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Tuesday, February 9, 2021

UPDATED: Now That Faux Impeachment Is Over ...

Well it is over, right? It was over once Rand Paul forced a vote, and today's vote confirms the one thing necessary: There's no way that the 44 senators who (correctly and righteously) voted that this proceeding is an unconstitutional farce will then somehow vote to convict. Not gonna happen, never was gonna happen. Meanwhile, Trump remains as popular as ever.

Which brings us to the really interesting question: What's next?

CTH has a very good post on this topic. Sundance starts out by hitting on the fact that the Left--in this case, Politico--is slowly coming to the realization that Trump really is teflon coated. The faux impeachment will only harden the resolve of Trump's 75 million supporters. Can the Dems say that about Zhou Baiden or anyone else they care to bring forward? The spectacle of a political show trial in a capital city under military occupation to protect the coupsters will ultimately not be lost on Americans.

So, again: What's next?

Sundance focuses on the possibility of a third party, noting that "Trump’s MAGA army is the ultimate political splitter party." How so? Here's how:


The MAGA coalition [75 million strong] is the most diverse, widest and deepest part of the entire American electorate. President Trump’s army consists of every creed, color, race, gender, ethnicity and orientation. It is a truly color-blind coalition of middle America patriots and middle-class voters that cuts through the political special interest groups.


Or, to put it another way, this not a John Anderson or Ross Perot or even a George 'Curly' Wallace or Strom Thurmond. This is not a Libertarian or Green type party we're talking about. If anything, it's more along the lines of a Bull Moose party, but even that doesn't truly equate with the Trump phenomenon. Not only is Trump a successful president with a devoted following, but he has the advantage of being the acknowledged leader of the Republican party. We know that from the Senate vote: 44-6. And the House vote was even more lopsided.

Here's how I see this. Obviously only time will tell us how Trump proceeds. However, it's important to bear in mind that, even if Trump forms a third party, that doesn't mean he will need to excommunicate all Republicans. He can pick and choose the candidates he endorses. Be the kingmaker, including in the Republican party. What Republican candidate running for office will prefer McConnell's endorsement to Trump's? To even ask the question shows how ridiculous the entire notion is.

The bottom line is that Trump has options, the possibility for a flexible approach that could be utterly unprecedented. Here's how sundance ends his own speculations:


There is no reference point for 75 million Americans being disenfranchised by Wall Street, bribery, corporations, media and big tech. That 75 million person army is fuel for a stunning and cataclysmic shift in the American landscape.


UPDATE 1:



Problem: The Dems spent four years with wall to wall media support tarring Trump voters as totally beyond the pale and trying to "shame, blackball & cancel" them. Result? Trump got more votes than any presidential candidate in history. Doesn't sound like a winning strategy--to try to accomplish in a few days what they were unable to accomplish in four years.

UPDATE 2:




57 comments:

  1. Like you, I've seen the criticisms of Trump's lawyers. But the reality is, duh, this is about politics, not the law or the constitution. GOP senators understand polls better than you or I do--I guarantee you that. They will not commit political suicide just because some wise ass legal analyst says the Trump opening statements were unorganized.

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  2. The Trump lawyers could have recited nursery rhymes and it would have made no difference. Those senators minds snapped shut long ago.

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  3. At this point there is nothing that Schumer or any other Democrat politician could say...literally about anything...that I will listen to, let alone believe. Nothing. They have no credibility.

    Accordingly, I can think of no reason to watch this proceeding.

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    1. I agree. It is astonishing that at this point in my life, I must filter everything I hear from the media and politicians. I absolutely hate watching the news nowadays, but my wife likes to watch. As I watch, the level of propaganda, choice of words and phrases, the subject matter... it is all like watching some kinda of lousy reality show. I just find it confusing how a anyone can buy into this stuff... but they do. At least the typical Biden voter does.
      I do reevaluate myself on occasion; asking myself if I am the one being duped. Good Lord, if I am... please keep me here because the other side makes absolutely no sense to me and I want no part of it.

