Today is probably the final day of the Trump impeachment trial as Republicans are almost certain to vote to end the trial without witnesses and give Trump a pass on his anti-American behavior.
I can barely stand to watch this debacle and possible death blow to our democracy. But it’s history in the making so…
It’s streaming via The Washington Post below.
I thought this cartoon worth sharing:
— mike luckovich (@mluckovichajc) January 30, 2020
(“Constitutional flexibility” image by DonkeyHotey, via Creative Commons license.)
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Bemused commented
2020-02-01 03:53:51 -0500
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By all accounts, GOP senators failed miserably to take account of public opinion. I hope voters will give them a lesson they will never recover from.
Just as I hear a high whirring sound whenever a fire-and-brimestone preacher is speaking (in my mind, that’s Jesus spinning in his grave), I’m now hearing the same sound whenever a GOPer speaks (in my mind, that’s Lincoln spinning in his grave).
Just as I hear a high whirring sound whenever a fire-and-brimestone preacher is speaking (in my mind, that’s Jesus spinning in his grave), I’m now hearing the same sound whenever a GOPer speaks (in my mind, that’s Lincoln spinning in his grave).
Jan Hall commented
2020-01-31 18:21:07 -0500
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Just saw my two Nebraska Senators, Deb Fischer & Ben Sasse on TV. Thank goodness for Hi-Def. Like Pig-Pen in the PEANUTS comics I could see the Trump stink all around them.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 17:36:35 -0500
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Meanwhile, here comes the Republican vote killing democracy.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 17:36:10 -0500
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We CAN still defeat Trump. We have to overwhelm the system.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 17:35:29 -0500
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Also, I hate to say this but Trump’s approval rate has gone up amid impeachment.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/?ex_cid=rrpromo
John McKee commented
2020-01-31 17:14:32 -0500
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Is this prolonged, unplanned pause just due to R senators and Trump bickering over whether they all get the chance to make a personal arse-covering excuse speech? Or have a couple of them finally found a little dignity and have plans to surprise us…
John McKee commented
2020-01-31 16:37:56 -0500
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Take a deep breath, Eyes. Remember that there is no chance in hell for Trump to gain a single extra point in the polls after this clusterf**k of a trial, and every chance that his support will erode down to the bedrock of his mindless ‘base’. There will be nothing but bad news for the Cheat-in-Chief from here to November, with constant revelations reminding voters over and over again of the Senate Republicans’ abject dereliction of duty.
Less than a year from now, a brand new administration will be in place, EVERYTHING will be revealed, indictments will be burying Trump and his cronies… and the entire Republican Party as it has fallen will be irretrievably broken. All the king’s men wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance of putting it back together.
Less than a year from now, a brand new administration will be in place, EVERYTHING will be revealed, indictments will be burying Trump and his cronies… and the entire Republican Party as it has fallen will be irretrievably broken. All the king’s men wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance of putting it back together.
Kevin Koster commented
2020-01-31 16:23:16 -0500
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Guys, the 2020 election is NOT over, despite what you may have heard on Fox News. Surrendering now is a strange choice, given that we haven’t had a single primary yet.
Scooter, we will have an election this year, and it’s a matter of who shows up to vote. The reason Clinton lost in 2016, and that Abrams and Gillum lost in 2018, was because millions of voters stayed home in key areas rather than showing up. Sure, Kemp tried to purge voter roles in Georgia and make it harder for 50K voters – so the response is that you overwhelm his goons with 500K voters and you make sure those people are prepared to stay ALL DAY to get their votes counted. People need to be prepared to take the day off work if that’s what it takes. Assuming that there’s no point in voting is frankly nonsense.
Eyes, I agree with you that Murkowski probably just destroyed her ability to be re-elected. Her post was inane in the extreme. After telling everyone she was taking all night to really read everything over and think carefully, she wound up repeating some infantile Fox News talking points. But I don’t agree with you that the election is over already with Trump.
If voters show up to the booths this year, particularly in the swing states, and don’t stay home and hide under their beds because it’s just too tough, the Dems can prevail and we can send the Pence White House packing. That is a simple FACT.
Scooter, we will have an election this year, and it’s a matter of who shows up to vote. The reason Clinton lost in 2016, and that Abrams and Gillum lost in 2018, was because millions of voters stayed home in key areas rather than showing up. Sure, Kemp tried to purge voter roles in Georgia and make it harder for 50K voters – so the response is that you overwhelm his goons with 500K voters and you make sure those people are prepared to stay ALL DAY to get their votes counted. People need to be prepared to take the day off work if that’s what it takes. Assuming that there’s no point in voting is frankly nonsense.
