In the words of the Chief Justice, "...those addressing the Senate should remember where they are." Wouldn't that be refreshing?
As judge of the third impeachment trial in American history John Roberts issued his short warning late in the first day of proceedings. The people he was addressing have needed to hear that.
The world's "greatest deliberative body" hasn't been since the last century. Surely not since the rise of the Yertle.
On the morning after that admonishment, McConnell's Playhouse still hadn't agreed on basic rules of the trial. In a stunning act of conscience, a small band of Republican senators actually balked at Yertle's first proposal to limit the trial to 24 hours over two days beginning at 8pm each day with no witnesses or evidence.
When accused of wanting to hide the proceedings from the American public, McConnell replied, "That's not true, I just want my in-laws to be able to see their favorite son in law when they get up in the morning."
Google it, I'll wait.
After a four and a half hour tantrum, Mitch agreed to 24 hours in 3 days starting at 1pm with no witnesses or evidence. The Democrats countered by holding their breath for six hours until he fell asleep.
A deliberative body would have agreed upon the rules before the trial, but that's not Mitch's way. He's the decider. There are hundreds of bipartisan bills passed by the House of Representatives sitting on his desk waiting to be deliberated.
Before that there were hundreds of judges, including a Supreme Court justice waiting for a hearing. Those stopped at his office, too. Under McConnell, the Senate has refused to deliberate on immigration, on climate change, on election reform or pretty much anything else that isn't a tax cut for billionaires.
Obfuscation is the game of the McConnell Senate. It was certainly his plan for the trial. The flash of conscience from a handful of his colleagues was the first suprise.
Perhaps obviously covering up for a guy guilty as sin is too much for a few. At least let's make it look like we're holding a trial before we acquit, a lot of us are trying to get re-elected in states that aren't Kentucky could be on their minds.
Whatever, the mountain of actual evidence makes it hard to continue to paint the impeachment as just a partisan hoax designed to overturn the will of the people. That argument only works with the zealots. Do we really have to point out the popular vote is exactly the will of the people and Trump lost it by 3 million votes?
But the thing to keep an eye on is the judge whose words we started with. All these years of not deliberating lands in his lap on a daily basis. The guy with the gavel is not up for reelection.
Justice Roberts believes in deliberation. The place he works still works and he expects the place he's presiding over in his off hours to do the same. This is a rare opportunity to show the Senate how to do its job.