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    2. @Unknown
      "...but my wife likes to watch."

      Funny you should mention that. I'm just about done with the 'news', even the Fox/newsmax versions. My wife is not. Her anger at the Dems is unlimited. We have compromised...we watch Bongino and Tucker daily together, but even that's almost too much for me. I've been advocating for changing the channel to the NHL...but so far no luck...

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    3. I cut the cable cord five years ago. I get all my news from aggregators and bloggers. Based on debates with both lefties and righties, I'm damn sure that I'm better informed than all but the most addicted news junkies. Now, when I forced to consume regular 'news,' it's like running Drano through my alimentary canal. It's all about vetting your sources.

      Delete
  4. Trumps target audience is the electorate.

    As is the Democrats and eGOP. Their goal is to destroy Trumpism.

    Trumps goal is to discredit his opponents.

    In my district, a new Representative, former congressional aid, miscalculated and voted to censure Trump. On next door I’m picking up she will be a one term representative.

    What’s interesting is she has been around the block politically, and made a stand that was commit political suicide. Talk about miscalculation!

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    1. Ray - Socal Ms Kim is (was) my representative. She represents all of Yorba Linda which is deemed to be the most conservative city in Orange County and by far voted for Trump. I'd say more than miscalculation!

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  5. 1. So Trump weighs in and primaries the republican candiates.

    2. As more states get flipped, they fix the election laws and remove Dominion machines, as in Texas.

    3. Trump wins 2024 in a landslide.

    Is that the game plan?

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    1. Unless a new (imported) electorate insures, that TX etc. will be using Dominion machines.

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  6. Bill to legitimize election fraud?

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17031/hr1-chaotic-elections

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  7. Is the election over? The Supreme Court still has cases to be heard, revelations keep coming out and DJT is strangely silent.

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  8. I think that President Trump is missing an opportunity in the impeachment. I would like to see his attorneys use the proceedings to demonstrate that the overwhelming number of attendees at the rally were peaceful throughout the process and that there are serious questions regarding whether there were anti-Trump instigators in the crowd that entered the Capitol building. Trump's supporters have been virtually tarred and feathered by a compliant media and Shampeachment II offers Trump an opportunity to undo some of that damage. Removing that stigma would provide important moral support for his supporters. Sadly, I'm not sure anyone on his team has thought of that. Andy S.

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    1. What happened yesterday was not at all what we assured was going to happen. Yes, this should be a huge opportunity.

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    2. The huge opportunity is they are accusing DJT of casting doubt on the integrity of the election.

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    3. The democRATS are sure acting like guilty people.


      Rob S

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  9. The faux impeachment for the faux insurrection, and the faux election of the faux President, and the faux concern with "violence" and the faux concern with speech that is "violent" and the faux pandemic, and the faux impeachment for the faux quid pro quo and the special counsel for the faux ties to rrrrrrrussia and the faux Operations in the faux DOJ/FBI and the faux prosecution of Gen Flynn for the faux violation of the frivolous statute and faux court "proceedings" and the faux conviction of Papadopolous and the Faux FISA warrants and the Faux IG reports of the Faux IG investigations and the Faux Senate hearings and the faux house committee hearings and the great big slathering of faux news and faux coverage of world events on top of it all signals but one thing to everyone with a brain in their head and eyes to see --- Its about the money/power: there are "trillions at stake" and those in power don't want those out of power getting their grubby hands on the money. Once they realize that for many a Trump supporter, it really isn't about the money, then that is going to be a very scary day for them. Perhaps the panic we have witnessed over the last 4+ years is a sign that it is beginning to dawn in their awareness. Without a sliver of a doubt in my mind I know that Trump knows this. I know that Trump understood the power in this intuitively or otherwise before he came down the escalator and through this understanding he was able to plug in intravenously to his base and grow it and reinforce the bond and good look separating them. Good luck.

