By Marc W. Polite
Greetings, my readers. As I am sure you have heard in the news yesterday, former president Donald Trump was acquitted again by the Senate. This time, it was regarding the coup attempt when his supporters stormed the Capitol building on January 6th. Only 7 Senate Republicans decided to vote with Senate Democrats to hold Trump accountable, but that wasn’t enough to successfully convict the former president.
Looking at this situation, this unfortunately was the outcome that was to be expected. Personally, I was not at all surprised by this verdict. However, it is important that we understand the long term implications of this aftermath. This does not bode well for future American elections. A far right politician walks for inciting an insurrection, making a future coup attempt a whole lot more likely. This will serve to embolden Trumpism, and result in a more energized white nationalist base. The events of early last month are going unpunished at the will of the Republicans.
At this point, it should be clear that Republicans can’t be reasoned with. If this is the case with a deadly insurrection, then it goes double for any relief efforts by this administration. Translation: don’t allow the GOP to hold hostage any attempts on progressive legislation, and use the narrow Senate Democratic majority as wantonly as necessary before next year’s mid-term elections. Second, since Trump is shielded from accountability, then the next best approach is to turn attention to the insurrectionists themselves. If this doesn’t happen, than it will almost guarantee a future attempt, one that makes the events of January 6th look like a dry run.