The Breath, It Is Not Being Held

"an entire generation of voters are going to forever associate the Republican Party with the cover-up of @realDonaldTrump's crimes. They will never be willing to vote GOP, to register as a Republican. That’s not going to go away. This is a permanent stain for the entire party..." pic.twitter.com/H4UlfS4gVc

— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) January 23, 2020

I remember when Nixon resigned and then Ford sealed his electoral death warrant by pardoning Nixon almost before Marine One had left the White House grounds.  Predictions then were that the GOP had burned itself to the ground and sown the ground with salt and would never rise from the ashes again to plague the country the more.

And Jimmy Carter was elected and four years later we had 8 years of Ronald Reagan and 4 years of Poppy before Clinton beat him by being the superior politician (much like Barack Obama 8 years after Clinton).  But Clinton and Obama were sui generis and left their would-be successors so deeply in their shadow (or in the shadow of their husband, the reason we had 8 years of W in the first place).  I mean, honestly, following Bill Clinton with Al Gore?  Barack Obama with Hillary Clinton?  Who ever thought that was a good idea?  Two of the slickest politicians in modern American history followed by two of the dullest and stiffest since Adlai Stevenson?

A part of the reason why Donald Trump is being impeached but Mitch McConnell is in charge of the Senate right now (barely in charge, but close enough is good enough), and we're hearing it all again.

I'm not gonna live to see it this time, either; and by rights and family history I should be around for at least another quarter-century.