A failure of conscience and courage
Much will be said in the coming days and perhaps years about the Senate’s recent failure to hear the testimony of relevant witnesses and documents in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. And rightly so, especially given Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s incredulous remarks in defense of her no vote.
Her tortured statement that there would not have been a fair trial in the Senate (i.e., if the testimony of John Bolton, Mick Mulvaney and perhaps others had been brought to bear), simply defies reason. Moreover, blaming Congress as she did for its failure in this entire matter — when she and the others in her party had the power to vote otherwise, and thus mitigate the accusations that Senate was not playing fair — merely compounds the absurdity of her reasoning.
The truth is, the blame rests squarely on her shoulders and those of her own party for not permitting vital information to be brought forward to illuminate the truth. Not the Congress, not party partisanship!
Cowering to the will of Trump as she and others thus have, the Republicans (excepting two) have abdicated their responsibility to the Constitution, their offices and the states they represent.
God help us when the consequences that will surely be visited upon our nation’s constitution order come to pass, as a result.
Richard Hebhardt
Juneau