Whither the Impeachment Trial?

For John, BLUF:  The [Second] Impeachment Trial of Citizen Donald J Trump begins in the US Senate on 9 February 2021.  At least the Super Bowl will be over.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Democrats Are Laying a Trap with Trump’s Impeachment Trial

Here is the sub-headline:

Beware: Those arguing the Dems are making a miscalculation have got it all wrong.

From National Review, by Commentator Andrew C McCarthy, 27 January 2021, 11:12 AM.

Here is the heart of the argument:

To summarize, Republicans are trying to signal that Democrats should just drop the whole thing.  The votes are not there; ergo, it’s a waste of time.  All it will do is raise Trump’s profile, give him a platform to air his grievances, and launch his political revival. Who wants that?

The Democrats want that.

Despite President Biden’s pretensions about bringing our nation together, Democrats want to impeach Trump because it will be divisive, not despite its divisiveness.  They are banking on his being acquitted and politically revived, not underestimating that possibility.  They want him to run for office again, not banish him.

Yes, the former president’s impeachment trial will be divisive for the country, but not in a way that troubles the Democrats.  Rather, it will unite the Left while intensifying the Right’s internecine conflict.

With Republicans having agreed to delay the trial proceedings for a couple of weeks, impeachment will be a boon for the fledgling Biden administration.  The new president will get his major appointees confirmed and installed in the various executive departments and agencies.  Meantime, Biden will get a double windfall.

For sure, it is all about Former President Trump, and how you read him.  The Democrats read him as a destructive and self-destructive force.  The Senate elections in Georgia may, to them, bear out this view.  On the other hand, Former President Trump has a Fingerspitzengefühl sense of the "Tea Party" folks out across the Fruited Plain.

I think much will depend on if Former President Trump is able to put 2020 behind him and focus on 2022 and 2024.  If he can, he could be formidable on the hustings.  And his "martyrdom" at the hands of the Democrats in Congress will only add to his luster.

On the other hand, if it all goes as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes, then Mr Trump will be finished in politics, to the great relief of the Democrats.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff