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Lori Falce: Impeachment strikes back

Lori Falce
| Thursday, December 19, 2019 3:01 p.m.
AP
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., makes a motion for the House to adjourn as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Dec. 18. At left is Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., and at right is Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

It is blockbusting. It is epic. It is the massive story years in the making that closes out the decade.

And depending on the reviews you read, it’s a terrible failure or a stunning masterpiece.

I might be talking about “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.” I might be talking about Wednesday’s historic impeachment of President Trump. It’s hard to tell.

Both have a lot of backstory. Both have great costuming — I’m sure there isn’t a red-striped tie or a blue suit to be found within 100 miles of Washington today.

And both have quite the script and players who have learned all their lines by heart.

For the Democrats, the lines were all about history and heartbreak and a solemn duty to honor. For the Republicans, the words were about bias and unfairness and a process motivated by hatred.

Like the whole 42-year-old Star Wars saga, the impeachment hearing was a story of contrasts. Good and evil. Light and dark. Truth and lies. Yea and nay.

But the difference is that in Star Wars, everyone knows who represents which side. The Jedi are the light. The Sith are the dark. It is all drawn in Hollywood shades of black and white. We may be surprised when someone struggles with internal demons and casts aside fate to change, but in the end we trust good will triumph.

The problem with the political version playing out in Congress is that everyone wants to be Luke Skywalker. In a city of elected leaders and government officials that can be much more Death Star than humble Ewok tree house village, no one recognizes they might be stormtroopers or bounty hunters or evil emperors.

Because it’s more complicated than that.

Movies put us in the action and make us pick a side. No one picks the side of the bad guys. Everyone wants to be the plucky hero who saves the day.

The thing is that movies have an end in mind from the opening scene. When John Williams’ crashing score leads to the iconic scrolling words of a Star Wars movie that tell you where this episode is taking place in the film’s sprawling universe, you may not know where you will end up, but the director does. The happily ever after has already happened.

It’s history that has to tell us that with impeachment. In the end, it meant little to Bill Clinton’s career, but just the committee approval of articles against Richard Nixon sealed his place as the White House villain for decades after his resignation.

With the next episode being the Senate’s trial on the two counts and the vote there, we will all just have to buy some popcorn, wait and see how it turns out. May the Force be with us.


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