S.E. Cupp: Is impeachment over, or is it just beginning?

As Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Trump this past Tuesday, — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — I heard the country breathe an audible sigh of relief. Our long, national nightmare is finally over.

Anxieties over would-they or wouldn’t-they, the constant public opinion polling updates, hours-long hearings, cable news arguments over the prudence or peril of pursuing such a serious course of rebuke against the president, market uncertainty and hand-wringing over how this may affect 2020 — all of this can finally stop, and just in time for the holidays when we need a break, no matter which side of impeachment you are on.

Yes, impeachment now goes to the Senate for what is likely to be a formality vote, wherein the Republican majority will not decide to convict and remove Trump from office. But for all intents and purposes, the House Democrats just punctuated two years of endless speculation.

Well, I hate to be a Grinch, but this might not actually be the end of it.

It’s not all that hard to imagine the whole thing happening again, before November 2020 — and there are a few reasons why.

First, there’s a bizarre and downright naive false expectation that impeaching Trump will somehow change his behavior; this false expectation has often justified the act of impeachment itself for Democrats.

Trump will, most likely, continue to test the fences of our democracy for weaknesses, which will inevitably include more abuses of power. If Democrats were constitutionally obligated the first time — and I believe they were — won’t they be constitutionally obligated the next? And the next?

To wit, Texas Rep. Al Green said earlier this month that Democrats would pursue impeachment several times if the Senate doesn’t vote to convict Trump.

“The Constitution allows a president to be impeached more than once,” Green told his colleagues in the House. “If we impeach now, or at some time in the near future, for one issue that we dearly should, then we find later that the president has other issues that merit impeachment, we can impeach again.”

Spoiler alert: They will find later that the president has “other issues.”

To that very point, the second reason this might not be over: We still don’t know everything.

Paul Begala, a CNN commentator and Democratic strategist who has been through this once before with Bill Clinton, stunned fellow panelists last Monday night with a prediction: “This is not the last impeachment we will cover for Donald J. Trump.”

His rationale? Ongoing court fights around forcing the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn could reveal new information. “This impeachment may be done by then,” he said, “But you know what, impeachment is not a single-shot weapon. The Constitution does not say it’s a one-and-done deal.”

Finally, for all the moral posturing, impeachment is fundamentally a political act with political consequences, and it’s safe to assume many Democrats are hoping this will damage the president politically. But it may not — impeachment may end up helping Trump, especially if he isn’t actually thrown out of office over it. Prepare to see some very frustrated Democrats over the next few months if Trump’s approval numbers start ticking up in spite of this “very strong rebuke” by the House.

Then, don’t be surprised when impeaching the president is no longer the thing keeping our democracy as we know it from imploding, but removing Trump is.

Ideally and conventionally, impeachment is used judiciously and to serious effect — constraining the current president and warning future presidents. But Trump defies ideals and conventions. When this otherwise ignominious act has little effect on his corrupt ambitions or his reputation, Democrats could very well try to double — or even triple — down.

The bottom line? Don’t get too comfortable. We could be in for a long road ahead.