The time has come, say the Republicans in Congress, to put the impeachment behind us and move on. In one sense, I agree. It is more relevant to study the positive changes President Biden is making, to look to the future which we can do now that we have a president who is intelligent, who will honour his oath of office, and who genuinely cares about the people of this country.
However, there are a few loose ends that still demand our attention, lest we make the same mistakes in the future that we made in the recent past. One of those things, perhaps the one that most bothers me, is what the acquittal and related events say about nearly half of this nation, nearly half of Congress – the Republican Party, aka GOP. The acquittal becomes, at this point, secondary to the fact that the Republican Party and likely the voters on that side of the aisle, are busily censuring the 10 members of the House of Representatives who voted with conscience to impeach, and the 7 senators who voted, again with conscience, to convict. It speaks volumes about the values, or lack thereof, of the Republican Party as a whole, and what we can expect from them in the future. The values of the Republican Party … what an oxymoron that is.
Our friend Keith has written a letter to the editor of his local paper expressing his views on the plans of the party to censure those 17 people who had the courage to do the right thing, to uphold their oaths to We the People. Please take a look at Keith’s letter, and he invites you to adapt and use it if you wish, as I plan to do.
It is my sincere hope that the people in this nation, the voters, will remember that when push came to shove, the majority of the Republicans in Congress shredded their copy of the Constitution and instead pursued a course of action that will have ramifications well into the future. Future presidents who have an axe to grind will not hesitate to commit heinous abuses of power in their last weeks in office, knowing that the precedent has been set, that they will not be punished for their actions, even if people die as a result. At some point, will a president more successfully stage a coup such as the one that ultimately failed on January 6th, taking unearned power and turning this nation into an autocracy? I don’t know, but I suspect at some point it could happen.
At present, I am less concerned about Donald Trump running for office again in 2024 than I am about future attacks occurring around the country by those domestic terrorists, Trump’s ardent, conscienceless followers egged on by Trump and others such as Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, et al. I suspect that Trump will be dealt with in the coming year or two, but his reckless, ignorant base will remain … a can of worms has been opened that will not simply disappear. This, then, is what the Republicans in Congress have wrought and if their party goes down the tubes as a result, then good enough.
Meanwhile, we should thank and applaud those 17 Republicans who put the nation ahead of their personal fortunes, who had the courage to tell the truth, that what Donald Trump did was unthinkable, and that he must pay the price for his actions. These people deserve a medal, not censure! If the Republican Party has a future, it lies with people like Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse, Liz Cheney, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, and the others who still remember their oath, who still have a conscience.
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Grownups in government acting like bullies, spoiled children.
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Thanks for the re-blog, my friend! Much appreciated!
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Maybe it’s time to follow up with the impeachment of the various Senators who also engaged in Trump’s rhetoric and example, Cruz, Hawley and at the very least the crazy lady, though I use the term lady very loosely in her case. Let them and the Repubs know that Jan 6th is not going to be forgotten. Maybe a few more will find conscience. They should in Cruz’s case since he’s not really allied to Trump, according to Trump.
Cwtch.
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Hello David. I think there is ethics complaints or requests for the ethics committee to investigate those Republicans who spoke for denying certification. What will happen is anyone’s guess. Hugs
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Personally, I would love to see every last one of them impeached, or perhaps burned at the stake, but we both know it won’t happen just yet. My best hope is that in next year’s election, very few Republicans retain their seats in Congress. And I will do my part to make that happen! Sigh. This is so exhausting, so discouraging to realize that nearly half the people in this nation have no concept that they are being screwed over by the very people whose salary they pay. Sigh.
Cwtch
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He’s not done yet. Much bad stuff can be unleashed with a few words.
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No, I fear he is nowhere near done, and his base are too ignorant to think for themselves, so they will follow him no matter where he leads them. Sigh.
