’er.  She’ll avoid a Senate show trial or quick acquittal.  Dealing with a failed vote to impeach in the runup to the 2020 elections would be a lot easier than an impeachment and the messy aftermath of a Senate acquittal.  She’ll have a good chance of retaining control of the House but can use the damage to Trump to raise money and win seats.  We’ll get him next term!

Finally, what’s the right course of action for Republicans?  To vindicate Trump with a protracted trial and take the risk it backfires and he loses an election that, as of now, is very winnable?  Or, take the win fast and easy with a swift acquittal?  I understand the need for vindication, but it comes at considerable risk.  Any lawyer knows that when you introduce more witnesses, testimony, and documents, you increase your chances for surprises and they can go either way.  Sometimes you have no choice but to take those risks; in this case, we have the option of a quick acquittal.  Given the Democrat’s skill for oppo research, trashing witnesses, and spinning evidence, we can’t take that chance.   A swift acquittal based on articles of impeachment that have no constitutional basis and, even if they did, still lack direct evidence, is a win.  Take the win.  Take it and run like hell.  Let Trump dish out vindication on the campaign trail.

Why give the Democrats the upper hand at a game of which they are masters?  Let’s take back control of the world we live in.  I’m tired of living in the Democrat’s alternate reality.