THE electoral college is a disaster for a democracy, a total sham and a travesty. We should have a revolution in this country.” That was President Trump’s 2008 tweet about Mitt Romney’s election loss which foreshadowed his own 2020 failure. After two months of futile lies about how the election was rigged, Trump went for the revolution option, encouraging an insurrection with his angriest supporters attacking the US Congress. Within a week, it brought his second impeachment with a losing score of 232 to 197. It marks an ignominious exit into a very different ex-presidency than his predecessors have enjoyed.
When the Capitol demonstration turned violent, killing five people, it was a step too far. The very politicians who were the intended victims of the insurrection decided impeachment. From fear comes anger, building up because the physical and emotional destruction so vividly represents four years of national decay under Trump’s presidency. The House debate on impeachment was limited to two hours. It followed a predictable path as Republicans found ways to criticise their own voters while minimising the president’s responsibility. Ten Republicans did support impeachment because Trump incited an insurrection that failed. The most surprising vote was not so surprising on analysis. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, just elected with 70 percent of the vote there, is the third ranking Republican in the House leadership. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is her dad. She has his aptitude for political calculus. She’s picked her side of whatever becomes of the Republican Party in the decade ahead. An open question is how many, if any, of the Republican Senators will do the same if there is a trial phase to the impeachment. The Senate acts as judge and jury in this matter.
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