# Trump is acquitted again - then what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 12, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763 "2021-02-12T14:14:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/61 "2021-02-14T04:17:43Z")
Reich sounds like a pretty appropriate surname for this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/62 "2021-02-14T07:20:21Z")
Why should the Democrats even try to be bipartisan with this bunch of lying hypocritical insurrection supporting obstructionist shit weasels? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/63 "2021-02-14T08:28:11Z")
> [@Robert Reich](#): > > To: President Joseph Biden > From: Every American who saw what the GOP did today > > Forget unity. Forget bipartisanship. Forget compromise. This is Trump’s mob. Eliminate the filibuster and get everything America needs done now. I’m Senegoid and I approve of this message. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/64 "2021-02-14T13:57:25Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I guess my question in the OP wasn’t clear - I meant specifically in regards to the events of Jan 6. I think the FBI is still searching for leads and identification on as many people as they can get that were involved that day. Here’s a link to their website (last updated Feb 2): [https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence](https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence) Hopefully they’ll get a lot more than the 250 or so they have now. Everyone who took part in that needs to be held accountable. As far as a general “what happens about Jan 6 now” - I’m not sure. It comes up in passing comments on most political news these days, and I’ve noticed it coming up at my workplace in a lot of offhand (non-political) conversations as well, so I don’t think it will be forgotten anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/65 "2021-02-14T14:14:17Z")
Here’s how the 14th amendment could be used to bar Trump: > **[Perspective | Using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from office could take years](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/12/14th-amendment-insurrection-trump-removal-problems/)** > > It’s unlikely Congress can disqualify Trump from office through a simple majority vote If this perspective is correct, Congress should (IAW the 14th Amendment’s enforcement verbiage) make a law that anyone who incited, encouraged, or took part in the attempted insurrection of Jan 6 2021 is ineligible to run for or hold federal political office. Then, if Trump tries to run, the DoJ can sue to say that he’s in violation of this statute, and the courts would make the ultimate determination. I wouldn’t count on SCOTUS making the right move here, but it’s better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/66 "2021-02-14T14:23:54Z")
I think a lot of Trump’s supporters just want an authoritarian dictator, and don’t care who the dictator is, or what they dictate, just so long as they’re authoritarian. Or rather, they’ll care if the dictator oppresses them, personally, but short of that, they want to follow his rules, no matter what those rules are. @octopus, the left was opposed to mob violence this past summer, and we were also opposed to mob violence in January. The right were the ones committing the mob violence last summer, and also the ones committing the mob violence in January. There is no equivalence between the parties, here. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/67 "2021-02-14T16:24:42Z")
That’s not what 100s of hours of video showed. The rioters, looters, arsonists, police station and court house attackers were definitely radical leftists who were encouraged by left wing politicians. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/68 "2021-02-14T16:29:50Z")
Agree wholeheartedly. No unity. No bipartisanship. End the filibuster and get things done. Biden and Democrats will be judged strictly on whether they get shit done or not. They have no choice but to use whatever tools they have at their disposal. There might be opportunities to get some repubs to join them but they can’t let the ideal of bipartisanship interfere with the business that needs to be done. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/69 "2021-02-14T16:30:33Z")
…aaand that’s a rap. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/70 "2021-02-14T17:52:18Z")
I’ve been thinking that a big part of Donald’s appeal is his ability to stay in the public eye while spouting hateful nonsense. Being POTUS gave him the bully pulpit, which he not only loved but also misused as effectively as anyone who has come before him. But now he doesn’t have the ability to command attention via his position. His favorite venue of expression has been denied him (even on a call-in to a friendly news program, the right wing media interjects occasionally to ask him a policy question and he hates letting anyone else talk). We live in a 24-hour news cycle now where big news rarely stays atop the web pages for more than a day or two. It was Trump’s particular genius(?) in that he could generate a new outrage nearly every day, frequently enough to stay in the public’s constant attention. But what happens now? What happens six months from now when the news has moved on to the fights over voting rights and health care and The Don can’t get podium enough to be even a small factor in the discussion? How does he maintain that intense loyalty without his daily rants? I don’t think he can. But if he somehow manages to stay viable enough to win his party’s nomination again in '24, I say “bring it.” We’ll get 81 million votes again to keep you him of the White House (GOP voter suppression efforts notwithstanding). ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/71 "2021-02-14T18:06:00Z")
It’s not even an ideology; it’s an occasionally violent reaction to a violent ideology. It’s a counter-insurgency, insurgency. I don’t agree with antifa’s tactics, but they’re not a clear and present danger to the republic any more than the Black Panthers were in the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/72 "2021-02-14T18:08:29Z")
