Life of Wry

The injustice of the inevitable acquittal in this impeachment trial just takes my breath away. Honestly. It can just leave a person so deeply weary and sad. So sad for the profound awfulness of people — their hypocrisy; their thirst for power that they shouldn’t have and can’t be trusted with; their unnecessary, unfounded fears that blind them. So sad for a country we share, which could be so much better if we could just agree on facts, be kind to one another, be decent. Oh my god.. these people.

Some thoughts that stand out, after watching every minute (except when my laptop’s battery power went poof and I missed Joaquin Castro’s final point, which I hear was stunning: trump was sanguine about leaving them all for dead, so resistant was he in not acting to send reinforcements to the Capitol police, or to call off the dogs):

• Failed coup. Not for lack of trying.
• There is no justification for acquittal. None. But acquitted he will be.
• Acquittal is a green light for him and his violent supporters forever.
• He failed to honor his oath to protect and defend. He didn’t come to the defense of the legislators for HOURS, their staff, law enforcement. On purpose. He was okay to let them die.
• It could have been so so much worse. They very nearly got to the congress. Where would we all be if they’d actually killed Nancy? Or Pence? Or anybody? It wasn’t enough that law enforcement folks died and were injured. Should matter, but doesn’t. What a bunch of assholes those republican Senators are.
• He didn’t speak forcefully against what happened as it was playing out. He did nothing. Nothing. He hasn’t denounced the violence on that day still.
• Fun little facts came out today: He DID have a hand in setting it up… changed the date on the permit from Jan 22 to Jan 6; changed the route on the permit to allow them to march away from the Ellipse and to the Capitol. He wanted the Capitol breached. He knew there would be violence. He wanted it. On that day. He orchestrated the whole thing and welcomed the violence.
• The rioters were taking their cues from him.. have all along. He’s blatantly encouraged them. He’s spent months fomenting this. Could not be clearer. Evidence all over those security camera tapes and cell phone footage. He was not an innocent bystander.
• But for donald trump. None of this would have happened.
• He condoned his supporters’ effort to force a Biden/Harris campaign bus off the road, and then retweeted a video of it, adding a rowdy war song as a sound track and the caption, “I love Texas.” Old news. I’d just forgotten it’d happened. Evidence he had long encouraged and condoned this sh*t and groomed them for this moment.
• “Destroy the GOP” .. that’s a huge part of what this is all about. How, I have to wonder, is the GOP okay with this? Okay by me if they remain two dug-in factions on that side of the aisle, dividing their people. But jeez. What a bunch of idiots.
• I understand it’s not a real trial. Realize it’s political. Still. I can’t figure out how impeachment trials can ever work.. with compromised jurors who have such political conflicts of interest. This case is so obvious. The 2020 case was so obvious. How will these monsters ever live with themselves. History will be so unkind to them. Their children will be so disgusted. Jeez, and all for their political careers. How sick are they.
• Also? You’re with him 100%, 100% of time, or under the bus with you. Even Mike Pence. How spectacularly tragic was that? Better watch your back Lindsey, Ted, Kevin, Devin, Matt, Jim. You are disgusting and deserve whatever you’ll ever get from your master (which is nothing).
• Oh, and they fear black&brown people. At its core? This is all about white rage, white grievance. He’s their vehicle. That white mob will be forever excused. But BLM? Can you just imagine? What a profoundly unfair world we live in. It hurts so so much.

I meant to comment last night, I’ve been so enormously impressed by the impeachment managers. I’d heard Jamie Raskin talk about the suicide of his son Tommy before, and was so deeply moved by the fact of it, but also his humanity in describing it, processing it, carrying on in the way he has. Jamie Raskin is a lovely human being. The other impeachment managers have also been very impressive, particularly Joe Neguse and Stacey Plasket. Their case, their videos and other visuals…so well presented, so methodical, thorough, tight. It’s an insult that the senators don’t seem to be budging from their resolve to stick with Trump no matter what.. such an insult to our country, to democracy, and such an insult to history. May they all be remembered in the worst possible way.