BEHOLD: THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR THE UNITED STATES

…Mitt Romney, the man of the hour and a man of real conscience

Senate Majority Leader McConnell used his power to make Trump’s ”trial” a “non-trial”.

I have never been a big fan of Mitt Romney of Utah, and I voted against him in the 2012 election.  But I have to say that his legacy as a man that follows his oaths to God and to the nation as a US Senator, are as positive as is possible.

Romney will go down in history has being true to his oath and his religion to only support what he believes is true.  With that understanding, he was the only Republican Senator in office that could vote to remove the US president from office.  Yes, this is the first time in US history that a Senator has voted against a president from his own party.

It is bad enough that due to a misguided Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, the trial in the US Senate was not a real trial, as witnesses or documents were not allowed.  That’s bad enough.  But the House committees and the House Managers did still prove, without those items, that the president was guilty.  Yes, they did provide enough witnesses and documents to show that the president was absolutely guilty.  But this country is probably as divided as it ever has been.  And today, that means that according to all the polls, the nation is split 50-50 between the Trump Party and the Democrats.

You will notice that I said “the Trump Party”, not “the Republican Party”, that’s because today there is no real Republican Party.

Mitt Romney is the only authentic GOP member in the US Senate.  Every other Republican US Senator is only a “RINO”.  That is a: “Republican In Name Only”.

During the Watergate investigation, Republican Senator, Howard Baker of Tennessee uttered the immortal words regarding a president from his own GOP: “What did the president know and when did he know it?”

Senator Mitt Romney now joins the honorable select group of lawmakers, from John Quincy Adams to John McCain, who put principle over party.  

You may recall when a women at a McCain rally in the 2008 campaign called Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, “an Arab”.   Candidate McCain then took the microphone away from the woman and said that was not true and that Obama was good family man that had different views from McCain’s.

Mitt Romney has now joined the late Senator John McCain’s legacy of being from a different party, but refusing to speak out against his opponent’s position as a God fearing individual.  That is the opposite of Donald Trump who name-calls all of his potential opponents as disgusting unpatriotic persons, regardless of their history or their genders.

In Wednesday’s Senate votes ending the impeachment trial, this US Senator from Utah cast the lone Republican vote to remove Trump from office.  As previously stated, this was the lone vote by any US Senator in US History to vote to remove a president from his own party.

Democratic Senator Doug Jones, of the dark Red state of Alabama, who may pay with his Senatorial position in his next election, he also voted against Trump for both articles of impeachment.  But Senator Jones also said that he could have voted to protect his position as a US Senator in such a Red state.  But he said he would not be true to his oath to be non- partisan and impartial in the Senate trial.  That means that he had to vote to remove Donald Trump as president based on the evidence provided by the House Managers.

Every once in a long while, a single act of conscience can seek to repair the nation, and both Romney and Jones did that in their votes against Donald Trump.

Most Americans are not aware that when Senator Romney made his statement to the US Senate that he would be voting for the president’s removal, there were only 4 Senators in the Senate’s chamber.  However, none the less, the video of Senator Romney’s statement has been re--played on every national channel multiple times.

When Romney made his statement for voting against his president, he was on the verge of tears.  He even paused for a full 12 seconds to pull himself together before he made his declaration. This was no ordinary speech and national reporters had stampeded into the gallery to witness this historic event. 

There were gasps from the gallery when Romney said. “It was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security and our fundamental values. The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust.”

Romney said he had received pressure to “stand with the team.” He said he expected he would “hear abuse from the president.” But, he said, “were I to ignore the evidence … for the sake of a partisan end, it would, I fear, expose my character to history’s rebuke and the censure of my own conscience.”

Of those four Senators in the Senate chambers, only one was a Republican.  Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) dabbed his eyes with a tissue, while Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the lone Republican, walked out of the chamber.

As expected, President Trump has falsely stated that he was done wrong by Romney and dishonest people that were still trying to reverse the 2016 election.  

Romney is already being demonized by Trump and his allies the way Jeff Flake, Bob Corker, Justin Amash and John McCain have been demonized by Trump before him. Romney has long vacillated between being a Trump critic and a Trump enabler, but Wednesday dispelled any doubt.

Lead House impeachment manager, Adam Schiff (D-CA), had warned that Republicans will be tied to Trump “with a cord of steel and for all of history,” and he asked: “Is there one among you who will say, ‘enough’?”

Well, on Wednesday, Romney said “enough.”

“Senators, how say you?” the chief justice Robert’s asked just after 4 PM Wednesday. As lawmakers on the right stood, buttoned their jackets and proclaimed “not guilty,” and those on the left rose and proclaimed “guilty,” only Romney broke the pattern. He slipped out before he could incur his colleagues’ wrath.

Some will say it’s too little and too late, and that Romney’s courage only shows how weak other Republicans colleagues such as Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Susan Collins (Maine) and Joni Ernst (Iowa) are, acknowledging Trump’s guilt, but doing nothing about it.  However, at least one man, Romney, did speak up.

On Wednesday, Romney did go to his church where he lit a single candle.

However, as long as there is a Jeff Flake, or a Bob Corker, or a John McCain, or a Mitt Romney, there is still some level of hope for the country.

Copyright G. Ater 2020