My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: I Can't "Keep Silence, on Pain of Imprisonment"

Danger. Danger. Danger.

In thinking about what has happened so far with the impeachment of Donald John Trump, I keep going back to that oft-repeated refrain above, given to us by president Trump's attorney Jay Sekulow. And no, I cannot maintain my silence, under any circumstances.

Danger. Danger. Danger.
Because what people said in the past on a completely unrelated impeachment is NOT more important than the impeachment sitting in front of the Senate right now. I get it - these folks have been around too long, and have said too much - but they are not on trial here. And while there's a certain smug satisfaction to be gained from repeating the conflicting opinions over and over (I'm guilty of that myself), it's distracting and it annoys the heck out of who you're criticizing, and it annoys the heck out of me.

Danger. Danger. Danger.
Because the Dems have been their own worst enemies in this process, in many respects.

• Not including bribery - an actual impeachable offense under the Constitution - in the articles, but arguing that you can prove bribery occured...
• Inviting Lev Parnas to the hearing, instead of putting him on the witness list...
• Holding the articles while arguing the urgent need to impeach was driven by an urgent issue raised by a whistleblower... 
• Not immediately disclosing that the whistleblower contacted the House Intelligence Committee, and was directed to the Intelligence Community Inspector General, and then making it worse by not being forthcoming when the issue arose... 
• Smiling and handing out pens when the articles were signed...
• Creating a story to illustrate what happened, when what actually happened was damning in and of itself...
• Insulting the people you're trying to get on your side while making your case...
• Spending time defending staffers, instead of quickly and forcefully making the point that the ICIG addressed potential bias and still determined there was an urgent need to address the complaint, and that everything had been corroborated by multiple witnesses...
• And finally, taking too long, spending too much time saying the same thing over and over, and, I think, using too many managers to do it.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Because the Republicans have handled themselves no better than the Dems have, and in many cases they've handled themselves even worse, in that their behavior is based on fear of the president. They are so beholden to him and his largesse, and his endorsement; they are so afraid of losing that, afraid of his relentless attacks being turned on them. And afraid of the wrath that comes from his devoted followers: personal attacks, attacks on family members, and more. This is not in any way a joined ideology - Trump has none, really - it's a survival instinct. 

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Because knowing that every question (except for Rand Paul's whistleblower attacks) would be read and answered on national television, how could the Senators - fine people on both sides - waste so much time on patently ridiculous nonsense? They might have well as been reading Green Eggs and Ham as asking a question about Joe Biden's parenting style or the integrity of the Chief Justice...  and the Seuss would have been better received, I can assure you.

If what we saw was the best they can do on something as serious as impeaching the president, even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion, we're in trouble.

If that's how little respect they have for their constituents, shame on them.

And shame on us for our poor choices.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Because politicians were just given carte blanche to say and do whatever they want, regardless of how abusive it is, if they think their election is in the national interest. And a president need not worry about abusing his or her power, even to invite foreign interference into our election - because unless a crime is committed they cannot be impeached... Except that they can't be charged with a crime - apparently including murder or attempted murder - while in office...  Add to that the opinion that impeachment can't happen during an election year...  Add to that the opinion that a president has carte blanche to obstruct Congress, and there are now no known limits to presidential power.

Danger. Danger. Danger.
When the president is acquitted on Wednesday, as he surely will be barring a meteor falling from the sky, what are we left with?  A deeply divided union, with the one person who's most happy about that sitting at the helm.

It will get better, but it will surely get worse first.

Danger. Danger. Danger.