House lawmakers on Wednesday impeached President Trump for his role in last week’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, capping an extraordinary week of violence, apprehension and partisan brawling in Congress just as Washington cranks up security in preparation for Joe Biden’s inauguration, just a week away.
The 232-197 vote was historic: It made Trump the first president in the country’s history to be impeached twice.
And unlike the first debate, this time the president’s Democratic critics had support across the aisle. Ten Republicans joined every voting Democrat to approve the single impeachment article, which accuses Trump of inciting violence against the same federal government he leads.
(The Hill, January 13, 2021)
And so:
On the first Wednesday, January 6, Trump incited an insurrection.
On the second Wednesday, January 13, Congress impeached him for that insurrection.
On the third Wednesday, January 20, Joe Biden will be inaugurated (to replace Trump) as president of the United States.
On the fourth Wednesday, January 27, perhaps the congressmen who aided and abetted this insurrection will be incarcerated. But I hear bells tolling for a disgraced president, and the ringing stems more from John Donne than tinnitus.
UPDATE
To convict, or not to convict, that is not the question
Folks, the Republicans have shown time and again that, for the vast majority of them, Trump can do no wrong. They spent four years affirming his assertion that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in broad daylight and get away with it. Now they’re about to show that they will support him even after he incited an insurrection that threatened their lives.
Like I said in my most recent podcast, you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish their conscripted hosannas to this “dear leader” from those we laugh at when we see North Koreans performing them with mass hysteria stemming from what can only be a genocidal form of Stockholm Syndrome.
In any event, given your inquiries, the following bears repeating. It’s from “MAGA Madness: Trump Incites Riotous Assault on US Capitol…,” January 7, 2021:
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You can bet that, as he has done his whole life, Trump is banking on the consequences of holding him accountable for his reckless behavior proving so prohibitive for so many others that he gets a pass — once again. This alone is why it behooves Democratic politicians and prosecutors alike to see that he pays come what may.
But Trump thinking he could get away with inciting his followers to storm the Capitol is the inevitable result of craven, venal, and enabling Republicans allowing him to get away with so many other high crimes and misdemeanors throughout his presidency. It is also why Trumpism has always said more about Trump’s gullible supporters than the narcissistic, sadomasochistic, and psychopathic Trump himself.
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Related commentaries:
Trump toxic brand… Trump insurrection… MAGA Madness… podcast…
* The original part of this commentary was published yesterday, Wednesday, at 3:07 p.m.
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