USA TODAY International Edition
Other Views: How the Lincoln party celebrates Presidents Day
Tom Nichols, USA TODAY:
“On a weekend we once reserved for honoring the births of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, so- called constitutionalists like Sen. Mike Lee of Utah gleefully betrayed everything for which Lincoln lived and for which he was murdered in cold blood. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, barely able to contain his smirking, made the case within minutes of Donald Trump’s acquittal that the former president was probably guilty anyway, but hey, maybe someone else can take him to court. ... Presidents Day was always a sham. Americans once knew that we should not worship an abstract office — we honor the best among us who have sat in that office. ... This last rebuke to the memory of Lincoln should inspire us never to allow the chance that Trump is remembered on the same day as the man who saved the Union.”
Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press:
“Why did Democrats in the House and Senate persevere in a prosecution everyone with the brains God gave Nabisco Shredded Wheat knew was doomed to end in acquittal? ... In the judgment of many constitutional scholars, a resolution memorializing Congress’ conclusion that Trump’s actions before, during and after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol had provided ‘ aid and comfort’ to rioters seeking to sabotage the constitutional transfer of power would preclude the political comeback Trump so often threatens. Though rarely tested in the last century, a provision of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment clearly bars ex- federal officials found to have encouraged insurrection from seeking elective office forever after. A censure resolution would have raised none of the specious constitutional objections Republicans like McConnell cited as grounds for refusing to support Trump’s conviction.”
Norman Eisen and Katherine Reisner, USA TODAY:
“Despite the shameful failure of 43 senators to honor their oaths, the outcome of the Senate impeachment trial offered hope for the cause of accountability for Trump and others who backed the Big Lie that gave us the Jan. 6 insurrection: that the 2020 election was stolen. The denouement was by far the largest number of Republicans ever to cross party lines to convict a president of their own party in an impeachment trial. Seven did so, as opposed to the single such vote in Trump’s prior impeachment. ... The House impeachment managers have made the case for Trump’s culpability and preserved a mountain of evidence for future actions. Now the push for accountability continues.”
Jason Sattler, USA TODAY:
“The filibuster ... gives a minority elected by tens of millions fewer voters an effective veto on almost everything voters elected Joe Biden and Democrats to do. Some argue this duplicitous ‘ kill switch’ promotes bipartisanship. But this is a sick canard, like McConnell delaying Trump’s trial for insurrection and then saying he couldn’t vote to convict because the trial was too late. ... We cannot let Republicans let Trump get away with trying to steal the last election then go on swiping elections for the rest of this decade and beyond. Seven Republicans are not enough. The filibuster has to go, or democracy will.”