The Impeachment trial in the Senate ended Saturday with acquittal for Donald Trump. (Don’t be surprised if he’s already proud of being the only President to be acquitted TWICE.)
The 7 lawyers presenting the House side fell 10 votes short in the Senate. Everyone agrees, including the 43 Senators who voted against Impeachment, that the attack on our Capitol was deplorable, destructive and deadly. One police officer was apparently killed by rioters, and about a hundred were injured. Even Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against impeachment, blasted Trump for his actions (and inaction) on January 6.
It was interesting that a couple of weeks ago in a precursor vote, 44 Republican Senators supported Trump. So, all that was accomplished since then, with millions of dollars spent by lawyers on both sides, was one Senator out of 100 changed his mind. Maybe the House Democrats consider that a success. After all, in a lot of elections if you can get one percent of the voters to change their mind and support your candidate that’s enough to win. Besides, their real goal is to discourage 74 million Trump supporters from voting in 2022 and 2024.
The Democrats paid millions of dollars to gather thirty minutes of incriminating video from around and inside the Capitol. The videos showed the hateful, disgusting behavior and yelling by the well-organized rioters as Representatives and Senators narrowly escaped. (Trump’s lawyers countered by showing video of the destructive riots last summer in Seattle, Minneapolis and near the White House.)
Does Speaker Pelosi share some blame with Trump? Before Trump finished his speech, rioters had broken through the insufficient barriers, barged past the out-manned police, and into the Capitol. The Democrat lawyers gave proof that the FBI and the Capitol Police Chief knew about the planning for the attack days before Jan. 6. The Chief reports to Speaker Pelosi. Why didn’t she order a few thousand reinforcements, including armed National Guard troops, ahead of Jan. 6? Who would ever imagine that 3-foot high “bike rack” barriers, hastily positioned, would hold back a few hundred organized protesters?
Another fair question: suppose the FBI had informed President Trump. What would have been the reaction if he had ordered 5000 military to surround the Capitol Jan. 6? Would Speaker Pelosi have called them storm-troopers? The Democrats and most of the media would have howled, but not one rioter would have gotten past them.
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was Feb. 12. He’s been dead since 1865, but I bet he’s embarrassed and disgusted at the fraudulent use of his name for a multi million-dollar project aimed at defeating Republicans in 2020. Honest Abe put Republicans in power in 1860, just six years after the Party was founded. But now we learn the men in charge of the Lincoln Project were crooks. They raised almost a hundred million dollars yet only spent a fraction of it on political ads. Several million wound up in the bank accounts of a few men who organized the group. They were frequent guests on television where they spread lies before the election. For years, one was known as a sexual predator.
President Biden announced that he wants half our schools to be open one day a week by May. That was a surprise to the two-thirds of schools which are already open two to five days a week. But teachers’ unions in Chicago and San Francisco still insist they are more likely to get Covid from students than from grocery shopping or hanging out at Home Depot.
At least the years of hatred toward Trump calmed down a little just in time for a day of Love. Yes, today is Valentine’s Day.
And Mardi Gras is Tuesday. In Louisiana they know how to lighten up. A popular saying in the French Quarter is “Laissez les bons temps rouler,” which means “Let the good times roll.” That might be a good idea for all of us.
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
“You know, there ought to be some kind of a star given to any woman that can live with a comedian. Now, that little compliment ought to repay for the flowers that I forgot to get today.” Radio, May 11, 1930