Senator Rob Portman knows better!
"If the 'former guy' president crosses a line and takes an action that is a danger to the country, would you step up and do something to stop it?"
What next for Trump and Trumpism?
Kevin S. Aldridge published in the Cincinnati Enquirer
The most shocking thing about Senator Rob Portman's vote to acquit the former president Donald Trump of inciting insurrection was how unsurprising it was. There was a time when Portman knew better.
The House impeachment managers presented indisputable facts about Trump's role in sparking the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The very same attack that had Portman and his fellow senators scrambling for safety and that left five dead – including a Capitol Police officer. Trump deserved to be convicted for the undeniable part he played in those events.
Since Portman isn't seeking reelection, it would have been gratifying to see the Terrace Park Republican exercise his newfound freedom by choosing country over party. This was his chance to clearly state his values as he did when he pulled his endorsement of Trump in 2016 following the Republican nominee's lewd comments about kissing and groping women without consent. But sadly, that's not what Portman did, or who he is. At least not during the past four years, anyway.
Throughout his career, Portman has been known as a loyal soldier, a hard-working, principled, no-drama politician Republicans can count on to get the job done. Considered one of the few moderate Republicans left in Congress, he voted in line with Trump almost 90% of the time. He remained largely silent in the face of the former president's abhorrent behavior and reckless language, choosing to focus on passing legislation instead of judgment on Trump. It took him far too long to reject Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and finally declare Joe Biden as the true winner.
The most shocking thing about Senator Rob Portman's vote to acquit the former president Donald Trump of inciting insurrection was how unsurprising it was. There was a time when Portman knew better.
The House impeachment managers presented indisputable facts about Trump's role in sparking the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The very same attack that had Portman and his fellow senators scrambling for safety and that left five dead – including a Capitol Police officer. Trump deserved to be convicted for the undeniable part he played in those events.
Since Portman isn't seeking reelection, it would have been gratifying to see the Terrace Park Republican exercise his newfound freedom by choosing country over party. This was his chance to clearly state his values as he did when he pulled his endorsement of Trump in 2016 following the Republican nominee's lewd comments about kissing and groping women without consent. But sadly, that's not what Portman did, or who he is. At least not during the past four years, anyway.
Throughout his career, Portman has been known as a loyal soldier, a hard-working, principled, no-drama politician Republicans can count on to get the job done. Considered one of the few moderate Republicans left in Congress, he voted in line with Trump almost 90% of the time. He remained largely silent in the face of the former president's abhorrent behavior and reckless language, choosing to focus on passing legislation instead of judgment on Trump. It took him far too long to reject Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and finally declare Joe Biden as the true winner.
When our nation needed a loyal soldier to "fight like hell" against Trump's abuse of power, Portman instead chose to fall in line with his 42 GOP Senate cohorts, including Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. His decision to stand on the wrong side of history by ignoring damning evidence and acquitting Trump is beyond disappointing; it's shameful.
Sure, there are unscrupulous politicians more deserving of harsh criticism than Portman, one of the few nice guys left in Washington. Perhaps that's why his let-down is so stinging. I had expected more from him; hoped he might have joined the seven other Republican senators who prioritized facts over politics and found Trump guilty.
Indeed, it's difficult to reconcile how Portman, who, in 1998, voted to impeach Democratic President Bill Clinton for his conduct during a sex scandal, could refuse to hold Trump accountable for his unpatriotic actions. Surely, if Clinton deserved to be impeached for having sexual relations with a White House intern and lying under oath about it, then Trump should be held accountable for lying about mass voter fraud, unleashing an angry mob on the Capitol and doing little to nothing to stop it. If that isn't impeachable, then what is?
The power to remove a president, or any federal officer, from office or bar them from holding office again in the future shouldn't be taken lightly. But Portman even had to admit that Trump's speech on Jan. 6, was "inexcusable," and that he "encouraged the mob" that stormed the Capitol. McConnell echoed those sentiments.