A big part of Donald Trump’s appeal is that he has the power to be an unapologetic white male narcissistic, totally male chauvinistic, occasionally racist asshole, like so many white Republicans wish they had the power to be without suffering any consequences for it. That is why they have so much faux rage against ‘cancel culture’ – they miss living in a world in which their intolerance has little or no consequences. The world sucks when you have to share it with people who think you’re an asshole _and_ have the power to make you pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/73 "2021-02-14T18:13:14Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Here’s how the 14th amendment could be used to bar Trump: > > [https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/12/14th-amendment-insurrection-trump-removal-problems/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/12/14th-amendment-insurrection-trump-removal-problems/) > > If this perspective is correct, Congress should (IAW the 14th Amendment’s enforcement verbiage) make a law that **anyone who incited, encouraged, or took part in** the attempted insurrection of Jan 6 2021 is ineligible to run for or hold federal political office. Then, if Trump tries to run, the DoJ can sue to say that he’s in violation of this statute, and the courts would make the ultimate determination. I wouldn’t count on SCOTUS making the right move here, but it’s better than nothing. (My bold) Just to make sure Trump is covered under this statute, I would include “did nothing to stop”. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/74 "2021-02-14T18:15:02Z")
Not only is it unlikely, it could backfire in a very dangerous way for Democrats. Recall that not too long ago it was Harry Reid who proposed the nuclear option to get rid of filibuster for nominations. A few years later, McConnell used that newly found power to steamroll Democratic opposition and shove conservative justice after conservative justice, right wing crackpot after right wing crackpot down their throats. Try disqualifying Republicans from future office based on a simple up-down vote in the Senate and House, and the next congressional election may very well turn into a de facto referendum on liberal democracy, as the Republicans would surely not hesitate to use a new precedent to destroy their opposition, finding someone who say participated in a protest march and using that as a pretext to disqualify them from office. I would avoid going this route, which doesn’t mean that Republicans couldn’t try it eventually on their own anyway, but the opposition to such an extreme tactic doesn’t need to be assisted by Democrats now. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/75 "2021-02-14T18:18:58Z")
I think whatever they find needs to be established in a criminal court of law and nothing less. Impeachment probably would have sufficed, IMO, but there has to be some sort of due process before the 14th Amendment could be invoked. Anything less, and we’re asking for mischief, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/76 "2021-02-14T18:34:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Congress should (IAW the 14th Amendment’s enforcement verbiage) make a law that **anyone who incited, encouraged, or took part in** the attempted insurrection of Jan 6 2021 is ineligible to run for or hold federal political office. Wouldn’t that be an Ex Post Facto law, and thus specifically barred by the constitution? [Ex Post Facto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_post_facto_law) > An **_ex post facto_ law** (corrupted from [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language): _ex postfacto_ , [lit.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_translation) ‘out of the aftermath’) is a [law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law) that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. [The Constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Section_9:_Limits_on_Congress) > No [Bill of attainder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_attainder) or ex post facto Law shall be passed. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/77 "2021-02-14T18:42:02Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > bunch of lying hypocritical insurrection supporting obstructionist shit weasels I must say that American English seems specially apt for derision, that is even better than the _cheese eating surrender monkeys_ of yore. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/78 "2021-02-14T19:20:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Reich sounds like a pretty appropriate surname for this guy. Eh…well, he is Jewish and actually a pretty cool guy and pretty intelligent. Former Secretary of Labor under Clinton and is currently a professor at UC Berkeley. His YouTube channel is pretty good too: > **[Robert Reich](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuDv5p8E-evaRSh542hDV5g)** > > Inequality Media Civic Action is a nonprofit co-founded by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and Director Jacob Kornbluth following the success of their documentary film, Inequality For All. Inequality Media Civic Action uses the power of... You can disagree with him, of course. Just saying he is not just some random crank on Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/79 "2021-02-14T19:35:19Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It’s political theater because the left is perfectly fine with mob violence employed for political gain. They just aren’t fine when they aren’t in control of the mob. Do you understand that the Republicans have done the things in the real world that the Democrats are doing in your imagination? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763/80 "2021-02-14T19:40:25Z")
I understand that is a very creative spin on the events of the summer. Why obvious acts of violence by the left and calls for violence by the left and the leadership of the left are ignored is no surprise but unlike online echo chambers the facts in the real world aren’t so easily creatively redefined. Yes, the capital mob was bad. As is the vast majority of political mob violence. I don’t pretend that it’s only one side engaged in it. Nor do I excuse one side when it fits an ideological narrative. The democrats’ case would have been far stronger if they had intellectual consistency. But they don’t and never will because power is all that matters to parties and institutions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-acquitted-again-then-what/932763.md?page=5)