There\u2019s also a number of wild card scenarios that we should be prepared for because the moment we\u2019re in is very fluid and it\u2019s hard to predict anything anymore.<\/p>\n

\n
1. Clarence Thomas resigns or some other Supreme Court Vacancy\n
   \n
   • It\u2019s probably time we stopped pretending that the Supreme Court isn\u2019t partisan. It is. We don\u2019t select justices based on merit, we select them based on reading their rulings, so we understand their judicial philosophy and ideology. There\u2019s a reason that liberal and conservative groups create lists of preferred nominees, it\u2019s because they know where they stand on the issues. The Supreme Court is a broken institution and it can be manipulated for partisan purposes. Enter Clarence Thomas, who has a very conservative world view and witnessed first-hand the kind of mobilizing force a Supreme Court vacancy can have on an election (see 2016 and to a lesser extent 2018). Clarence Thomas has served on the Court for nearly 30 years and hasn\u2019t exactly hidden his conservative leanings, his wife Virginia worked for the Heritage foundation and currently contributes to Tucker Carlson\u2019s Daily Caller. He may just decide to announce his resignation at the end of the 2020 SCOTUS term and that would probably be enough for Republicans to circle the horses around President Trump. If the worst should happen, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Stephen Breyer (or both) should die, then we\u2019d be faced with a more significant realignment of the Supreme Court that actually would likely mean the realization of many conservative goals like outlawing abortion and same-sex marriage. That would almost certainly mean either impeachment would be completely abandoned by Democrats or Republicans would engage in some historically ugly campaigning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
   • President Trump Resigns from Office and then continues to run for re-election<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
     \n
     • \n
       \n
       • Donald Trump did not win the Republican nomination because he had institutional support from the party. He won in spite of it because he was what Republican voters wanted, an anti-establishment figure who was willing to be unorthodox and dress down an elite that they loathe. If he needed to, he could probably do it again and if impeachment looks likely then that\u2019d probably be a viable path forward. Would Mike Pence be willing to lead a caretaker government while Trump campaigned for President? He might have to because his choices are pretty limited. Would Pence defeat Trump in a Republican primary? Doubtful because even with the unlimited resources of the RNC, Trump is still Trump (ask Jeb how far $140 million will get you). Does Pence want a future in Republican politics? Probably, and he\u2019s tied his fortunes to Trump and needs to stay in his good graces and for Trump to remain popular. That\u2019s the thing about Faustian bargains, the Devil always gets the better end of the deal. Trump may well reason that he\u2019d have a better chance of staying in power by giving it up. Trump appreciates a good story and the populist president who promised change is stymied by the Washington Establishment and is running an insurgent campaign on behalf of the people…that\u2019s pretty good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen next, but we shouldn\u2019t be surprised if it\u2019s something we don\u2019t expect. I wouldn\u2019t hold my breath for the more outlandish scenarios that involve \u201cPresident Pelosi\u201d or \u201cHillary Clinton 3.0\u201d but there\u2019s a lot that could happen in the coming days and weeks. The President probably abused his office and attempted to have a foreign power influence our elections. That\u2019s serious not just for President Trump but for our democracy. It\u2019s time to see the full extent of the Article One powers in the Constitution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

         Whether Hunter Biden\u2019s behavior was ethically dubious is a fair question (it was) or if President Trump\u2019s actions were an abuse of power (they were) is a discussion for a different day. Yesterday according to most whip counts, the House has the votes to impeach the President of the United States and it looks like they will. So, what might come next?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":40463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3027,29,3044,661,1683,3153,2826,3372],"tags":[3465,2459,2904,1877,1414],"yoast_head":"\n