By Carlton  Joseph

The second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump ended last week with an acquittal. The 57–43 margin wasn’t enough to convict him under the Constitution. However, 57 senators voted to convict, including  seven Republicans, making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial in  the history of the United States.

Prior to the trial, there were procedural discussions concerning witnesses and investigations.  Finally, the House decided to proceed with impeachment without conducting a calling witnesses, because managers concluded that the available record was compelling enough to make a judgment.  In addition, they were eager to get the constitutional showdown over with so that President Biden could get on with his agenda.

In his opening statement House impeachment lead manager Jamie Raskin, said “Democracy needs a ground to stand upon, and that ground is the truth.”  The impeachment managers then presented videos and audios from the news networks and surveillance cameras from the Capitol  which provided a detailed minute-to-minute account of the insurrection of January 6, 2021 and tied Trump’s tweets to the timeline.  The evidence presented was irrefutable, even to Republican Mitch McConnel who even though he voted to acquit, said that “Trump was practically and morally responsible for the insurrection.” 

Truth died and Lies won.  Can democracy stand in the US when lies win?  My opinion is that 43 Republican senators and a large number of House Republicans do not believe in democracy. They are concerned with power and winning.  Trump’s flagrant abuse of every law and democratic norm informs them that they can seize power and run a fascist government.

McConnell’s speech after the vote was unbelievable. This parasite wants to eat his cake and have it. His speech embodied his total disrespect for Americans and the rule of law.  This professional jester, who had feigned being open to conviction, abandoned the pretense and, minutes before the Senate convened, emailed his Republican colleagues that he would vote to acquit.  He knew they were going to acquit but wanted his stamp of approval, as leader, on the decision.

McConnell’s attempt to hold on to power might be short-lived because Lindsay Graham, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and other Republicans are going to challenge his leadership.  On Sunday, Graham asserted that  McConnell’s speech was not consistent with how Republicans feel about the impeachment, and that McConnell’s words would be used against Republicans in campaign ads next year when the party fights to reclaim the Senate.  More important, Trump thanked his supporters after the Senate verdict and vowed to continue in politics.

The die is cast.  The culture that supported an effort to cancel millions of votes in four states, based on fictions to invalidate President Biden’s electors is entrenched. The pervasive culture of lying is the modus operandi.  Even Vice President Mike Pence, who the insurrectionists wanted to hang, is silent and his brother, Congressman Greg Pence voted to acquit.  Continued surge in white nationalism, misinformation and suppression of voting rights will remain threats to American democracy.  This is Trump’s party now.Everyone else is expendable.

The ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are already seeing primary opponents trying to unseat them and replace them with Trump loyalists. The seven patriotic senators are already facing backlash in their home states and some have been censured by their state party representatives.  Senator Cassidy told his constituents: “Our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty.”  I agree with the senator.

The embrace of “Law and Order” by the Republicans  is a farce. For them, it should only be applied to the opposition and to hold back progress.  Trump broke every law and they acknowledge it but these invertebrates argued that there was nothing the Senate could do about it.  When law and order mattered most, it counted least.  Senators hoping to be the beneficiaries of Trump’s voter base should be aware that dictators pass their power to family members.  In fact, Trump Jr. tweeted on twitter: “Let’s impeach RINOs from the Republican Party!!!” He has asserted his presence. 

We are at the moment  when the Republican party is struggling for control between two different factions.  The 147 republicans who voted to acquit are on the road to authoritarianism or fascism; the patriotic 17 have voted to maintain democracy.  The fact that major donors to the Republican party are saying they will not give money to anybody who questioned the election, or the counting of the electoral votes for President Biden, is great news and bodes well for democracy.

The outcome of the trial, held at the very scene of the siege and with jurors affected by the siege, is that a president can lie about an election and incite a riotous mob  and still not endure the ultimate sanction available to Congress. A powerful illustration of the strength of Trump’s grip on the Republican party even though he is out of office.  Fortunately, truth was on display for all Americans to arrive at their own conclusions, and they did.  Recent polls indicate that 58 per cent  of Americans think that Trump did instigate the riot and should have been convicted in the senate trial.  Interestingly, 29 per cent  said he was not responsible.

Americans must remember that candidate Trump ran as a moderate.  He talked about fixing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), taking out the tax loopholes that corporations were using to their advantage, making American government more reasonable for the poor and middle class than it had been in the past.  He promised national restoration in the face of supposed humiliation brought on by liberals, elites, minorities, and social justice movements.  He alone could fix the problem and “make America great again”. He did the opposite.

Now, any smart authoritarian sees that there is a path in the United States to taking over the Republican party and ruling from there.  Trump identified that path but he lacked the intelligence and political knowledge to achieve his goal.  Graham, Cruz, Hawley and Rubio now see the path.  Will one of them succeed where Trump failed?  These senators have not acknowledged that the election was not fraudulent. Instead, they promoted the falsehood. Amazingly, their actions didn’t disqualify them from sitting as jurors in the impeachment trial.  That the system is a farce has been revealed.  

Americans should thank the seven  Republican senators who voted to convict, for their integrity, and credit them for doing their patriotic duty. Their votes documented that a clear majority of the Senate voted to condemn the former president as an insurrectionist against the United States.   

Now that the trial is over, President Biden and the Democrats need to go ahead and implement legislation that actually helps the majority of Americans.  The $1.9 trillion stimulus needs to be passed, and an infrastructure spending bill that will transition the economy away from fossil fuels must be passed.  Clearly, they must be prepared to implement their programs without Republican support.  These programs will create good, union jobs that will expand the middle class and improve the finances of the poor.  It is time to end the extreme economic inequality that has been happening, because there’s no justification for it.

( Trinidad-born Carlton Joseph who lives in  Washington DC, is a close observer of political developments in the United States.)