The Republican Senate Is to Blame for Not Removing Trump

[MineralMan]

Because they did not do that, we have faced some of the worst months in US history. Because they failed to follow through with their duty after the House impeached Donald John Trump, the Republicans in the Senate are responsible for everything bad that has happened since they had that opportunity.

This should have been a clarion call prior to the 2020 election. It was not, and the GOP was not punished for its neglect of its historic responsibility for removing a madman from the White House. We still have a chance to gain control of the Senate, but it is just a chance. It may not happen.

The Republican Senate is to blame for everything.

Shame on them all! Shame!

[llashram]

1. this++

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Mitt Romney voted to convict, but he could have been a more clear-headed voice

And a big boy to handle Trump's wrath.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes, he did, and I thank him for that.

We needed more Republicans to do the same, but they did not. More's the pity.

[calimary]

28. But we must not forget that Mitt only stuck his neck out halfway.

He failed to approve BOTH impeachment votes.

So I’m sorry. That’s not some big “profile in courage” by ANY definition.

Come back and talk to me, Mitt, AFTER you’ve led a trump revolt in the Senate. Then I might actually have time to listen to you and take you even halfway seriously.

[spooky3]

33. He's also in a safe red state with many Never Trumpers

So I agree he deserves more kudos than his feckless and spineless colleagues, he’s also less at risk than they are of losing elections.

[AZ8theist]

54. Sorry, Mineral....

But these Russian-owned Repukes have no shame. They couldn't care less about America or the American people.

All they care about is money and power. Until we start putting them in prison for CRIMES, nothing will change.
The next Nazi wannabe dictator will be intelligent, unlike the fucking IMBECILE currently occupying the White House illegally.

Then we are screwed. Nazi Germany 2.0. Welcome to Gilead.

[Orange Buffoon]

56. Mitt always couches his objections in diplomatic language.

We needed a fire-breather, not a diplomat.

[Joelteply]

57. If we just get one senate seat everything changes

Mitt can effectively neuter these Trump extremists by the threat of either going along with Democrats on some issues or defecting. I suspect the latter is slim to none, but I have no doubt either of these two potential threats could limit the Trump train’s power. This will drive Trump further into insanity and make him toxic to the party.

I’m just saying it could be a good thing.

[dalton99a]

3. They all knew - like everyone else - what he was, what he did, what he was capable of.

And they refused to act.

Heck, they kept giving him everything he wanted, and defended and protected him at every turn.

[MineralMan]

5. Of course they knew, but he was giving them what they wanted,

so they ignored his insane ravings and bizarre actions. For those things I can never forgive them.

[Traildogbob]

18. Not just what Trump would do

They all knew McConnell has full control of the GOP donor purse strings and would defund every one that stood against trump, AND him. Georgia is critical. That multiple scrotum neck treasonous shit bag is as much responsible for everything as Trump. The day that evil ancient bag of old pus dies, I am gonna drink a $100 bottle of fine Pino Noir, with aged goat cheese and Sicilian hard crust fresh baked bread on my favorite Mtn Top and Rock out with Spotify and Bose speakers, singing as load as I can shout. To the dismay of my black lab, but I will share bread and cheese with her, she will be fine.
Come on Georgia, end the pelican necked reign of terror over this country.

[Upthevibe]

53. Traildogbob...OMG!!!! I am lovin' the way you laid out that scene!

I'd want to be right there with you (except I'm a recovering alcoholic so I wouldn't be able to have some of that find Pino Noir with you - not even in my imagination).

There are no words that have been created to fully express the evil that is Mitch McConnell. He hasn't only enabled but he's encouraged the actions of a madman, a sociopath, and a malignant narcissist who has wrecked havoc in this country that I didn't think was possible (including in my worst nightmares).

I've been phone banking for Ossoff and Warnock for the past four weeks. I'm on a budget but I'll be contributing $25 to each of their campaigns on Tuesday. And, I'll start my visualization exercises tomorrow as well - from 6:00-6:15 p.m. (P.S.T.). I'll do this every evening from 12/21/20 - 1/?/21 (? because we don't know when we'll have the results).

When I visualize, I just imagine what I want to happen which means I'll picture both Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock winning the election, them accepting their wins and smiling and waving, and then being sworn in. I did this visualization for Biden/Harris before for several weeks before the election, and I swear to God when they were on the stage that night in Delaware, it was EXACTLY how I pictured it...right down to Kamala wearing that beautiful white pant suit (and I didn't even know what the significance of it was until much later).

[Traildogbob]

58. You Rock upthevibe

A person of action. Visualize, on my friend. That Biden/Harris story is awesome. Like you, on a tight budget, but I will also contribute to both of our candidates. Moscow Mitch needs that swollen with power neck pouch deflated so as to look like an ancient shriveled useless scrotum. Pure greed and evil. Term limits!!!!!!

