“It’s a little too quiet” - US Politics February 2021

That McConnell is up there saying all this now is great, but Jesus, man, that's what you just said didn't happen with your actual vote.

I guess time will tell if there was any point in doing this at all, any long-term real-world positive impact. I will guess 'no'.

McConnell: "After deep reflection, I have determined that these legalistic quibbles allow me to have my cake and eat it, too."

wonder if he wants to suggest a censure

I mean yes, it's important to call Trump to account for his actions and to get his party on the record as supportive of those actions. But all it does ultimately is buttress the positions everyone already held. Maybe there will be a little more GOP attrition but I'm not holding my breath for any substantive shift.

Do you need 2/3 for censure, or just a majority? I'm all for it. I know it's just symbolic, but I've been reading my whole life about what an effect McCarthy's censure had on him.

A majority.

?

Sen. McConnell, who voted not guilty, says, "There's no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it."

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 13, 2021

Basically, McConnell is giving all the Republicans who are disgusted with Trump a free pass for remaining in he party after this acquittal, while letting his caucus off the hook for their "not guilty" votes. His argument only needs to sound impressive and constitutionally-based to accomplish this, because the sole reason for making it is to manufacture a fig leaf for doing what is most politically expedient or emotionally satisfying. He's absolving the tribe of sin.

so when is that McCopnnell/Chao case reopening?

fuck all these people forever

trump should be criminally prosecuted now, i guess

idk. this was so dumb.

what is "this"?

it's this!

he needed to be impeached for inciting a goddamn insurrection, and his zombies in the GOP caucus weren't going to convict.

I mean all those cases taht have been not taken up because of teh major steaming fog of corruption are goingto go ahead now aren't they? Now the air's been even further thickened because of these corrupt steaming coils innit?
THere must be some idea of justice seen to exist surely. Since this si defiitely not it

they should have called witnesses. as someone said upthread, the dems needed to hang this albatross around their necks!

but that might have worked
or at least gone down on their permanent record like

the dems needed to hang this albatross around their necks!

They did -- they got seven GOP senators go agree. A majority.

can we see if he can get a 3rd impeachment in a couple of years.
Add to his collection

I agree: the Senate shouldn't have held a vote on witnesses.

Also, they've hung (or hamstrung) themselves, because once again they've failed to act and now must face Trump, his wrath, his mobs, his enablers, from now until Trump dies.

Every January is Trump impeachment season. Let it be like the awards shows or the Super Bowl. There are special commercials, and people need a red-carpet outfit, the whole deal.

JiC, at the moment Trump seems disinclined to even be seen or heard in public, let alone assemble any mobs. Being unable to tweet seems to have obliterated him, which was not quite what I would have expected, but hey I'll take it. I hope various prosecutors and civil lawsuits keep him very busy for the next few years and his fortunes take a nosedive.

I wish him and his family more litigation and property seizures than they can ever hope to survive.

I think the next danger comes from someone managing to follow his blueprint and duplicate his success with the Trump base. There will be many who try and one might inherit the mantle and do similar kinds of damage.

Take some small comfort in that OJ was acquitted, too.

🙂

I was more than unhappy with the whole witness chain of events, but Raskin's explanation just now was pretty good.

The next thing I'd like to read is that, because Trump's outraged over the seven defections and McConnell's big speech, those three yahoos aren't getting paid.

Tbf, I can totally see Trump getting arrested trying for robbing someone at gunpoint in an attempt to steal back some Trump memorabilia.

I won't embed this, but speaking of whom, I thought I'd check.

twitter.com/TheRealOJ32/status/1359951945931268099

A lot of them just had to have been scared. No one could even pretend to offer them real protection. System is showing a fatal flaw.

Take some small comfort in that OJ was acquitted, too.

Like to see him wiggle out of this one etc

Forthcoming from Regnery Press: If I Incited It by Dornald Orenthal Troomps

Like to see him wiggle out of this one etc

did Raskin’s explanation of this morning’s fuckup do anything to cut against this interpretation of events:

—-

And then they laid down their hand.
We’ll surely learn how this all came about. Democrats clearly wanted to get past the trial and move on to passing President Biden’s agenda, including coronavirus relief. They also knew that virtually nothing would sway the 17 Republicans needed for a conviction.
But then we come back to what was mentioned at the top: They said this was vitally important. They said this was the worst offense a president had ever committed. They said accountability was required. Even if Republicans would never have provided enough votes, there is still value in putting all of this on the record — and maybe even, however unlikely, forcing those Republicans to confront the evidence the Democrats say was so incontrovertible.

Democrats passed on even really trying. It just doesn’t speak to the idea that this was the worst high crime in American history.

