In New Editorial, Portland Press Herald Says Vote Of “Not Guilty” Would Poison Our Political System

 

In a new editorial, the Portland Press Herald is calling for Senator Susan Collins to vote to convict the president, noting that there has been no fair trial in the Senate and that -- even though Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked key witnesses and evidence -- it is obvious that Trump ”actually is guilty.” The Editorial Board made clear what has been apparent to Mainers from the very beginning -- that a vote to acquit the president “is a vote in favor of a cynical view that works like a poison on our political system.” 

 

Maine Democrats have called on Senator Collins to refuse to vote for acquittal without a fair process that includes witnesses and evidence. Collins herself has said that it is “important” to “explore with Mr. Bolton the allegations he is making” and that witness testimony would help “resolve any ambiguities” in the case against the president.

 

But after the cover-up perpetrated by Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans, Collins cannot vote to acquit Trump without betraying her constituents, who have demanded a fair trial and integrity from their senior senator, and her own claims of needing to hear from witnesses in order to make a decision in this case. How she chooses to respond in this critical moment will define her legacy for years to come.

 

Portland Press Herald: Our View: Maine’s Senators Should Vote To Convict Trump

 

By The Editorial Board

February 4, 2020

 

Key Points:

 

  • This shouldn’t be a hard one. Senators should find the president guilty for one simple reason: He actually is guilty.

 

  • Few facts of the case are in dispute. Even some of the president’s supporters acknowledge that Trump did what he was accused of, and that if he isn’t stopped, there is good reason to believe he will do it again. But because the politics of the case are much more complicated than the factual record, we are expecting Trump to be acquitted Wednesday.

 

  • When the case moved to the Senate, it became clear that there would be no fair trial. The Republican majority would block the introduction of any new evidence, while blaming the House for presenting an incomplete record. 

 

  • But even without new witnesses and documents, the House has presented more than enough to convict the president.

 

  • It is undisputed that Trump used powers that only a president has to pressure a foreign government into helping him in his re-election campaign. Trump abused those powers – using them for personal gain, not in the national  interest – which is a textbook example of a “high crime.”

 

  • The senators are not the only ones who know that Trump is guilty. Except for a few diehards, even his supporters acknowledge that he did what he is accused of, but they forgive him because they’ve been told that everybody is corrupt. They argue that Trump is no worse than presidents Obama or Clinton and the only ones who say he is are partisan shills.

 

  • A vote of “not guilty,” no matter how an individual senator justifies it, is a vote in favor of a cynical view that works like a poison on our political system. 

 

  • Trump didn’t invent partisanship, but he has pushed it to a new limit, and how members of the Senate respond to the test will echo in our system for a long time.

 

  • We urge Maine’s senators, Susan Collins and Angus King, to do the right thing and vote to convict this president so the country can begin rebuilding faith in our most important institutions.

 

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