    Mark A

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    1. @Mark A

      +1

      I couldn't agree more. Here are some rambling reactions.

      In particular, you say, quite correctly, I submit:

      "Its about the money/power: there are "trillions at stake" and those in power don't want those out of power getting their grubby hands on the money. Once they realize that for many a Trump supporter, it really isn't about the money, then that is going to be a very scary day for them."

      I think its hard to generalize about what motivates a wide range of Trump supporters, but I agree with you that for many, including me, its not really about money and power.

      For me, at center, it is more about the breakdown of (and the need to rebuild) the family and the community, and the replacement of a family-centric society with elite institutions, lonely and impersonal megalopolises, enormous governments and mountains of regulations.

      I want nothing to do with any of Washington, D.C., Harvard and Yale, Bank of America, the NFL, The New York Times, Hollywood, CNN, or Facebook. Nothing. I don't want to work there and I don't want to live there. Its not just that I don't agree with them. Now, I want nothing to do with them.

      I am not much of a religious scholar at all. But I wonder if the Puritan separatists who parted ways with the establishment Church of England in the early 17th Century did not also reach the point where I'm at. There was no longer any reason to try to share power or parse beliefs within the church, not did it make sense to even live together. The Pilgrims, in particular, formed separate communities in England, and then some migrated to Holland, before leaving 'home' altogether and founding new and separate communities thousands of miles away...in North America.

      I want to participate in the lives of my children and grandchildren (and my friends and neighbors) and not the lives of LeBron James or the Kardashians. Or of any Biden or Harris. I have no interest in the dominant celebrity culture of the 21st Century. I could care less what Hunter Biden or Harvey Weinstein was up to as long as they stay far away from me.

      I don't care what Maxine Waters or Adam Schiff or Nancy Pelosi says about people who feel the way I do. They can call me a white nationalist or a systemic racist or a homophobe or a misogynist. We might as well live on different planets. I no longer even listen.

      I live in a small town. I will support local and small businesses in order to create safe and secure communities with employment for all. I will support local schools and local churches.

      I'll finish by remarking that I don't even really like going to church anymore. The culture wars have pervaded the churches and the ministries are politicized. Sermons often sound like NYT editorials. Community spirit has been replaced by political wokeness and judgment-passing.

      I really don't much like this 'place' we're at anymore.

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    2. Problem: They're not going to leave you, your family, your children, your grandchildren, your local businesses, your friends, your neighbors alone. They won't leave your local churches alone, either, for that matter. They'll find you and your small town.

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    3. Cass, you are not at all alone. My church - the church of which I’d been a member since teenhood - left me (to use Ronald Reagan’s words about the Democrat Party when he said he didn’t leave it)… It became a political body that no longer focused on the Bible, the Word. And its members were MIA when our family needed them most - not financially, but just for Christian support.

      So here we are. I believe those of us who think alike share a bond. Call us Deplorables or whatever. It doesn’t matter. We are sturdier in ourselves than the Others believe we are. We have core values, instilled in us since childhood, that are our blessing and give us strength.

      I have been pretty depressed since the election and yesterday was a really nasty day. It will get worse. But this is not the first time and this will not be the worst we have ever gone through. I remember what an elderly Brit widow said to me when asked how she got through some tough times: “I just pulled up my socks and kept going…” Simplistic? Yes. But I’ve never forgotten Mary’s words, so they were pretty profound as well.

      The flip side of feeling lost and helpless is that we realize we are the only ones who can “pull up our socks” and keep moving. With prayer, of course. And the company of those who share our values.

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    4. @Mark W

      My small town is very much on their radar so I have no illusions. Which raises the endgame question.

      I know what Tom S and Mouse and others think. I'm not there yet.

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    5. @Bebe
      You wrote: “I just pulled up my socks and kept going…”

      Part and parcel of my preference for a family-centric society is a belief in individual freedoms...and responsibilities.

