After the U.S. Senate failed to convict Donald J. Trump for inciting an insurrection, Trump issued a triumphant and frankly absurd statement, projecting his own behavior on the Democrats.
After his Senate acquittal, a defiant Trump called his second impeachment by the House “another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country” and hinted at a return to national politics.
“This has been yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country. No president has ever gone through anything like it,” Trump said in a statement, which did not include a condemnation of the mob of his supporters that breached the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America Great Again has only just begun,” Trump said. “In the months ahead, I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all our people.” He provided no further elaboration about his plans. Trump thanked his lawyers and lashed out at Democrats.
“It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree,” he said in the statement.
The Republicans voted not to convict because Trump was no longer in office. Mitch MConnell refused to start the impeachment trial while Trump was still in office. McConnell spoke after the decision, admitting that Trump was indeed responsible for the riot.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The facts in vivid chronological order were displayed including his doing nothing while people died. That’s just sick.
No impeachment but I can’t imagine anyone denying he was responsible – and that he responded to protect people.
With the exception of little boy hawley and the rest of the whiners – the rest will distance themselves like crazy.
We can only hope his 15 minutes are over – – – until all that video gets rolled out for the 2022 elections. All those candidates’ denials are documented well.
Oh, and all those doctors’ diagnoses have bee proven accurate, too.
Buckle up, folks. The Idiot will be back, his cult is reloading. With assistance from Schumer, who is not and never has been the brightest light. Immediately after Mitch the Bitch finished he should have asked for the floor and said, “I appreciate the comments of the minority leader. Based on his justification of his vote, should the Justice Department pursue charges against the former president for his dereliction of duty, will the leader commit not to disrupt regular order of the Senate’s business?”
And while I appreciated Pelosi’s passion, she didn’t need to step on the Managers’ presser. The Speaker can always call her own.
Did anyone really expect he would be convicted?
A rich white man convicted of a crime? In the United States? He could have shot someone on 5th Avenue and gotten away with it.
The real criminal is Mitch McConnell, and he is getting away with it. He could have held the trial in January, but he waited until February and then said it was too late to convict. Reminds me of Supreme Court confirmations. When you swear to uphold the Constitution, you’re supposed to keep your word.
LeftCoastTeacher McConnell leaves slime on the sidewalk when he walks by. He Charlie-Browned Nancy Pelosi. And they still call him a human being. CBK
Mitch McRandall, from Monsters inc
And to directly answer your question, SDP, no, no one ever expected he would be convicted.
So now, Congress has a Democratic majority in both chambers. There is work to do. Time to do something to help working people. Let’s go, Chuck ‘n Nancy!
The Democrats must work fast. There will be another election in November 2022 and they could lose one or both Houses
“. . .and they could lose one or both Houses.”
Correction: “. . . and they will lose both chambers.”
If all of Republicans listened to and understood Mitch McConnells remarks after the trial – justice would be partially served. McConnell was clear and presented a strong damning picture of Donald Trump – including saying it was “because of him” that the violence happened. McConnell also was clear that there is more to come to hold Trump accountable. I was surprised at how strong his words were (I do understand it’s too little too late…. and he delayed the trial in the first place).
Unfortunately most Trumpians will not hear, or understand, McConnells remarks ….. and instead the outcome of a “not guilty” overall verdict…. is what will stick in their minds as vindication of innocence.
McConnell could have repeated his earlier comments about Trump’s responsibility for the insurrection in his emailed statement explaining that he was going to vote to acquit because, in his view, one couldn’t remove a president who was no longer in office. He didn’t.
This was a purely political calculation. He waited until after the vote to make this strong denunciation because his major concern is not that what Trump did was murderous and treasonous and clearly impeachable and cost the lives of police officers trying to protect his sorry *** but because he doesn’t want Trump playing Republican kingmaker going forward–McConnell wants to be able to do that himself. McConnell wants to dethrone Trump as de facto party leader while nonetheless voting to absolve Trump as a sop to his own Trumpy base in the breathtakingly backward state of Kentucky that keeps inflicting McConnell on the rest of the country.
