Let's stop pretending we don't know why most GOP Senators didn't vote to convict Trump
Category: News & Politics
Via: tessylo • 3 years ago • 75 commentsBy: Linette Lopez, Business Insider
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Let's stop pretending we don't know why most GOP Senators didn't vote to convict Trump
-
GOP senators have a bunch of nonsense reasons for why they didn't convict Donald Trump of incitement.
-
They are all just an attempt to cover up the real reasons, which are much simpler and more obvious.
-
Many GOP Senators were complicit in Trump's crime. Plus, they want to use him to keep grifting.
-
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
Republican senators have concocted a litany of silly, irrelevant reasons for why they didn't vote to convict former President Donald Trump of fomenting an insurrection on January 6.
They said his impeachment was not constitutional (an argument even conservative lawyers shredded ) or a violation of his First Amendment rights ( also, no ). They said Trump deserves a "mulligan" (which is just stupid, juvenile, and an affront to the rule of law). And they said convicting him is pointless (which ignores the fact that a conviction could have barred Trump from office).
Ultimately these are just words used to pass screen time on national TV or to fill copy in news articles. That's because these GOP senators refuse to say why they really did not convict Trump: they were complicit in his crime and they are profiting from it.
If you were waiting for a Watergate moment - a moment like the one where Nixon supporter Sen. Barry Goldwater repudiated the President by bursting into the White House and telling him to resign - you were always going to be disappointed. Goldwater didn't plan the break in of the Watergate. He was not complicit in Nixon's criminal cover up. But men like GOP Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz were complicit in Trump's crime. They're not the only ones.
When reporters asked Trump if he thought he was fomenting violence or unrest in his speech leading up to the Capitol attack, he said no - that his words were perfectly appropriate. Why should he think otherwise? Aside from the obvious fact that his malignant narcissism would never allow him to see it any other way, there's the reality that no one in his party had ever previously rebuked him for fomenting violence.
Any Republican senator who didn't tell Trump to stop lying about the outcome of the election is complicit in Trump's behavior.
With his lies about election fraud, Trump was ostensibly committing a crime against American democracy in full view of the entire world. Most of the Republican Party - and pretty much every Republican Senator save Utah's Mitt Romney and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski - at least acted as a lookout for this crime if they weren't driving the getaway car. In a normal court of law these people would never have been allowed to serve as jurors - you can't be impartial is you're a co-conspirator - but this is impeachment.
Also, the grifting.
One cannot underestimate the importance of money in all of this. The Stop the Steal movement that lead to the deadly riot was planned and bolstered by individuals with a long history of right-wing grifts. Trump - now without a doubt America's most celebrated scammer - is going to raise money off of Big Lie grievance for as long as he can. Sens. Cruz and Hawley fundraised off this stolen election fable , and there is an entire cottage industry of small-time internet conspiracy theory scammers who are still raising money off of the idea that Trump must be avenged.
It is not in the best interest of any of these people that Americans wake up from the fever of Trump's lies. The last thing they need is for Trump's followers to have a revelation like Jacob Chansley (aka Q Shaman), who said in a statement last week that he was wrong for participating in the riots.
"I am deeply disappointed in former President Trump," Chansley's statement said . "He was not honorable. He let a lot of peaceful people down. I have to leave judging him up to other people."
If Trump's supporters suddenly, belatedly realize he is not honorable, then none of his grifter friends are either. And that's a money problem for all involved.
If their cause is not honorable, it will not have the same allure. Political scientist Hannah Arendt taught us that the origins of totalitarian movements are with "atomized, isolated individuals." They tend to have a lack of political, social or financial ties to wider society - they are rootless, and they are looking for something to give their lives meaning.
So it is with Trump's movement. Maybe it surprised you that a bunch of these rioters did not have a record of political activity, that many seemed apathetic about Washington before Trump. Actually, this is their least surprising quality. Individuals living in anomic circumstances are the easiest targets for grifters to pick off. Even one of the individuals who showed up ot the January 6 riot in a private plane was having trouble paying down a $37,000 lien for unpaid federal taxes. According to the Washington Post , she almost lost her home.