      I don't want to be dependent on the government. I prefer to place my bets and take my chances.

      Step by step.

      Hope that makes some sense...

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    6. @Cassander

      You are not alone, many "brothers and sisters" are by your side and have your back.

      0311

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    7. Assuming it's all over, and I'm not ready to concede as long as DJT has some fight left in him, the silver lining is that the 'proles' in '1984' were pretty much left alone. Sure, "They're not going to leave you, your family, your children, your grandchildren, your local businesses, your friends, your neighbors alone," but there is a limit to what they can do, especially as they are stupid. Just stay under the radar, and you might ask what your Country can do for you as you contribute as little as possible, reserving your generosity for your family, friends and neighbors.

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    8. I went through the "I just want to be left alone" phase quite a while ago. Mark is right: they will not leave you alone--because they CANNOT leave you alone. It is the most evangelical secular religion imaginable. Their entire raison d'etre is to convert or destroy.

      We on the right had damn well better be discussing ways to go on the offensive. I would suggest starting by using their own tactics against them. Nationwide boycotts of advertisers, left-leaning organizations, strikes, outing, and doxing. Making lists of Biden voters and refusing to do business with them on that basis--and let them know why. "Oh, you are a realtor who would like 2.5% of my $1M home sale? Sorry, you are a Biden supporter. I'm not listing my home with you and giving you a $25K payday."

      Fire with fire, folks. If you have too many compunctions, too much rectitude to do battle with our implacable enemy (not political opponent-->enemy), then your complaints about our country going down the drain are pointless. First class thinking requires identifying problems, proposing solutions, and making actionable plans. Like this:

      https://www.theburningplatform.com/2021/02/08/a-strange-game-part-two/

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  10. This is the result of the GOP leadership in DC not coalescing around their president.

    The vast majority of Republicans have supported Trump and you are seeing it in the state parties censuring those who voted for impeachment, but there are still enough Republicans who are truly deluded to think a Bush type Republican will get you much of anything.

    Trump was a registered Democrat who thrived in a Democrat state with all that entails. Trump came to the game with the Democrat toughness and wherewithal, ie fire in the belly. He fought exactly like a Democrat.

    We long ago stopped being a democracy and have become a fascist country. Fascism has more in common with communism/socialism than democratic republicanism.

    The GOP will not be relevant if they continue this way. Trump showed them how to win. The leadership refuses to learn. The voters who keep these people in power are to blame.

    Yes, I was one of those voters not long ago.

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    1. And yet most of the state GOP pols rolled over, too, and took only perfunctory measures to help Trump. They held some hearings and then were unable to marshal the votes to disapprove of the official elector slate. It was all theater. I'm pretty sure it's even easier to bribe state level pols than federal level (fewer people watching). Given that the GOP controlled the majority of legislatures in the states, ask yourself why not one of them was able to stop the certification of the fraudulent elector slates? This despite their own election control statutes having been violated by un-elected election bureaucrats, Secretaries of State, and courts? Some guesses 1) they got paid off 2) they and their families got threatened 3) they are even more feckless than we thought 4) they are actually tranny-Republican sleepers 5) some combination of the above.

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    2. Most people's self-respect is weaker than their fear of being different from the crowd. Just look at all the people wearing masks because they've been told to wear masks.
      It takes a Trump-ish (or Reagan-ish) personality to lead people in the direction they may prefer.
      Be ready for the attacks from Democrat media when Trump reasserts the truth of the fraud. Be ready to respond to the lies. And respond we must.

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    3. @PD QuigFebruary 11, 2021 at 8:47 AM

      I (obviously) have no inside information about how the rollover went down, but I've been watching the public actions of Barr, McConnell, Roberts, Cheney, Romney, Kemp/Raffensberger, and Cassidy, and it sure looks more likely than not that the eGOP (Establishment) compared notes and decided to bet that they could partner up with the Dems for the limited purpose of killing Trump dead and burying him. Once having accomplished this, they must believe, they could go back to being junior partners in the two-party system, acquiescing in our leftward drift but applying a little inconsequential tail drag now and then.

