I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
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Ruth, I was sitting in a parking lot at the appointed time -- though I have not figured out a camera yet anyway. I hope maybe if there is another meeting the next Saturday I may have a nod of fortune and be able to get in on it.
I am very disappointed over the acquittal -- I tend to always hope for truth, justice and the American way, but I was far from surprised. I'm glad though that not only will this be in black and white in our history and history books, but as well will be the excellent program the House Managers put on. Whether fear of their place in government being lost, or to some other kind of government they would rather believe in since they seem to not be inspired by democracy, it is past now. For me though, the only Reps. who might ( nothing is certain ) get a pass from me are the ones who stood up for democracy today.
Altogether I think any reprieve Trump may feel from not being found guilty hopefully will be short-lived. I think there is much in the way of losing business, being hit with lawsuits and chgs from multiple states that will be forthcoming. I also think in many cases this will just annoy even more so people like myself who thought so strongly he more than deserved to be found guilty. His life won't be rosy -- and I do think knowing what is in store for him a lot of those Reps. felt like they could say not guilty. They are spineless, disingenuous, and not a credit to where they are. I hope they are well remembered when they run themselves the next time.
Blue Girl - excellent letter. Good for you.
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The good news, as Spookiesmom indicated, is his troubles are far from over!
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I agree, but they all knew beforehand because they were enablers from day one -- just getting stronger over time about it.
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Even though Schmidt is a Reps. he is a sane one. I'd like to see Mike Lee lose his seat big time and he should really.
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I know its snarky and a little awful, but it is sort of how I feel right now.
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Jackie: Love the meme.
Shame on those despicable human beings who proclaim to be Repugnicans. They are enablers and may their actions come back to haunt them when those they think will support/re-elect them become turncoats. Bravo to the brave 7 who voted for impeachment.
Karma is a bitch and it is coming for those who voted not to impeach and to the man they idolize. We need to ensure the 2022 elections unseat many of them and to get Democrats elected in their place.
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Sorry I missed this morning's Zoom meeting, but I had to watch the closing arguments. When Trump's two-bit ambulance-chaser spouted GOP talking points (especially using "Democrat" as an adjective), uttered malapropisms, engaged in outrageous and non-analogous "whataboutisms," and lied his butt off, I wanted to throw things at my TV (but refrained because one broken screen a year is enough--especially since getting a new set requires workmen in my home during the pandemic).
What struck me was McConnell's "Lock Him Up" postmortem excusing his own (incorrect) procedural hairsplitting vote to acquit (no surprise there), but his fiery denunciation of Trump & his actions, saying essentially that the House managers proved the facts but that the Senate's hands were tied jurisdictionally (despite losing that vote at the outset). He said "this is not over" (going further than even Schumer did)--and then reminding everyone that "private citizen Trump" is subject to not just civil but criminal court action, and urging (not in so many words) Garland to sic the DOJ on him. The other GOP lackeys may have voted to acquit to keep the crazies from primarying them, but Moscow Mitch was playing both sides of the fence--he knew that he had major donors who'd vowed to turn off the spigots for anyone voting to acquit and didn't want to lose them (though his own job is safe through 2026), but it was the opening fundraising call for 2022.
Of course, McConnell neglected to mention that it was his refusal while still Maj. Leader to accept the Article of Impeachment prevented what would have been (per the GOP rationale) a timely trial. Talk about killing your parents and then begging the court for mercy because you're an orphan...
Speaking of being primaried, one of the 7 GOP "Guilty" votes came from one of the only Senators in decades to have survived being successfully primaried: Lisa Murkowski. (IIRC, Joe Lieberman lost his Dem. primary challenge during the Dubya era but still won as an independent). She was the first and only Sen. to win the general election as a write-in.
I think that Biden's promise to keep the DOJ independent will work in his favor: Garland will do the heavy lifting so Joe can get on with the business of vaccinations & guiding Congress through COVID relief. Garland had better order his US Attys. in SDNY, NDIL and DC to get cracking so that Trump will be too busy trying to stay out of jail to keep rallying his followers.