There have been other lows in the history of the Senate, but surely this acquittal is nadir.
Repugnican. n. A self-serving, sleazy, oleaginous, hypocritical, equivocating, sycophantic, amoral coward willing to be complicit in any wrong, up to and including treason, if he or she sees some personal advantage in so acting
Repugnican Party. n. The Limbo Party, for which no low is too low
How long before the very people who voted to acquit Trump start telling us, again, about their support for police officers, law, and order?
Oh, gosh, I left “meretricious” and “mendacious” out of my definition of “Repugnican.”
You are right. He appeased his donors by first setting up the situation to try Trump while no longer in office, voting ‘not guilty’ and then he makes a strong statement so he can play both sides.
I guess my bar is so low for some of the politicians, that simply hearing him admit the truth and so strongly condemn Trump, and seem upset, gives me reason to hope.
God Bless the “Deep State” . I suspect a whole lot of people may be looking to join Snowden soon. From Justice to State we are going to see a whole lot of career officials who have been muzzled for 4 years .
Join Snowden? Seek refuge in Putin’s Russia?
I don’t think so.
They are free to speak about the damage Trump inflicted on their agencies. They don’t have to hide in Russia.
I thought it was understood, I was talking about Trump and company taking off for Russia . Exactly career officials are free to talk about the corruption, the incompetence, the sheer illegalities and the treason of Trump his family his appointees… And some members of Congress. .
‘ “It is a sad commentary on our times that one political party in America is given a free pass to denigrate the rule of law, defame law enforcement, cheer mobs, excuse rioters, and transform justice into a tool of political vengeance, and persecute, blacklist, cancel and suppress all people and viewpoints with whom or which they disagree,” he said in the statement.’
If I didn’t know differently, I would think this was a statement made by a Democrat. Trump must have been channeling one.
Trump is excellent at projecting his crimes on others
I’ve read a couple press reports that have said that “Republicans remain fiercely loyal to Trump.” That’s complete BS. They are afraid of losing the Trump voters.” So, they are like the addict who knows that he has a monkey on his back but can’t stand the pain of the withdrawal in order to kick it.
The Repugnicans are spineless. And they are willing to countenance anything, up to and including Trump’s clear treason, in order to remain in office.
What a disgusting spectacle. They know what Trump is as well as you or I do. But they aren’t willing to put the country above their own ambition to hang onto the powers and perks of their offices.
“disgusting spectacle” is exactly right. I worry about his sons holding office in the future more so than him. There are very young children that have been indoctrinated into Trumpism.
Sick!
The rePug-no and are true to form. Horrors!
43 Republicans Condemned for ‘Cowardice’ as Senate Votes to Acquit Donald Trump | Common Dreams News
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/13/cowardice-43-republicans-condemned-senate-votes-acquit-donald-trump
It’s time for prosecutors to start rolling out their cases against the Teflon Don v2.0. Serial sexual assault, misappropriation of charitable funds, misappropriation of campaign funds, kidnapping of children from their parents, threats against the lives of legal asylum seekers, bank and insurance fraud. . . .
And it’s time for the International Criminal Court to arraign Trump and Miller for Crimes against Humanity.
Absolutely!
Like Trump, the oath of office that every Republican Senator and Representative took means absolutely nothing to them. Yes, I know a very few stood up to be counted but I did to hear any of them coming out clearly and encouraging their fellow legislators to also vote for impeachment.
The vote today is a culmination of four very sad, sad time in the history of the United States. Very sad.
The people in the rest of the world are looking at what has happened because of Trump and minors and wonder how could this have happened in should a great country.
I have read two Republican Senators who voted to acquit then immediately issue press statements claiming what President Trump did was wrong and they don’t condone it. (Portman and McConnell)
I think some of the Republican Senators may be feeling some pressure for their decision as they will go down in history only as one of the 43 Trump minions who approve of Trump doing anything he wants no matter how many people are hurt or killed.
