The GOP-led Senate did not vote to convict Trump on two counts of impeachment. Every Republican, except for Mitt Romney, completely disregarded their oath to do impartial justice and not only voted to block any kind of witnesses or documents (i.e. to hold a trial at all) but then based on nothing more than their fealty to Trump, voted to acquit him.
In a nutshell, this happened because Mitch McConnell rules the Senate with an iron fist, and because the Republican party has stayed so far from their founding ideologies that they are scrambling to get first in line to suck up to an authoritarian president. The Senate, once a formidable check on executive power, has failed.
Not only did the GOP Senators vote to acquit Trump, but not one single Republican in the House voted to impeach Trump. The evidence that Trump is the most corrupt president is overwhelming, but yet Republicans stick together and do whatever he wants–even lie for him! None of these Congressmen are patriots. No, they are democracy-destroying sycophants.
The dangers of Trump’s reign (yes, I’m using that word intentionally) have also spread to the state legislatures as well. One only needs to look at what happened in Wisconsin or North Carolina in the last year or two when voters decided they wanted to see change in their states and voted the Republicans out of power. The Republicans responded with underhanded tactics to strip Democrats of power.
David Frum was right all along:
“If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy.”
Regular readers of Political Charge know I am not a drama queen. I was not optimistic but still hoped that the Republican Senators would decide that the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution were valuable, that holding a corrupt president was warranted, and that they had a fallback with Vice President Pence. But that was not to be. I very much feel that now that the impeachment vote has failed, that there is only one final guardrail before the U.S. becomes a dictatorship. At least in practice, if not in name.
The last guardrail is we, the voters. We have between now and November 3, 2020 to get as many people ready as possible. Not only do we have to vote in massive numbers, but we also have to be on the lookout for, and demand every election security precaution we can get our hands on.
If you feel like I do, please, start working to reach out to and activate voters. If you’re already doing this, great. Recruit a friend to help, too. I offer a lot of suggestions for how to get involved here at my blog, but there are so many more ways to get involved than what I can cover. However you do it, please get involved with organizing efforts, register voters, send reminder postcards to voters, sign up to be poll workers and election officials, donate to candidates and state/local Democratic parties, go canvassing, try phone-banking or text-banking, go work for a campaign, get involved with organizations fighting voter suppression, etc. There is something everyone can do to make sure we win every possible seat up and down the ballot in 2020.
The Republican party has outed itself as an anti-democratic party and we, the voters, are the ones to sweep them right out of office. It’s a monumental task to vote out that many Republicans, but for the health and survival of our country, we must rise up to the task. We have to do this. We are the heroes this country needs.
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Categories: Uncategorized
Is it possible for individual voters to insist on their vote being cast as a paper ballot?
Sent from Nine
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Von: Political⚡Charge
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 6. Februar 2020 15:47
An: Nina Tichman
Betreff: [New post] What We Do Next Now That Impeachment Is Done
TokyoSand posted: ” The GOP-led Senate did not vote to convict Trump on two counts of impeachment. Every Republican, except for Mitt Romney, completely disregarded their oath to do impartial justice and not only voted to block any kind of witnesses or documents (i.e. to ho”
Every polling location should have paper ballots as backup in case there is an issue with technology. I’d encourage you to call your county elections board to double check.
Reblogged this on The Secular Jurist and commented:
Excerpt: “If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy.”
Thank you for sharing my post, Robert.
My pleasure.
“ Republicans responded with underhanded tactics to strip Democrats of power.”
Why do Democrats lay down and take this?!
And *if* we’re able to vote the GOP out of power in the Senate, what’s to stop them from doing this there? I firmly believe wha has been happening in the States is a trial run for the national scene.
The way the Senate is structured, the majority leader really has an immense amount of power. As you can see from McConnell’s reign, the Democrats have had no way to get on the agenda. We have to flip the Senate.
The reason z Democrats have been immobilized is that they feel intimidated by the apparent complexities of changing the monolithic Senate. Voting is one way. Spamming your Republican senator’s phone lines with dissatisfied messages Re: their behavior is another. Don’t know your Senator’s phone number? Start here and work your way in.
http://www.senators.gov/How_to_correspond_senators.htm
After what I witnessed I feel change needs to happen.
Yes, change needs to happen. Certainly in the Senate, but all throughout our legislatures.
I am a registered voter, but I am not a Democrat, nor am I a Republican. What strikes me is the lack of integrity on either side. The dems say the reps are cheating at the voting booth. The reps say the dems are cheating at the voting booth. The reps say the dems are lying. The dems say the reps are lying. It goes on and on. I am an intelligent adult and refuse to be swayed by either side. I do my own research. If someone says this person said this, I go on the net and try to find the video where that person said that. I hate that more people are not taking responsibility for what they truly believe. They just go along with what someone else says, another person, but not the original spokesperson. No wonder our world is so screwed up. Everyone’s opinions are based on hearsay. No one cares enough to do the research, even for their own beliefs. To top that off, so many people actually think their opinion is absolutely correct. No one is smart enough to really open their minds to hear what the other side “actually says”. What a truly sad state of affairs.
I’m glad to hear that you do your own research. I wish more would do that. If you haven’t already, check out the Atlantic’s new article about disinformation, The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President. We have to be more careful than ever before about our information sources.
If you have truly done your homework and cannot tell which Party is destroying our country’s integrity and which one is defying our laws and our Constitution then you are either a liar or you are lying to yourself probably due to bigotry or greed. I have done my homework for 75 years. I learned about our country and it’s history in elementary and high school and in college. My knowledge of the law is from 38 years in law enforcement. I have voted since I was 21 years old. However I will bet that you are a person who does not believe people who are educated or scientist. I think you believe anything you hear on your conservative news and commentator channels. You might as well read the funny papers and comic books. Quit trying to convince people that you are neutral. Have the courage to admit who you are because the rest of us already know.
The mantra from my NAVY days was: “Documentation is the prime importance to either confirm or deny an action occurred. The Who, What, Where, When, Why and How are the answers that need to be asked.” The Senate is a failure, they need to hang their heads in “shame”. . .
The House did the “behind the door” interviews and gathered information; but the “Senate” failed to allow the gathered information to be presented. I respect the office of POTUS, the leader of the free world, but I DO NOT support the current incumbent.
The US is really doomed to suffer some sort of upheaval because the electoral college and especially the Senate over-represent rural America by a huge factor. The masses perceive they are living under the tyranny of a minority. That’s why the right has to behave in such an undemocratic bullying manner. If they entertain the notion that fairness is an appropriate thing to aspire to, they’d know it all needs to be torn down to achieve that.
Easy answer — vote a Democratic Senate. Even more important than getting Trump out! Without the Senate, we’re sunk.
I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I’m writing up each of the most competitive Senate races and what we can do to help flip them. If you haven’t already, do check them out.
If your a representive or senator pass some Bill’s and do what you were elected to do.