It was a virtual certainty that Trump would be acquitted but it was, nonetheless, hard to see it actually happen. The evidence was pretty overwhelming and in the words of Republican Senator, Lisa Murkowski, ‘pretty damning.’ Murkowski was one of 7 Republican senators who found their spine and voted to convict Trump. However, 43 other Republican senators must have left their spines at home when it came time to vote. Most of these cowards hid behind the ‘the trial is unconstitutional’ excuse to justify their votes. This, even in light of the fact that the majority of Constitutional scholars have weighed in on the question and said that convicting Trump even after he left office was perfectly within the bounds of the Constitution. But, then again, when did facts ever stand in the way of the many rationalizations used by the majority of Republicans to continue to support Trump?
The hypocrisy was on full display after the verdict. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, immediately went on the floor of the Senate and said that Trump was responsible for the attack on the capitol and yet just a few minutes before that he had voted to acquit Trump using the ‘the trial is unconstitutional’ excuse. What is even more galling about the blatant display of hypocrisy, is that it was Mitch McConnell himself who refused to call the Senate into session so the trial could proceed while Trump was still in office. I just don’t know how he had the gall to get up and make that speech. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked at any of these antics any more.
Trump was acquitted but at least in the short term, he’s not my problem. He is a huge problem for the Republican party. As I said a couple of days ago, I have no doubt that there will be an all-out war for control of the Republican party and for me, I frankly don’t care which faction wins. I have pretty much lost respect for the entire party which seems to be more interested in moving farther to the right and embracing Trumpism, QAnon, white supremacists, and a ‘win at any cost’ mentality. I can think of no Republican right now who has been talked about as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election that I have any respect for whatsoever. So, until such time as the Republican party decides to get back to things like basic fiscal conservative principles and actually respecting our democratic institutions, I really don’t care how much they fight amongst themselves. Apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way. There are reports that between 100,000 and 150,000 Republicans have deregistered from the party since Jan. 6th. No doubt there will be more to follow.
I must say that it’s such a pleasure to not have a presidential Tweet storm to start every day. It’s almost as if the government is running like it should – kind of quietly in the background. I would like to be optimistic about the future of this country but the polarization that has become a plague almost worse than COVID has given me serious misgivings. I am very afraid that Mitch McConnell in his role as senate minority leader will revert back to the ‘block everything Biden tries to do’ mode that he used in the Obama administration. That, coupled with the more radical elements of the party like Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Ron Johnson and QAnon supporter, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who will be hell bent to be as disruptive as they can, will make the next four years full of way more drama than they need to be. The country needs to heal but I think the wounds opened by Trump will continue to fester.
There are real problems facing this country and it just seems like many politicians think their job is to win elections at any cost rather than to solve the problems facing the country by engaging in constructive dialog and compromise. I have begun to do some initial investigating about moving overseas for a while or at least taking some extended overseas trips and one of the things that struck me most as I looked into some of the places I am contemplating going is the access to affordable healthcare. Almost every industrialized nation in the world has some form of universal health care for their citizens that is far less costly than in the US. The healthcare is top notch and, in fact, some of these places have become ‘medical tourist destinations’ because US citizens can fly to these countries, have surgery, have a vacation and it will still cost less than the same procedure back in the US. That’s insane.
I’m sure some will immediately jump on the myth that these are ‘socialist’ countries with exorbitantly high taxes and that is just bullshit. These are democratic countries, with booming economies (certainly before COVID) and yet they have top notch health care systems. Why the hell can’t we solve the health care problem in this country? The simple answer is greed, partisan politics and a massive campaign to disseminate fear and misinformation.
There is an organization that publishes a ‘Global Safety Index’ which rates countries along three dimensions: war and peace, personal security, natural disaster risk. Sixteen of the top 20 countries are in Europe. The United States is ranked 65th. Rather than look at this and ask, “How can we as a country make this country safer?”, most Republicans are adamantly against any type of gun control laws so we end up with situations like here in Montana where anyone will soon be able to carry a concealed weapon virtually anywhere.
Like I said, I would like to be optimistic but by failing to hold Trump accountable again, the continued radicalization of politics, the huge misinformation campaign against science and facts, and just plain old-fashioned greed, it’s difficult to see how this country is going to be able to successfully address the many huge problems facing this country.
Since life is short and I don’t really want to spend the next few years caught in a vortex of negative thoughts, I have decided perhaps its time to ‘go walkabout’ as they say in Australia. This adventure is in the early stages of planning and will take a few months to finalize (and the world will certainly have to be more COVID-safe than it is now) but I’m getting more and more serious about some extended overseas trips. As to whether or not this would ultimately lead to my being a full-time expat, I don’t know. I’m sure there are some who would ask, “Why would you do that?” to which my simple response would be, “Why not?”. Stay tuned.
Linsey Graham said ” I’m into winning. And if you want to get something off your chest, fine. But I’m into winning.” What is disturbing about Linsey Graham when asked by Fox News about Trump’s incitement of the insurrection he referred to it as “cancel culture”. The expression “cancel culture” has mostly negative connotations and is commonly used in debates on free speech and censorship. What he is implying that Trump had the right to use his words to incite a riot under the First Amendment. That argument does not hold water because you can’t go into a bank and yell “This is a stick up!” or in an airplane and yell “Highjack!” or in a crowded building and yell “Fire!” He and the idiots on Fox News think protecting this type of free speech is legal and should be allowed.