Aiding and abetting Donald Trump

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The Republicans could have prevented the insurrection. That is what I am thinking about as I watch Donald Trump’s trial and see the evidence laid out brilliantly by the House Impeachment managers.

The insurrection could have been prevented. And it is Republicans who could have stopped it. But they chose to do nothing. Instead, many of the Republicans chose to willfully go along with Trump’s deranged conspiracy theories that somehow the election was stolen. Nobody forced them to do this. They had a choice. They chose lies and deception.

The Republicans chose to engage in a level of codependency and mollycoddling that resulted in tragedy. There is so much blame to go around but let’s not forget that these Republicans indeed hold a big chunk.

What would have happened if a group of them had calmly made that walk to The White House and told Trump to tamp down his rhetoric? What would have happened if they had given Trump an ultimatum? “Stop inflaming the mob.”

How would things have been different if more Senators and Congress members had acknowledged Biden’s victory right from the beginning? Most of them didn’t. Instead, they chose to do nothing, like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, who responded to a reporter’s question about when he would congratulate Biden. Senator Johnson’s response was “Nothing to congratulate him for.”

The Republican Party aided and abetted Donald Trump. I believe many of them know this deep down. They have the choice now to do the right thing. We will see if they choose to do it.