Donald Trump is losing his impeachment trial in the only way that matters
We’re definitely past the hair-pulling-out stage of impeachment. Donald Trump’s guilt could not be more brutally obvious. But the Senate will never see it this way. So, to quote an infamous shill, “Get over it.” Know that the Senate is rigged, not just because the Republicans – and we mean ALL of them – are corrupt, but because they’ve taken so much dirty money that they don’t dare break ranks. Even the most imperiled of them will vote to acquit Trump. Yes, it’s disgusting. It’s a gross perversion of our Democracy and the Republic. But pulling your hair out and screaming into the wind won’t fix this perfect storm that is now assaulting us.
Do yourself a favor and remind yourself again: the Senate won’t convict because they don’t dare. Trump is merely the rampaging symptom of this problem. He came along just in time to save the dying Republican party, and all of the facts and appealing to the morals and the better angels of our nature will fall short of breaking the Republican’s impervious blockade. They need power above all and they know they can’t get it legitimately. Their reason for being is only to maintain power. Not to do their job, not to protect the country, not even to protect their progeny. None of them will take down Trump because they know they will lose everything if he goes.
What the House Managers are doing is having the trial with evidence in the court of public opinion. Believe it or not, this is having the biggest impact. The facts of this case are damning and the impending result – the making of a dictator – is terrifying. But there are still things which are good and true in this process. What’s good and true is the evidence that is coming in by the boatload from FOIA requests. The FBI now says it has managed to unlock Lev Parnas’ phone. Make no mistake, his phone is going to be kryptonite to tons of Republicans. After all, which of them didn’t get a photo op with Parnas?
Phone calls and voting are the powerful solutions here. The Republican party will not survive a vote to acquit in the Senate. The public is overwhelmingly clamoring for documents and witnesses. Corruption will forever taint the Republican name if McConnell shuts this trial down. Yes, these are the days that try our patience. But as we found from Fiona Hill and others like her, there are still patriots at work behind the scenes. Perhaps a Republican or two will stand up for fairness. Don’t hold your breath. They are caught in a trap of their own making. Regardless, Trump will die in prison for his crimes. Count on that. Icebergs are enormous and the part that you can’t see is the part that takes you to the bottom.
TR Kenneth is the author of the thriller, A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT. You can read all about her at trkenneth.com and on Twitter