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Caryn, so glad your surgery went well. May the loopiness be pleasant!
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Sen. Burr Votes Guilty in Trump Impeachment Trial
Posted: 13 Feb 2021 03:22 PM PST
Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) voted in favor of convicting former President Donald J. Trump on the article of impeachment presented against him. After the Senate vote, Senator Burr released the following statement: "January 6th was a grim day in our nation's history. The attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to undermine our democratic institutions and overrule the will of the American people through violence, intimidation, and force. Seven lives were tragically lost as a result of that day. Law enforcement officers, outnumbered and overwhelmed, sustained debilitating injuries as they bravely defended Congress against an angry mob. We now know that lawmakers and congressional staff came dangerously close to crossing paths with the rioters searching for them and wishing them harm. When this process started, I believed that it was unconstitutional to impeach a president who was no longer in office. I still believe that to be the case. However, the Senate is an institution based on precedent, and given that the majority in the Senate voted to proceed with this trial, the question of constitutionality is now established precedent. As an impartial juror, my role is now to determine whether House managers have sufficiently made the case for the article of impeachment against President Trump. I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides and considered the facts. The facts are clear. The President promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results. As Congress met to certify the election results, the President directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to disrupt the lawful proceedings required by the Constitution. When the crowd became violent, the President used his office to first inflame the situation instead of immediately calling for an end to the assault. As I said on January 6th, the President bears responsibility for these tragic events. The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors. Therefore, I have voted to convict. I do not make this decision lightly, but I believe it is necessary. By what he did and by what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. My hope is that with today's vote America can begin to move forward and focus on the critical issues facing our country today."0 -
The state GOPs of the Cong. members who voted to impeach & the Sens. who voted to convict are already being the Party Purity Police and censuring them.
Sadly, this is happening because we are so polarized into not just two tribes but two Americas. One embraces progress, equity, diversity and recognizes we belong to the world and not the other way around. But the other wants to remain a straight white male Christian country--xenophobic not just about foreign-born/descended people, but about anything beyond plain "American" food (other than the dumbed-down culturally-appropriated versions of Mexican, Chinese & Italian). Even music---when bro-country star Morgan Wallen was caught using racial slurs and dropped by his label, his record sales went up 1000%. They tolerate the most outrageous conduct of those who give them what they want, and if their heroes get slapped down for that they become instant martyrs. And that other America is to whom the Repubs. in elected office owe their political careers (and therefore, their continued employment). That other America still loves Trump because they hate & fear whom he tells them to hate & fear, so the price for dumping Trump is the end of a GOP-er's elected job.
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PLEASE LET THIS HAPPENWe have to get rid of DeSantis.
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Exbrnxgrl, glad your surgery went well. I hope the healing process goes smoothly and you are on your way to better breathing soon
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Haha, Jackie, love the Lindsay Graham meme “perhaps you shouldn’t assume you’ll be talking to God.”
Regarding Steve Schmidt, I think he announced a few months ago he’s registering as a Democrat.
No surprise with the acquittal. What a shame. What a sham. I do wonder if there were average citizens who thought Trump was guilty but after listening to all the evidence, decided he was not guilty. I can’t see that happening much as the Dems made their case so well. However, I have seen social media comments from a few Republican voters whose minds were changed from seeing Trump not guilty to guilty.
Spookie, Gov. DeSantis reminds me of Trump in that I can’t imagine how/why he could have so many supporters. It would be great if he could be voted out of office in 2022.
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When all the words have been written, and all the phrases have been spoken, the great mystery of life will still remain. We may map the terrains of our lives, measure the farthest reaches of the universe, but no amount of searching will ever reveal for certain whether we are all children of chance or part of a great design. And who among us would have it otherwise? Who would wish to take the mystery out of the experience of looking into a newborn infant's eyes?
