On the Eve of the Trial I Feel I Must Say We Are Better Without a Conviction.

[Tbear]

It hurts me to say. My heart and head wants thedonald to be convicted and imprisoned. He has certainly earned it. And it is NOT about the unity BS being served up.
I feel we may well be better served by allowing trump to continue dividing the GQP. Start a tv station, run again, endorse the Qookanons. Go donnie! If he lives long enough he will blow his party up like pouring gasoline on a pile of burning leaves (it goes WHOOSH! in a big fireball).
The longer they are ineffectively infighting the longer we will have to repair the damage and yes, dammit, build back better.

[FSogol]

1. Completely disagree. Put politics aside and do the right thing. No one should be above the law.

Convict Trump and you prevent future riots from the Hawleys of the world.

[Dorian Gray]

5. Hard agree

Politically it may benefit, but it would be terrible for our country and our society. Convicting is the right thing to do.

[Andy823]

7. Exactly

Set and example to those who may follow in trump's footsteps and pull the same crap he did because "he" got away with so they think they can also.

[HelpImSurrounded]

2. Disagree. He can still do those things after senate conviction

Now if NY convicts him of something that may be a different story

[Dorian Gray]

3. Maybe partisanwise

We (Dems) would be better off, but as a society, we would be much much worse.

So no.

[soothsayer]

4. Hate to give them a green light for bad behavior

I mean really bad and very dangerous behavior.

Conviction would cause a big schism I think— a house divided against itself and all that.

[RainCaster]

6. History will require a conviction

His followers need to have that dead albatross hung on their necks, and that is what a conviction does.

[liberalmuse]

8. Trump will continue to divide, regardless.

It's best if he is barred from ever running again. Even if he is barred, no doubt he will still run again because he truly believes that no laws apply to him, which is understandable since we have so many pathetic people in this country who bow down to anyone they even perceive to have wealth.

[better]

18. He will divide regardless, but moreover, there's a vastly more important benefit of conviction.

Aside from barring him from holding office again, a conviction in the Senate would provide even more ample evidence in favor of a conviction in the criminal case which must, for the survival of democracy, follow the impeachment trial.

What tRump did was not merely a political crime.
It was a high crime against both the nation itself AND the majority of its citizens, and it must be prosecuted as such.

Merely barring Trump from running again is woefully inadequate, and will be absolutely guaranteed to lead to future political martyrdom, if it is not accompanied by criminal prosecution and conviction, followed by the harshest sentence permissible by law.

[lagomorph777]

9. I would say it differently. Trump will not be convicted, but the GQP will convict themselves.

We must exploit their self-conviction without mercy for the next two years.

[Tbear]

10. It's Hard to Imagine

the GQP from not wanting to convict and get rid of this clown for good, but here we are.
I understand the "message" a conviction sends about our democracy, and I agree we need it. I dream of the days when shame was enough to keep our elected officials in line.
My concern is, just like after 9/11, our world has forever changed. There is so much money involved and needed (to win an election) that it has created a win at any cost arena for US politics.
Back to my original point, let the GQP destroy itself so we have time to right this ship.

[Doreen]

11. At this time, I just don't want him to be allowed to run for any office.

Let him divide the repubs on his own time and his and their own cost.

[matt819]

13. Transfer this over to your day-to-day civil or criminal trials

Think about jury deliberations. With a republican acquittal, the message that goes out is if there are factors beyond those presented at trial, it's okay to acquit a person who is very clearly guilty. Using that kind of reasoning, there might never be convictions of mobsters. The kind that the former rudy giuliani got in the 1980s.

Jury: Sure, the guy's guilty, but he has a lot of connected friends, and could do a lot of damage, so let's acquit him.

Jury: Sure, the guy's guilty, but he has a family that loves him and needs him, so let's acquit him.

Jury: Sure, the guy's guilty, but he's funding my campaign, so let's acquit him.

Jury: Sure, the guy's guilty, and if he were black we'd convict him, but he's white, so he's free to go.

Jury: Sure, the guy's guilty, but I really really hate that prosecutor, so let's acquit him.

In this regard, do the lawyers among us know how common (or uncommon) it is for a judge to throw out an obviously misguided and wrong decision?

[Clearly fogged in]

14. Yeah, one of these days the fire ants won't bite you

The deputy that always sees you on this road won't ticket you for speeding.

And there's also this leopard in Florida: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214398394

[ooky]

15. I have no reason to expect these Republican Rogue Party members to convict him.

I just want to see our prosecution nail him for all eternity for everything he did and the lives he costs.

I think a fundamental question we need to raise is how the capitol invaders should be convicted and punished while he is allowed to go Scott free. How does this make any sense?

I've never understood why we can't just go arrest him. He's a private citizen now, one who planned and incited a riot in which lives were lost.

[brush]

16. Absolutely not. You don't get to forment an attempted coup...

without being held accountable. What's to stop the next fascist dictator wannabe?

Hell no.

But after saying that, I don't expect there are 17 republicans with a spine who will step forward and convict.

Enjoy your stay.

[lettucebe]

17. It's going to be interesting -- tRump will try to ruin the repugs no matter how it goes down

and they should know this. He's said he won't run again? Haha, believe that at your own peril repugs. It truly is like Lucy with the football.