You have probably seen the seemingly endless news coverage on the second impeachment of Donald Trump this past week. Many Americans sitting at home might be wondering why our government was going through with a hearing of which most people could predict the verdict before it had even started. Before Nancy Pelosi even handed over the articles of impeachment to the senate, most people knew that most republicans would not vote to convict former president Trump. This fact played into the delay in the handing of the Impeachment articles to the senate. Many Republicans argued that it would only work to further divide our nation, while Democrats argued that it needed to be done to simply set a precedent. If we delve deeper into the reason Republicans fought it so hard, it becomes evident that some of the people who stormed the capitol on January 6th are a part of their voter base, and if they voted against Donald Trump they can kiss hopes of ever being reelected goodbye. If we knew that this is likely how the hearing would play out, why is it necessary to take the time in the senate away from President Biden’s agenda.
Many democrats argue that it is simply to set a precedent, that if they don’t move forward with impeachment then who knows what the “next guy” might do. Mitch Mconnels closing argument stuck with me. He essentially said that Donald Trump was guilty and should be blamed for the capitol riot. However, he voted “not guilty”, most likely to not go against his party. This makes just about as much sense as American Politics. If the same trial was presented but had been a blind vote, it is very likely that the result would have been very different. Donald Trump’s attorney’s argument was that a person who was not a sitting president could not be impeached based on the language of the Constitution. So Mconnel voted with that. If you take a moment to consider that Trump’s argument was simply that a person who was not sitting president could not be impeached, it really says something that his argument was not that he was not guilty of causing the insurrection at the capitol. As for Mr.Trump, he is no longer president. It is highly unlikely that he would be prosecuted as a private citizen. Our new president takes morning walks with his wife around the white house grounds with their dog and refuses to tell reporters what he got for Jill for valentines. Our new president is fighting to reopen schools and control the spiraling pandemic wreaking havoc on our nation. Our future is brighter than our past. I believe as a nation we need to close this chapter and move on.