OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – President Donald Trump has been acquitted by the Senate on two articles of impeachment. But the process as a whole has become a valuable teaching tool and discussion topic for those studying politics and the US government.
“It gives me a chance to go back and look at how other generations thought about that and how that practice has been treated over time – and both the president’s defense and the House-manager’s claims – and what that means, and compare them,” says UW-Oshkosh Political Science Professor David Siemers.
American politics can be complex, controversial, and at times – a bit chaotic. That can all be exemplified through a presidential impeachment. Siemers says his classes discuss the process as part of studying the Constitution.
“We do talk about it every single time. It’s just that this is a real-time example, and that’s rare because it’s only happened three times. We can use it as a bit of a springboard,” Siemers says, “Going through the basic rules of the Constitution, what the charges are against the president, what the standard is for impeachment, and what’s likely to happen and why…The phrase high crimes and misdemeanors has been in the news, right? Well, what does that mean?”
Introductory classes usually address the topic briefly as they cover the Constitution. But Siemers says upper-level courses dive into the ideas and theories behind impeachment.
“In that case, we can do all of those things – but also let them loose to have a more robust discussion about it because they probably have things to say rather than just being informed about the general outlines of the practice,” Siemers tells WTAQ News.
The new semester may have just started at UW-Oshkosh this week, but that doesn’t mean the professor is taking it easy on students. He continues to prompt discussion with different theories and concepts surrounding the impeachment process, including whether it should be altered.
“It’s relatively easy to impeach, but it’s hard to remove a president from office. I wondered if it should be made harder to impeach or something like that. We’ve got some interesting things to talk about at the present time,” Siemers says.
As he continues to urge discussion and debate over the impeachment process and other political topics, Siemers does try to keep things from becoming pointed or hostile.
“I emphasize to my students how unusual this is and how it’s indicative of our state of politics. Very polarized and very divisive,” Siemers says.