      In this scenario, the eGOP assumes that Trump is a one-off personality and if taken care of we'll be back to business as usual. The Unions, the Chamber of Commerce, the Defense Industry, the Neocons, and the China Lobby will all be much relieved. And the Mainstream Media, Hollywood, Big Tech, the Ivy League, Lawfare, and the Democrat Donor Class can all declare victory...for the time being.

      I think it will turn out that the eGOP still don't understand the anger and principle of We The People behind Donald Trump and that they have made a losing bet.

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  11. As a lifetime history buff, I've forgotten more history than most people have ever known...and, ay, there's the rub - I've forgotten more history, sigh

    Along those lines, here's a great article (and my apologies if it has already been posted and discussed):

    https://andmagazine.com/talk/2021/02/09/killing-the-republic-trump-as-tiberius-gracchus/

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    1. Yes, very nice indeed.

      I walked the streets of the University of North Texas to get signatures so Ross Perot could be on the Texas presidential ballot. Yes, this helped get Clinton elected by splintering the Republican vote, but even then I saw how HW Bush threw away the Reagan legacy.

      I had considered myself, just prior, a liberal and Democrat, but noticed that they were just for political power and their modern day stances reflected that. Yeah, history did not begin in 1964.

      I then voted for Republicans exclusively, hoping, in vain, that would take up their historical mantel, but they refused.

      I believe, and I think this may be contra to Mark, that the religious right along with the the libertarian portion and globalists, coupled with the neo-conservatives, did more damage to the GOP than I did with supporting populists like Ross Perot and Trump.

      I further believe that the Enlightenment gave us our great country and that the classically liberal position as evidenced by our Constitution and the private correspondence of our Founders recognized that a God or creator and subsequent morality was fused into the same.

      Yes, this reply is all over the map, but we did not get to this point in a vacuum.

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    2. My first degree was History. I am just about finished with Anthony Everitt "Cicero" which is the aftermath of Tiberius Gracchus. We do live in interesting times. But I am an optimist. I will fight. I will not keep my head down and hope they don't notice me. I keep the Niemoller poem in mind.

      First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a socialist.

      Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a trade unionist.

      Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
      Because I was not a Jew.

      Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

      Spartacus

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    3. Quite good stuff, TD.
      My view is, to blame the libertarians less than the religious right, and them less than the globalists and neo-conservatives.

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  12. An article criticizing Trump`s failures at consolidating power, and his (and Conservatives generally) own-goals.

    I guess we`re just not mean enough.

    https://www.steynonline.com/11046/tal-bachman-a-quick-post-mortem

    Frank

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    1. Tai Bachman is a Canadian singer-musician-songwriter. Obviously a friend of Steyn. but is he now a pundit as well? Struggling to see this as more than his personal opinion.

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    2. While Bachman makes some legitimate points, mostly re appointments, he's also rather one sided. We all know Trump was betrayed by his appointees--not all, but many. OTOH, the blame game is more complicated than Bachman makes out, because of 1) the opposition Trump faced in making and replacing appointments, and 2) not all appointees were at the same level of opposition to Trump, and finally 3) the difficulty in finding experienced actors who would reliably be on his side. As an outsider, Trump needed advice and sought it from people who should also be held responsible--Chris Christie, for instance. Should Trump have trusted Christie's opinions? In retrospect, no, but who could have said at the time that Trump was wrong to consult with Christie? I'm sure there are other examples. It's just not so simple.

      Bachman also appears to take Byrne at face value in all respects. Is that warranted? I don't think Bachman can be any more sure than we are. Bachman also hurts his own credibility by referring to Cipollone as Trump's "personal lawyer"--which he wasn't. WH Counsel is not the president's personal lawyer and his legal advice focuses on institutional issues relating to the presidency as an office, not on personal political matters pertaining to the president. It may seem a subtle distinction, but it's very real and important.

