There was a little shoestring Impeachment March today, July 2,  There were endorsements from organizations like Fuse Washington and RefuseFascism.org but mostly this was a warmup for a broader effort in a couple of weeks.  A nice lady named Susan passed a collection box to help pay for the sound system etc.

Conditions were perfect — a rally near my home, starting from the grassy area southwest of the Space Needle at 11:00 a.m. on a sunny Sunday in early summer.  Attendance wasn’t overwhelming — the organizers had predicted 500, and one of the TV stations later reported 100.  We would fill Second Avenue for the length of about two blocks on our way down to the Federal Building.

As we listened to a couple of speakers, and a singer-songwriter named Harper, appearing without her usual backup band, bicycle cops quietly assembled on the path that goes by the big orange tube sculpture.  The motorcycle police had arrived earlier and were relaxing in the parking lot behind the 7-11 across the street. I moved off to the side a bit because the amplification seemed very loud.

The idea of impeachment may still be ambitious at this point — creepiness is not a “high crime or misdemeanor.”  The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution may not be self-executing, and so far the firing of prosecutors hasn’t been seen as obstruction.  Another thing to think about is that an administration with Donald Trump at the helm may be embarrassing, but it is bound to be ineffective.  Mike Pence has a coherent ideology, and if Republicans are learning anything it is that outlandish behavior comes at a small price.

But as long as preposterous tweets emanate from on high, ordinary people will continue to feel the need to speak out.  My favorite sign from the march appears above at left:  “Truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth.”

— Scott C. McKee