Rather than simply removing an obviously failing government, the American version requires a trial more appropriate to the House of Lords.

This probably flows from a US president effectively being an elected monarch.

SUSPICION

And unlike the Australian version, consistent with the American Founders’ suspicion of democracy, this process can never involve a final reference to the people to judge as occurred in Australia in 1975. This suggests Australia is more republican.

The American process is initiated by the House adopting Articles of Impeachment for “treason, bribery” or “other high crimes and misdemeanours” for trial before the Senate, presided over by the Chief Justice.

At least two-thirds of senators present must agree on a conviction. This has never occurred.

However, the last initiation of the process that worked as intended resulted in President Nixon’s resignation in 1974 when he realised prominent members of his own Party supported his removal.

The attempt against President Clinton failed, while the two against President Trump were abuses of process and also failed.

However, while Nixon’s “high crimes and misdemeanours” pale in comparison with those of Joe Biden, it is curious that this constitutional remedy has not been tried against Biden.

This is because, unlike 1974, not one senator or representative from the President’s Party, in this case the Democrats, is willing to do his or her duty under the constitution.

This is the direct consequence of the overwhelming success of the new-Marxists – the new-communists – in their winning strategy of launching their famous long march through the institutions to take them over from within.

This was a result of their realisation that the working class showed no inclination to join the revolution Marx predicted.

That long march extended into the Democratic Party, which, as a result, abandoned its immediate past as a Party reformed from its previous reactionary excesses.

SEGREGATION

It is curious indeed that the Party of slavery and then segregation is now becoming the Party of new-communism, just as Joe Biden, always pliable on principle, was originally a senator for segregation.

This ideological trend is being followed by significant parts of the American mainstream media, who, despite their special place under the First Amendment, have chosen to be the propaganda arm of the new-communist Democratic Party.

The result is that the remedy against a delinquent president is no longer available for legitimate purposes.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the machinery to deal with governmental delinquency can be traced back to the British grant of self-government in the mid-nineteenth century.

This was effected by ingeniously applying the Westminster system of responsible and increasingly representative government in those colonies deemed mature enough to govern themselves.

Under this model, a colonial government is responsible to the colonial parliament, especially the elected lower house, as well as for delivering supply through a Bill passed by both houses.

Despite a failed forty-year-old campaign to undermine this constitutional rule under the guise of fake republicanism, a prime minister today remains constitutionally bound to resign his commission when he loses the House’s confidence or cannot provide supply.

When resigning, he may offer non-binding advice to the Governor-General to call an election or alternatively call on another person to form a government.

Now there was a time in Australia when responsible government was a vibrant force in making governments accountable.

As Burke prescribed, representatives freely exercised their judgement free from Party constraints. So much so, that when South Australian Premier Charles Kingston proposed to Alfred Deakin in 1891 that the constitution contain a provision for Swiss-style citizen-initiated referendums, CIR, along the lines that Kingston had drafted, Deakin rejected it.

However admirable this would be in making “the electors themselves masters of the situation”, Deakin said this would be incompatible with responsible government which would already ensure government accountability, a core working concept in our constitution.

While claiming Australian governments are made accountable because of responsible government would be laughable today, that was the situation for the first dozen or so years of federation, and as Deakin reveals, was the intention of the founders.