Here in part is what I wrote in “Trump Impeached,” December 18, 2019:
____________________
I’m holding out forlorn hope that pangs of conscience will compel enough Republicans to join with Democrats to convict Trump. After all, the House presented more than enough evidence during its impeachment hearings to find Trump guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. Not to mention the open secret that most Republicans despise him almost as much as they fear him. More to the point, this might be their last, best opportunity to reclaim their party.
____________________
Well, so much even for forlorn hope. Republicans’ abiding hatred of Trump proved no match for their cowering fear of him.
President Trump was acquitted Wednesday by the Republican-controlled Senate of charges that he abused the powers of his office and obstructed Congress as it probed his attempts to pressure Ukraine into political investigations — capping a tumultuous, three-week impeachment trial that leaves his fate in the hands of voters in November.
Democrats fell far short of the two-thirds majority required to remove Trump from office.
(The Washington Post, February 5, 2020)
Sadly, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is the only Republican whose conscience has not been too blinded by Trumpism to see the clear and convincing evidence of Trump’s guilt. He made history by becoming the first senator to vote to remove a president of their own party.
Romney’s fellow Republicans shamefully refused to look at the facts. But, as Winston Churchill might quip, those facts (and their votes to acquit) not only will look back at them, but will haunt them, for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, Trump is apoplectic. After all, as I wrote yesterday, this demigod demagogue expected Republicans not only to acquit him, but to show him complete loyalty. Romney dared not.
Trump’s thin skin and petty mind are such that this caused him to cancel a meeting with Venezuelan Opposition leader Juan Guaido the minute he heard of Romney’s decision. But nothing telegraphed the retaliation Trump world intends to mete out against him quite like this:
Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joining them now.
He’s now officially a member of the resistance & should be expelled from the @GOP.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 5, 2020
Talk about the fruit of the poisonous tree! This rotten apple clearly did not fall too far …
Related commentaries:
impeachment…
Juan Guaido…
Legacy Note: With over 5,600 posts spanning 20 years, I am easily the most prolific blogger on the most eclectic array of topics on the web. That makes The iPINIONS Journal an unparalleled archive of informed political and cultural commentary. Visit the ARCHIVES section in the sidebar or search by topic. You won’t find a more consistent, independent voice on world affairs.