But no one is buying it. Trump supporters know these Senators are minions of their beloved Trump, and those who believe in democracy know these Senators value Trump over democracy.
Portman is as execrable as it gets. No core convictions other than staying low and getting elected. That’s what counts for a serious Republican in Ohio.
Democrats should not be over confident as people begin to quietly dismiss their fascination with Trump, and recognize people more likely to effectively share their beliefs about guns, and racist beliefs. There is likely to be a republican party that hates all democrat ideas, and form a slightly less idiotic following. Trump might disappear—but something more dangerous in the long run could cause democrats a lot of trouble. Trump will be 78 in 2024, and Biden will be 82…..the nation will not want either of them very much.
And as long as there are big businesses profiting greatly from these beliefs (what came first the chicken or the egg)…. ie. gun companies. Or big businesses that can benefit from having politicians gain these folks as constituents to vote a certain way… it will be hard to stop this. There will always be someone ignorant or corrupt enough to run for office to do their bidding.
Is it the QOP or the GQP?
It’s now the party of Proud Boys, QAnon, Oathkeepers, and KKK.
Gotta pacify that base.
Diane It’s now the party of Proud Boys, QAnon, Oathkeepers, and KKK.
Gotta pacify that base.
They don’t care what others call them . . . and though those multiple-morphing groups may not know it, they are working for the Big Donor Republicans just like the Tea Party people before them. CBK
They should change the name to CCCP–the Clucking, Complicit Cowards Party
In her post-trial comments, Claire McCaskill reflected on the part of the mysterious “Trump base” that SEEMS to sit quietly behind those deplorables that we know as cult followers. She said (paraphrased) that, regardless of whether you “buy” McConnell’s argument, he was ultimately doing the political thing by keeping the REPUBLICAN FAUCET of DONOR MONEY, with all those commas on the checks, open and flowing. And so his power in the Senate will grow stronger for the next elections.
Just like in reformer education . . . ultimately, it’s about the money and power. We really are already an oligarchy. Who knew? CBK
Trump may still end up in federal and/or state courts for his involvement in what happened on January 6. In fact, Trump might end up with a “pandemic” of court cases alleging he was responsible for the deaths of the five that died and the injuries for more than a hundred capital police officers.
I, for one, am more than willing to wait and see. Justice in a democracy like ours is slow and Trump hasn’t been out of the White House for even a whole month yet.
I think Trump will be dealing with endless court cases linked to his failed presidency for the rest of his life.
“There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people that stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president,” McConnell said.
Why, if Trump is ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day’, did McConnell vote to not convict him?
McConnell is again proving that he is a worthless, pile of ___________. Criminals shouldn’t be found guilty in a trial.
I remember seeing a political cartoon in which two policemen were watching a criminal carrying a bag of money on the sidewalk outside the bank. One said to the other, “We can’t do anything because he’s out of the bank.”
carolmkalaysia Imagine McConnell’s and Republicans’ response if Trump were a democrat. CBK
Mitch McConnell is morally responsible for condoning it and he is morally responsible when the next person does it, citing that Mitch McConnell and 42 other Republican Senators are fine with it.
Mitch McConnell has always been synonymous with hypocrisy. This latest stunt–delaying the trial and then claiming that he couldn’t vote to convict because of when the trial occurred, just cements his indisputable claim to the title “most hypocritical.”
One of my sisters went me an outline of ways we as a people could force Congress to reflect the will of the people, which basically boiled down to taking away any of the perks in which the American people do not share. If we want them to think of us, then we had better make them “us.” Somewhere along the way we lost the idea of citizen legislators and turned the job into a lucrative path to wealth and power.
Good luck with that! Imagine having a job where you get to vote on your own perks. Gee, should I get a pay raise? Gee, should I have the best healthcare in the universe? Gee, should I have an almost unlimited travel budget? Gee, should I be able to send mail for free? And so on.
With Trump’s acquittal, we will pay him $250,000 a year for the rest of his life plus Secret Service protection. Before he left office, he ordered six months of Secret Service for each of his children. Never stops free loading.
