The first day of the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump was a perfect microcosm of the country’s partisan divide and what’s at stake in a post-Trump America.
One side, the Democratic House managers, made their case with a video all Americans should watch, which cast into sharp relief just how violent and blood-thirsty the Capitol insurrectionists were, and just how much they were encouraged by President Trump.
This side — those arguing for impeachment — came into these hearings with a solemn sense of duty, not to their own political aspirations or the viability of their party or even their constituents, but to nothing less than sustaining American democracy.
Two men came close to tears at Tuesday’s hearing, each representative of his respective side.
The first was Rep. Jamie Raskin, who recounted bringing his daughter to the Capitol soon after his son’s tragic death so that he could do his civic duty and vote to certify the results of the 2020 election, even in the face of a president who had spent months trying to undermine them.
“One side watched a great wrong be perpetrated on the American democratic system — a wrong from which we have not recovered, which was incited by a dangerous and autocratic president, and which could happen again if we do not take appropriate action.”
It seems unlikely that Trump will be convicted in the Senate, no matter how convincing the case for impeachment might be.
The people presenting evidence and arguments in favor of impeachment know that.
They’re doing it anyway, not to score partisan points — this is a fight they will almost surely lose — but because of the clear necessity of holding accountable a man who was until a few weeks ago the most powerful person in the world.
Their sense of duty is palpable, while their opponents appear angry that they even have to show up.