* Trump and history: Donald Trump will be the first impeached president to run for re-election. Alas, given his character and track record, we likely haven’t seen the last of “impeachable” acts from this impulsive, historically unprecedented occupant of the Oval Orifice.
* In all likelihood Trump will be further emboldened by his impeachment acquittal. Ironically, had it not been for the Bidens and Burisma, however mischaracterized, there would have been no impeachment at all.
* Retiring GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander, a key “no” vote on witnesses, finally had his moment of equivocal discernment on acquittal. What Trump did was, indeed, “inappropriate,” conceded Alexander. But “The Constitution does not give the Senate the power to remove the president from office and ban him from this year’s ballot simply for actions that are ‘inappropriate.'”
His head should go, appropriately enough, on a pike anyhow. Rhetorically speaking, of course.
* The Bolton book, (“The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir”): Do we wait for the retitled movie, “Nondisclosure Agreement Be Damned”?
* For those Republican senators who keep enabling Trump’s democratic devolution, two points. First, country and conscience first. How quaint. Second, you are part of a representative–not direct–democracy. Your role, whatever your label and fealty, doesn’t mandate being a rubber stamp for constituents, no matter their number or vociferance.
* “Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a president from office.” Even a self-serving, disingenuous GOPster such as Marco Rubio should be able to make a better argument against conviction than that.
* “I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers.”–That was vintage Mitch McConnell before the impeachment hearings and the witness-free “trial” began. Being a “man of your word” has never seemed so dishonorable.
* When is a trial not a trial? When the jury is the judge.
* Nobody is thwarting U.S. sanction plans for regime change in Venezuela more than Russia, which has extended a life line of crude oil purchases and currency to help prop up Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader. But it would likely be even more problematic if Donald Trump and Vlad Putin weren’t such good friends.
* More irony in that the two countries actively seeking to undermine European security, Turkey and Russia, are run by two of Trump’s favorite authoritarians, Recep Erdogan and Trump’s aforementioned bromantic buddy.
* You say you want a devolution: Partisan political banter has always had its off-putting side. But new lows are practically a daily occurrence in the era of Trump. Here’s the rhetorician-in-chief’s recent put-down of Michael Bloomberg, a potential opponent: “I just think of ‘little.’ You know, now he wants a box for the debates to stand on. OK, it’s OK. There’s nothing wrong. You can be short.”
That resulted in this retort from Bloomberg’s spokesperson, Julie Wood. “(Trump) is a pathological liar, who lies about everything: his fake hair, his obesity and his spray-on tan.”
Nobody looks good, but we know who started it. Just ask Marco Rubio.
* “Normalization of lawlessness.” Adam Schiff’s analogy of the Nixon and Trump Administrations.
* “This is not a banana republic.” That was the response of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in rejecting the White House counsel’s suggestion there was nothing wrong with seeking foreign election interference. Problem was he was admonishing Banana Republicans.
* “Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs … You represented the great state of Kansas and, in fact, the entire USA, so very well. Our country is proud of you.” Whatever.