Arendt taught us that for individuals like this - who made up masses of people who voted for Trump and his GOP ticket as they had never voted before - need a righteous cause with which to align themselves to make them feel rooted. It gives them the consistency they crave. It allows them to feel like good people, who understand their world, and have power within it.
To rebuke Trump and bar him from future office would be to make these once rootless individuals rootless once again. At worst, they could violently turn against the GOP for betraying them, just like the Capitol rioters seemed angrier at Mike Pence than they were at any Democrat. At best, they will feel disappointed and duped by the politicians they supported. Either way, the GOP wouldn't have been able to pump them for money anymore with the promise of another Trump run or his active embrace of the party. The grift would've been over.
And if there's anything we know about today's GOP, it's that it will do anything to keep a grift going - even if it means selling out the rule of law, the Constitution, and their own personal safety in the process.
Tags
Who is online
456 visitors
Every single one who voted to acquit is complicit.
Hillary Clinton Says Donald Trump Will Only Be Acquitted For 1 Reason
“If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won’t be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense,” tweeted Clinton, Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2016 election.
“It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators,” she wrote.
who cares what Hillary thinks?
funny she gets brought up because when others bring her up, they are told she is old news and we should all move on.
So, moving on from the candidate who managed to lose a sure thing.
Do you mean the one who got the second-greatest vote total in history... and lost??
Have you ever heard of Hillary Clinton?
Do you think she got the second most votes in history and lost?
Whoo Boy!
I am so glad you have seemed to have finally figured out who won the last election!!
Kudos to you!!
BTW, in case you forget---the winner came from the former grand old party but is now a member of what is now known merely as the Democratic Party.
You are wrong again. Trump got the second most votes in an election and lost in 2020 election.
Ummm......
Spoken by an excellent example of what not to be.
It's like when the lunatics are running the asylum - like what we went through for the last almost five years
For me, the biggest telling point, is that the GOP is punishing any rep from the House that dared vote their mind by agreeing with the impeachment. Basically, "how dare you think for yourself".....
And this demonstrates what, exactly? Because I'm pretty sure they weren't attacking anything at the time.
Yeah I get that it's a fist. So what?
False equivalency! The guy in the photo is raising his left hand. Yours is a right hand. Totally different thing. /s
[deleted]
This is interesting. Which image is more meaningful? This one, or the one just above : Josh Hawley saluting the mob on 6JAN2021?
I know facts don't really matter in the middle of a hysterical freak out, but do you credit Hawley with supernatural powers? That photo was take 90 minutes before the riot began and he was acknowledging demonstrators.
Think of all the Democratic Politicians this summer who saluted protestors who subsequently became violent. Do you apply that standard to them, as well?
Of course, Sean...
Obviously projection, deflection, denial, and whataboutism are all you have . . . it's so tiresome.
Still equating the attack on the first branch of government by Trump's army because he/they wanted to overturn an election, with those protesting the summary execution of people of color at the hands of law enforcement I see. I'm going to give up any thoughts of you ever being able to be honest with the difference.
There are no standards for many of the left's favorites.
Standards are only applied to those they dislike.
The only standards that count are whether you stand up against the attempted insurrection and all that those seditionists represented or whether you crawl on your belly and defend them and the one who empowered them and set them on their violent course siding with fascism by continually defending the wannabe authoritarian they were desperately trying to keep in power. It's obvious that those on the left are standing up against such vile violent insurrection, so now it's just up to those on the right to either choose to do the right thing and stand with them or continue to side with with the right wing extremist low life scum and white supremacists who took the former President at his words and attempted to stop the peaceful transfer of power patriotic Americans hold sacred by using violence against our nation and the elected officials attempting to do their constitutional duties. It's that simple and is the true determinate of whether one has any actual standards.
