Earlier this month, the US Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump of wrongdoing for the second time. This time it was for fomenting a rebellion in which an angry mob stormed the Capitol and overran Capitol Police.
The Senate voted 53-47 to acquit Donald Trump of inciting a riot on 6 January. The danger of this is that future generations may believe the riot really wasn’t a big deal. However, they would be wrong. One capitol police officer was killed, two others would later take their own lives, and three rioters died. Of course, the death toll would have gone far higher had capitol police used live rounds to quell the assault (which most nations would have done). Greater than all of that, however, is the idea that one branch of government inspired an attack on another branch of government. The mob did not attack a building—it attacked the representatives of the people, who were inside the building.
Democracy requires that people generally follow the rules, which includes a peaceful transfer of power. When enough people stop following the rules, democracy, as a form of government, breaks down. Presumptively, most people enjoy democracy, but few understand how fragile it really is. That 43 members of the US Senate–the most powerful body of lawmakers in the country—would vote to curry personal favor with an outgoing president instead of reinforcing rule-of-law suggests that it is more fragile than we would like to believe.
Though the Senate failed to convict, that a president was impeached a second time, and that he was impeached after he left office speaks to the seriousness of the crime. That seven Republicans broke ranks to condemn the action shows the trial wasn’t political theater. That the Senate ratified the election on the same night as the insurrection indicates the importance of the work that had to be done. One can hope future generations will remember these facts and hold accountable those who would seek to harm this fragile form of government.
Amy Gardner, Mike DeBonis, Seung Min Kim, Karoun Demirjian, “Ex-president continues to hold tight grip on GOP,” 14 Feb 2021, A1; see also https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-acquitted-impeachment-riot/2021/02/13/dbf6b172-6e12-11eb-ba56-d7e2c8defa31_story.html
Photo: Associated Press
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