Once a grifter, always a grifter
But yes, it’s sickening, isn’t it, Diane.
Bob . . . it would be nice if McConnell cared about being called a hypocrite. I don’t think he does, and that he left his own internal line-the-sand behind a long time ago.
Our problem is our own projection . . . making judgments while thinking McConnell’s conscience works like normal people, and that it didn’t circle the drain way back in the 70’s. CBK
No, McConnell sees this not as hypocrisy but as being a savvy politician–the expert at playing the came. He envisions himself as the ultimate “playuh,” like the Kevin Spacey character in House of Cards.
cx: sent
In an earlier post, I didn’t want to go there because it was too scary to even contemplate out loud. But after today’s verdict, I now wish the House managers would have taken their cases to their logical conclusion. When Pence, his wife and family were less than 100 feet from the terrorist, had they been caught, Pence would have died. He would have died a gruesome death likely in front of cameras or cell phone cameras. Perhaps on the gallows constructed on the Mall. Had Romney not followed Officer Goodman, he would have been beaten, likely to death. Had Schumer kept walking the same direction, he would be dead. Would his head have been paraded on a spike by a bloodthirsty crowd? Had Pelosi or AOC been found, does anyone doubt sexual torture in public would have preceded a sure death? Where her fears of being more than 6 hours of hiding in Katie Porter’s office just paranoid delusion? I think not. Is this what it would have taken for Republicans to finally admit the obvious? Would this country have been able to survive the trauma? OK, I went there. If you are a black male or woman who might be pulled over by police, do you feel safer than you did this morning? If you are a politically active liberal woman, do you feel your voice will be heard? Perhaps it will take a new era of lynchings before elected Republicans find their spines and consciences. Perhaps not.
GregB and Bob I’m glad you said that, Greg. But about this: “Is this what it would have taken for Republicans to finally admit the obvious?” And this from Bob: “They are afraid of losing the Trump voters.”
Yes . . . however they also are afraid of losing Big Donor Republican money rooted in Big Donor wishes to lessen the power of our tilting democratic demographics. We should stop projecting our own sense of having a spine onto them . . . it doesn’t apply . . . and we should never forget that.
Most Republicans in the Senate followed McConnell; and McConnell found a way to follow his donors’ wishes; but it still reeked of hypocrisy: He even betrayed his long-time identity as an institutionalist by resorting to a procedural issue . . . saying that the vote was not appropriate AT ALL . . . period.
That decision gave them their “off ramp” by pulling the rug out from under ANY arguments and ANY witnesses REGARDLESS, even though the ACTUAL institutional vote would have been to stay with the earlier SENATE MAJORITY VOTE: to have the trial in the first place . . . and so to take into consideration what McConnell also said so well earlier in his speech where he well-accounted for Trump’s Trumpism.
One congressperson (Donna something) said she almost lost her lunch when she realized what McConnell was doing in his “pretzel speech” after the vote. Pretzel was a good metaphor; or I thought of a hairball, because, while I was hearing McConnell comb-out his convoluted story, I felt my insides try to comb-out a hairball to find some order in what I was hearing . . . I actually palm-hit my head thinking: WHAT AM I HEARING? . . . he so twisted everything around.
In my view, the changing demographics have thrown those backroom power brokers into a crisis, not of conscience or of “not having a spine,” but of OMG! thinking they might lose the oligarchic power they ALREADY WIELD in Congress . . . to a more democratically oriented Congress and to a “lesser” social standing, skin color, and gender . . . all who are presently banging at the political gates of their little isolated power-block communities. I think that, as long as there’s so much money swashing around in Congress, it will always be corrupt . . . or, the one’s who are not corrupt already, will end up fighting upstream all-the-way, . . . a losing battle.
Also, I think there is great irony in Pence’s refusal to break with his Oath of Office. . . it was to God; and whatever else Pence is, he took his oath seriously . . . he is a religious man. CBK
I sent this letter to Senator Mike Braun [R-IN] and Senator Todd Young [R-IN]. Both voted to acquit Trump.
