Trump’s inciting of a violent sedition at the Capitol during the confirmation of his successor would seem to be irrefutable by any who value truth and honor. But today there are dozens of GOP senators who would rather you didn’t suspect that they are capable of that.
Many have already said that they’d convict Trump in the removal trial if they could do so secretly, to not incur the wrath of 45 and his followers.
There’s a way to do this efficiently if McConnell can keep his side in line.
Majority Leader Schumer and McConnell should agree to hold a voice vote on Trump’s fate, with the presiding officer Senate President Pro Tem Pat Leahy saying the yeas have the needed two-thirds majority and the conviction is confirmed. Critically, this will only work if no Republican stands to ask for a roll call vote.
This mask of anonymity provides the only way for many Republicans to vote their conscience. It also protects their chances of reelection should Trump remain powerful in politics.
This is the path back to legitimacy for the GOP. And with a conviction in hand, the subsequent vote to prevent Trump from future political office can also be a voice vote. Democrats, needing only a simple majority, would have this one won from the start, but GOP members can protest loudly for their posturing if need be.
McConnell knows that this would be an efficient way to prevent the Q factor from dragging the image of the party deeper into crazyland. And keeping Trump from being able to solicit money for a 2024 campaign means more will go towards the eventual GOP ticket.
Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have made the decision to go the opposite direction, choosing to cling to the crazy and rise in the ranks among the zealots for a 2024 presidential bid. Both hope that Trump will anoint them if he can’t or won’t run himself.
But backing the #BigLie whatever the cost can easily backfire. Trump will face state and federal charges, perhaps soon after acquittal if that’s how the votes fall. And indictments lead to the discovery process, and more huge truths revealed such as Trump’s personal and business tax returns. The dots could eventually get so close that the Trump base could be halved.
So for Cruz and Hawley, going all in on a shrinking chunk of the populace is very risky. Still, Fox News may make them their new darlings in the coming years as they look to help create a new hero to tout.
Either way, both these opportunists will be able to fundraise massively by sticking to these positions. Yet without the effective Trump myth and mystique, they’ll find far less of a coattail effect than they might expect.
McConnell wants his leadership back. Preventing Trump from running again may be the only way to get it, because if Trump is to run again, he’ll likely drag down many of the politicians that support him. And those running against Trump in the primaries will be forced to take on his travesties head on.
McConnell is smart enough to know that a party deep in crazyland can’t win, and is likely to lose state leadership in 2022 as well. Furthermore, there may be enough truths out there to make Trump just as reviled as he should be even among his former base. Then the fuse is lit on the careers of traitors like Cruz and Hawley, and McConnell will lose more ground in his leadership struggle.
The smart move for McConnell is to make this deal today, so that two days of damning evidence don’t taint the party further for backing a madman. The vocal minority of #Qtwits, the Proud Boys, and their ilk may pummel GOP politicians for the short term, but as their leaders are charged and convicted over their Jan. 6 plots of violence, the bluster within the ranks will wither.
The House has a hand to play in this dynamic as well. They should immediately announce that they are beginning to investigate Trump’s breaches of ethics and law under the framework of gathering evidence for what can be the Presidential Power Abuse Prevention Act, or #PAPPA. Through this legislation they can establish new guardrails, keeping presidential actions closer to what the say an oath to do, protect and defend the Constitution.
They can use the Mueller Report documents as a foundational element, and utilize the chronological details contained in Amy Siskind’s #TheList to put all the pieces together. Siskind logged Trump’s transgressions on a weekly basis, and her work is keyword searchable. See it here:
https://theweeklylist.org/track-the-changes/
Just the announcement of PPAPA would signal that the jig is up for Trump support. McConnell would know which way the chips will eventually fall for the party, and making the voice vote deal is his least painful option.