It’s disappointing but not surprising that the 57% vote to convict Donald Trump of incitement fell short of the 2/3rds required for impeachment. I listened to some of it during my evening runs, watched parts during the day and am glad I did. The hearing made history and undermined the future of the GOP. I’m glad to be able to say I tried to stop it. Like Lieutenant Colonel Vindman’s testimony in Trump’s first impeachment hearing, there were moments which make me proud of the patriotism which shines bright through the deep shadows of Trump’s corruption.
The impeachment hearings were full of teachable moments but I’m glad my children didn’t watch Trump’s incitement and the resulting violence. Jamie Raskin took his grown daughter to work the day Trump’s thugs tried to overthrow our democracy and was heartbroken that she never wanted to go to the capitol again.
Imagine what it’s like when the people of your homeland choose a leader who incites hate and racism and violence and it gets worse and worse and the people there don’t notice the slow decline and they get stuck in some kind of Stockholm syndrome and fall in love with their abuser and forget who they are as a nation. And then you wonder if your children and grandchildren will ever want to go there again. It is heartbreaking.