"I have also criticized his slow response as the mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, putting at risk the safety of Vice President Pence, law enforcement officers, and others who work in the Capitol," Portman said in a statement following the impeachment vote. "Even after the attack, some of the language in his tweets and in a video showed sympathy for the violent mob."
Yet, instead of voting to convict, Portman elected to cling to the argument that a former president can't be impeached!
The power to remove a president, or any federal officer, from office or bar them from holding office again in the future shouldn't be taken lightly. But Portman even had to admit that Trump's speech on Jan. 6, was "inexcusable," and that he "encouraged the mob" that stormed the Capitol. McConnell echoed those sentiments.
"I have also criticized his slow response as the mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, putting at risk the safety of Vice President Pence, law enforcement officers, and others who work in the Capitol," Portman said in a statement following the impeachment vote. "Even after the attack, some of the language in his tweets and in a video showed sympathy for the violent mob."
Yet, instead of voting to convict, Portman elected to cling to the argument that a former president can't be impeached!
This is an argument that many constitutional scholars – both conservative and liberal – have disputed. And remember, the House of Representatives did impeach Trump while he was still in office. It was then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell who would not consent to bring the Senate back into session before Biden's inauguration to conduct the trial.
Portman might actually believe he was keeping his oath to the Constitution by casting his no-vote. But what he and other Republican senators really did was set a dangerous precedent for future presidents with autocratic proclivities to avoid punishment for their abuses of power. Portman said his vote "in no way condones the former president's conduct." Maybe, Senator. But an acquittal certainly doesn't condemn it.![]()
Portman has a long, distinguished career as a U.S. senator and a former White House aide, budget director, congressman, trade representative and even once was considered a viable candidate for Vice President of the United States. His drive to make a difference has resulted in many significant pieces of legislation that have improved the lives of his constituents in Greater Cincinnati and across the country. The Trump years won't define Portman's legacy, but they will almost certainly be a stain on it.
In February 2018, Portman visited with the Enquirer's editorial board prior to a speech the former president Trump would give later that day at Sheffer Corp. in Blue Ash, to sell his tax cut proposal. The former guy president, as he was prone to do, had just made a series of controversial and divisive statements, and the board was concerned about the state of the nation's political discourse and direction. So I looked to Portman, one of the good guys in Washington with a reputation for reaching across party lines to get things done, and I asked him this question: If the president crosses a line and takes an action that is a danger to the country, would you step up and do something to stop it?
He assured the board he would. At the time, I believed him.
Since then, I’ve watched Trump defile his office in a multitude of ways, behavior that earned him two impeachments and justifiable scorn for inciting the worst violence against the seat of our democracy in 200 years.
Portman might actually believe he was keeping his oath to the Constitution by casting his no-vote. But what he and other Republican senators really did was set a dangerous precedent for future presidents with autocratic proclivities to avoid punishment for their abuses of power. Portman said his vote "in no way condones the former president's conduct." Maybe, Senator. But an acquittal certainly doesn't condemn it.
Portman has a long, distinguished career as a U.S. senator and a former White House aide, budget director, congressman, trade representative and even once was considered a viable candidate for Vice President of the United States. His drive to make a difference has resulted in many significant pieces of legislation that have improved the lives of his constituents in Greater Cincinnati and across the country. The Trump years won't define Portman's legacy, but they will almost certainly be a stain on it.
In February 2018, Portman visited with the Enquirer's editorial board prior to a speech the former president Trump would give later that day at Sheffer Corp. in Blue Ash, to sell his tax cut proposal. The former guy president, as he was prone to do, had just made a series of controversial and divisive statements, and the board was concerned about the state of the nation's political discourse and direction. So I looked to Portman, one of the good guys in Washington with a reputation for reaching across party lines to get things done, and I asked him this question: If the president crosses a line and takes an action that is a danger to the country, would you step up and do something to stop it?
He assured the board he would. At the time, I believed him.
Since then, I’ve watched Trump defile his office in a multitude of ways, behavior that earned him two impeachments and justifiable scorn for inciting the worst violence against the seat of our democracy in 200 years.
Labels: Cincinnati Equirer, Kevin S. Aldridge
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