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Hello Jill. I just watched a couple of videos of tRump in a motorcade ( I think he was trying to pretend it was the presidential motorcade ) slowly creeping along to the roaring cheers of a maga crowd. Instead of just driving past he slowed to a crawl making the police work extra hard to contain and control the crowd. He got the adoration he wanted. So you are correct, they are not going away.
I agree we must make sure every action and vote taken by the Republicans costs them when it comes time to vote. We must undo and prevent new voter suppression. The Republicans have taken open actions against the people of the US and democracy and they think people will just forgive and forget, they think they will pay no political price for trying to have it both ways with tRump. We must hold the same energy and drive to make sure we oust the Republicans from congress that we had to oust tRump. Hugs
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I saw a clip of his damn motorcade and I’d swear he is delusional, still operating under the misapprehension that he is still president! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. WHY did the police even go along with that farce? He had a police escort, the street closed to traffic … that’s ridiculous … they’re just feeding his self-delusions! He should be barred from ever pulling such a stunt again!
The Republican Party and its minions no longer represent the values of this nation and its foundation. They have zero morals, zero conscience, and they do not deserve a place in government. They have kicked We the People aside into the gutter, and have shredded then burned the Constitution. I hope not a single one of them is voted back in next year! Hugs
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Hello Jill. I am not sure he realizes he is not president still. He has become quite delusional. On Fox News this afternoon they called him president 45 instead of former president. His staff it is said call him that also, and he still uses the seal of the president of the US on his letterhead. Hugs
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I think he believes that old adage that if you say something often enough, it becomes reality. If he simply continues to call himself ‘president’ and do rallies and a motorcade on President’s Day, people will start believing it. I have never in my life wished death upon another human being, but it seems to me that his death is the only way we’ll ever be out of danger from him. He is a threat to life! Hugs
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Very well said Jill. i agree with you 101%.
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Thank you!
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I only can say: Lets hope they will go on in a positive way, and do the best for the people. This fight against the virus and its strains will bring a lot of evil for the future. The USA is at least much more hardened for difficult times, Europe not. Best wishes, Michael
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Some days I feel that this nation will simply implode, my friend. We are more divided than at any other time since the Civil War, and there seems to be no middle ground, no room for compromise. Sigh.
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Sounds really bad. Otherwise the new President will do his best, and we can hope to get better times. Enjoy you afternoon, Jill!
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True … I’ve been so caught up in the impeachment and other things that I’ve almost forgotten we have a real president once again. Thanks for reminding me that we can be hopeful at last! Oh, but I AM enjoying my afternoon … I’ve washed dishes, vacuumed the carpet, and done 3 loads of laundry! What better way to spend an afternoon? 😉
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Wonderful, Jill! The best for calming down, and getting fun too. 😉
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You’re right … I find that doing something physical does help my mood! I’d rather go for a walk, but with nearly a foot of snow and the temps in the single digits, that’s not likely to happen today!
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Thanks for the pingback, Jill. Keith
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Jill, what it boils down to is these seventeen Republicans had the temerity to think that sedition by a president (or anyone) is a crime in the eyes of the Trump Party. So, by censuring the seventeen heroes, the party leadership in these states are saying being a lying traitor is more than fine if he is in your party, but people who have a problem with that must be censured. We need to emphasize this is not rank and file MAGA folk, this is party leadership who we would think would know better. Keith
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No, it is not the rank and file, but it seems to represent a large portion of those who call themselves ‘Republican’. The Republican Party as a whole, no longer represents the values on which this nation was founded. And over half of republican voters cheer and applaud, still believe Trump when he says he ‘won’ the November election. I just feel like I awakened one morning in some other universe. In my nearly 70 years, I’ve never registered with either party, and have voted for both republicans and democrats, though I’ve always leaned more toward the democrats and their ideology of putting people before profit. But today, I cannot see a time when I would ever vote for another republican candidate for any office.
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Jill, when lying, conspiracy and lawlessness are the key tenets of the Trump party that speaks volumes. Keith
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Always.
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