Comey Hearing Won’t Impeach Trump. Can We Grow Up Now?

According to my conservative Twitter bubble, the Comey hearing was great for Trump. James Comey admitted to leaking information through a friend to the New York Times, severe discrepancies in his treatment of Trump vs Clinton, and that Trump was never actually under investigation for collusion with Russia. But again, that was according to my bubble. And if there’s any universal takeaway from this election, it’s that two people can watch the same exact thing and have entirely different impressions of what went down. So in the name of balance, I bursted my bubble and ventured outside of my carefully curated echo chamber for what was buzzing among the bleeding hearts. 

Among the prominent actors and pundits of the left, I saw a lot of statements made. Most are trying to make the case that Trump obstructed justice. But it didn’t seem like anyone that knows a damn thing about politics genuinely believed the Comey hearing had made the case for Trump’s impeachment, no matter how badly they wanted it to. Keep in mind that I have yet to watch the entire hearing for myself, but based on what I have read of transcripts and hot and lukewarm takes from both sides, I don’t think that yesterday was a good day for the left. Maybe I just see the world through a republican rose tint, but everything I saw from the other side looked more or less like attempted positive spin or stubborn willful delusion on what had transpired. 

Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I understand, the reason that so many people were watching this testimony in the first place was because they thought it would lead to impeachment. And no matter what outcome you actually wanted, I think that anyone being honest with themselves can agree that the Comey hearing won’t be the straw that broke that camel’s back. And I can’t tell whether or not Trump’s most zealous detractors are resilient or they’ve gone completely off the rails. I don’t know if I should commend them for their persistence or pity them for their complete separation from reality.

As you may or may not know, I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. My biological father lived in New York, and would occasionally drive up to visit me. There were a lot of weekends where I’d wake up at the crack of dawn and go to the balcony outside my mother’s room on the second floor facing the street, waiting all day for my father’s car to pull up. Car after car would turn the corner, and my heart would stop a little bit, but the cars just kept going. I would wait for hours on end for him to show up long after my mom had told me he probably wasn’t coming. Then after the sun had set I would get a call about how he couldn’t make it and the gifts that he would send. And I would sulk back to my room staring at bins and shelves full of toys that always came in replace of what- or better yet who- I actually wanted at my door. And no matter how many times he let me down, I went running to the balcony every Saturday that he said he was coming with the same naive hope I’d started out with.

Liberals are starting to remind me of 5 year old me, waking up every Saturday running to the balcony. But instead they’re rushing to Twitter every day hoping for news of impeachment. And as much as they like to allude to woke 8 year olds, no one I’m talking about is under the age of 18.

We’re adults, and I think it’s about time the left face outcomes they didn’t want like adults. 

When Ted Cruz lost Indiana last year I was not a happy camper to put things lightly. I sobbed like 6 month old baby and completely isolated myself for around a week. I went to work because again, I’m an adult, but when I didn’t have pressing obligations I was in my room, alone, staring at my wall, and silently begging for the cool embrace of death. Ok, not really but still. I was devastated. But I moved on. 

I was a pretty spoiled kid, but by the time I was 10 I at least somewhat understood that life wasn’t fair and you couldn’t always get what you wanted. Now I’m asking for my peers across the aisle well into their 40s and 50s to do the same.

This election was not stolen from Hillary Clinton. You can tell yourself whatever conspiracy theories you’d like for your own peace of mind but Trump will more likely than not still be the president when you’re done mind mapping Trump and Russia and typing your reply to something he hasn’t even Tweeted yet.

I’m not asking you to like Trump, respect Trump or even stop “resisting” his presidency or administration. I’m not asking you to roll over and play dead for the next four years or to turn a blind eye to the Trump administration. I’m asking you to be practical, realistic and in the present moment. Practically, realistically and presently Trump is the commander in chief of the United States, and between now and November 2020 a lot could happen to change that. But it won’t be a Louise Mensch-esque obsession that gives you what you want.