Trump's acquittal is a sign of ‘constitutional rot’

I wouldn't really quite regulate that only towards the US

It turns out that Americans have only a few common values - things like sports and calories.

I think we have had a Constitutional rotting from the head now for quite for over 12 years now.

This is why the Senate’s failure to convict Trump should be seen as a sure sign of just how deep our constitutional rot goes.

I am not American but from an outsider's viewpoint it seems to me that over the last 4 years the Democrats have fought tooth and nail to oppose everything that Trump and the Republicans tried to do including impeaching him twice. So it makes sense that the Republicans will fight tooth and nail to oppose everything the Democrats want to do. Is it rot? I think it is actually democracy at it's finest. That is how it is supposed to work that's why they get paid so they can fight tooth and nail to oppose everything their opposition wants to achieve as that is why they didn't get a majority but they still get a voice to represent the people that voted them into their seat. It seems the author expects the Republicans to roll over and step aside for his party of choice but that is not how a democracy works.

Thanks to JT for carrying a cogent viewpoint on the issue. in my opinion, 'The Conversation' is worth reading, at least for thinkers.

Title says it all.

MAGAworld is a cult - and history has clearly shown us what happens to cults as they end.

I’ve heard frequent comments of this sort recently, but the claim invariably comes from persons who fundamentally do not understand the perspectives and motives of the people they are talking about. Yes, 70 million people have latched onto Trump as their leader, but Trump is a symptom and reflection of social conditions and popular opinions, not some driving force behind them.

An intersection of populism, nationalism, and Christianity existed long before Trump. Trump vaulted to the fore because he ticked two out of three of these boxes and was not openly antagonistic to the third. Trace a line backwards through Tea Party voters, Ron Paul voters, and Ross Perot voters. An anti-establishment political movement on the right has been growing for decades. The establishment’s vicious, reactionary lashback at losing briefly to the populist rabble, with multiple impeachments, deplatformings, and the like, seems more likely to cement the political stance than to stamp it out.

Whether Trump was re-elected or not re-elected, convicted or not convicted, really isn’t going to change this. There is a mass of people who loosely share a common identity and similar convictions. Their commonality is far larger than any cult of personality. Trump could disappear tomorrow, and a populist Christian nationalism would still be on the rise.

Are you referring to the impeachment or the election "trials"?

The impeachment of course.

They did, but it was a kangaroo court with biased judges who had pre-determined the outcome before hearing the evidence.

Are you referring to the impeachment or the election "trials"?

The Senate’s decision to acquit former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial may have been a victory for Trump, but it is a clear sign that democracy in the U.S. is in poor health.

They didn't have a case against Trump. So the fact that they still did all this to try to get him impeached is indeed a sign of constitutional rot.

Another viewpoint is that the people protesting at the Capitol is in fact holding their government accountable.

No, the attempted assassination of elected officials is not "holding government accountable".

Republican senators swore an oath to their god, then lied and betrayed their oath and their nation.

It was not the constitution which failed, it was the character of the Republicans.

The inability of America to make any fundamental change because some guys didn't think of it 200+ years ago exposes major flaws in the constitution. This includes, but definitely is not limited to, Trump being exonerated twice for two things he clearly did.

Is that "rot"? Maybe or maybe not. But it definitely gets rid of this idea that the American constitution is the best document ever written, or the greatest example of democracy ever seen.

I would disagree with the author. Constitutional rot implies a degradation of the entire system of democracy underpinning our country - I don't think the problem is that widespread...

The past four years of trauma, chaos, and untruthfulness can be traced to one individual - an unhinged, immoral, autocrat-wannabe that used the tactics of the demagogue to incite and inflame those in society with weaker minds. - unable to see thorough his message of hate and intolerance.

That demagogue has been tossed out - and will likely face numerous trials for a series of criminal offenses and civil suits for his negligence.

MAGAworld is a cult - and history has clearly shown us what happens to cults as they end...

No, it is a sign of a strong decline in ethical and moral values. How many people actually know the constitution of the USA ?

I haven't heard of any protests this year at the Capitol. Only the seditious riot on Jan 6.