In their closing arguments, Democrats acknowledged they left stones unturned.
“There was a lot of discussion yesterday about what the president knew and when he knew it,” Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) said during closing arguments. “There are certain things that we do not know about what the president did that day, because former president Trump has remained silent about what he was doing during one of the bloodiest attacks on our Capitol since 1812.”

But not just because Trump didn’t testify or comment that we don’t know that; it’s also because Democrats opted not to press this further. Even many Republicans have faulted Trump for his conduct both before and during Jan. 6.
Why not put them in the position of voting against even more compelling evidence — evidence which Democrats have assured is out there for the finding?

“This is America, home of the brave, land of the free,” lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said, “the America of Ben Franklin, who said, if you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you. Don’t make yourself a sheep; the wolves will eat you.”

Democrats didn’t exactly make themselves wolves.

^^^^^

It's time to move on, it's time to heal, in a bipartisan sorta way. Reach across the aisle, can you feel it? It's the healing power of friendship.

...The biggest and the best argument for moving ahead is to get back to the work of the COVID relief bill. But my understanding is that the Senate is preparing to start a weeklong recess and fly home. That speaks for itself and with a horrible, demoralizing deflation.

Senate Democrats and Majority Leader Schumer have thus far shown many signs of learning the lessons of the last decade, not negotiating against yourself, not honoring norms and imperatives toward comity your opponents mock and disregard. This decision signaled a failure to grasp the damage sustained by deeply demoralizing your supporters. It opens those who defend them to ridicule and contempt. That sows internal coalitional turbulence and division. More than anything, Senators are in a terribly vulnerable position when they show themselves to be less committed, more indifferent, less dedicated than the voters who put them in office. We’re rushing off to go on break? That’s a terrible look, as is what seems from every angle to be an inexplicable climb down and surrender. Countless Americans gave everything of themselves to bring the nightmare of Trumpism to a conclusion. This, I’m genuinely sorry to say, makes a mockery of that.

I will be very curious to hear more about what precisely was happening here in the background. Did the majority of the Democratic Senators not have the stomach for it? Were they tired of the process and wanted to bring it to an end, like their Republican counterparts so clearly do? Or were there one or two senators who said no and maintaining caucus unity was more important than forcing the split public? I really don’t know which of these it is.

But again, the lack of any explanation, the spectacle of holding all the cards and then inexplicably folding is just a gut blow for a lot of people, at least for a lot of committed partisans, the people Senators will need to be rallying for them, spending long hours phone banking, knocking on doors, giving money to them next year when they struggle to hold control of the Senate. As I said Senators are in a terribly vulnerable position when they show themselves less committed and dedicated, more indifferent than the voters who put them in office.

i think everyone here has learned the correct lessons

From Baton Rouge: “The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana has unanimously voted to censure Senator Bill Cassidy for his vote cast earlier today to convict former President Donald J. Trump on the impeachment charge.”

— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) February 13, 2021

There was a lot of discussion yesterday about what the president knew and when he knew it,”

I get that this would have been a clear thing to show people, but this is what I was trying to get at above. If a super bad thing a guy did was to personally put out a hit on one of his own, maybe you shouldn’t really be arguing whether people did or didn’t give him status reports on it going down. It makes him look like a bystander, when he was no such thing. But whatever.

On the plus side, he's not president anymore, so fuck him forever. I look forward to his death.

I thought Plaskett's and Swalwell's arguments and video clips on Wednesday were very forceful and clearly incriminated him directly in putting Pence and Pelosi and the rest of them in danger, also the evidence read into the record today from Jaime Herrera Beutler

Whatever investigations that were going to happen are still going to go ahead regardless of this aren't they?
LIke is there anything that is likely to shed more light on events and expose it for what it was. I take it those in the public who had the capacity to care already do so and those who don't were either involved or rooting for them.

Would be good to see some bad punished for once. I'm intrigued as to whether some of the possibly expected justice might be diverted in the wake of this on top of this. But will keep fingers crossed taht there might be developments related , won't hold breath though.

Must give those who are involved in the court system in the US at the moment a real desperation about whether there is such a thing as justice but maybe that is something they already doubted

NEW: White House -- "We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion with him this evening." pic.twitter.com/mrm0NwzXQn

— j.d. durkin (@jiveDurkey) February 14, 2021

The unit of time formerly known as a "Scaramucci" will now be known as a "Ducklo."

did TJ Ducklo do something else or did they finally realize it was wrong not to fire him

Ducklo's own statement fairly tone-setting on its own:

My statement on resigning from the White House. pic.twitter.com/3Jpiiv75vB

— TJ Ducklo (@TDucklo) February 14, 2021

What did this person do?