Impeachment

[RoseMorninStar]

Wonder why he voted yes on abuse of power but not on obstruction.

I wondered this too.. he refrained from voting on that at all, didn't he? It would be my (very uneducated) guess that Romney considered the abuse of power THE bridge too far and wanted to make the strongest statement possible rather than having it 'watered down' with everything else.

[elengil]

No, he voted no on obstruction but yest on abuse of power
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... sults.html

[River]

Trump's people are releasing some nasty ads. This sort of proves out the rumors that the GOP Senators were under threat to acquit or see their heads on pikes. The GOP pearl-clutching over the public statements about those rumors looks kind of cute now that one of their number voted his conscience and is now, with POTUS in the lead, getting publicly pilloried for it.

[elengil]

Trump's people are releasing some nasty ads. This sort of proves out the rumors that the GOP Senators were under threat to acquit or see their heads on pikes. The GOP pearl-clutching over the public statements about those rumors looks kind of cute now that one of their number voted his conscience and is now, with POTUS in the lead, getting publicly pilloried for it.

Yep. Kinda like... oh, you didn't like the rumor? Why are you working so hard to confirm it then!?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Trump, Jr. and others have called for Romney to be "expelled" from the Republican Party. To their credit, several GOP senators, even including McConnell, have come to his defense.

[Alatar]

Anyone mind a little humour in the thread?

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2020/ ... ty-people/

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That article seems to edge some place between humor and simple truth.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'd like to see someone ask Susan Collins whether she still thinks Trump has learned his lesson after hearing him talk today.

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[elengil]

I'd like to see someone ask Susan Collins whether she still thinks Trump has learned his lesson after hearing him talk today.

I'm still not sure what lesson she thought he would learn other than "you can do whatever you want and we'll let you get away with it." In which case, she was right, he did learn a very powerful lesson. Sadly.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

She can ponder the question at her leisure next year, after the Mainiacs vote her out of office in November.

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[elengil]

She can ponder the question at her leisure next year, after the Mainiacs vote her out of office in November.

I'm not that optimistic.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

There's plenty of things that I am not optimistic about. That one I am.

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[Frelga]

If you want to support the Democrat challenging Collins, you can do it at https://saragideon.com

[River]

Collins wasn't the only one bleating about Trump learning a lesson from all this. I suspect it was something White House aides were spewing to bring GOP Senators into line. I wonder if the ones who bought it were willfully blind or just optimistic to the point of being foolish. Trump likes to project a weak person's idea of strength and that performace doesn't allow for apologies, contrition, or learning.

[RoseMorninStar]

I have wanted to see it as optimistic (same for Trump's followers) but I now believe it has to be willful blindness. They've made a deal (I won't say 'with the devil') but with someone who is unscrupulous and lacking in honor and honesty and they are fine with the deal they've made knowing it lacks honor and honesty.

[elengil]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/politics ... index.html

A truly sickening compilation of some of his worst statements from his "exoneration" speech.

But it goes on to condemn the crowd

Seriously? Does Mike Lee actually believe that his Utah colleague was using religion as a "crutch" to justify a vote against Trump? And that the real reason Romney voted to convict on the abuse of power charge is because "things can happen when you fail so badly running for president?"

Does McConnell believe that? Does McCarthy think that Pelosi actually doesn't pray at all? Or that Democrats want to "destroy" our country? Or that the leadership of the FBI is "top scum?" Or that the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election was "evil" and "corrupt?"

I can't believe that they do. And if they don't, then something far worse is at play here. They are willing to suspend their principles and beliefs and acquiesce to Trump's wild claims solely because it is good for their own personal politics. That taking a stand against Trump's absolute smashing of presidential norms isn't worth the political pain it might cause them.

That was the worst part of watching Trump on Thursday. That every single person in that room smiled and laughed and, uh, celebrated, as though what Trump was saying was even close to normal behavior. It wasn't. None of it.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Both Col. Vindman and Ambassador Sondland were fired today.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/gordon ... 020-02-07/

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[River]

I wonder if that's the lesson: "Don't get caught."

[yovargas]

Wonder how Sondland feels about those donations to Trump now.

[Frelga]

And Vindman's brother.