This week we witnessed the second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump. As an independent voter, I watched the proceedings without partisan feelings. The 57-43 vote of the Senate did not convict the former president, but it surely will have an impact on politics as we move forward with this experiment with a constitutional republic.
The Democrats were only able to sway seven Republicans to vote guilty. Trump escaped “for now,” as Sen. Mitch McConnell stated after the vote. But district attorneys in Georgia, Pennsylvania and New York are beginning investigations into his actions in the last four years, and even before his presidency. This has to be Trump’s worst nightmare.
The Democrats have made their point, with a majority of senators voting to convict. They can now move on to tackle the pandemic, the economic downturn, and other aspects of the Joe Biden agenda.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are beginning to “eat their children.” State GOP groups are censuring the congressional traitors to the Trump cult. The stakes are very high for the Republican Party. If it fragments into the party loyalists and the wing-nut segment that supports Trump, the Democrats will benefit. The party brand has been soiled by the Trump cult, with its QAnon segment, white supremacists, anti-Semites, and MAGA true believers.
As one who might not be too unhappy with a new shot at writing a Constitution, nothing that happens will be something to lament.
Thomas Oatway
Valencia
