Trump Senate trial offers Republican Party an escape from his death grip on its future
Our View: Barring Donald Trump from holding public office again would save Republican values — and the service of having healthy, competing parties
The impending Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump offers Republicans a rare opportunity to begin recasting the Grand Old Party as the conservative bastion it once was — and start loosening the former president's cult-like grip.
Seventeen Republican senators would need to join Democrats in the two-thirds vote necessary to convict Trump of inciting violence against the government in the riotous assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
While the punishment for conviction — removal from office — no longer applies, a second penalty under the Constitution offers the party a path forward. By a simple majority vote, the Senate could bar Trump, who said Wednesday that “we will be back in some form,” from ever holding public office again. He would effectively be banished to the political wilderness, no longer holding the GOP captive in preparation for a possible presidential run in 2024.
Fiscal responsibility, ethical leadership
In one clean break, conservatives could begin the laborious process of rebuilding a party anchored on what used to be traditional Republican values: fiscal responsibility, free trade, ethical leadership, promotion of democracy and international alliances, and standing up to dictators abroad.
This would be a great service to the nation. America has long benefited from two vibrant competing parties, one of which advocates for limited government and serves as a check on progressive overreach.
Trump, however, left the GOP in turmoil. During his foul leadership, Republicans lost control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. Republican principles melted away under a leader obsessed with self-aggrandizement. Last year, the party platform was reduced to simply whatever Trump wants to do. ...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/t...fedc32c19ef33b4
Die werden es wohl nicht mehr fertigbringen. Too far gone.