Donald Trump has spent the past four years bragging about his presidency being superlative in a number of areas. Some were him taking credit for the previous administration’s efforts, such as the strong economy. Some have been flat out lies, like bragging about the size of his inauguration party. Some have been just ego and stupidity, like his continual claim to have approval ratings in the high 90s.
Well, he can finally brag about being the only president to have done something. Today, the House of Representatives voted 232-197 on an article of impeachment, saying he incited the crowd of rioters that sieged the Capitol Building, noting that he “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of government.” They also noted his continued insistence that the November 2020 Presidential Election was crooked, though he’s produced no evidence whatsoever.
So, there’s your first. Donald Trump is the first president to have been impeached twice and, in fact, twice in one term. Indeed, the circumstances of his first impeachment – the attempt to strongarm the Ukrainian government to find non-existent dirt of Joe Biden – earlier this year is pretty much responsible for his impeachment today. But there’s another first Trump can claim. Because 10 House Republicans, led by Wyoming’s Liz Cheney, voted to impeach, his is the most bipartisan impeachment ever. Indeed, had Nixon stuck it out, Trump still probably would’ve come out on top.
So where do we go from here? As we all know, impeachment is a two-step process. The House votes on the articles and the Senate votes on conviction. Like Bill Clinton, Trump was impeached and that will never go away, but he was not convicted, so it really doesn’t affect things apart as an interesting footnote. The Senate has to vote to convict with a 2/3 majority, and apart from Mitt Romney, it went down the party line last time, so Trump wasn’t convicted.
However, that was then and this is now. Last week’s riot was incredibly unpopular and the more we learn, the uglier it gets. More arrests of participants come down the pike and there’s a strong suggestion that Republican Congress critters gave tours to the rioters before the shit went down. The Capitol has been closed to outside visitors since March due to COVID-19, so there shouldn’t have been any tours at all. Furthermore, the Capitol Police are highly pissed off about how they were left out to dry. Along with the death of Officer Brian Sicknick by the rioters’ hands, Officer Howard Leibengood committed suicide Saturday and it’s being tied to the riot.
Indeed, there’s been a wholescale disentangling of various far-right groups, from Parler going black to the Oath Keepers website being shut down. Trump’s popularity has never crossed the halfway mark and, quite frankly, the GOP would love to scrape him off their shoe. Mitch McConnell has said that a clean vote for acquittal isn’t on the calendar like it was last time.
On top of that, when the Senate meets again next Tuesday, the balance of power will shift. With the election of Georgia’s Raphael Warnock and Joe Ossoff, there’s an even split between the two parties but since Vice-President Kamala Harris will have the deciding vote, New York’s Chuck Schumer will become the new Senate Majority Leader. The Democrats are out for blood, bubba, and the Republican Party has thoroughly shat the bed when it comes to kid gloves.
So here’s how it will probably work out. The Senate isn’t supposed to reconvene until next Tuesday and McConnell has said he won’t call them in earlier. That being said, nothing is keeping them from debating Trump’s impeachment. They’ve got plenty on their table, what with working on Biden’s cabinet choices as well as getting a better stimulus package passed. The hearings will probably not take the main focus but will be touched on every day.
Why bother, some ask. Well, if convicted Trump loses not only some of his swing with the GOP and his $200,000-a-year-for-life pension, he’ll be prevented from running for president again. He’s already making noise about a 2024 run and, honestly, I don’t see the base giving up on him. This as much as anything is an attempt to save the Republican Party from fracturing and going the way of the Whigs. It’s entirely possible we won’t get a final verdict until late February or March at the latest.
Will he be convicted, becoming the very first U.S President to do so? Well, maybe. I’d say the odds are better than average that he will. If I were a betting man, I’d feel comfortable taking that bet. Senators spend more time in office and aren’t quite as subject to the whims of the electorate as Representatives, so they can run the risk of hoping the Base finds some new shiny and forgets about Trump. It’ll be a tough row to hoe, but the general consensus is “well, maybe,” and that’s the best you’re going to get right now.
Either way, one week from now, that rat bastard will no longer be president and I hope they have to pull him out by the heels, screaming and crying. Yes, I am petty. I don’t care.
Dear Y'all 