Kent Nerburn0 -
I agree with all the above. Sandy -- guess it will always be amazing to me that so many of our fellow sojourners are devoid it seems of common sense and truth. Just can't see past their noses or believe they can control others to a point that they themselves get all they desire and or never harmed. When I hear the decent into actual belief of conspiracies it just seems like ignorance allowed to go wild.
I am glad that the 'trial' is over even if the outcome was hideous. Back to not giving any Trump recognition. He likely will spend more time in the limelight, but it will not be for anything good. Maybe to an extent and in time the weight of it all will have a desired effect or more people recognizing that those who 'run' with Trump end up being flattened. He has nothing real to offer anyone --- just the same old tired run arounds that he has been pulling all along. The playbook doesn't change much. Being in the WH gave him cover he no longer has along with other avenues being closed off. No TWITTER -- a glorious thing. Nice to have a solid president and we go to sleep feeling protected and wake up the same way -- and how great it is to not have someone in your face on a daily basis -- just silently for the most part doing the work presidents do.
Divine, thanks for the info on Schmidt. I was not sure -- but knew he gave up being a part of the Reps. party some time before the Lincoln Project. It seems to be the Reps. party is all but gone since they are far from unified.
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Yes, yes, yes. Let it be in spades.
and yes, I am somewhat vindictive about it all. I think he deserves every thing bad that comes to him to be far worse. After having a GOP that let him off the hook twice. I do think this last impeachment process left absolutely no room for doubt ( despite how the vote went ) and so I find it even less excusable then the first time.
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These 16 people definitely need to be voted out in 2022. Even if not all of them which I'd like -- hopefully enough to make believers out of the rest that they are on really shaky ground.
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Raskin: Trump found guilty in 'the court of public opinion and the court of history'
The lead House impeachment manager called final vote a "dramatic success in historical terms."00:31 /01:34
TAP TO UNMUTEFeb. 14, 2021, 9:05 AM CST
By Ben Kamisar
WASHINGTON — The lead House impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., criticized Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for "trying to have it both ways" by voting to acquit former President Donald Trump on charges he incited last month's attack on the Capitol, arguing that history will deem the president responsible nonetheless.
In an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday, Raskin called the impeachment trial a "dramatic success in historical terms," noting that it was the most bipartisan impeachment conviction vote in American history.
"We successfully prosecuted him and convicted him in the court of public opinion and the court of history," Raskin said.
"He's obviously a major political problem for the Republican Party, and as long as he's out there attempting to wage war on American constitutional democracy, he's a problem for all of us."
Last week, Raskin and other impeachment managers prosecuted the case against Trump, arguing that he incited his supporters' attack on the Capitol building last month by spreading debunked conspiracy theories claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him and effectively green-lit the attack through his rhetoric.
Full Raskin: 'We have no regrets at all' on impeachment trial loss
FEB. 14, 202108:45Fifty-seven senators, including seven Republicans, voted against Trump, ten votes short of the 67 needed to convict him in the Senate. The seven were Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Bill Cassidy, R-La., Susan Collins, R-Maine; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Mitt Romney, R-Utah; Ben Sasse, R-Neb.; and Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
McConnell, the GOP's leader in the Senate, ultimately voted to acquit Trump. But in a scathing speech on the Senate floor just after the vote, McConnell said the former president was "practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day" while also arguing that he believed the Senate trial was unconstitutional because Trump was no longer in office.
Raskin questioned how McConnell could feel that way and not vote to convict Trump, adding that he believed many Republicans were always going to "find some reason" to side with Trump despite the "mountain of unrefuted evidence."
"I would have liked to have had him on the impeachment managers' team based on the way he presented that, except then he went back to the completely counterfeit argument that the Senate could not conduct the trial," Raskin said of McConnell's belief the Senate couldn't convict a president no longer in office.
"They decided to hang their hat on that very dubious hook in order to, basically, cater to Trump and the forces within the party that are still loyal to him in a really cultish and dangerous way."
