Wednesday, I ‘accidentally’ ended up watching about three hours of the Trump impeachment trial. I wasn’t in a reading mood after the noontime news, as I usually do, so I was channel-surfing and while the guide said that the show “Daily Access” was on that channel at that time, it had been replaced by the trial. Of all of the new audio and video introduced, the clear visual of seeing one of the rioters using the pole on which was mounted the American Flag to break a window made me sick to my stomach!
I’ve always tried to stay on the outskirts of political news, preferring highlights without having to absorb every little nuance of it. I knew the gist of the second impeachment trial against Donald Trump and I certainly knew that there were compelling reasons for the trial.
Before I sat down the write this post, I looked up the definition of insurrection. I had an assumption of what it meant, but I wanted to make 100% certain. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, insurrection is “an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government.” Pretty much exactly what I thought. (I believe that the police are considered ‘civil authority’ and that the Capitol building is considered an ‘established government’.)
Thursday, I again watched over an hour of the trial, drawn by how compelling and concise the prosecution impeachment leaders represented their case. The timeline was incredible! Again, having stayed on the outskirts of the news, I was made aware of the intricacies of how those among the most loyal were given so many speeches (and tweets) that mirrored suggestion of mounting some sense of loyalty very similar to the cults of the past that we’ve all read about.
There is no question in my mind that Trump is guilty of insurrection. I felt that way before watching some of the trial and the additional information provided there only sealed the fate of that thought. Now, today – Friday – the defense gets ready for their portion of the trial. As usual, I read the highlights of different news stations as the day begins to open. I suppose it’s not shocking to me to hear that the defense lawyers are going to validate what happened and perhaps even agree that it was illegal as well as unconscionable. It’s reported that they want to focus their case simply on the fact that an impeachment trial isn’t constitutional against a politician no longer in office. My question to them is, “Says who?” Where in our Constitution and in all of the amendments since its inception, does it say that? Add weight to the prosecution that the impeachment process started while Trump was still in office!
Oh, I get it – I got it a few days ago. The majority of the Republicans want to find a “way out” of having to vote on Trump’s guilt or innocence to the actual charge. I suspect they are anxious over their fellow Republicans who will be upset if they enter a “guilty” vote, and worse, over the constituents they may lose when their re-election time comes around. Maybe I’m naive, but I can’t process the idea that their biggest desire is to have Trump return to politics!
And then we come back to questioning whether these current politicians in office really believe they are in office to serve the will of the American people. The people, as a whole, elected Biden over Trump as the next President of the United States. Yes, many people voted for Trump, but at the end of the day, the majority did not want him to continue in office.
And what if, what if, Trump is not impeached and chooses to run for office again in four years? Is the Republican Party going to really want him back in their party, back in power? And what if, what if, Trump runs again in four years and loses again? How will the party as a whole look then?
The majority of the American people clearly voted already that they do NOT want Trump to be the country’s President, and I cannot believe that those Republican officials can even think that the majority of the American people will vote for them in their next upcoming re-election if they do not hold Trump accountable. The defense lawyers agree that Trump is guilty of the charge, the Republican politicians know that Trump is guilty of the charge. To look for an ‘easy way out’ legally is pure scapegoating. If it happens, I pray that it will come back in Karma and bite them in the ass!
Que sera, sera – what will be, will be – but I truly, with all that I am, believe that if Trump is acquitted by any means, we will have changed the course of our democracy far beyond what our forefathers ever dreamed for this country. (Maybe if they all roll over in their graves simultaneously, there will be an earthquake, so be careful!)
Ramblings and Ruminations 
I sat on the edge of my seat reading how you watched the trial of the insurrection. Sometimes it seems like our country has gone to the wolves and is truly upside down and finally to hear a friend express exactly how things are is refreshing. I’m scared for this country with people like Lindsey Graham are in office, sleeping through evidence are in office. Can you imagine sitting as a juror in your county courthouse and you taking a snooze during presentation of evidence at trial? I am outraged! Clearly the majority of Republicans are in it for themselves! The degradation of the Republican party knows no bounds. I’ve always split my ticket favoring the better candidate regardless of party, but the Republicans have caused me serious reflection of my method. I have never wished anyone harm, but I think that the only way is for the primary threat, Donald Trump to be neutralized, being to impeach him and restrict him from ever holding office. God help us all and our country!! And thank you for your integrity and values of our founding fathers!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading this, as a supporter of President Trump, made me sad. I hope you watched today, and saw the hypocrisy of the charges – when for months, actually years, Democrats have preached that it’s okay to “get in their faces,” “punch them in the mouth,” glorified someone who held up a severed head, someone else who talked of blowing up the White House, and yet another who asked when was the last time an actor assassinated a president – how dare anyone point fingers? This was no more an insurrection than any protest over the summer, when federal buildings were stormed, when businesses were burned. I really hope you’ve watched some of the hearings into election fraud and have asked why thousands of people would sign affidavits about the things they saw.
But I’m sure you haven’t. If you only watch main stream media, your mind is made up and nothing President Trump could have done would have made him anything less than Orange Man Bad. This impeachment is being seen by millions of Americans and nothing more than the vindictive temper tantrum of people who are now in control, and who have free rein to go over the man they’ve hated for years.
LikeLike
I share your sadness in seeing what our country has become. Our politicians are not heroes anymore. They are solely focused on being re-elected. They serve no masters but themselves. And their animus toward each other fuels the division of the people they serve. It has become Party over People, and that is where democracy dies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s interesting that you challenge me that “my mind is made up” without having made myself available to some kind of “non” mainstream media. How would that be any different than the large number of Republican senators who headed into the impeachment trial proceedings saying that they would listen to the other side but they were unlikely to change THEIR minds? And it seems strange to me that you would suggest that the trial is nothing more than “the vindictive temper tantrum of people” and not see that what happened at the Capitol on January 6th was not the vindictive temper tantrum of people who were following their cult leader. At least THIS group of people is following the law to make their case, unlike the rioters on the Capitol did.
At the end of the day, you stand well on your side of the fence and I stand well on my side of the fence. I appreciate the respect you have shown me despite finding disagreement in my opinion and hope I have shown you the same respect while disagreeing with yours. I appreciate you even when I don’t agree with you.
LikeLike