Trump was impeached, so what?
By: Abdalrahman Abou-Sar, Columnist
Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
President Donald Trump has been impeached again. This time, for an attempted coup d’etat, where he incited a group of his supporters to storm the Capitol building to intimidate congressmen and women voting to confirm the 2020 election result.
The event saw the death of five people, numerous pipe bombs found in the area and armed insurgents holding zip ties who were assumed to be ready to harm elected lawmakers. In the immediate aftermath, House Democrats began drafting an Articles of Impeachment, a move that had marginal bipartisan support with momentous 10 Republicans breaking party lines to vote for impeachment. How lucky we are at least some Republicans think a Coup d’etat is an impeachable offense.
According to Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the earliest a Senate trial may begin to be conducted is Jan. 19 when the chamber is scheduled to go into session. However, House Majority Whip James Clyburn has indicated the article may not be sent to the Senate until after the first 100 days of Biden’s term.
This can’t happen because of the gaslighting and obfuscation being done by the Republican party. Some members of the House are claiming that the riot was conducted by an antifa
“false flag.” However, the accurate evidence needs to be fresh in the country’s mind during a trial for removal, barring COVID-19 stimulus and relief, Trump’s trial takes priority.
What would such a trial look like? I can picture it so vividly: 50 GOP senators drive up to Capitol Hill and all exit their clown cars, ride their unicycles to the Senate chambers while juggling bowling pins, with a bear walking a tightrope above them. This trial is going to be a circus, and we’d sooner see McConnell swallow swords than the GOP considering the facts of the event.
I do believe the GOP could decide to remove him, not based on whether Trump is guilty, but only if it is politically expedient to do so, because democracy is and always has been second to political power to these partisans.
17 states joined to file a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to throw out the electoral votes of four battleground states that went to Biden. The Texas lawsuit is supported by Republican state legislatures comprising 34% of this country. Am I supposed to believe GOP lawmakers have any interest in democracy after a majority of them indulged in this nonsense?
I feel like many Democrats believe the state of the Republican party is a result of Trump hijacking it, and a bipartisan removal is the first step to rehabilitation, when in fact the opposite is true. I feel as though the Republican party is an institution that naturally attracts people like Trump, so what exactly will removing Trump do?
It’s clear to me that he isn’t special; he’s a narcissist pervert who’s bumbling his way through our political system. He isn’t the threat to our democracy, the party that accommodated him every step of the way is. If you remove Trump, you’re left with a party that will accommodate another like him when politically convenient. This isn’t to say Trump shouldn’t be removed, just that it isn’t the victory some think it is.
As a country, we s’t allow anti-American crocks to hold office or maintain public relevance, and we should use any and all legal means to deny them that. Rep. Cori Bush has introduced a resolution to expel members of congress who enabled these events, but there is virtually no chance of it passing the two-thirds margin needed for expulsion. So we need to fight them in the political square, and give them no quarter. No blow too low, no action too far; the rule of law in this country is dependent on our ferocity.
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