"Politics doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt politics." - Federal court judge Amy Berman Jackson, Tuesday in issuing judgment of Trump campaign chief Rick Gates.
"What we've just spent hours absorbing is the existential question of our time: Is the law more important or is partisanship? The Democratic party did the right thing in this case. The Republican party decided their partisan passion was more important than their brains, and their hearts. Appetites is what won the day for them. - Jon Meacham, author of 'The Soul of America."
"For the most unpredictable of presidents, it was the most predictable of outcomes. Is anyone really surprised that President Trump was impeached? His defiant disregard for red lines arguably made him an impeachment waiting to happen." - Peter Baker, NY Times
"Here's a president being accused of horrible things, of selling out his office and the public trust for personal gain. And yet all day long, with all the Republicans speaking- able to say whatever they wanted all day long - not one stood in that well and defended this president's character. Not one said he's an honest man. Not one person said he's a good man. Not one person said he couldn't have done something like this. That is powerful stuff. That a party felt they could play all the games today- talk about tactics ad style - but they never defended the man, the person in the White House, his character. This is extraordinary." - Chris Matthews last night, MSNBC, following the passing of Article II.
"One side was all white and screaming, the other side was faithful to the case it built. And the main article of abuse of power wasn't in dispute. But all the Republicans just said that this is an impeachment looking for a crime. They never took the second step and said there wasn't one."- Nicole Wallace, MSNBC after passage of Articles of impeachment last night, MSNBC
All you needed to know about why the pestilence fouling the presidency needed to be impeached was contained in the deranged, batshit crazy harangue that passed for a letter two days ago - sent to Nancy Pelosi. That 6 -page written excrement showed this viper not only believed himself to be above the law, but employing incendiary terms like "attempted coup" to describe a constitutionally valid process to hold a lawless executive to account. The so-called "letter" then, was truly sick (as Ms. Pelosi noted) , as sick as Trump pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein's shameless pleas for leniency, after being caught with young girls in his lair.
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Hence, this sickening missive redolent with consciousness of guilt - despite the faux outrage- bears precisely the analog of a brazen pedo's demand for exoneration and release, while projecting his crimes onto others. In the end, the "letter" merits treatment only as an exhibit of the depths of Trump's depravity: an expulsion of raw, neural sewage, nothing more. Memetic fecal matter. On second thought, perhaps as final evidence for serious psychotherapeutic intervention once he is removed, or leaves office. As my psychologist niece put it: "He needs ECT big time!"
Her basis for that conclusion? Such deranged, batshit crazy claims as “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials”. Showing again he knows about as much history as his stupid son, Don Jr. Meanwhile, his Republican lickspittle asswipes remained in lockstep, showing no signs of even beginning to listen to Democratic arguments or find a sliver of common ground. Indeed, some of them went into such rarefied psychotic territory as to compare Trump's plight to Jesus' crucifixion. Thus, Georgia congressman Barry Loudermilk told the House: "When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave him the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial Pilate afforded more rights too Jesus than Democrats have afforded the president in this process."
In short, Trump became - for Barry 'Brain Fart' and the Repukes- bigger than Jesus. For them, what does not kill Donnie Dotard makes him stronger. Forgetting that: a)Trump is not even a putative Savior and (b) He was afforded every opportunity to present his side (but refused to, calling it a "sham") and c) Trump was caught openly bragging of his crimes as well as inviting other nations (e.g. China) to interfere in our elections- even after being exposed by the whistleblower.
So why anyone with half a brain would be caught inside the Repukes' foggy narrative of "no evidence" is beyond me. As former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal remarked last night on MSNBC:
"I was struck by the fact there was no defense of the president's character or his conduct. They attacked the process and things like that. But as we think about moving beyond the nanosecond of 2020, we can ask what is Donald Trump's legacy going to be? I think even this party, even with all the sophistry we heard today, they couldn't muster up a defense of the man. And I think that will condemn him in the eyes of history, regardless of what happens in the Senate. It will be the first line that everyone says about president Trump for the next hundred, two hundred years. 'President Trump who was impeached'."
Why did Dotard erupt in that letter? Because for the first time in his miserable, grifting criminal life he knew he would not able to get away with his cheating. All the tricks, court delay games, rope-a-dopes and sundry schemes he exploited through the 80s, 90s and beyond finally came to a crashing end. And so it was yesterday that Nancy Pelosi and the House Dems- with myriad allusions to the constitution, democracy and the founding fathers- sealed Trump’s fate as the third U.S . president to be impeached.
And despite all the caterwauling by the Right's minions ("the Dems just want to unelect him", "the left hates him" etc.), as well as ignorant fellow citizens who might believe their bollocks it's "all a waste of time", "a distraction" or a "hoax", this vile swine occupying the Oval Office has finally been held to account. He now grasps he cannot do anything he wants, and there are limits to his power, as the framers of the Constitution intended there to be, i.e. George Mason writing:
"Shall the man who has practiced corruption, and by that means procured his appointment in the first instance, be suffered to escape punishment by repeating his guilt?"
In other words, should an unfit swine like Donald Trump, who's already escaped accountability in the Mueller investigation, now be allowed to once more use bribery of a foreign power to get re-re-elected, and thereby escape his just punishment?
