Republican Senators aren't beholden to their base -- they'll acquit Trump because they agree with him

[marmar]

Republican Senators aren't beholden to their base — they'll acquit Trump because they agree with him
Republicans who claim they want to "move on" are lying, since the best way to do that is bar Trump from running

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
FEBRUARY 8, 2021 5:59PM


(Salon) 'Tis the night before his second impeachment trial, and all through the Senate, cowardly Republicans are still grasping for some way to let Donald Trump off the hook while not looking complicit in his attempt to violently overthrow the government by sending a fascist crowd to storm the Capitol. (Hint: It's impossible.) So Republicans are reaching for their most potent weapon in the battle to convince the D.C. cocktail party circuit that they're still respectable statesmen: the welcoming arms of Politico, the beltway media outlet always willing to lend a sympathetic ear to pathetic excuses and amplify the silliest of GOP spin in the name of neutrality.

"Where Democrats and Republicans agree on Trump," read a Monday morning headline at Politico. "Both parties want to be rid of him. They just differ on the means."

Even without reading the full piece, one can tell this is hoary nonsense, as even the conventional wisdom holds that Republicans always make it a point to disagree with Democrats, even on basic questions of fact. "Always be 'triggering' the liberals" has eclipsed any actual ideology as their main organizing principle. Still, we here at Salon buck the trends popularized by social media and make a point to actually read an article we deign to comment on. In this case, however, it does not improve the situation.

....(snip)....

But they do not actually want to move past Trump. We know this for a very simple reason: Senate Republicans refuse to do the one thing that would put Trump in the rearview mirror, which is to convict him in the upcoming impeachment trial. Convicting Trump would bar him from ever running for office again. That's as close to a clean slate as Republicans will ever get, even though they don't deserve it. Taking away that ability from Trump de-fangs him. Without the threat of running for office, he can't make good on his threat to start a third party — or won't, as Trump doesn't do anything that isn't centered on himself and his ego. Without the ability to run for office, the playing field opens up for all those other Republicans with dreams of running for president in 2024.

....(snip)....

Don't let Senate Republicans fool you with these pantomimes of powerlessness in the face of the almighty "base." They have the power to turn Trump's already dimming light completely off. The man isn't a wizard. He's not even a successful businessman. His coup failed. He is on the precipice of total irrelevance, and only needs the gentlest of pushes to fall into the abyss, reduced to shilling fake cancer cures on his email list. ............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/02/08/republican-senators-arent-beholden-to-their-base--theyll-acquit-trump-because-they-agree-with-him/

[lindysalsagal]

1. ...or, possibly, they never had their own opinion to begin with...

[Squinch]

2. RepubliQan Senators actually despise their base.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. Too many agree with Trump is the problem.

They have allowed him to take charge of the party and them.

No matter the bad he has done, Trump Isa hero to them.

[onecaliberal]

4. In reality they despise the stupid who keep them in office.

Their dear leader is a Russian asset. Trump and republicans have done nothing to help America. They sat idly by while the murderous troll killed 450,000 people.

[poli-junkie]

5. Republicans want a Putin-style kleptocratic autocracy for the US.

Question is: Will they eventually be able to do this?

[sop]

6. They've seen what happened to House Republicans from Trump districts who voted to impeach.

GOP Senators only care about re-election. Their donors don't care about honor or virtue, only maximizing return on their investment. And any position that could result in a primary challenge is avoided like the plague.

[North Shore Chicago]

7. Let's hope

they cannibalize one another.

[crickets]

8. Excellent article, but it skips two of the underpinnings of Repub cowardice.

Two big reasons why some Repub senators won't vote to convict:

1. the kompromat

2. the money

Many of them have big, big secrets to hide, secrets that might be revealed in retaliation for any vote to convict. They also receive oodles of money from some sources they would rather not have come under great scrutiny, sources that would dry up in a heartbeat if they rock the boat.

Those are two reasons that loom much larger than the 'base' of trump voters or even their own sordid bigotries.