………………………………………….
Subject of message: Now you can brag about being a coward. McConnell stated, “The people that stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President.”
I’ll be waiting to hear from you bragging about being a coward. Please put that in your next ‘informative’ form letter telling me that what I say means so much.
Here is what McConnell stated, “There’s no question, none, that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. The people that stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their President.”
Why, if Trump is ‘practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day’, did McConnell and Senator Braun not convict him? You are now telling this country that criminals shouldn’t be found guilty in a trial
I remember seeing a political cartoon in which two policemen were watching a criminal carrying a bag of money on the sidewalk outside the bank. One said to the other, “We can’t do anything because he’s out of the bank.”
carolmalaysia All good. However, there was a big HOWEVER towards the end of his speech. HOWEVER, . . . .we cannot convict an ex-president. So NONE of what McConnell himself said matters.
It’s a bad, bad, however, but it’s what they are claiming as the “reason” why they did not convict. CBK
Catherine King: Yep. Just like you can’t convict a bank robber once he’s out of the bank.
Great twisted thinking.
Now any future president can do the worst things imaginable and, with GOP support, can then resign and be totally free. I do hope that the SDNY gets a copy of Trump’s tax returns and can send him to prison. I read a recent NYT story that said it is difficult to convict on tax evasion.
The homeowners who live near Mar-a-Lago may find that they can’t kick Trump out.
Will this horror of a person EVER be found guilty of the many abuses that he continues to put on everyone?
our incredible journey together
incredible, as in “not credible”
At least we don’t have to endure a string of Twitter posts bragging, “Exonerated!”
See my note, below.
BTW This opinion snip from a piece in this morning’s Washington Post/This Week in Ideas:
Opinion by
Henry Olsen
Columnist
Feb. 8, 2021 at 11:48 a.m. PST
“Former president Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will attract much attention this week. But there’s another trial he’s involved with that’s likely to be just as important to his political future.
“Facebook’s Oversight Board, which was established last year, has complete power to uphold or reverse any decision Facebook makes regarding the removal of content or the banning of a person from its platforms. The board is currently reviewing Facebook’s indefinite ban on Trump accessing or posting to his Facebook or Instagram accounts. If it rules in Trump’s favor, he will immediately regain access to social media and start communicating with his followers.
“That’s exactly what the board should do. Trump is an important public figure, no matter how many people despise him. It was one thing to temporarily ban him from social media during the tumultuous days following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Doing so helped ensure that Trump could not mobilize his followers to further violence that could hinder or mar President Biden’s inauguration. That danger has now passed, and keeping the former president from commenting on public affairs would only serve to suppress free speech. That’s not something Facebook, or any social media platform, should do. . . . ” END SNIP
I could not watch all of the trial but was very moved by the personal stories from Democrats.
I am just so sick of GOP obfuscation, BS and downright lies that I really can’t stomach watching them or pay attention long enough to hear all they say anymore. Even when McConnell told it like it really is, I did not hear him mention there was in fact a precedent for this: In 1876, when the Secretary of the War, William W. Belknap, resigned before being impeached for corruption. He quit because he got caught and knew he was going to be impeached, but he was impeached and the Senate tried him anyway, even though he was no longer in office.
Did any of the Democratic Managers mention this precedent? If so, I’m guessing the problem is that Belknap was acquitted, possibly because he was no longer in office, but politicians have a long history of covering for their own peeps. I will never understand how “lawmakers” can justify their propensity to let corrupt politicians break laws with impunity and justify doing that by declaring it unconstitutional to hold them accountable. Isn’t it the job of SCOTUS to determine what is constitutional? Lawmakers should stick to writing enforceable laws, especially when a demagogue with a life-long pattern of flaunting laws & finding loopholes for the privileged continues that pattern when he comes to power. Next time, we will surely lose our democracy to a smarter tyrant who has learned he can get away with it and has a better plan for pulling it off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_W.Belknap#House_corruption_investigation,_resignation_and_impeachment(1876)
The House Managers went into great detail on Belknap.