[Blue Owl]

6. I know in the universe, anything is possible...

However I can't imagine a Democratic leadership crisis scenario ever reaching anything close to this level of complete insanity...

[MineralMan]

8. Between Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham,

The Senate was blocked from taking the only action that could end Donald Trump's Reign of Madness.

Whatever Trump has on those two was apparently enough to keep them from doing their job properly. Perhaps we'll know what dirt he had on them someday. When we find out, we will probably say: "WTF! What weak, ineffectual men!"

[MyOwnPeace]

7. One of my heroes in this whole shameful episode....

is Congressman Adam Schiff.

He TOLD us!

He WARNED us!

And they did not listen......

Lest we forget - the complete closing argument:

https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/adam-schiff-closing-argument-transcript-thursday-impeachment-trial

[MineralMan]

9. Yes. He did a terrific job of laying it all out.

The Republican Senators ignored it all.

[malaise]

10. THIS

He sure warned everyone

[c-rational]

36. +1

[Paper Roses]

39. agree n/t

[spanone]

11. The republican senate did not call one single witness in the impeachment trial. They mocked it.

K&R

Mitch McConnell has a problem with the facts. The Senate majority leader is taking the position that the evidence presented in the House impeachment inquiry is all the Senate needs to decide whether Trump should be removed from office, and that further testimony from witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial is unnecessary. He has announced that he is in “total coordination” with the White House on the matter and says he has the votes to launch proceedings in the Senate without the commitment to hear from any witnesses. Though senators like Susan Collins have indicated they want to hear witness testimony, McConnell argues that for Republicans to allow new evidence would be “mutually assured destruction” for GOP lawmakers in tight races this year.

There’s just one issue with McConnell’s preferred approach. Unless Republican senators want to accept the facts laid out by the House leadership and restrict themselves to the legal question of whether those facts demonstrate impeachable conduct, they’re going to need to call witnesses.

As many have explained, the House impeachment investigation was analogous to a grand jury investigation, with the resulting impeachment vote akin to a decision to indict. Republicans are now acting as if the House proceedings were a full trial—meaning that the Senate is now acting as an appellate court that can only consider the closed record developed below. Sen. Marco Rubio recently tweeted that the “testimony & evidence considered in a Senate impeachment trial should be the same testimony & evidence the House relied upon when they passed the Articles of Impeachment.”

But the text of the Constitution, the Senate’s own powers and the weight of history all demonstrate that this is wrong. The impeachment clauses mandate that the Senate must conduct a trial—and while impeachment proceedings are not exactly a trial as would occur before a court, the principles of both criminal and civil law provide useful guidelines for how the Senate should act to fulfill its constitutional responsibility.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/senate-impeachment-trial-call-witnesses-or-concede-facts

[MineralMan]

12. Exactly! They Had Already Decided Not to Remove Him.

So, they rushed to the vote to do so.

We will remember.

We will never forget!

[orleans]

55. hopefully georgia voters will remember

and know what lies ahead for everyone if they don't get out there and kick some republican ass

[soldierant]

47. And in a way they did us a favor by that.

Had they called witnesses, a great deal more money would have been spent, and the result would have been the same. And in the end, it would not have changed a single vote People who are wilfully blind to that extent stay that way.

[jaxexpat]

48. And no revelation of facts would help Trump or Republican senators.

We shall see just how scarce facts can really get if the Republicans retain a majority in the senate.

Truly a sad state of affairs when the likes of Mitt Romney and some yet unnamed GOP senate ninny could be the last hope standing against the absolute loss of our representative democracy to whatever hell the Republicans have dreamed up. It will require a gigantic in-your-face atrocity, however, because Mitt will always go along quietly with piece-meal dismantling. That's to be expected, normal, like torturing children with neglect and isolation because their parents dared to want a piece of the American pie or drilling for oil in a pristine natural environment because some wealthy group of old men who've ALWAYS gotten their way feel like they need to show their power to any who'd dare challenge their will.

[Mr.Bill]

13. Their names should be carved in stone and placed on the front of the Capitol building.

If I ran a newspaper I would put their names on the front page during elections. It should be in history books that future generations study.

[lame54]

14. You just made Mitch smile

[MineralMan]

20. An evil grin, indeed!

[Seaflorida]

15. Yes, I agree,

They are all to blame

[BlancheSplanchnik]

16. You are damn right.

They are disgusting.

[treestar]

17. You are right

and that is why GA needs to send two D Senators.

[captain queeg]

19. I think about that constantly

Not just not convicting, the way they mocked the entire proceeding and refused to see any evidence just encouraged trumpf further. They made a mockery of our whole "constitutional democracy". Having laws in writing mean nothing when those who are to enforce them do nothing.Makes me sick to think about it.

[MineralMan]

21. It was a very low point in US history, it seems to me.

This period will be recorded, though, as an example of the weakness of our system against deliberate tyranny.

