“I don’t think the House Managers have proven their case so there’s no need to call witnesses.”
~~ Senator Ted Cruz
Let me translate that statement: “House Managers didn’t prove their case during which they were prevented from calling witnesses so they cannot call witnesses because they didn’t prove their case.”
That has to be one of the most disingenuous statements made thus far in this trial. If, on the other hand, we assume that Cruz was being sincere, then it is one of the stupidest.
Giving Cruz the benefit of the doubt, I suspect he was being disingenuous, though I am not sure being dishonest is better than being stupid.
Either way, Cruz reveals two astounding truths. Either Republican Senators are as corrupt as Trump or they are as dumb as he is.
There is always a third possibility, which is, they are both, but we won’t go there.
Disingenuous means being insincere, dishonest, slight of hand, and it is stunning to me how brazen Republicans are in this behavior.
Consider the latest news about Mitch McConnell saying he doesn’t have the votes to prevent witnesses from testifying.
Think about that for a moment. McConnell is saying in plain daylight and with a straight face that he doesn’t have enough votes to corrupt the Senate trial by cutting it short.
What is more, while the news media is busy speculating about who the four Republican Senators are who have said they will support calling witnesses, the real story is the 49 who are in lock step with McConnell in his pursuit of corrupting the trial.
One of the takeaways of what we are witnessing is that the Donald Trump era is one in which Republicans have no hesitation and certainly no shame in engaging in political corruption that they at least once had the decency to try to hide.
But, then, that is where the Republican Party is these days, what with their loyalists across the land who have no qualms about supporting politicians like Trump and McConnell whose lack of moral character is on display for everyone to see.
This is why the die is cast. With or without witnesses, Republicans will likely acquit Trump and call it a day, convinced that come November their impeachment vote will be long forgotten.
In that regard, I think there is good reason to believe Cruz and McConnell and the like actually are as stupid as they are disingenuous.
Does it really make sense to believe the news media is going to drop covering this story as soon as the trial ends or that John Bolton’s book is not going to be published after all, or read if it is?
Far more likely is that between now and November more and more evidence proving Trump’s guilt will come out, wiping away every shred of defense Republicans have offered on his behalf.
Indeed, I’m betting that come election day impeachment will be on everyone’s mind and absolutely no one is going to forget that Republican Senators running for re-election chose to acquit a President who is as corrupt as our nation has ever known in its entire history.
There is a downside to this scenario, though, which is that aftermath of this impeachment trial is going to last all year.
Somehow I think those of us who want to see Trump and McConnell gone will be okay with that. The only thing better would be for Trump to quit before November as he sees his chances for re-election continue to diminish.
linnposts.com 
I found an article from just over a year ago, in the middle of a pile of papers in my kitchen, concerning Donald Trump. It’s from the Slate magazine, and a key part of it goes like this: “…the President lied to West Virginians, telling them that the coal industry was coming back. Trump’s followers love these fantasies. But eventually, truth does to his lies what the ocean does to sandcastles”.
“Res ipsa loquitur”, as I believe the lawyers say.
Nigel, I love the image – the ocean doing what it does to sandcastles. A perfect metaphor for the power of truth over falsehood. Thank you.
Jan,
This latest post on the subject of the impeachment of Donald Trump is yet another one in which you provide a keen perspective on where the process is and where it may be headed.
It is amazing how you can write 4 or 5 in a row and manage to keep each one fresh and informative — even to those of us who think we have followed all of this closely!
To those of us who get depressed over the lies, the deception, and the hatred that flows from Trump and his Congressional Republican allies, the most important thing you do is give us hope that this nightmare will soon be over.
Bill Blackwell
Bill, your response is what gives me hope because I know you read everything I write critically. That is what every writer needs because it makes a positive response mean more than it otherwise would. Thanks, my friend.
The words…. ” Trump and McConnell gone” lifts my spirits.
One moment at time; God help us endure.
It did mine, too, Dixcy, when I wrote them. It WILL happen. It’s only a matter of when.
Hey Jan!! This is your former secretary (Tazewell Christian Church) and “dear friend”, Robin Kyle Harrison from Bristol, Virginia. I kill myself. Ran across your blog this evening while searching for something else actually, but it must be fate! Hope you are doing well and would so love to catch up. Your entry made my heart sing! I hope it is all right that I started following your blog. Please take care and let me hear from you if you get a spare moment!
Wow! What a wonderful surprise to hear from you, Robin. I would love to catch up. My email is janlinn45@gmail.com. Send me yours and we can go from there. I think a phone conversation would be in order.
Oh, that book will be read alright. It will be American history.
It will be, but Republicans don’t believe it will, another blunder they are making.
Thank you for your article. I’m sure discouraged with all the deception and complicity and the Republications’ total turning a blind eye to the corruption. I am fearful that the “party at all costs” will allow an emboldened, power-hungry, corrupt bully to remain in office. What has happened to the people in the republican party?? Trump is doing so much damage to the environment, the vulnerable citizens, as infinitum. No one is allowed to restrain him. My heart is heavy; I hang on to your words of hope.
Willie, it is VERY discouraging, which is why we have to trust that truth will prevail. We also have history on our side. Moreover, I also believe most Americans see what kind of man Trump is and will not re-elect him if he runs.
Republicans have the spine of a jellyfish!
And thanks to them, the whole nation unequivocally knows it. They thought they were being politically clever, but they were in fact playing the fool.