Thanks for the info! I’m sorry I was not able to see that.
It was impossible for mere mortals to watch it all, I just happened to be tuned in when this came up. YouTube giveth (begins @ 15:30):
Thanks so much!! I really appreciated watching that link!
I read that Nixon resigned because he believed the GOP would impeach and convict him, yet what Trump did is so much worse. (I was living overseas at the time and didn’t realize a lot of Republicans back then had a moral compass.)
Since Trump was arguing that he is just a regular citizen now, then henceforth people should not call him “former President” or treat him like he’s someone special. I’ll just refer to him as “Traitorous Trump the Terrible,” and his lackeys (the Republican cowards), “His Brown-Nose Lap Dogs.” (Sorry, this is just so infuriating and, being rather vulnerable right now, it truly makes me physically ill.)
Reteach 4 America “‘His Brown-Nose Lap Dogs.’ (Sorry, this is just so infuriating and, being rather vulnerable right now, it truly makes me physically ill.)”
AKA the Clockwork Orange Group. CBK
Nixon had a sense of shame.
Trump is completely shameless.
As I think I mentioned somewhere else here: it’s not just brown noses, it’s also cheeks, chins, hands and elbows.
Given that the outcome of this play was obvious, would it have been a better plan to prosecute Trump after the fact in a criminal court of law. Now that the Senate has determined that, according to those acquitting him, he could not be tried in the senate because he was president, there should be a discussion of charges brought by civil authorities in criminal courts. If he committed crimes as a president, why not charge him? Try him.
The Republicans have convinced their base that Clinton, Obama, and Biden are corrupt. But after they took power in the Congress during the Obama years, no indictments ever came down. I doubt the base of the democratic party would settle for anything less than a trial. If he has not broken a law, then we need to have laws that describe what we should do when a president refuses to do his duty or simply decides to run the government poorly in order to sabotage it. James Buchanan arguably exacerbated the disunity experienced when the deep south seceded prior to the Civil War. His inactivity was at least arguably criminal. Trump’s lack of response to the mob’s potential was similarly criminal. Calling in the National Guard to protect the legislative process seems to me to be obvious thing that should have been done, but he did not. Criminal negligence or incompetence?
In any case, laws are needed to protect us from a potential tyrant of any political stripe. If a president cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed during his lame duck time, what is to prevent another man from nationalizing industry, raiding the treasury, or detaching a part of the military for personal purposes. Presidents need to be removed more often if they are to be more powerful. The modern presidency has become, in the face of congressional inaction, far more powerful. Time to save the Roman Republic without resorting to Brutus and Cassius. Time for rule of law. If only our Congress would pass some laws.
Roy Your first paragraph will probably turn out to be prescient in the sense that Mitch McConnell’s split-down-the-middle post-vote speech also split-off Trump from becoming a martyr/victim” of the so-called witch-hunt . . . while, at the same time, throwing him to the wolves of his long-list of legal liabilities.
In my view, McConnell was attempting to split Trump away from the Republican party’s base: from both his Big-R donors . . . who only want what the Republican Party can deliver, NO MATTER WHO delivers it, . . . and from Trump’s political deplorables who, over time (he thinks), will lose interest in Trump for many reasons. We’ll see about that, but it’s a distinct possibility.
I think McConnell is NOT setting up Trump for a presidential re-run, but rather clearing the way for the Republican Party’s potential come-back . . . sans Trump. Here is your prior paragraph:
“. . . would it have been a better plan to prosecute Trump after the fact in a criminal court of law. Now that the Senate has determined that, according to those acquitting him, he could not be tried in the senate because he was president, there should be a discussion of charges brought by civil authorities in criminal courts. If he committed crimes as a president, why not charge him? Try him.”