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    3. Not just Chris Christie recommendations, but those from Condi Rice - John Mattis and McMasters (two who turned out to be traitorous toward Trump) and possibly John Kelly (ditto). Reince Preibus undoubtedly recommended a few during his stint as Chief of Staff. Not a Trump loyalist among the recommenders. Then some may be appointed who simply do not work out. President Trump was far different than the other wishy-washy Republicans of recent administrations. The bar needed to be pretty high. His being an outsider was good news for us but bad news when it came to appointments. I view the opinions of a person like Bachman as negligible. Not at all interesting. I’ve seen better ones from commenters here.

      Bachman looking for a new gig? Political commentary on the United States is a loser for him. How about hanging closer to home? - Canada is rife with political problems...

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    4. I find it useful to listen to the foreign perspective. Just like when I realized my car was stuck in a ditch and of course I concluded it was the road's fault - going to get the opinion of an Alanon group or a therapist was far more valuable than talking to my friends about it.

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    5. I see very little to disagree with in the Bachman piece. His errors are minor (misidentifying Cipolone). His main points are undeniable. Most importantly, where was the effort to counter Marc Elias' 240 lawsuits aimed at degrading election process controls? Why didn't he gather a REAL team of virology / epidemiology experts to advise him (add Ioannidis and Bhatacharya to counter Fauci and Brix)? His Covid and election fraud responses were clearly the two most consequential failures contributing to his loss. And again, both of those failures were personnel-related.

      Forget the mean tweets and trusting the wrong people's recommendations. Had he just been able to fire failed people faster he would very likely still be president. Good Christ: Christopher Wray is still Director of the FBI.

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    6. Taking the Lord's name in vain is not acceptable here. I won't warn you again.

      Delete
  13. My question is who is the National Guard and barricades and razor wire really for? The right has really been.... sheep-like or perhaps just plain docile. The true believers far leftest are the wild cards. They are not getting the Stalinist utopia they were promised. Swamp is for swamp not ideals. I wonder if the wire is really to keep them at bay. Perhaps their hold on power is not so powerful. Sure would screw up the works if those who must not be named sicced the rabid left onto the swamp dwellers.

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  14. If this is true, the GOP is done as a politically viable party. I am inclined to believe due to the past 5 years.

    https://redstate.com/mike_miller/2021/02/10/report-mcconnell-telling-republican-senators-an-impeachment-vote-to-convict-trump-is-a-matter-of-conscience-n324598

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    1. Actually, I don't see this as changing anything at all. Nothing McConnell says or doesn't say will change any senator's vote to vote against Trump--no senator would be so foolish as to run a campaign based on, 'I voted the way Mitch wanted me to.' Tensions and divisions within the GOP will remain the same now as before the alleged statement and will need to be worked out following the usual dynamics of politics.

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    2. I’m not sure that’s the overt position, though.

      What it appears to me is that McConnell is giving the green light for any Republican to vote whatever they feel with the implication being that voting against Trump, conviction, is fine with him. That has major implications as a party going forward. I am not convinced that the GOP in the Senate are as unified as the House.

      If what you say is true, all McD is doing is giving cover to possibly win another day. Fine.

      But where the hell where they prior!?!

      That’s been my rub all along.

      They wanted power, they got it in Trump, Yet, they opposed and used Trump, so their play for further power today is weak and disingenuous.

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    3. "it appears to me is that McConnell is giving the green light for any Republican to vote whatever they feel"

      I don't think anything at all has changed since the vote that Rand Paul instigated. For purely political reasons the votes for and against Trump have always been pretty much as they shook out then as well as yesterday.

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    4. In fact, the earlier vote was seen as a rebuke of McConnell's anti-Trump position. Senators will continue to vote their political interests as they view them, and the vote will like remain essentially the same.