Eyes, I agree with you that Murkowski probably just destroyed her ability to be re-elected. Her post was inane in the extreme. After telling everyone she was taking all night to really read everything over and think carefully, she wound up repeating some infantile Fox News talking points. But I don’t agree with you that the election is over already with Trump.
If voters show up to the booths this year, particularly in the swing states, and don’t stay home and hide under their beds because it’s just too tough, the Dems can prevail and we can send the Pence White House packing. That is a simple FACT.
Eyes On Fox commented
2020-01-31 16:12:42 -0500
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All of what you’re saying here is what I’ve been ranting for days on Twitter and especially hard yesterday at spineless jellyfish Lamar Alexander and this afternoon to his twin in a dress Lisa Murkowski.
There’s a popular hashtag #DemocracyDiedInTheDark. Of course that’s not true. Democracy just died in broad daylight. Even Senator Murkowski in her ridiculous spew of lame Twitter excuses for violating her oath claimed one of them was Congress is completely broken so why bother.
Watching the Democratic primaries unfold, I’m getting more and more depressed over our hopes of tossing Trump from office in 2020. Maybe we have a shot at the Senate of after this spectacle of GOP corruption. But can we ever go back to normalcy (as problematic as it seemed at the time) or is it a case of Trump proving American democracy is a failure? Because ultimately the problem isn’t Trump or the Republicans in Congress. It’s too many people who put them into office themselves are morally bankrupt and our government reflects it.
There’s a popular hashtag #DemocracyDiedInTheDark. Of course that’s not true. Democracy just died in broad daylight. Even Senator Murkowski in her ridiculous spew of lame Twitter excuses for violating her oath claimed one of them was Congress is completely broken so why bother.
Watching the Democratic primaries unfold, I’m getting more and more depressed over our hopes of tossing Trump from office in 2020. Maybe we have a shot at the Senate of after this spectacle of GOP corruption. But can we ever go back to normalcy (as problematic as it seemed at the time) or is it a case of Trump proving American democracy is a failure? Because ultimately the problem isn’t Trump or the Republicans in Congress. It’s too many people who put them into office themselves are morally bankrupt and our government reflects it.
scooter commented
2020-01-31 16:01:54 -0500
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“Republican senators have put themselves in a terrible position for this year’s election, in that they’ve pre-judged the case by sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling at the top of their lungs. If Dem voters show up in enough states, this is the kind of thing that could flip the Senate out of GOP control.”
Kevin – what makes you believe we’ll ever have another fair election? I have no confidence in that supposition. We could outnumber them by gazillions and they’ll cook the books and claim victory. Short of bloodshed and full blown revolution, there’s nothing to stop them. I’ve lost my faith in America and Americans today.
Kevin – what makes you believe we’ll ever have another fair election? I have no confidence in that supposition. We could outnumber them by gazillions and they’ll cook the books and claim victory. Short of bloodshed and full blown revolution, there’s nothing to stop them. I’ve lost my faith in America and Americans today.
John McKee commented
2020-01-31 15:30:00 -0500
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The difference is that Nicolle always sounds like she’s just managing to hold back a tremendous burst of laughter. Also, she speaks sense.
Kinda reminds me of a tweet Tina Fey put out that first hooked me into Twitter. Asked whether everything about her was identical to Sarah Palin, like for instance her vagina, Tina said she replied “They look pretty similar but my vagina is WAY more intelligent.”
Kinda reminds me of a tweet Tina Fey put out that first hooked me into Twitter. Asked whether everything about her was identical to Sarah Palin, like for instance her vagina, Tina said she replied “They look pretty similar but my vagina is WAY more intelligent.”
John McKee commented
2020-01-31 15:04:08 -0500
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In a time where shooting yourself in the foot has become the leading Republican pastime, the Monster Raving Loony Party* is outdoing itself. Even if they still found Trump not guilty at the end of this bizarro circus, they could have clung on to the paper-thin defence ‘At least we listened to all the evidence’ excuse when their own futures are decided in November and in subsequent Senate elections. This slap in the face of truth, justice and The American Way™ will NEVER be forgotten.
*Actually, a real political party in Britain. Not nearly as ridiculous as America’s GOP.
