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Senate Republicans: It’s Your Move

It was a warm day for October. I was sitting in my office at the Harrisonburg Republican Party headquarters, laptop open, emails (on the ready) stacking up, benchmarks to meet. It was “Go Time” with just thirty-five days before election day.

Nobody thought we would win but we started to think we could win. Our volunteers were on the phone and in the field. Headquarters was bustling as the door opened and steadily chimed.

The party faithful, committee chairs, and elected officials were coming in for signs, bumper stickers, and, of course, the coveted yet elusive MAGA swag.

That’s the day the bottom fell out of the Trump campaign, or so we thought.

Let me refresh your memory. That was the day the Access Hollywood tape was released by David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post. Do you remember hearing those words for the first time? I do. Here’s a small sample:

“I moved on her… And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

Everyone in the room listened in stunned silence. The phone banks went silent, the neighborhood canvassing stopped, volunteers sat wide-eyed and deflated. Party leadership panicked. I should have resigned. I told myself he wasn’t going to win anyway. I was wrong.

I haven’t thought about that Access Hollywood tape much, and that day in October feels like a life-time ago.

But I read those words again recently, and this time they weren’t attributed to Donald Trump, the reality TV star, but the former President of the United States on trial before the United States Senate for inciting an insurrection.

“I moved on her… And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

Believe it or not, Trump has commented on his use of words and their value. Trump said, “I know words, I have the best words.”

This wasn’t parapraxis. This isn’t even behavior that has been renounced and reversed. It’s the esse of the former President of the United States. According to Donald Trump, “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”

I want to highlight the few words that I have isolated from the overall conversation to highlight the psychology of Donald Trump. Just think about them for a minute. Donald Trump’s words give insight into his value-system.

“You can do anything.”

This “you can do anything” ethos exhibited by the former President has resulted in the second impeachment of a President for the first time in history.

Are we surprised?

After Trump’s first impeachment acquittal, he defended his “perfect call” with the President of Ukraine and blamed the “vicious as hell” Democrats. On the day the Senate voted to acquit, President Trump told his East Room audience “we went through hell,” and later told a group of reporters, “I can’t wait for the revenge.”

Mission accomplished.

On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump moved on America viciously, vicariously, and without restraint. In the aftermath, Trump demonstrated no remorse, no shame, no humility. Now, our country is caught in this nightmare scenario where Donald Trump has acted with impunity against our constitution, our capital, our conscience.

Will he be held accountable? Will he be stripped of the privilege of future electoral pursuits?

On Thursday House Manager Rep. Ted Lieu stated, ‘I’m not afraid he [Trump] will run again and win. I am afraid he will run again and lose.” That’s exactly the scenario that led to the slaughter of truth and the savagery of the mob. It’s not because Trump won – it’s because he lost.

After the insurrection Trump told his supporters, “The movement we have started is only just beginning.” Will former President Trump be allowed to continue to rage against America, or will he finally be stopped? History has its eyes on fifty Republican Senators.

It’s your move.