With Lamar Alexander and Lisa Murkowski announcing that they will vote against calling witnesses, the Senate’s impeachment proceeding nears an end. I thought they might actually vote tonight and bring the farce to a merciful conclusion, but apparently that isn’t happening. The New York Post offers a bipartisan explanation, but I suspect that part of what is going on is that the Democrats hope to extend the process beyond President Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

Why? Why not? As the final vote approaches, we are reminded that the president’s acquittal in the Senate was always a foregone conclusion. It has never been clear how the Democrats will avoid looking silly when their scheme inevitably falls far short. I think a plurality of voters already believe the whole impeachment process has been a waste of time, and that conclusion will only become stronger when it ends in failure.

Our long national nightmare is about to end. Unless you’re a Democrat.

UPDATE: As expected, the Senate voted against calling witnesses, 51-49. Legislation has been introduced in Utah to permit recall of a sitting senator.