*Actually, a real political party in Britain. Not nearly as ridiculous as America’s GOP.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 14:51:05 -0500
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I just noticed that Nicolle Wallace sounds a lot like Martha MacCallum. I thought I was listening to Martha on TV but it turned out to be Wallace. I switch TV channels so often – and my TV does it for me as it records various shows – that I didn’t know which network I was watching.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 14:49:41 -0500
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Kevin, I agree with everything you say. But I will add that holding the House will prevent GOP from impeaching a Democratic president.
Also, I’m not surprised that we will not get witnesses but it’s terribly depressing just the same.
Also, I’m not surprised that we will not get witnesses but it’s terribly depressing just the same.
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 14:46:36 -0500
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John McKee, Adam Schiff is making it somewhat personal now. I’m guessing he doesn’t want to be too inflammatory, antagonize the Republicans and make the takeaways about him instead of the matter at hand.
Kevin Koster commented
2020-01-31 14:13:40 -0500
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Guys, this should not be a surprise. We already know that the Right Wing doesn’t care about whether the Pence White House did wrong. And we’ve known all along that McConnell would never allow this to go very far. It’s amazing that it went 2 weeks rather than 20 minutes, as McConnell had originally planned to dump it right way.
There are more important takeaways here:
1. No matter what, the Pence White House and its childish spokesman have been impeached. They can never undo this, no matter what spin they wish to foam about. They did wrong, they were called out for doing so, and Republican senators were forced to admit they’d done wrong.
2. Republican senators have put themselves in a terrible position for this year’s election, in that they’ve pre-judged the case by sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling at the top of their lungs. If Dem voters show up in enough states, this is the kind of thing that could flip the Senate out of GOP control.
3. The revelations will continue to roll out, as Bolton continues to leak what’s in his book and Parnas continues to leak the tapes of Trump and Giuliani openly discussing their malfeasance. As the election campaign grinds on, it will be more and more difficult for the Republicans to keep shouting “Fake News!” without being dismissed themselves.
4. Sadly, the next Democratic President can expect the Republicans to move with fury to impeach him or her as fast as they can – for ANYTHING. Could be for wearing a tan suit. Or for picking up the wrong pen. Granted, they tried this with President Obama, but at this point, I would prepare yourselves for the Right Wing to simply invent a narrative out of whole cloth – just like they did with the Bidens here.
There are more important takeaways here:
1. No matter what, the Pence White House and its childish spokesman have been impeached. They can never undo this, no matter what spin they wish to foam about. They did wrong, they were called out for doing so, and Republican senators were forced to admit they’d done wrong.
2. Republican senators have put themselves in a terrible position for this year’s election, in that they’ve pre-judged the case by sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling at the top of their lungs. If Dem voters show up in enough states, this is the kind of thing that could flip the Senate out of GOP control.
3. The revelations will continue to roll out, as Bolton continues to leak what’s in his book and Parnas continues to leak the tapes of Trump and Giuliani openly discussing their malfeasance. As the election campaign grinds on, it will be more and more difficult for the Republicans to keep shouting “Fake News!” without being dismissed themselves.
4. Sadly, the next Democratic President can expect the Republicans to move with fury to impeach him or her as fast as they can – for ANYTHING. Could be for wearing a tan suit. Or for picking up the wrong pen. Granted, they tried this with President Obama, but at this point, I would prepare yourselves for the Right Wing to simply invent a narrative out of whole cloth – just like they did with the Bidens here.
John McKee commented
2020-01-31 14:07:30 -0500
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C’mon you Managers, make it personal! You don’t need to go over the evidence again. Talk about the asterisk that will be attached to their names forever; about the fact that the opening line of all their epitaphs will highlight their part in the great cover-up; about the challenges they will face in November; about the stone-cold certainty that every new revelation will be another damning indictment on everyone who voted to tried to keep a lid on Trump’s treachery.
Jan Hall commented
2020-01-31 13:45:47 -0500
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I e-mailed one of my Nebraska Repugnantcan senators, Ben Sasse—- (the first S and the E are silent)—- “You don’t have to tell how you will vote, just give me the point spread”. No response.
Jan Hall commented
2020-01-31 13:33:07 -0500
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Lindsey Graham could change his mind?? That morally bankrupt, spineless pantywaist???? You’ve got to be kidding!
Ellen commented
2020-01-31 13:32:42 -0500
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Yep. With Murkowski a no, it’s all over but the counting.
Let’s hope there’s a backlash so big the GOP is run out of power for decades.
Let’s hope there’s a backlash so big the GOP is run out of power for decades.