Thank you John for replying. You are right ,there is an old saying "you can't please all the people all the time ,only some of the people some of the time" . The United States is a very large country ,with many ethnic groups and cultures ,it makes it hard for any one party to govern them all. Also there is a large number of disenfranchised white Americans that see their country changing and don't like it . That is how Trump has been able to rally them up ,by fear mongering. That is creating a great divide. I'm Canadian and follow your politics closely as the U.S. policies have a great deal of effect on us and the rest of the world . It's a tough situation. Thanks Gordon
Nice piece. But you're letting McConnell too easily off the hook. as the very argument he cited for his not guilty verdict, namely that the Articles of Impeachment were delivered to the Senate after Trump was out office, was a circumstance totally of McConnell's own devious contrivance, as McConnell was the one who prevented that test from being met (as if the test had any basis in law to begin with).
And since when did McConnell develop such slavish adherence to the rules, after all he is the world's biggest hypocrite when he refused to hold a hearing on Obama's nominee Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, arguing Obama was in his last year in office, and yet that "rule" completely evaporated when Trump nominated RBG's replacement, with only weeks to go in his mandate.
I took great delight in seeing Biden nominate Merrick Garland to head the Justice department as Attorney General. Hopefully he will see Trump in a real court of law in the not too distant future, on any number of violations.
The Senate is far from being the world's greatest deliberative body, as they like to fashion themselves. More like the world's greatest group of spineless hypocrites, intent on undermining the Constitution.
I didn’t think I could loathe a bunch of fellow human beings any more than I have allowed myself to do but Mitch, Lindsey and Ted have really got me heading to Hell on a hot rail. That they are spineless is an understatement. Expecting the courts to do their dirty work is a rotten cop out. I’m afraid too that Trump and Company have ruined our Constitutional framework or certainly corroded enough of its foundation as to make it meaningless for future despots. This country used to strive for being open and inviting. God knows we weren’t perfect but overall, we were trying to always be and do better. I don’t know if we can overcome the damage, the division that the last five years flayed wide open for all to see. We need accountability desperately from someone somewhere. Please!
Other good news may be that the claim that impeaching/convicting former presidents is unconstitutional does not set a precedent for other potential despots. It will have no more sticking power than the idea that appointing a new Supreme Court justice in an election year should wait until after the election.
Trump seems to be taking on McConnell while continuing to sustain the Big Lie. So long as the Big Lie goes uncorrected by the Republican Party, the future will see more violent outbreaks.
I enjoyed your article. I understand why you prefaced your prescriptions for rehabilitating the Republican party with the word, hopefully. "Hopefully, the party will purge Trump, expel his loyalists, and contain the rest by imposing rigid standards and ethics on members and activities." I'm afraid I can't see a world in which this will happen.
No amount of tidying up within the party will yield the desired result. They don't make tent big enough to hold Qanon, the militia, Trumpists and the establishment GOP. There's bound to be a rupture. And the expelling will be the other way around. The Trumpists will expel the non-Trumpists, because Trumpists are the majority of the GOP. By a longshot. Maybe the Mitch McConnell crowd will further habituate themselves to the taste of s**t. They have been eating a little (or a lot) every day for over 4 years. People can get used to anything.
The collapse of the Republican party is very bad for our country. If the Democrats are allowed to run amok with their policies then inevitably the country will descended into civil war. The only hope is a vibrant counterbalance to the left. Of course the left is a counterbalance to the right so it goes both ways.
At the moment, I am very concerned that Trumpism will make the Republican party so weak that it cannot do it's duty. Again this leads to bad things happening.
The RepubNèeQuanon Party.
Thank you John for replying. You are right ,there is an old saying "you can't please all the people all the time ,only some of the people some of the time" . The United States is a very large country ,with many ethnic groups and cultures ,it makes it hard for any one party to govern them all. Also there is a large number of disenfranchised white Americans that see their country changing and don't like it . That is how Trump has been able to rally them up ,by fear mongering. That is creating a great divide. I'm Canadian and follow your politics closely as the U.S. policies have a great deal of effect on us and the rest of the world . It's a tough situation. Thanks Gordon
Diane:
Nice piece. But you're letting McConnell too easily off the hook. as the very argument he cited for his not guilty verdict, namely that the Articles of Impeachment were delivered to the Senate after Trump was out office, was a circumstance totally of McConnell's own devious contrivance, as McConnell was the one who prevented that test from being met (as if the test had any basis in law to begin with).
And since when did McConnell develop such slavish adherence to the rules, after all he is the world's biggest hypocrite when he refused to hold a hearing on Obama's nominee Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, arguing Obama was in his last year in office, and yet that "rule" completely evaporated when Trump nominated RBG's replacement, with only weeks to go in his mandate.
I took great delight in seeing Biden nominate Merrick Garland to head the Justice department as Attorney General. Hopefully he will see Trump in a real court of law in the not too distant future, on any number of violations.
The Senate is far from being the world's greatest deliberative body, as they like to fashion themselves. More like the world's greatest group of spineless hypocrites, intent on undermining the Constitution.
I didn’t think I could loathe a bunch of fellow human beings any more than I have allowed myself to do but Mitch, Lindsey and Ted have really got me heading to Hell on a hot rail. That they are spineless is an understatement. Expecting the courts to do their dirty work is a rotten cop out. I’m afraid too that Trump and Company have ruined our Constitutional framework or certainly corroded enough of its foundation as to make it meaningless for future despots. This country used to strive for being open and inviting. God knows we weren’t perfect but overall, we were trying to always be and do better. I don’t know if we can overcome the damage, the division that the last five years flayed wide open for all to see. We need accountability desperately from someone somewhere. Please!
In my weekly headline newsletter I am mentioning this story.
Other good news may be that the claim that impeaching/convicting former presidents is unconstitutional does not set a precedent for other potential despots. It will have no more sticking power than the idea that appointing a new Supreme Court justice in an election year should wait until after the election.
Trump seems to be taking on McConnell while continuing to sustain the Big Lie. So long as the Big Lie goes uncorrected by the Republican Party, the future will see more violent outbreaks.
I enjoyed your article. I understand why you prefaced your prescriptions for rehabilitating the Republican party with the word, hopefully. "Hopefully, the party will purge Trump, expel his loyalists, and contain the rest by imposing rigid standards and ethics on members and activities." I'm afraid I can't see a world in which this will happen.
No amount of tidying up within the party will yield the desired result. They don't make tent big enough to hold Qanon, the militia, Trumpists and the establishment GOP. There's bound to be a rupture. And the expelling will be the other way around. The Trumpists will expel the non-Trumpists, because Trumpists are the majority of the GOP. By a longshot. Maybe the Mitch McConnell crowd will further habituate themselves to the taste of s**t. They have been eating a little (or a lot) every day for over 4 years. People can get used to anything.
The collapse of the Republican party is very bad for our country. If the Democrats are allowed to run amok with their policies then inevitably the country will descended into civil war. The only hope is a vibrant counterbalance to the left. Of course the left is a counterbalance to the right so it goes both ways.
At the moment, I am very concerned that Trumpism will make the Republican party so weak that it cannot do it's duty. Again this leads to bad things happening.
Nice article.
Excellent article. Thank you