“This case is much worse than someone who falsely shouts fire in a crowded theater. It’s more like a case where the town fire chief, who’s paid to put out fires, sends a mob not to yell fire in a crowded theater, but to actually set the theater on fire.” lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin (D-MD)

When a coup attempt goes unpunished it becomes a training exercise. 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @Sundae_Gurl 𝕊𝕠𝕗𝕥 𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒 𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕤. 𝕀 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕖𝕥𝕤. 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻ℂ

“I told the Members of the Senate who were in the Democratic caucus that I was a free man first, an American second, a Senator third, and a Democrat fourth, in that order”; President Lyndon Johnson at a Fundraising Dinner in New Orleans October 09, 1964.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” Presidential campaigner Donald Trump in Iowa on Sunday, January 24, 2016.

I started writing about the Super Bowl, but I’m already bored with it. I didn’t really have a dog in the fight, although I am an AFC guy, and I was, at first, mildly rooting for Kansas City. Still, another win by Tom Brady is not a very big story anymore, anywhere (except Tampa Bay). I do want to say that, between the flyover, the plethora of flags, football in general, and the famously pro-Trump Tom Brady, I expected the ads to be more to the Right but the guys hawking stuff are politically neutral and they seem to think the sweet spot is very much to the left of Nationalism and Racism.

Watching the Impeachment, I’m not sure that optimism reflects reality. It is hard to watch the Impeachment and not be scared, for me, at least. Scared that the Insurrectionist mob is going to win next time – and there will be a next time unless a lot of people are put in prison – scared that we are seeing the beginning of the end of American Democracy, scared that, as obvious as Trump’s involvement is to me, he is going to waltz free, scared that the Republican Senators, all of who took an oath to protect the Constitution, don’t really give a shit about the Constitution or the country. As an aside, the fact that I care so much, somewhat surprises me. End aside.

I think that there is a lot of anger in the land and very little willingness to admit the other side even has any opinions worth considering. I know that I’ve already taken a side, I think like everybody else, and, of course, I like to think that my side is right. I like to think that my side is the long arc bending towards a moral universe, even if that journey is somewhat haphazard and wobbly. But, I suspect, we all feel that way, even Josh Hawley, and that is why most Republican Senators will vote for acquittal.

While I hope that they don’t, while I hope that the Republican Senators were close enough to the action and becoming politically distant enough to go after Trump, I don’t think the Senate is the primary target here. The primary target is the electorate, especially the moderate Republican electorate, and there is an expectation that proving Trump instigated his followers to take over the government in order to “stop the steal” is and will alienate more people than it will convert. Part of the reason for that is because the Democrats, and Congressman Jamie Raskin in particular, put on a good case – to my eyes, anyway – and part of it is that the nationalistic, populous, side of the Party is becoming more emboldened, going after conventional conservatives like Representative Liz Chaney – in a sort of Reign of Terror phase of the Revolution – because they are not faithful enough to Trump. Hopefully, that will drive the moderates from the Republican Party. If so, the Impeachment will be a success.

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