Hoops Talk
It’s still too soon to tell what the US Senate will do regarding the Trial of Donald Trump. The critical vote will probably come today, when they will determine whether to seek evidence and witnesses. That vote is, as reporters put it, “a jump ball”. From here, it feels a lot like the Kavanaugh nomination, a “jump ball” where the refs will tip it to a pre-determined team. And just like Kavanaugh, don’t depend on Susan Collins to be a tower of moral strength.
But even if the outcome is predestined, the Senate Republicans should “jump through the hoop” of listening to John Bolton’s testimony. Regardless of their final decision of exoneration, the voters of the United States deserve the right to hear what the former National Security Advisor has to say.
The Fix
It’s not likely to happen. Senate Republicans don’t want to hear that the President, their President, did exactly what the House of Representatives said he did. They absolutely refuse to know that Donald Trump used the taxpayer supplied and Congressionally mandated funds of the United States to try to extort Ukraine for political dirt on Joe Biden. And they certainly don’t want to hear about it first hand from John Bolton. They’d rather read it in his book next month, when they can wring their hands and use the ultimate insult to their old friend: disgruntled employee.
For them, it’s all well and good that “the fix” is in. They know it’s fixed; they don’t want their Senatorial noses rubbed in it by Bolton.
I keep waiting for the “profile in courage”, that Republican Senator who casts political considerations aside and makes a morally right decision. But alas, it’s not an era of courage. It seems that Senate Republican courage was buried at Annapolis alongside John McCain. Mitt Romney, by the way, isn’t that profile either. He has as safe a seat as exists there in Utah, in fact, he has a Republican constituency that is as morally appalled by Donald Trump as most Democrats. Still, it’s good to have him there.
Profile of Fear
The biggest disappointment is that I truly believe most Republican Senators (and many “normal” Republicans) are disgusted by the President’s actions. They are choosing to ignore their “better angels”. Senators fear the President, the impact his single tweet could have on their career. They fear the Republican Party mechanisms that the Trump Campaign wholly controls, taking the financial support of their own Party. And they dread being “primaried” by other Republicans more loyal to Trump.
They rationalize: “…if I stand up for this, I will be left alone, out of office, and the next Senator might well be worse for the country”. That next Senator might be a Trumper, but it might just as well be a Democrat. Ask the people of South Carolina House District 1, who “primaried” conservative Republican Mark Sanford out of office after a Trump tweet, and then lost the general election to a Democrat. Professor Dershowitz, for all the nonsense he spouted in the past couple of days, managed to make one clear, correct point in his dissertation. Most politicians truly believe what’s in their best is also in the nations’ best interest.
Take the Shot
Speaker Pelosi didn’t want to move on impeachment. In her thinking, if the President’s actions outlined in the Mueller Report didn’t create national outrage, then Democrats were better sticking to their positive agenda of health care, reducing income stratification, and improving voting rights. That was how they won the House in 2018.
But what drove her to allow the process to begin was Trump’s obvious determination to “fix” the 2020 election. The Muller Investigation didn’t stop him; in fact, it emboldened him to extort Ukrainian President Zelenskiy. That was the plan: Trump couldn’t allow the election of 2020 to be on a level playing field. He had to find a way to make Joe Biden as negative and ugly as he was. He had to cheat to win.
Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff entered impeachment with their eyes wide open. Even though the evidence of the President’s actions and obstructions was overwhelming, so was his control of the Republican Party and the mind numbing power of Fox News. But impeachment and the Senate trial was the only way to place the evidence in front of the American voters. They had to “take the shot”.
To the People
The President’s attorney Pat Cipillone calls for Senators to “…leave it to the people of the United States”. Whether he believes it or not, Democrats recognized that was the probable outcome of the trial as well. What the Trial does, is lay out the case to the voters. It has also laid bare the stranglehold the President has taken over his own political party. No witnesses, no evidence, no subpoenas: the American people know what a real trial is, and “this ain’t it”.
Democrats have taken their best shot. The Republicans in the Senate have “rigged” the game so that the President cannot be touched. Now it is up to the American voters in 2020. Unlike the Republican Senators so afraid of the truth, they are willing to vote for the kind of America they want, even if the election process is still slanted in Trump’s favor.
When the trial ends, the people have the ball.
a very good post (as usual) punctuated with an EXCELLENT finish. You stuck the landing. The outcome of the trial was predestined. For just a moment, it appeared that the question of witnesses/evidence could be called into question, & maybe, just MAYBE, there MIGHT be a different outcome. But, instead, the inevitable has occurred. But the Dems have laid out their case. Though the trier of fact in this case was rigged, & the electoral college is, while not “rigged”, admittedly “slanted” (great word choice by you), laying it all out there is good. Let the people decide. The downside: you took your shot. I’m not sure it registered. Indeed, there’s a fair case to be made that, electorally, it may have backfired.
ie, there’s an old adage that goes something like, if you come to take out the king, you had best not miss. I think that’s the political calculus Speaker Pelosi had in her head: we will INEVITABLY miss, so why do this thing? So she was a bit slow to agree to impeachment, which I understand. I’m glad she did it, just the same. I am sure her motivations were political, not in true defense of the Constitution: that doesn’t make them (much) less worthy in my estimation. Although I think I am backing up to a Dershowitz-ian argument at this point.
I don’t see the “down-side” of Pelosi’s decision to impeach. Even in losing in the Senate, the warning is tossed in front of the Trump Campaign, and more importantly, the American people. He will “cheat” in the upcoming election, but hopefully American voters are ready for it, unlike 2016. But one thing for sure, Pelosi has made the point to all those who oppose Trump: your choice is absolutely binary – to overuse a term from 2016 – you can choose Trump – or you must vote to defeat him. There is no “fall back” position, no “adults in the room” to direct him. He has either driven “the adults” away, or he has taken control of them.