Those who love Trump and those who loathe him — who today is undecided? — are all having altogether too much fun. The former are wallowing in the victimhood they think they share with him. The latter are luxuriating in a vengeance disconnected from the public good. And they are relishing the discomfort of Republican senators who will be damaged no matter whether they vote to convict or acquit. Regarding the reason for impeachment — the events of Jan. 6 — reasonable people, for whom seeing is believing, know what happened, and why. Trump supporters, for whom believing is seeing, cannot be reached by reasoning, constitutional or otherwise.
Democrats probably know that impeachment is not needed to keep Republicans, fresh from the frying pan, roasting in the fire Trump lit. Sen. Rob Portman, the Ohio Republican, this week announced that he will not seek a third term in 2022. Trump easily carried Ohio by 8.13 percentage points in 2016 and 8.03 in 2020. Portman did not ascribe his decision to electoral considerations. He cannot, however, have happily anticipated trying to court voters who are as temperate as he is without detonating bitter-end Trump supporters. They are probably a majority of Republicans nationally.
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