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    5. Right.

      For example, I would have thought that Susan Collins' calculus is that she picks up more independent and moderate Dem support voting for the constitutionality of the proceedings than she loses among the Trump wing, especially where her vote is entirely theoretical and has no practical effect.

      If her vote mattered, as it did in the Kavanaugh hearing, it might well be different.

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    6. Except for those who voted yesterday as everyone expected, what would someone like Cassidy hope to gain. His excuse for voting with the Dems? That their House managers made a more coherent case. Has he no knowledge of his own about what happened on January 6? Unless he is planning to retire and go back to medicine, what does this position do for him?

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    7. @Bebe

      The short, and honest answer, is that I don't know. I would have thought that Cassidy is safe in Red Louisiana...

      But cf. Dem Gov. John Bel Edwards who got 51% of the vote in 2019...

      Also...

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7b-HT3DLh0&t=1427s

      In this interesting Epoch Times interview with Victor Davis Hanson, VDH entertainingly describes the phenomenon of 'Woke Insurance', which Never Trumpers and Squishes 'purchase' so that the Mob will pass them by when the judgment day comes. Cassidy will be able to say when he is confronted by the Mob that he stood up against Trump and the Insurrection and perhaps they will leave him alone and move on to Cruz, or Hawley, or Rand Paul or Cotton or some other target.

      I think this is the same cowardly self-preservation instinct that we see manifested by many nominal conservatives. See John Roberts, Mitt Romney, Brit Hume and Andy McCarthy...and perhaps Bill Barr. At the end of the day its not clear (Cassidy may be calculating) that the Deep State and the Uniparty aren't going to be the winners...whether for the time being or for a long time...and Cassidy may be hedging his bets with a little Woke Insurance policy.

      Of course, it goes almost without saying, this is despicable.

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    8. The Unreliables like Roberts, McCarthy, Hume, Romney et al have made themselves pretty obvious. (If “legal expert” McCarthy had dragged his foot any longer on the FBI plot and the Russia hoax, it would have fallen off. ) If recognized as being squishes who try to play both sides of the street, do what squishes do, their potential for doing harm should be diminished. I wrote all of them off some time ago. Now I’ve added Cassidy to their list.

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  15. Cassidy as McConnell's cats paw could be a test of the political wind, using the excuse of poor defense attorneys for his vote.

    He’s not up for re-election for 6 years.

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  16. While everyone is concentrating on the Republicans, what does it say about the future of Manchin? With President * killing off fossil fuel jobs, Manchin voting to proceed with impeaching Trump seems crazy. I'll be glad when this sleezy dude just an * too...

    DJL

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  17. Hmm... I wonder.

    Senator Shelby just announced he would retire.

    Why the announcement now?

    Seems like a lot of GOPe Senators announcing retirement recently.

    May be because they are about to commit political suicide by voting against Trump?

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  18. Seventeen Republicans will have to vote to convict former President Trump in a kangaroo court that is not even constitutional. Seventeen Republicans, staring at 75 million Trump voters, jumping off a cliff together to please Mitch or to - for some reason - teach Trump a lesson? Seriously?

    We didn’t see any of those retiring Republicans jump in on the jurisdiction vote.

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  19. I think McConnell is in an echo chamber of he knows he has the votes if it was a secret ballot to convict Trump, and he keeps testing the wind to see if he can safely impeach Trump.

    Cassidy was the latest test, and I think the blowback surprised the eGOP.

    I’m still surprised they key Cheney in the gop leadership. That shows how much the eGOP cares about their voters wishes.

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  20. Everyone here thinks this faux impeachment is a joke. Well, it is a joke. But I don't trust these swamp creatures. I can't say if there are 17 GOPe hitchhikers, but the little I'm reading about DJT's defense team tells me that if there is a way they can boot this case, they're working overtime on it. I don't like assuming things are in the bank. We thought that about BarrStool.

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