In a Boston Globe
Sunday column entitled "When doing the right thing no longer matters"
and written by Michael Cohen, a Globe columnist, I quote some of that
which
describes the ever so sad impeachment saga. Everyone including most Republicans I estimate know beyond a shadow of a doubt
this
president is profoundly guilty of impeachable offenses. We know he
will never be held accountable because of a simple fact that the
Democrats do not hold the majority
in the Senate where he is being tried.
The
saga we know will end with the corrupter and liar in chief never being
held to account for the plethora of unconstitutional deeds he has
committed. Worse than that
though are the thoughts contained in Cohen's editorial. They are in pertinent part the following:
"HE'S
GUILTY ... is THERE REALLY ANY DOUBT? With those words Thursday
evening, Representative Adam Schiff, the lead prosecutor in the in the
Senate
impeachment
trial of Donald Trump, summed up the totality of the case against the
president. Over the course of three days Schiff and his colleagues
offered overwhelming evidence that Trump abused his office for personal gain.
The case was so overwhelming, in fact, that the president's allies haven't even bothered to seriously rebut it.
Yet,
Senate Republicans could seemingly not care less. They've dismissed
the House managers case as "nothing new" or said it doesn't amount to
evidence
of
wrongdoing. They've voted down motions allowing for new witness
testimony and the subpoenaing of documents. They will almost certainly
vote to acquit him --
perhaps as soon as this week.
This outcome is as certain as Trump's guilt.
Why
are they doing it? The most obvious answer is that they want to keep
their jobs. The more distressing one is that there's little incentive
for them to think
about anything else.
Every
Republican senator knows that turning on Trump means putting their
political careers in peril. And for those in seemingly safe seats --
and not up for reelection
this year -- removing Trump from office would likely produce a bloodbath for Republicans at the polls.
Even
for those Republicans who are retiring there is little to be gained
from demanding witnesses or subpoenaing documents. ... Who needs the
aggravation of doing the right thing,
when there is seemingly no penalty for doing the wrong thing?
Indeed,
if there's any lesson we've learned over the past several years, it's
that for the most powerful and well connected among us, the consequences
for bad behavior are few
and far between.
Destroy the economy -- keep your millions in bonuses and certainly don't face criminal charges.
Advocate torture, support a disastrous war -- remain a respected voice on foreign policy.
Repeatedly lie to the American people -- go on "Dancing with the Stars"
Brag about grabbing women by their genitals -- become president.
As
Harvey Weinstein's trial for rape began last week, how many of the
people who enabled his sexual assaults and harassment had lost their
jobs or paid
a price for what they had done? How many of Jeffrey Epstein's enablers have been held accountable.
But worse than the lack of accountability for bad acts are the downsides of acting courageously.
In
2018, Christine Blasey Ford went public with charges of sexual assault
by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Now Kavanaugh has a lifetime
appointment
to the highest court in the land and Ford was forced to move four times because of threats. ...
In
a society where acting with integrity and courage destroys careers and
bad acts are quickly brushed under the rug, there is little incentive to
do the right thing."
I URGE YOU TO READ THE OPINION IN ITS ENTIRETY ON PAGE K 1 IN THE SUNDAY GLOBE or posted below. I could not have said it better myself!
