No - of course they were going to claim it. My point is that the Dems have gone to great lengths to try to show that their support for conviction is based on Trump's crimes, not their political views. Saying it's a "political trial" makes that whole effort seem irrelevant.
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This is only the case if you think politics is inherently suspect. It's a political trial because it is taking place in a political arena and adjudicated by politicians. Politics is a necessary part of life and not worse than allegedly non political courts.
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It's so much worse to have the victims of an alleged crime - and, on the other side, arguable co-conspirators in that crime - weighing in on whether that crime was committed than the way it would work in a normal trial.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @HeerJeet and
And of course politics is inherently suspect when you're talking about literally prohibiting voters from voting for a candidate in the future. The only argument for that being a reasonable remedy is if the judgment on Trump is a dispassionate, apolitical one.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @HeerJeet and
The Constitution commits the decision to a political branch. If it does anything, it says “this is a political decision.”
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This is exactly wrong. The Senate was not envisioned as a “political branch.” It was supposed to be above politics.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @HeerJeet and
You should really take 10 minutes and read Nixon v. US. You’re misinformed and misinforming.
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Nixon vs. US has nothing to do with the fact that the Framers gave the authority to try impeachment cases to the Senate because it did not rest "on the basis of periodic elections," and could therefore be independent of politics and impartial.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @HeerJeet and
Nixon says that every aspect of trial procedure is a POLITICAL question because it is a question reserved to be decided by the Senate. The assertion that the United States Senate is not a political institution is frankly bizarre.
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Senators were not elected by the people, and that was a crucial part of why the responsibility for judging impeachment trials was assigned to them, because they were supposed to be above politics.
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Right, but the Founders also didn't want political parties (which sprang up immediately) or anticipate the direct election of the Senate. So their thoughts on this are of limited utility in current reality. Still, senate has always being a political institution.
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This is my whole point - we have an impeachment system designed for a system with no parties, and a non-democratically-elected Senate. Yet instead of changing the system to reflect the new reality, we're just saying "Ah, it's fine to do it this way."
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @dickius and
It's going to be very difficult if not impossible to change because it's in the constitution. So you have to work with the system you have.
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