Whether it is fear of Trump or lack of conviction--or a combination of both--it appears that there will not be enough Republican Senators willing to convict Trump in the most recent impeachment trial. I think most Democrats probably knew that, though you'd think being in the line of fire when the security of the Capitol building was over-run would bring some of them back to their right mind. If the partisan political divisiveness has become so bad that most of the Republicans were actually hoping to see some assassinations and were pulling for the Trump insurrection's success, as some Senators clearly were, then we are already over the brink and on the road to dictatorship.
The trial is going to move forward, in spite of McConnell's dishonest duplicity and crazy Rand Paul's ranting. From the public reactions of Republican Senators, it is clear that the effects of the presentation of the evidence are going to be devastating. The Democrats control the White House and both branches of Congress because of Trump's incompetence and corruption. It's been on display for four years. I'm on the record, on a message board, of predicting that he would lose the House in 2018, would at some point do something corrupt and illegal enough to be impeached, and would be beaten to the ground in the 2020 election.
What I couldn't imagine was the spot in which Trump would put the entire Republican party. The smarmy, self-righteous bigots have been exposed for the power hungry hypocrites and despots that they are. Law and order? What a joke! Law and order is for someone else, not for them. Everyone knows that now and we are about to get a two week long reminder of it on prime time television and in social media everywhere. What we didn't get to see in his first impeachment trial, because the "law and order Republicans" refused to allow evidence to be presented (that alone is enough to scuttle any image they may have previously projected about being for law and order) is now going to be on full display because they can't stop it and they are going to have to sit through it and listen to it all again.
The damage was done during the first impeachment. Only one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, emerged with his integrity intact. Romney has followed the party line, but he has very carefully avoided committing any loyalty to Trump. Sometimes that's been hard to see, but from the social media blasting and death threats he gets from that peace-loving, non-violent MAGA mob, his stand is clear. He's been joined now by Sasse, Murkowski, Toomey and Collins. McConnell once again exposed himself as an opportunistic, duplicitous liar. So the prospects for a conviction are very slim.
But the trial will go on. The Republicans can't stop it, nor can they vote to avoid seeing any evidence and they can't keep everyone else from seeing it either. There it will be, the videos of the horrible scenes of the Capitol being stormed by traitors and insurrectionists, some of whom were aiming at murder, some of whom actually committed it while they were inside, including the murder of a police officer. But in spite of their "law and order" stance, and their empty shouts of "back the blue," they'd rather side with the criminal whose orders caused the officers death than pursue justice on his behalf.
So what does the vote on Rand Paul's motion tell us besides the fact that 45 of the Republican senators in Congress are spineless cowards? It tells us that they are scared spitless of the political consequences they are going to face which result from another extended period of time in which the corruption and crimes of Donald J. Trump will be on public display.
There are some Democrats who are bemoaning that in spite of the fact that Trump was exposed as a traitor to Democracy and an enemy of the American Republic, he still has a base within the Republican party. It is genuinely concerning that after the Trump Insurrection, there are still Americans who are willing to support him, who, in spite of a mountain of evidence to the contrary, still buy the lie that there was massive voter fraud and the election was stolen from him. It is disconcerting and concerning that there are so many conspiracy theorists, extremist and anti-American anti-Patriots left. But there aren't enough of them left to elect him again and in fact, the shambles they have made of the Republican party means that even if the senate doesn't convict him this time, the voters will do it for them. Again. The Democrats won't have to worry about making sure the Vice President is around to cast a deciding vote after 2022. There won't be any room to doubt the repudiation of Donald J. Trump after that.
So regardless of the outcome, there will be some good things that come out of this trial. The American people will be reminded, once again, of the horrific, seditious, treasonous Trump insurrection and the law and order hating, unpatriotic, anti-American, self-serving demagogue of a President who fanned the flames and instigated it with his outrageous lies. Trump goes down in history as the only President to be impeached twice, which is a stain on the Republican party for its failure to see the evil the first time around. It will be very costly, in terms of votes, for many of the Republican senators who will be sitting there seeing and hearing the damning, incontrovertible evidence that the man they supported as President tried to destroy American democracy and its constitutional republic.
Frankly, I have trouble understanding how it is that the MAGA mob is not able to understand the absolute contempt and complete disrespect Trump has for their intelligence. The one person who knows for certain that a lie isn't true is the liar. There may be clear evidence supporting the truth, but it takes intelligence and objectivity to see it, examine it, and draw a conclusion. Trump knows there was no "massive fraud" and he knows that he lost the election. He knew where it was headed when he first started floating the idea of fraud to his MAGA mob even before the first impeachment. But he also knows that most of his supporters will simply believe whatever he says. So by continuing to feed them lies, Trump is demonstrating the fact that he thinks his followers are incredibly ignorant and bottomlessly stupid.
We are at a point where we are going to have to decide, as a country, whether our Republic is worth saving and whether democracy is the best form of government for the nation. We have to decide where the lines need to be drawn, how to examine our candidates and determine whether they really do have the character, the morality, the integrity, the honesty and the commitment to the American Constitution that is required to serve in public office and are capable of setting aside their personal loyalty and selfish ambition in order to serve. This is a government of, by and for the people and we can make some rules that we think are necessary to make it work better, like term limits, restoring the balance of power where it has become lax in the executive branch and putting limits on the power of the executive branch.
And we need to decide that those members of the House and Senate whose actions gave aid and comfort to the enemies of this country who stormed the Capitol and threatened to destroy the country must be held accountable. Some rear ends need to be kicked out as soon as possible and the Democrats do have the power to make that happen.
Trump was impeached twice. Look at the life he led before he ran for public office. You can see this disaster coming from a long way off. If the Democrats ever elected someone as despicable and deplorable as that, do you think the Republicans would take the position they've now put themselves in and just give him, or her, a pass?
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