Thus, Mason was aware that it's not just the corruption he was worried about (like other Founders, e.g. James Madison) but also if such man becomes corrupt enough that he can corrupt the electoral process itself, to get into power again- and escape all sanction.
This despite the thousands of his protectors and enablers determined to put party over country - as well as keep their bogus monarch. Yes, as a WaPo piece noted today, this nation is "riven by political tribalism" where the two sides can't even agree on the same facts. But take a step back and ask: 'Whose fault is that?'. Well, it lies on one side - the Trump - Reepo cult- creating and sustaining a 'parallel universe' of its own fabricated reality via FOX News, Limbaugh etc. and their nonstop effluent and propaganda. So long as that parallel universe of fake facts exists and is sustained, this nation will be politically split.
Yes, this filth will be acquitted in the Reep -corrupted Senate, it's pretty well a foregone conclusion. But make no mistake, that is not the same as any vindication, as his brainless backers keep howling. No, this impeachment now goes down in the annals of American history irrespective of what the Russia-backing Reepo vermin do in the Senate. Hence, this orange fungal blight on the nation will forever carry the black mark of impeachment next to his name, defiling whatever "legacy" he hopes to build- as one WaPo writer (Jonathan Lemire) wrote today:
"The two articles of impeachment approved stand as a constitutional rebuke that will stay with Trump even as he tries to trivialize their meaning and use them to power his re-election bid in 2020."
Neal Katyal also predicted as much last night. There is no way in hell that either Trump, or his sickening reptile sycophants, will remove that stain of history.
Further, like O.J. Simpson, the stain of guilt will follow him like a foul body odor that no soap can remove. O.J , recall , was acquitted at his trial ("if the glove does not fit, you must acquit"), but remained with the stain of guilt attached. There was no "vindication" for him. Being vindicated means it being proven that something you did was right, or - in the case of being accused of heinous deeds -those being proven untrue. That didn't happen for O.J. - nor will it for Trump. Because the hundreds of pages of ironclad testimony and evidence - including Trump's own admissions- are already out there. Every sentient being knew at the time of his acquittal that O.J. was still guilty, and so also it will be with Gangster Trump.
Nonetheless, we know the Reep liars, scum and knuckle draggers -- who have neither the brains nor heart to face the truth - as author Jon Meacham put it, will savage everyone connected to the vote like the rabid ferrets they are. As blogger Heather Digby Parton noted (see link to her blog post at bottom):
"Declaring war on virtue altogether and embracing vice as your organizing principle is what mobsters and tyrants do. That’s what’s happening under President Trump.
During the 2016 campaign, he proudly declared that he meant to torture, kill civilians and “take the spoils” of war if he wanted to. Today, he’s pardoning war criminals and bringing them up on stage at political events. While he does lie profusely and conspires with his henchmen, much of his alleged criminal behavior in the White House has been done right out in the open. He admitted he fired former FBI Director James Comey because Comey was investigating him. He dangled pardons and intimidated witnesses in public statements. Most recently he released a transcript of a phone call in which he tried to coerce a foreign leader to smear his political rival, calling it “perfect.” Now Republican leaders are following his lead. They don’t bother to pretend that they are following rules anymore, or make arguments based on a common understanding of what the Constitution requires."
Bear in mind also the colossal hypocrisy of these imps. As former GOP strategist Kurt Bardella observed on AM Joy (Saturday) the Reeptards would already have impeached a President Hillary Clinton by now- using documents from their bogus Benghazi investigation- one that sucked up millions of dollars more than the Dem impeachment inquiry. To try to conceal or dilute that brazen hypocrisy they will now try to weaponize the impeachment for Trump's campaign and create 'blowback' on the Dems. This possibility is echoed in one UK Guardian analysis, i.e.:
"Impeachment naturally gives satisfaction to the president’s critics, like seeing a bully get a bloody nose. But it is now far from certain the bullying will stop or that Trump will even suffer for it. As Republicans in the House of Representatives lined up like human shields to defend the indefensible, there was no doubt their Senate colleagues will next month do the same to block his removal from office and acquit him."
And yet the saddest aspect of this whole sorry spectacle may not even be the Reeps' intransigent rejection of reality, but that so many fellow citizens fail to get it. They mistakenly believe lawmakers ought to be working on their health care or better jobs, failing to appreciate if Trump is not removed none of that will matter. Trump will be able to do anything he wants to them, or the nation. That is why, as I wrote in a recent Denver Post letter, it is irrelevant if even only 10 percent of Americans stand for impeachment and 90 percent are opposed. It is the latter who are wrong, dead wrong, in failing to grasp either the constitutional remedy and process, or the scale of Trump's lawlessness. As yesterday's Denver Post editorial laid out the perspective in its concluding paragraphs:
Nor can we imagine they would look kindly at Trump thumbing his nose at Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution which gives the House the sole power to impeach."
As any sentient person can see, Trump's crimes are all out there, clear and in the open. No amount of Republican obfuscation, distraction or disinformation can change that.
Addendum: The reptiles and Reepo vermin are, of course, called that for a reason. They never fail to wade into the depths of depravity, as a Denver Reich wing talk radio host did Tuesday night. Wishing for a "nice school shooting", to take the spotlight off of impeachment.
This - from the Denver Post today (p. 4A):
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