Senate Republicans’ refusal to convict Trump for insurrection has not only invited future crises, but has permanently disemboweled impeachment as a constitutional mechanism. If the attempt to overturn democracy isn’t a convictable offense, then literally nothing is. We no longer have a workable mechanism for removing corrupt, wicked, or dangerous chief executives. And with that deterrence gone, we should expect more corruption, wickedness, and danger from future presidents.

McConnell’s historic cop out after the vote, blaming Trump for the attack after letting him off the hook, is one for the ages. Admitting that Trump had gotten away with it, McConnell said “He didn’t get away with anything yet,” and said Trump was “still liable for everything he did while in office.”

And yet McConnell is not, as one might have imagined on February 13, 2021 when he excoriated Trump, now calling for the attorney general to investigate whether the former president committed a crime.

Because months later, after all of the cowardice with their impeachment votes, Senate Republicans had a chance to redeem themselves. Instead they blocked the creation of a 9/11-style, independent commission to investigate the insurrection.