Laughable drivel.
The only standards some have are DOUBLE standards.
That's true of all your comments.
ith those protesting the summary execution of people of color at the hands of law enforcement
The idea that people of color are being summarily executed at the hands of law enforcement is as legitimate as the belief the election was stolen.
Remember when you justified attacking innocent cops because of this conspiracy theory? Good times!
You seem to be saying that as long as you agree with the cause, some level of violence and destruction is ok.
And your explanation for George Floyd's death would be...... what Sean?
Your equating Trumps attempted overthrow of the government on 6JAN21 to protests sparked by George Floyd's death speak volumes as to what you think is just here in the US.
I think you meant that one for Bob N.?
But if you want some clarification.... When all non-violent efforts have failed to change the status quo of unequal justice under the law such as with civil rights, yes I believe some amount of measured violence is warranted to draw national attention to chronic cases of injustice. Sunlight is a great disinfectant.
I'm very much in favor of police reform across the country and I think we need more demonstrations, not less. But lighting cars on fire, breaking store windows, and chasing cops from their own building only hurts the cause.
We are in full agreement then. I think both of us would agree that it shouldn't be so difficult to obtain equal justice under the law. Violence must be of the last resort.
d your explanation for George Floyd's death would be...... what Sean?
The sort of inevitable tragedy that will occasionally occur result in a country of 330 million flawed humans interacting with each other.
There were 14 unarmed black people shot by police in 2019. Cows attack and kill that many Americans each year. By comparison there were unarmed 25 whites killed by police. The idea that black people are being systematically murdered by police is a fantasy.
mps attempted overthrow of the government on 6JAN21 to protests sparked by George Floyd's death speak volumes as to what you think is just here in the US
I'm comparing rioting over conspiracy theories. Believing the 2020 election was Stolen and the belief that police are "summarily executing " people of color are in the same boat.
I can denounce the rioting at the Capitol without equivocation. You've spent months justifying and excusing the riots that costs dozens of lives, injured hundreds of police and cost hundreds of millions in damages. That speaks volumes.
[deleted]
And your continued attempts to explain away the inequity of the acts of law enforcement.
Your own posted data yields that truth Sean...
Black Americans are 13.4% of the US population. White Americans are 76.6% of the US population. Or there are 5.71 times more white folk than black folk.
Yet the 25:14 white to black deaths at the hands of police yields just 1.71 times multiple. Using cow attacks to dismiss the four times greater chance of being shot and killed at the hands of police, just for being black speaks volumes of your white privilege mindset. Police are suppose to serve and protect, just not in the way white people like you think they are suppose to.
But then you did and still do support Trump...... Hell I'm guessing by your NT persona that you approved of Trumps approach to both the cracked skulls approach to last summer's protests, and the assault of the capital.
But you are using the wrong numbers. Blacks commit over half the murders in the US. Since police shootings are a function of how often police death with violent suspects, the numbers are much significantly less than one would expect. Police are much more likely to shoot an unarmed white suspect that they come across than a black.
'w attacks to dismiss the four times greater chance of being shot an
I'm using fatal cow attacks to show how rare these shootings are. No one claims cows are preying upon Americans. No one claims murderous cows are destroying American farming communities.
m guessing by your NT persona that you approved of Trumps approach to both the cracked skulls approach to last summer's protests,
But then you did and still do support Trump
Why do you say things that aren't true? I never voted for him and have always said he's a buffoon. I guess not going along with the lies told about him somehow made me a "supporter" to the left wing mob who is out to get him with no regard for truth or principle.
Iand the assault of the capital.
Don't quit your day job. I literally just wrote "I can denounce the rioting at the Capitol without equivocation" I notice you still haven't apologized for supporting attacking t police just because they are police, because they are "all guilty." O.
You are using the wrong EVERYTHING
I personally know more than a dozen Chicago cops.
