Is it really accountability if he’s not removed and barred from running for another term? Is it accountability if he’s not actually imprisoned for his “high crimes and misdemeanors”?
I do, and I’m going to spend a few hundred words expressing why, if you care to hear them.
The House is a far more small-d democratic institution than the Senate. The House is designed to represent the people, while the Senate is designed to prevent the people from acting against the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
As far as I am concerned, knowing the fix is in once this gets to the Senate, knowing that McConnell is as corrupted and venal as they come, the inevitable refusal by the Senate majority to remove Trump from office does not mean Trump did not commit the crimes he is accused of committing. It means that the Republican-controlled Senate does not respect the oath of office, does not respect the rule of law, does not care about the future of America and American democracy, and is primarily concerned with consolidating and preserving power against the will of the majority of Americans. This question about to be before them is not about Trump, it is about the Republican Party.
As I wrote yesterday, the trial of Donald J Trump is over, and he has been convicted. He will be remembered for the rest of his life, and by history, as a man who lost the popular vote, was the most unpopular president in history, told more documented lies than any other president in history, and was only the third president since 1787 to be impeached. He is also the first president to be impeached in his first term, by the largest majority in history.
Trump is clearly a narcissist, so this fact, that his name is forever tarnished and tied to Nixon, who was a criminal, and Clinton, who Republicans think is the Antichrist, is going to be deeply wounding to his ego. But maybe he’s also a Nihilist, and doesn’t care about his place in history, so some may think it’s it’s a Pyrrhic victory. To them I ask: what’s the first thing you think of when someone says Richard Nixon’s name? It’s probably not creating the EPA or opening trade with China. It’s almost certainly Watergate and his resignation from office. Trump knows that, and he knows that his obituary will lede with his impeachment. For a narcissist like him, who can’t stand to be shamed or contradicted, that cuts to the bone, no matter how much he blusters and lies about it.
Trump clearly broke the law, clearly abused the power of his office for personal benefit, and betrayed our national security interests. Seventeen witnesses testified to that, and not a single Trump defender has said or presented a single thing that contests the evidence of his crimes. There’s been a lot of yelling, a lot of gaslighting, a lot of lying, and a lot of posturing, but not one single defense of Trump on the facts or merits.
The facts are not in dispute. Sure, Trump cultists refuse to accept them, but Flat Earthers and Climate Change denialists reject facts, too; that doesn’t make them correct or worth anyone’s attention.