Put differently, the Republicans who took such offense at the notion that Trump would threaten them and then retaliate if they defied him were caught with their yellow streak showing. Reed Galen and John Weaver, who helped found the Lincoln Project PAC, which seeks to throw out Trump and his cohorts, write, “Trump’s GOP offers neither intellectual heft nor ideological stability. If a political party has neither a cogent belief system, nor a program for allowing Americans to live their best lives as they see fit, that party is simply a gang.” A gang led by a bully.

The first step toward national sanity and constitutional recovery after impeachment, therefore, is to acknowledge what happened: Senate Republicans cowardly submitted to their gang leader and concocted retroactive excuses for their lack of principle.

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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) acknowledges as much in a bracing op-ed in the New York Times. “So watching the mental contortions they perform to justify their votes is painful to behold: They claim that calling witnesses would have meant a never-ending trial. They tell us they’ve made up their minds, so why would we need new evidence? They say to convict this president now would lead to the impeachment of every future president — as if every president will try to sell our national security to the highest bidder,” he writes. He says this crowd "cannot fathom a fate worse than losing an upcoming election.” In short, Republicans are putting themselves above country because they are afraid Trump will chase them out of office otherwise.

That leads to the second step: To smash that defend-your-seat-at-all-costs mentality, the senators who capitulated to Trump must be voted out. The lesson learned must be that, if you want a career in politics, you need to do the right thing, especially when the stakes are so high.

Galen and Weaver vow: “We are committed to working with the Democrats because of our joint desire to protect the Constitution.” They plan to convince voters of “Trump’s fundamental unfitness for office and, second, why defeating him and his army of sycophants is the most immediate and effective thing Americans can do to begin writing our new history.” This requires putting aside policy disagreements, even serious ones, to make certain the likes of Trump, along with Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and other Republican doormats, become exhibits in a self-help book entitled “Why Capitulation to a Bully Is Bad for Your Career.” The need to break the cycle of cowardice also means helping to save from defeat those lawmakers such as Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) who took the tough vote to throw Trump out.

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Third, it behooves disgusted and/or former Republicans as well as independents, in primary elections, to pull for Democrats who are viable in November. That means supporting challengers who are ethically above suspicion, ideologically appropriate to the electorate and solid campaigners and fundraisers. Now is no time to make a point; it’s time to win races.

Fourth, as Bill Kristol from the Republicans for the Rule of Law urges, it is also necessary to continue to investigate, expose and hold Trump accountable for ongoing abuses of power and corruption (e.g., emoluments, self-dealing):

There are still court cases to be fought (e.g., former White House counsel Donald McGahn’s defiance of subpoenas; emoluments litigation) to uphold constitutional limits on the president.

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And finally, Congress should remember its legislative function. The House can enact criminal penalties for soliciting a foreign power to initiate investigation of political rivals (or of any American). It can strengthen whistleblower laws (making clear that outing a whistleblower who has legitimate concerns for his safety and/or career is illegal) and impose civil and/or criminal penalties on Cabinet officials who defy lawful subpoenas. Let Republicans oppose those measures if they so choose.

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In sum, the conduct of Trump and Republicans leading up to and during the impeachment proceedings is a powerful reason to throw them out of office. This horrible episode in our history should incentivize all Americans, regardless of party, to work toward a single objective: Clearing the decks so that post-Trump reform can proceed, and we can turn to repairing the substantial damage Republicans have done to our institutions and political norms.

Onward.

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