Well, on February 13, the last day of Donald Trump’s Senate trial, I sensed a depth of sadness far beyond that felt as a consequence of the insurrection. It is so hard to capture this feeling with words alone. It is an intuitive knowing that we have fallen prey to fear and hate, and evil that rival America’s history. I think the depth of despair is related to those mixed feelings of thinking we have made so much progress on issues of justice and equality when we have not. In America, justice depends on who you are.
Donald Trump’s racist, fascist insurrection brought the country and its fragile Democracy to the edge of the cliff. The Senate’s “Not Guilty” verdict took us sliding over the cliff into the depths of the unknown. Faced with clear, undeniable evidence that Donald Trump incited this insurrection against his own country, 43 Senate Republicans voted to find him “Not Guilty.”
Where is the fairness and justice in this? What does this verdict say to Trump and his supporters? What does it say to the over 81 million people who voted for Joe Biden? Joe Biden won over 7 million more votes than Donald Trump. Americans resoundingly rejected Donald Trump and his policies at the polls.
However, these 43 Senators had the power to reject the people’s choice of a new leader politically. They did so by supporting the former president’s lies about a stolen election and his subsequent attempts to overthrow the election results by any means at his disposal.
The depravity of that vote, presumably by men and women of sound mind, was wrapped in fear and cowardice. It spoke volumes about the future of Democracy as we’ve thought about it up to this point in time.
We witnessed men and women put their thirst for power and loyalty to Donald Trump and their party above the oath they took. This oath says in part, ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
And make no mistake, Donald Trump is a domestic enemy of the United States. Full Stop! He has divided the country along racial, religious, gender, and sexist lines. He has corrupted our democratic institutions throughout the government, embraced totalitarian dictators worldwide, and alienated our allies. Donald Trump also undermined our National Security and made America and the world less safe.
Donald Trump has demonstrated no respect for the Office of President of the United States. He either did not understand the oath he took or did not care enough to abide by it. “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” This he failed to do.
Donald Trump’s ultimate evil was to incite an insurrection against his own country. He did this because he did not want to concede that he lost an election. To remain in power, he lied to his followers, coerced congressional representatives, and threatened state elected officials. Further, he sent his loyal soldiers out to rally the “calvary,” as they called themselves, and did absolutely nothing to deter or stop his supporters when they attacked the Capitol.
No person elected President of the United States has defiled, corrupted, and demeaned the President’s Office, as has Donald Trump. Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying about a blow job, which ultimately hurt no one except his wife and the young woman involved.
Yet they gave a free pass to Donald Trump for lies about winning an election that he officially lost, lies echoed by the very Senators who were his jurors! These lies undermined Democracy, essentially impacting the entire country, not just a few people caught up in an indiscretion, blown out of proportion by Republicans for political gain.
Is there any wonder that the Republican jurors, complicit in conspiracy theories, echoing and escalating Trump’s lies, would vote to find him “Not Guilty?” There was a lot of self-preservation in the votes cast, not just in the interest of re-election but also in exonerating themselves from complicit guilt.
One wonders if people like these Senators have humanistic qualities or the capacity for compassion or empathy. Are they essentially programmed robots, incapable of independent intellectual discernment? So it seems. They completely blocked out the crime scene — the destruction, feces on walls, stolen property, American deaths, being in imminent danger themselves — all shoved to the recesses of their narrow minds.
And where in the world was spineless Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States, during this trial? Was he also hiding out in fear of Donald Trump and his mob? One has to wonder if he is in fear for his life or fear for his political future.
Having lived with, and been subservient to, a Mob Boss for four years would undoubtedly offer Mike Pence insight into the evils of a criminal mind. Yet, it is hard to believe The Vice President could not muster enough courage to come forward during this trial to help save the Republic. Like his comrades in the Senate, his short or selective memory of being a target of Donald Trump and his insurrectionists is simply astounding. But like his boss, Mike Pence has decided not to take any responsibility for his role in the insurrection.
Network analysts spent considerable time talking about how bad Trump’s defense team lawyers were. Indeed there was the substitution of theatrics for substance. Anyone watching the proceedings saw there was no real defense of Trump’s actions or inactions offered. But none was necessary for acquittal.
A Banty Rooster could have defended Trump, and the outcome would have been the same. Mitch McConnell had made up his mind about acquitting Trump when he decided not to begin a trial until after Joe Biden’s inauguration. The legitimacy of an Ex-president’s trial became front and center talking points for Republicans who had no serious intention of participating in the trial.
Although pissed with Trump for losing his complete control over the Senate, McConnell could not force himself to go against the little dictatorial tyrant. He feared his now minority position would become permanent. Mitch McConnell likes being King as much as does Donald Trump.
So, where does this leave the Republic? Who knows? Only time will tell. One thing for sure is that Republicans will continue their minority rule aspirations. They will indulge in legislative schemes and dubious interpretations of the Constitution while ignoring The Rule of Law to maintain control. They will stop or undermine Joe Biden’s legislative agenda in every way possible.
Democrats, a much more heterogeneous group of leaders and constituents, will continue the push/pull power grabs within the party. These undermine defining what they stand for precisely and for whom they are working. Democrats also have to negotiate the treacherous terrain of their opponents better. To date, they have not been very adept at doing this.
If these two political parties continue to operate by different rules, by different interpretations of the Constitution, and by allowing lying and corruption to define who we are as a country, “doomed” is the word that comes to mind.
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This post was previously published on Medium.
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