Mary Sanchez: The escape hatch Republicans don’t seem to see
Sanchez #Sanchez
If only they could see it.
If only Republicans could catch a glimpse of the pathway toward party cohesion offered up, outlined and thoroughly vetted in breathtaking detail by Democrats during the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
But they don’t seem ready to embrace it. I am assuming, I think like much of America, that an acquittal is inevitable. And I don’t think it’s because this route to save their own party was outlined from outside their ranks by Democrats that Republicans refuse to take it.
The outcome of the impeachment trial of Trump was long cast in stone. It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence on the charge of “inciting violence against the government of the United States.” It is, despite arguments to the contrary, not about whether it was constitutionally permissible to attempt to impeach a former president.
The former president abused the power of the office repeatedly, systematically for much of his administration; perhaps most gallingly in his desire to remain in office despite losing the election.
But the 17 Senate Republicans who would have to vote alongside Democrats to reach two-thirds majority to convict is too far a reach. Not enough of them will break ranks.
By saying nothing, those Republicans are marrying the party to Trump’s lies. At times, the impact will be like a vicious dog wrapped in a snarl around their legs, difficult to shake. In other future moments, the Trump presence may be more like the uneasy sensation of a lurking predator. One never knows when such things will pounce, perhaps undercutting some future legislation, or a GOP candidacy.
By acquitting Trump, the party will find little grace going forward. They will be asked repeatedly to reassert the former president’s lies, to coddle the masses of Trump voters by satiating their greatest fantasy — the idea that Trump, not Biden, should be the president.
It didn’t have to be this way.
The Democrats, by their painstakingly crafted impeachment proceedings, detailed how voters were swindled, goaded, placated and enticed by the former president. In many ways, Trump’s voters were somewhat vindicated by the presentation. A salvation for the GOP was offered in that outline. The Democrats pointed the Republican Party to the safest possible exit door. They gave them all the arguments.
The Democrat’s eviscerated the idea that it was only the Trump speech to his followers on the day of the rioting at the U.S. Capitol that incited the mob. The Stop the Steal rally was heavily orchestrated by Trump. The charging documents allege crimes that day, the social media posts of the rioters and the endless video from the riot repeatedly show the protesters saying that they were taking orders from Trump. They were doing his bidding.
Moreover, Trump sowed the idea of election fraud for months, deviously planting the idea into his follower’s heads that if he lost the election, it would be by theft. The great lie of stealing the election was craftily spawned, nurtured and came to a head in the violence of that day. The most heinous of the actors, the white supremacists, the militia members, those who viciously attacked Capitol police and went hunting for members of Congress, will be dealt with by the courts.
But what of the others who boarded buses organized by conservative outlets, answered the siren call of Trump to “Stop the Steal,” by showing up in Washington, or by attending other rallies, or merely by voting for him in the general election?
Most people are highly susceptible to being influenced. And it often has nothing to do with innate intelligence, or moral standing. It simply takes the right messenger offering up something that satiates a need; a belief, a hurt, a yearning that might not even be fully realize.
Trump pulls those threads.
Yes, much of what he says runs counter to logic, to reason, to standards of common decency. But his fervent followers believe him.
Trump swindled his own family and many a business dealing for decades. He’s a con. Slick as some of the best; incredibly astute at manipulative messaging.
Republicans needed to check their hubris and admit that they too were lured. Democrats gave them all they needed to escape Trump’s grip and move forward.
Instead it seems Republicans have decided to gamble their own political careers, the future of the party and possibly even the structure of our two-party system on the treasonous doings of a scandalized former president.
(Readers can reach Mary Sanchez at msanchezcolumn@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter @msanchezcolumn.)