Monday, May 22, 2017

Brookings' Elaine Kamarck Explains the Delicate Process of Impeachment

by Nomad


One of the helpful things a blog like Nomadic Politics can do is to provide its readers with accurate information on complicated or misunderstood issues. This, in turn, can lay the foundation for an intelligent discussion based on informed opinions.

One topic which is much talked about but rarely explained in depth is the topic of the impeachment pf the president. In US history, there have been only three times this constitutional provision has been attempted.

Elaine Kamarck is, as senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at Brookings and the founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management, an esteemed authority on the way things work in politics and government.  

In the video below, she explains in clear language how the process of impeachment works, its history and its limitations.


Undoubtedly, this is a matter which will become much more important in the coming months. According to Reuters poll released last Friday, public approval of President Donald Trump has dropped to its lowest level since his inauguration. 

Huffington Post reported this month that the talk of impeachment took on a much more serious tone with the revelations involving the Comey firing and the charge of obstruction of justice by the president.
On the prediction markets, the odds of a Trump impeachment jumped to the highest levels on record. A bet that Trump will be impeached cost 25 cents on Wednesday at the PredictIt exchange, up from 16 cents on Monday. It had been trading as low as six cents earlier this month.
In essence, the prediction market sees a 25-per-cent chance of Trump being impeached before the end of this year.