[captain queeg]

37. I hope so. I hope future generations will take the action that is required, and not brush it off

Assuming of course that we survive

[pandr32]

22. Absolutely!

[KPN]

23. BINGO BINGO BINGO

[pamela]

24. They left it up to us.

And then, when we did what they should have done, they continued their cowardly, traitorous ways. They should be thanking us, "the exhausted majority," for saving democracy and for saving their sorry asses but they're too afraid of Trump and the loud minority.

[Polybius]

25. I think Pence would have lost even bigger too

Maybe Biden would have gotten 350 EV's. Also, I think Pence vs. Biden would have helped us down ballot. No way to know though, maybe I'm wrong.

[2naSalit]

26. Such thoughts cross my mind daily...

As in several times a day.

[ffr]

27. K&R

And everyone from the news media to every democrat should be using that same language, SHAME!

[NurseJackie]

29. Thank you. This is an excellent counter to the endless whining about "do-nothing Dems"...

Thank you. This is an excellent counter to the endless whining about "do-nothing Dems"... that pollute this discussion forum. I'm sick and tired of hearing our stalwart Democrats and Democratic leadership being called "corrupt" or "lazy" or "timid" or "scared" or "bought and paid for" or "the same as the GOP" or "coastal-elites" or "one-percenters". It's infuriating to hear these types of attacks, and even worse to see those divisive smears and attacks being defended and excused.

[MineralMan]

30. You're welcome. I, too, am tired of people blaming Democrats

for what the Republicans have done. I wonder at times about the motivations for such statements. Well, I don't really wonder all that much, of course.

[Joinfortmill]

31. Amen to that

[Cha]

32. Thank You for the Reality Check, MM!

[c-rational]

34. Well said and agreed. Unfortunately, the Senate and MSM, has a short memory. During the

impeachment hearings many reThuglican Senators said leave it up to the voters. Well the voters spoke and still they have kept their collective mouths shut. I can only believe most are compromised. Still scratching why a delegation visited Russia several years back on July 4.

[Ohioboy]

35. Absolutely, the proverbial "last straw" should have been long before the election

I never thought America could be done in by a bad president. I thought there were enough safeguards in our system that it would never become a real problem. Trump has changed all that. It doesn't matter how many safeguards are in place if there are enough sycophants willing to give support to the madness. We're lucky the election was the final safety net, but it shouldn't have taken that long. And, are we even out of the woods yet? I hear the mad king is still trying to overturn the results.

[mdbl]

38. I have been saying this since the day the senate voted to acquit trump

of all the charges backed up by mountains of evidence for impeachment.

[Cary]

40. Get ready for Republicans to obstruct and blame Democrats for problems

74 million will accept that. "Both sides do it" will live on.

If we don't push back hard and create consequences their truth decay will persist.

[titanicdave]

41. .......Absolutely Correct.....

.......The.... coward.... gutless.... power-hungry.... bastard....Senate....Republicans.....are.....responsible....for....this....f**king....mess....the.....whole....country....finds....itself....in !!!!

[monkeyman1]

42. republican party

we need to disband the gop { aka - republican communist ☭ party }

[JohnnyRingo]

43. Blame or credit?

I'm not so sure Trump did anything the staunchest republicans opposed. Sure, he said the quiet parts out loud, but that just endeared him all the more to them. You'll not hear the likes of Grover Norquist criticise.

Let's hope no one smarter studied his technique.

[speaknow]

44. The Repubicans are the blame for

Everything that's F-UP!

[Ferrets are Cool]

45. +1

[BadGimp]

46. It's because of the total #GOPsurrender

eom

[bullwinkle428]

49. Shame as well, on the 74 million voters that totally failed to make the connection, and

voted every last one of those enablers (that were up for re-election) back into office.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

50. This looks like a good place for a reminder ...

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dufor2020runoff

A few questions: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=14520874

and answers: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=14520972

[Proud Liberal Dem]

51. I would ask if Susan Collins is losing any sleep over her pronouncements at the end of the trial

but I doubt she is, especially since voters handed her ANOTHER SIX YEARS

[mdbl]

52. I am sure she's concerned

[oasis]

59. History won't be kind to those cowards.

[UCmeNdc]

60. yes! Correct!

[kentuck]

61. Nothing short of criminal.

All of them.

[Turbineguy]

62. That's true.

Trump is Trump.

[northoftheborder]

63. Mineral Man,

You have echoed my exact thoughts all year. The Republicans could have removed him, and surely, even with Pence stepping in, we would not have endured the vilest, meanest, most corrupt and inept administration in history. I will never forget that. I also think they could have colluded together back before the nominating convention in 2016 and put up someone else to run, but suppose that is beyond possibilities considering the players.

[MineralMan]

64. Exactly.

It's too bad they didn't think ahead.

[sarchasm]

65. KnR

[Catch2.2]

66. The Republicans have had a free pass...

for the past 4 years. There needs to be more pressure put on them!