People have a fundamental duty of care, especially toward younger people, the elderly, the displaced, and the infirm. It is precisely the lack of any sense of this duty that characterizes the Repugnican Party today. A single moment perfectly captures this defining characteristic of the current incarnation of the Repugnican Party: Rand Paul doodling during the footage showing Trump’s insurrectionist brownshirts beating Capitol police with flag poles.
Melania, or “Melanie,” as Trump called her in a tweet, captured this essential, defining characteristic of today’s Republicans in her choice of attire on going to visit Trump and Miller’s concentration camps for children.
“Fundamental duty of care” – it really comes down to that. And I don’t think it’s only, or all, Repubs. I think it extends to many…. b/c a selfish lifestyle is generally embraced and celebrated in our capitalistic society.
How anyone could see Paul doodling during such a serious presentation….and re-elect him? I think it mostly comes down to being grossly uninformed and unaware. Citizens in certain communities are derelict in their duty to make thoughtful, informed decisions about who they send to congress.
amen
Indulge me, please, as I say that again, in somewhat expanded form:
People have a fundamental duty of care, especially toward younger people, the elderly, the displaced, and the infirm, and toward those whose work it is to carry out that duty of care–healthcare professionals, teachers, firefighters, hospice workers, and police officers sworn to serve and protect. IT IS PRECISELY THE LACK OF ANY SENSE OF THIS DUTY OF CARE THAT CHARACTERIZES THE REPUGNICAN PARTY TODAY. The current party is DEFINED BY this lack, by this void, by what is MISSING in it. A single moment perfectly captures this defining characteristic of the current incarnation of the Repugnican Party: Rand Paul doodling during the footage showing Trump’s insurrectionist brownshirts beating Capitol police with flag poles.
Hadn’t thought about Melanie in decades:
Ha. Wasn’t she just awesome?!?!?!
SENATOR MIKE BRAUN AFTER VOTING TO ACQUIT TRUMP: “I think whatever the president [Trump] intends to do in the future would take a lot of soul searching.”
As if Trump still has a soul that he might search. Sorry, Mikey, that ship sailed long, long ago.
The previous Teflon Don likewise bragged and bragged and bragged about being continually exonerated. Until he wasn’t.
It’s only a matter of time until Trump history of crime catches up to him.
Trump’s defense team–Bart Simpson, Goofy, The Mad Hatter, and the others–said at one point that the trial was all about Trump hating. Well, there are very, very few people of whom I can unequivocally say, “I hate that guy,” and Trump is one of them. He is a racist, sexist, criminal, treasonous, ignorant, fascist, completely amoral thug who hasn’t been gifted our loathing but has truly earned it. I hope that the law catches up to him and his slimy spawn sooner rather than later.
“How Do I Loathe Thee?” (with apologies to E.B.B.)
How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.
I loathe thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach. I cannot stand the sight
Of thee. Disdain thou makest me embrace.
I loathe thee to the level of every day’s
Most fervent rage, by sun and monitor light.
I loathe thy morals, thy contempt for every right.
I loathe thy vanity, seeking constant praise.
I loathe thee with the passion one might choose
To heap on vandals, and with my childhood’s faith
That decency, under thy boot, we shall not lose.
So may we curse thee with every waking breath
Thy objectification of all, thy conman’s ruse,
Thy instincts not of a man but a wasp on Meth.
I hope you’re right & wish there was something we could do to make it more likely.
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” George Orwell, 1984
That quote is a favorite of a QAnon tRump supporter lifelong friend of mine. I laugh whenever I see him quote it.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Dimocraps have been perfecting that ability for many years now, starting with Al Gore in 2000.
I’ve Seen McConnell Pull a Lot of Shameless Tricks, but This Is One of the Worst
By Robert Reich, Robert Reich’s Facebook Page
14 February 21
Mitch McConnell has announced that he will vote to acquit Donald Trump. McConnell wrongly claims that it is unconstitutional to impeach a president after he’s left office, despite overwhelming evidence that the Framers of the constitution intended impeachment to be used against former officials. Remember, Mitch McConnell is the same person who delayed Trump’s impeachment trial while he was still in office.
