122 – WILL REPUBLICANS “EVER” BE HELD RESPONSIBLE? (In My Opinion)

What a shock.  Only one more Senate Republican (Cassidy of Louisiana) joined the other five Republicans today in acknowledging what was made even more clearly obvious in this the first day of the second impeachment – that the Senate clearly and obviously has the Constitutional authority to impeach He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Nothing else is going to change the minds of those other 44 Republicans who tried to dodge even having to vote on whether or not to convict.   But those Republicans are obviously not the audience for the impeachment presentation.  The audience is now, as it was the last time, the American public. 

74 million people in that audience obviously were not moved at all by the first impeachment. 

But I have to wonder what the effect will be in 2022?  

Consider these two scenarios after having watched and experienced He Who Shall Not Be Named’s behavior since the election on November 3^rd. 

• Scenario 1.  You voted for Biden but also may have voted for a Republican Senate or Congressional candidate.
• Scenario 2.  You voted for Trump and/or one of the Republican Congressional candidates.

How many of those people do you honestly believe would change their vote either against Trump or against a Republican Congressman or woman who very likely has opposed this impeachment since January 6^th?

• Who knows how many, but I certainly have to believe that among 74 million, there is at least the good potential of quite a few – maybe even a few million.

On the other hand, I cannot imagine a scenario where having seen what has occurred since November 3^rd, and particularly since Jan 6^th, anyone who voted for Biden or for any other Democratic Congressional candidate would now change their vote and vote for Trump, or for any of the Republicans who have opposed impeachment.

• Do you think anyone would?

There are two keys to the hopes for Democratic gains, instead of losses, in 2022.

1. Pass the Covid Relief plan and see it WORK.   Successfully roll out and vaccinate everyone who wants a vaccination by the end of this summer, if not before.
   • If they can pull that off, then they will have generated a tremendous amount of good will among the American public. 
   • An added benefit to beating back Covid will be the inevitable surge in the U.S. economy that should accompany the end of the pandemic.
2. The second key will be for the Democrats to do exactly what they did this past November – work tirelessly to get out the vote once again in 2022, and in every election from here on.
   • No more of this off year nonsense of having such terrible Democratic participation at the ballot box.
   • The tremendous participation in the 2020 election must be the start of a pattern which will continue.   Off year elections have to be sold to the American public as every bit as important as the Presidential election.

Will that happen ?  Who knows ? 

But getting through, day by day until November 2022, in this time of the Biden administration, is certainly in an entirely different universe of stress and anxiety than it would have been had the November election turned out differently.