As the impeachment trial of Donald Trump enters into its final phase, the litigants on both sides are presenting their best arguments to persuade senators to vote for or against conviction. The President’s counsel are sticking to their complaints about the process and the partisanship of the Democrats. The Democrats, on the other hand, are pleading with members to act on the facts that many of them have publicly conceded have been proved.
Adam Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman and lead manager for the Democrats, delivered a powerful closing argument that is certain to have a place in history. He distills much of what has been revealed in testimony and documentation into a concise indictment of Trump and the justification for removing him from office. In short, Schiff warns that Trump “has betrayed our national security and he will do so again. He has compromised our elections and he will do so again. You will not change him. You cannot constrain him. He is who he is. Truth matters to you. Right matters to you. You are decent. He is not who you are.”
Well, that last bit may be debatable as Republican senators fall in line behind Trump despite conceding that what he did was wrong. Some – for example Joni Ernst and Lamar Alexander – even said they believe that Trump won’t repeat his crimes now that he’s been impeached. However, there is no evidence that Trump has ever been chastened by attempts to hold him accountable.
The six minute oratory (video below) is profoundly moving and worth listening to in its entirety. The passages quoted below are from the very beginning and the very end of Schiff’s remarks. They serve as elegant bookends to the information contained in between.
“History will not be kind to Donald Trump. I think we all know that. Not because it will be written by never-Trumpers, but because whenever we have separated from the values of our nation we have come to regret it. And that regret is written all over the pages of our history. If you find that the House has proved its case and still vote to acquit, your name will be tied to his with a cord of steel and for all of history. But if you find the courage to stand up to him, to speak the awful truth to his rank falsehood, your place will be among the Davids who took on Goliath. If only you will say ‘enough.'”
“I put my faith in the optimism of the founders. You should too. They gave us the tools to do the job. A remedy as powerful as the evil it was meant to constrain. They meant for it to be used rarely, but they put it in the Constitution for a reason. For a man who would sell out his country for a political favor. For a man who would threaten the integrity of our elections. For a man who would invite foreign interference in our affairs. For a man who would undermine our national security and that of our allies. For a man like Donald J. Trump. They gave you a remedy and they meant for you to use it. They gave you an oath and they meant for you to observe it. We have proved Donald Trump guilty. Now do impartial justice and convict him.”
Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate are going to vote against the Articles of Impeachment regardless of the facts. They are only interested in preserving their power and demonstrating loyalty to the Cult of Trump. But thanks to Schiff and others on the House Managers team, the historical record will outlast their cowardice, complicity, and deceit. And the consequences for their weakness may be dealt out as soon as this November.
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Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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History will not be kind to Donald Trump.
Because truth matters. Right matters. And decency matters.
It may be midnight in Washington, but the sun will rise again.
I put my faith in the optimism of our Founders.
You should too. pic.twitter.com/JJ2tGnQqxK
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 3, 2020
Schiff’s closing argument today in itself will go down into the history books as a warning to what America as a nation is coming to…
…has come to!
What I find SADDEST & MOST CONDEMNING — like a neon arrow pointing with great accuracy at just HOW FAR DOWN we, as a Nation have FALLEN…so far away from our VALUES & MORALS that we can’t even see them from WHERE WE ARE right now! — The saddest & most condemning thing at this moment in US HISTORY is the FACT that there’s NOT even 4 honest, decent, patriotic GOP Members in the entire U.S. Senate willing to do the RIGHT THING, to SAVE THIS COUNTRY!!!
We are being ruled by a bunch of pathetic COWARDS & CROOKS in the Rethuglican Party.
What a SAD DAY this is in our American History!
…IMHO
I can’t put my faith in the Founders — not anymore — simply because our political system has virtually abandoned our Founders and everything they stood for. And, in the end, the Tyrant Worshipers have put their Tyrant, their Beloved God, their Traitor, before our Country, our Principles, and our Sacred Honor.
And the Tyrant, having been “acquitted,” will immediately shout to all who will listen that he has been COMPLETELY EXONERATED, committed NO CRIMES, is PERFECT AND WONDERFUL and the American People have found him INNOCENT. No, Tyrant, not now, not ever. WE know the crimes you committed; even your minions and worshipers know. The difference is THEY don’t care, and WE do.
Therefore, WE will — no, MUST — do everything possible to remove the Tyrant and every one of his traitorous worshipers from any position of power. If this means the end of the falsely-named “Republican” Party, well, that’s what happened in 1856 to the Whig Party — and for practically the same reason. Only, the Whigs didn’t worship an unworthy god.
The Tyrant now has NO further reason to even pretend to care about our Country, our Principles, and our Sacred Honor. The Tyrant Worshipers have become enablers, facilitators, idolizers. And, more important, they are traitors to everything this Country once stood for. Like the Weimar Republic before, the demagogue has arisen, he has been given his ultimate power, and he has now been given leave to exercise this ultimate power based on his prejudices, his narcissism, and his ego. And not one Tyrant Worshiper will have any reason to protect us — WE THE PEOPLE, whom they are supposed to serve and to protect — from our new Hitler.
May you be proud of what you have done, Tyrant Worshipers. Because you WILL be next. YOU are no more safe than we are. And the Tyrant, having no reason to stand back, will see anyone — ANYONE — as The Enemy who MUST be destroyed. For Hitler, it was the Jews. For Your Beloved God, it will be anyone unwilling to worship him. And the Tyrant can’t even brand us with yellow — or blue — stars.
As Pogo knew decades ago, The Enemy is us. It will not be long before Your Beloved God names YOU among them. This isn’t even hyperbole anymore. For the Tyrant WILL take action, the Ministry of Truth WILL support that action, and YOU will carry it out. Until it is YOU on the trains headed for the concentration camps — along with the rest of us.
Cheer your Beloved God’s “exoneration,” Tyrant Worshipers. You have brought this on yourselves — and all of us too.