The Gutless Ol Party
There is nothing “Grand” about the Republican party anymore, only a shameless movement along the continuum of gutless amorality. Yesterday, when Rand Paul, Senator of Kentucky, held a vote on the constitutionality of the 2nd impeachment trial of Donald Trump, he did so not to argue the merits of that case, rather he wanted to send a signal of continued fidelity to Trumpism rather than democracy
Make no mistake, the Capitol Hill, events of Jan 6th were more than a warning shot across the bow of American democracy. So why would 45 senators signal their intention not to hold to account the perpetrator of a self-coup? The answer sadly is a devotion to power, self interest and a willingness to turn their backs on democracy. Over the past few weeks, Republican senators have stuck their withered fingers in the air to determine which way “The Base” winds are blowing and have made the calculation that they cannot offend the Trumpist cult that has captured the Republican Party.
Indeed we should not be surprised that “The Base” were unwilling to relinquish their devotion to their leader as a PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted a day after the Capitol Hill assault clearly pointed the way for those who are untethered from any moral anchor. Fully 69% of Republicans were unwilling to lay the blame for this incompetent coup at the doorstep of President Trump
Naturally, Republican senators were cautious of affirming devotion to the Trumpist cause in the immediate aftermath of the January 6th riot, but yesterday Rand Paul stiffened gelatinous backbones. Unctuous arguments are now being made about “constitutionality” and appeals to “move on in the name of national unity”. All very interesting coming from the party of “personal responsibility”
So let’s be clear about the questions that these callow senators will have to answer for the rest of their, soon to be, ignoble lives:
- What is the reasonable likelihood of the January 6th assault on Capitol Hill in the absence of President Trump’s “leadership”?
- How does your rejection of the constitutionality of impeachment for a departed office holder square with the clearly established precedent of William Belknap’s impeachment?
- How do you expect American’s to have any respect for democratic institutions when you seek to avoid accountability for the shameful violation of the center of our governance?
Clearly there are a number of GOP senators who have soiled themselves with their overt or tacit support for former President Trump’s profoundly undemocratic attempt to subvert the election. If the Republican Party and dual party democracy are to have a future in this country, it’s now incumbent on GOP senators to turn away from these “profiles in cowardice” and to excise this poison from American democracy
It is time for clear eyed truth, it is time for service, it is time for guts!
So what will it be?