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Illinois,
Rob Portman has said that he's not running for reelection. An equally icky person named Josh Mandell is one of the Republicans who will run for his seat. Lots of other R's running, but I think Mandel has the most name recognition.
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Damn, Ruth, your meme is so true!
And what the hell with Mitch McConnell? Is that what it means to be talking out yo ass?
Jackie, you make great points: “glad that the 'trial' is over even if the outcome was hideous. Back to not giving any Trump recognitio” . He has nothing real to offer anyone --- just the same old tired run arounds that he has been pulling all along. The playbook doesn't change much. No TWITTER -- a glorious thing.”
Trumpers are claiming victory but from the above article, Raskin’s statements ring more true: “We successfully prosecuted him and convicted him in the court of public opinion and the court of history.” He also said Trump remains a major political problem for Reps. I think we see some of that with many voters changing their party from Republican to Independent or Democrat.
I don’t know if all the Rep above who voted to acquit and are up for reelection in 2022 are all white, but it would seem we are still being held hostage as a nation by the white entitled male good-old-boys-club. We’ve got to keep chipping and hammering away at their power.
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I’m not much for Twitter, I’d rather do dogs. I just found this, the whole thing is a hoot. POTUS may not be saying anything publicly about that farce, but his dogs sure did.
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To All; It was totally expected. So why am I angry and depressed? Why should I even care since I am Canadian? I guess I see the USA a sibling. The old "Children Of A Common Mother" carved into the Peace Arch between BC and Washing State. I wish I was living somewhere else (Trump seems to like Norway) so I would be far removed from the mess.
There are several former GOP officials considering a third party. Go for it. We have FIVE - Liberal, Conservative, Green, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois (that one is a Federal, but one province only party) Also, the party that wins has their leader become the Prime Minister. Not perfect but we have the Vote of Non Confidence that can punt a PM and create another election even if it is only a few months into the first year. We register to vote every time we do our tax returns. If you pay taxes you are a registered voter.
The USA really really really needs to get rid of the Electoral College.
My fear is Trump will skate away from Georgia's investigation, the SDNY, the rape charges, defamation charges --- the whole catastrophe. I don't believe in Satan but sometimes I think he must exist otherwise how does Trump get away with all of this? Satan looks after his own?
We can but hope major donors will drop their cashflow to all those revolting members of the GOP.
Love the last few posts, IllinoisLady. Saving and sending to my American "sister" in Seattle and to all my hand wringing, swearing Canadian friends.
History may show them all to be what they are and condemn them but I want to see it NOW
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Elderberry.... I agree with everything you said and truly feel the same way. However, I live in the USA.
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Oh, it could be sooo much worse than Trump being acquitted. What if he had plain, flat-out, legitimately won both the electoral college and popular vote? That would have signaled the end of the U.S.democracy as we know it. So much more devastation would have occurred if he were in office a second term. Everything in our country would have been dismantled, and the pandemic would be raging on, consuming us with no vaccine roll-out plan. Our lives would never return to any kind of normalcy, yet you would have millions and millions of people okay with that, still talking about hoaxes. White supremacy would have ramped up to a degree not seen since the Civil War. And so much more. I swear, Trump would have passed an amendment to change the official flag of the U.S. to a Trump flag.
We have Biden in the White House. We won two crucial Senate seats in Georgia. Trump's Twitter account is canceled forever. Biden is making changes and progress and there's still six more days before he's even in office for one month.
I am hoping more of a crack down with things like Twitter and other social media taking a stronger stand on sending false information on anything from politics to the pandemic and vaccines will deter people from jumping down the rabbit holes of insanity.
I still have faith in my country. While the Rep Senators pandered to their voting base, many businesses and organizations and voters turned against Trump after the insurrection. Consider reading that Time article Ruth mentioned. There are many working behind the scenes together in a coordinated effort to help ensure democracy stays alive.
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