I cant think of a single one of them that I have not heard exhibit demeaning or racist language towards blacks, although I would admit their bigotry is on a sliding scale from not much to completely. For people to deny there is racism in policing is simply a denial of reality.
Keep spinning Sean..... It's what you do best. Second only to ignoring reality.
I know a few pretty well. Ask them if they ever worry about the fallout from justifiably shooting a black person vs a white person.
Cops aren't stupid and they know how politics effects the workplace probably as well as any class of people in the country. . They know they can lose their jobs and possibly more even in a justified shooting (Michael Brown) if the politics are bad. .
Even if they are racist, they are self interested, and I'm sure they will admit to you they are scared shitless of the fallout of having to shoot a black person, rather than a white one. I've heard it from them..
LOL - Gotta love the Lincoln painting in the background flipping him off. Classic!
Imagine what the country would look like if all criminal courts were handled like congressional proceedings. The defense’s council would always be free to meet with the jury to plan the best way to throw the case. All laws would be considered negotiable. Perjury would be banished from the English language. Lawyers would be permitted to contradict themselves within a single sentence. Let’s face it, laws in this country are not meant to govern the ruling elite, they’re only there to keep the plebeians in order.
Reminds me of an episode of Law and Order where a wealthy and powerful family got away with murder (what else is new, right?). Someone said something about laws for the rich and famous and Jack McCoy said essentially 'what laws for the rich and powerful?'
Money does buy justice in this country.....! Always has.
Since many of these Republicans have had threats to them from their own base, who falsely believe in conspiracy theories, they failed at their one chance to put it behind them and shut it down for good. Tell the truth to the people that Trump legitimately lost, over 60 court cases were won to prove those facts and shut down this entire big lie fueled paranoia on the right and secure our country from ever increasing right wing extremism. If so called conservatives hate what they saw with protests on the left, it makes absolutely no sense on earth to support even worse behavior coming from the attack on the Capitol. There is no both sides to this.
Is it any wonder that the once Grand Old Party of Abraham Lincoln is now known merely as the gop?
Or, Qanon?
No wonder! Trumpism has divided the Republicans!
Do establishment Big R Republicans disavow Trump?
Then there are the nutters in the gop who are Qanon.
Then you have the evangelicals and diehard racists...
Not anymore of a wonder as to why the original grand old party is now known merely as the Democratic Party--as has been pointed out numerous times to you.
The modern gop? Rhymes with mop and slop!
As in, "Can you believe how low the gop went?"
Or, "Have Senators in gop no shame left...at all?"
Or, "How can the gop ever win after Trumpism?"
[deleted]
I like it when fine folks make wild-ass predictions about the death of the GOP, because they have been wrong, wrong, wrong every single time!
Here's your tRump memorial
Aw, more little cute pictures!
Oh YAY!!!!!
More cute little pictures!
Got any more?
Ah, looky there!
Keep 'em coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's hilarious!
A cartoon that depicts reality..... Spot on JBB.
Well one dickhead doesn't .............obviously.
They're now the gqp
Only in the fevered imaginations of a handful of fine folks!
Whatever we call them they're a poor excuse with no reason to go on in current nasty form!
Decent people don't want to associate with it!
You seriously crack me up!
Oh, YAY!!!
More little cute pictures!!!
Got any more?
Seriously, JBB!
How can this image not include Josh Hawley?
It's the standard bigotry. If they don't agree with you, it can't possibly be for a good reason.
Let's Stop Pretending We Don't Know Why Most GOP Senators Didn't Vote To Convict Trump
FEAR in one way or another FEAR. Period
Fear of trump, trumps followers, trump voters, and/or even fear of the proceedings themselves.
I think if they could/would see the future of trump being able to legally try this shit again they may FEAR that even more.
But the fear of today seems to blind the possibility of trump even acting out even worse next time from many for now.
Sadly.
I'm not worried about Trump winning if he tries to run again.
Everyone should be worried about him just running again.... His cult followers have proven they are capable of murder to get their way.