They needed seventeen Republican votes to convict Donald Trump. They got seven. The final count was decisive -- 57 for conviction, 43 against. In one sense, the senate saw Trump for who he is. But given that 67 votes were required for conviction, there is another obvious conclusion. The Republicans have been unmasked. The whole world sees who they are. Frank Bruni writes:
I keep thinking about the late 1990s, Bill Clinton, that whole melodrama and how Republicans used it in the service of a particular identity for their party. I keep thinking about what a lie that identity was then and what an absolute joke it is now.
Monica Lewinsky dropped into that crusade like a gift from the gods. What you saw on the faces of many Republicans as they discussed Clinton’s dalliance with her wasn’t indignation. It was glee, and it fueled the charade that men like Newt Gingrich — who was then the House speaker and was cheating on his second wife with the much younger woman who would become his third — were the bulwarks against moral chaos.
Republicans sought to define themselves as the caretakers of tradition, the guardians of propriety, the proudly old-fashioned champions of honor, order, patriotism and such. Clinton’s background, especially the accusations of infidelity, helped them do that. They turned him into a symbol of America’s turpitude. They reasoned that the more thoroughly they demonized him (and Hillary), the more persuasively they sanctified themselves.
He was lies and they were truth. He was lust and they were modesty.
Consider what has happened to the Republican Party in the era of Donald Trump:
Along came Trump, and Republicans decided that decency and decorum were overrated. Truth, too. Heck, everything that they claimed to stand for in the Clinton years was now negotiable, expendable, vestigial. Nothing was beyond the pale.
And, as jurors, some Republicans were simply disgraceful:
Rick Scott, who of course voted “not guilty,” was seen studying and then fiddling with a map or maps of Asia. Dare we dream that he’s plotting his own relocation there? [Josh] Hawley, who also voted “not guilty,” at one point moved to the visitors gallery above the Senate floor and did some reading there, his feet propped up, his lanky body a pretzel of petulance. What happened to Republicans’ respect for authority? What happened to basic decency and decorum?
On a simple majority vote, Donald Trump was unambiguously guilty. And, with the exception of seven Republican senators, the Party has been exposed for the fraud that it is.
Image: KIMT
14 comments:
I think a lot more has been exposed here. The legal system has shown that a third choice Ambulance chaser has managed and manipulated the entire legal system in favour of an obvious criminal. Through word manipulation they have lied and cajoled the observers into a state of confusion. I can only hope that the majority will see this for what it was. A stunt
Words have power, zoombats -- particularly when those words are lies.
Once again we have been left with the impression that the Dems wanted to play nice and be the civilised good guys - they choked just when they could have won it for the court of public opinion.
The failed to call witnesses, especially Kevin McCarthy and Mike Pence.
When will these dems learn you can't win against slimy hypocrites who will do anything to stay in power - look at moscow mitch's performance - masterful and full of his usual hypocrisy and lies.
But he won!
I fear for 2022
At this point the Dems only hurt the country by futile attempt to "reach across the aisle." They can't fall into the trap that snared Obama. Repeal the filibuster. Get rid of it and every vestige of it. Then drive through the Dems' and Biden's legislative agenda well before the mid-terms. Timid half-measures fail or, worse, backfire. Push these bills through and then defend what you've done. Treat McConnell for what he is, an unprincipled, backstabbing son of a bitch.
The Republicans have been revealed as naked hypocrites, Ben. The Dems have only one option. They must prove that government works. The Republicans are dedicated to destroying the republic.
I agree, Mound. The Democrats can implement their program with a simple majority. That's the lesson of Trump's second impeachment.
Blogger Owen Gray said...
The Republicans have been revealed as naked hypocrites..
They ,Republicans and Democrats,were never going to hold Trump accountable.
To do so would leave Republicans and Democrats alike to face the same fate or at least scrutiny.
There are hopefuls within the Democrats but they are few and far between and laughably called Communists!.
The USA is heading in the same direction of prewar Germany, where the flag, or cross, waving populace ignored all the signs of degeneration and failure.
The world must learn to live outside the US influence.
I now realise what Canadian content was all about!
TB
The republic is in grave danger, TB. And Trump still roams freely inside it.
I hope Americans have enough brains to understand. If not we are all in for the high jump. That goes doubly for Canada. It puts Canadians in a similar position as Poland. That is not a far fetched thought, not by a long shot. .Anyong
As Pierre Trudeau said, Anyong, when you sleep next to an elephant, you're affected by every twitch of the beast.
Part of my comment was not included in the above, is there a reason for that? Anyong
That's what I received, Anyong. Do you wish to add something?
I mention that the US seemed as if it could be compared to Germany during the tears 1930 to 1934 when Hitler became leader after the death of Hindenberg. For some reason it was not included in my first comment. Anyong
That's a parallel others have mentioned, Anyong. You're right. We've been here before.
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