Greg Sargent: How GOP senators are already pre-spinning their coverup for Trump
By Greg Sargent
Opinion writer
Jan. 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. EST
If you pay careful attention, you can see that Republican senators are already revealing how they will turn President Trump’s trial into a coverup — and even subtly telegraphing the spin they’ll employ to insulate themselves from the political fallout of their inevitable sham-acquittal.
Here’s the game: Republicans are making loud noises of disapproval about a current effort by Trump’s allies to get the trial dismissed before it starts, to lay the groundwork to spin an eventual witness-free trial as fair by reverse-comparison.
Republicans will then count on the media’s both-sidesing instincts to treat the story as a conventional Washington tit-for-tat, in which one side wants witnesses, and the other does not, without clearly conveying the core objective realities about the situation needed to appreciate the lopsided absurdity of the Trump/GOP position.
With House Democrats set to send articles of impeachment to the Senate, numerous Senate Republicans are now nixing a proposal — which Trump supports — to change Senate rules to allow for the dismissal of impeachment charges at any time. But how they’re doing this contains a key tell.
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Keep an eye on them!!
= new reply since forum marked as read
will be just shy of the votes needed.
It is all planned. They need to give some cover to some republicans in districts that may be at risk, but when the counting is finished, it will be close, but no banana. They will dance the tango, followed by a fox trot, finishing with a spectacular tap dance that would make Fred Astaire envious. But they will know the outcome before they start voting. With the republicans, there is NO business like SHOW business... (SING OUT, ETHEL!)
Even if they allow witnesses and documents that PROVE BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT that the turd is guilty, only a maximum of 66 will vote to remove him. Susan Collins will vote to support the turd. Bless her heart.
This, however, is a winning issue for democrats. Americans recognize a rigged vote when they see one.
And that is what the democrats should continue to charge, "RIGGED VOTE, RIGGED VOTE, RIGGED VOTE". It will hopefully help us take back the senate. And rid ourselves of MOSCOW MITCH.
edited to add the Ethel comment.... 
