Democracy Has Prevailed.

February 11, 2021

Some Thoughts On Yesterday's Trial Proceedings

First, Dan Rather:

Yep. That's about right.

More from Dan Rather:

I firmly believe that the vast majority of American citizens will see this clearly for what it is. But our voices are on the sidelines for now, other than the pressure of conscience we can bring to bear on the 100 senators who will stand in judgement. That these same women and men were also in the crosshairs of the murderous mob and that the trial is taking place at the scene of the crime, makes the events transpiring today on Capitol Hill even more surreal. 

  • For the senators, there can be no hiding from this historic decision... silence or procedural excuses equal complicity.  
  • For the rioters, there can be no leniency... terrorists are inspired by weakness.
  • For the instigators, there can be no immunity... to drum up a mob hellbent on violent injustice is to encourage insurrection. 
  • For those in the right-wing media who aided and abetted the lies, there can be no normalizing... their role in setting the stage for the insurrection is cemented by hours of television and thousands of tweets. 
  • For those who have dabbled in the false equivalence framework so prevalent in Washington, this must be the end of that... there can be no comparison between the actions of the previous president and his enablers, abetters, and cheerleaders, and any "other side." Thankfully, I think many in the press have long ago realized this and have reported accordingly.

Some might argue that this is a rush to judgement, that the president's counsel has a right to present their case. That is indeed true. But you would have to be willfully ignorant, or cynical to the point of malevolence, to not see and hear with clarity the evidence as it stands.

The Senate must convict Donald Trump.