I’ve seen McConnell pull a lot of shameless tricks over the years, but this is one of the worst of all. If Trump goes unpunished, it will open the door for more attacks against our democracy in the future. Shame on McConnell and Trump remaining enablers.
“McConnell wrongly claims that it is unconstitutional to impeach a president after he’s left office… Remember, Mitch McConnell is the same person who delayed Trump’s impeachment trial while he was still in office.”
Exactly. It should be always remembered and detailed in history books how McConnell knew exactly what abhorrent Trump behaviors he was willing to overlook, both when he promoted delaying the trial and when he acquitted Trump.
This applies to the first and the second impeachment trials, too, since we all heard Trump ask for help from foreign countries, such as prior to the 2016 election (“Russia, if you’re listening…”), as well as prior to the 2020 election (China and Ukraine) –and he readily admitted to George Stephanopoulos he would accept that help. Decades ago, I learned in my public middle school that this is illegal, and it still is: “FEC Chair: It’s Illegal to Accept Election Help from Foreign Governments:” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fec-chair-illegal-intel-foreign-governments_n_5d02da4de4b0304a120c90eb
It is too late now. I sent several ldtters to our Indiana Senators preceding the vote but this is one I sent this morning
.
They pledged allegiance to their party
and to the would be dictator for which it stands.
One party indivisible with selfish interests and myopic vision
for all.
It must make the Proud Boys proud to see their illustrious leader
not even get a slap on the wrist for treason while others were hanged.
Monday is Presidents day.
ONCE we had presidents where integrity, virtue and honor can now be honored.
How far we have come.
The first mention of St. Valentine’s Day is in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules (Fowls), which describes this as the day when Nature brings all the birds together to choose their mates.
NB: This is totally unrelated to the Parliament of Fools that just voted to acquit the treasonous mobster Donald Trump.
More projections and lies: Trump’s attorney has “Trump Disease.”
TRUMP ATTORNEY LIKENS TRIAL TO INSURRECTION A defense attorney for Trump stormed out of a live video interview after likening Trump’s impeachment trial to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol and angrily accusing the news anchor interviewing him of downplaying his claim that prosecutors “doctored evidence.” [HuffPost] 02/15/21
On February 13, 2021 forty-three Republican Senators forever tied their names to a man who led a murderous mob against the Government of the United States. The few Republicans who voted to bring the man to justice need to leave the party while they still have a chance. Abandon all hope for the ones who remain.
Jon Awbrey Louisiana speaks for itself:
*LOUISIANA GOP CENSURES CASSIDY The Louisiana Republican Party’s executive committee voted unanimously to censure Sen. Bill Cassidy, who won reelection in November, hours after the Senate voted to acquit Trump. ‘Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted,’ the state GOP said on Facebook, condemning Cassidy ‘in the strongest possible terms.’ [HuffPost]” 02-15-21
I just tweeted thanks to Senator Cassidy for his courage and integrity
Diane I am still “gobs-macked” about the whole thing . . . it’s like we as a culture are hemorrhaging a half-century of dehumanization. CBK
Cassidy is a patriot who defended our democracy and the Constitutuon. He spoke out against a violent coup attempt.
What does the Louisiana GOP believe in? Dictatorship. Fascism. Violence. The destruction of our democracy.
Diane . . . while we were sleeping, I suppose? “What does the Louisiana GOP believe in? Dictatorship. Fascism. Violence. The destruction of our democracy.” CBK
Following Diane’s lead I (b/c I don’t have a Twitter account) emailed/messaged Senator Cassidy a “thank you” through his website. As well as all the 6 R senators who voted guilty.
Excellent decision.
Lindsay Graham said that McConnell “put a lot on Republicans backs” by condemning Trump. He also said that Repubs can impeach Kamala Harris if they take over the house.
Lindsay Graham is a disgrace.
The citizens of South Carolina owe our nation a better representative from their state. No vacations in Charleston for me until there is honest leadership from that state.
Unfortunately I have too many family members and friends in Florida to avoid it.