6 impeachment sham takeaways

The whole thing was a sham.

1. The Constitution does not allow removal from office someone who is no longer in office. Duh! That really should be a no-brainer, right? But folks hell-bent on a diabolical plan don't care about the Constitution they purport to honor.

2. "When we know better, we do better" is not true in D.C.

These political piranhas know better. They know former President Trump did not call for people to act a fool and invade our nation's Capitol. Nonetheless, they selectively edited his comments to make it appear he was guilty of "inciting an insurrection" and blaming him for grown folks' violence. They heard him say to "peacefully and patriotically" protest. They just don't care. Why? Because many of them despise him, and despising him -- for whatever their reasons -- matters more to them than to "do better."

3. The victims were exploited.

Politicians are in office to serve the people. Well, that's a joke. Their war against Trump was waged not in defense of, but in spite of the Jan. 6 victims. People were injured. People died. And it wasn't Trump's fault. It was the fault of people who should be held accountable for their own actions. Didn't Mommy and Daddy teach Lil Johnny and Becky Sue that when they were like 2 years old? And, again, senators know this. And, again, they just don't care. So they thumb their nose at the child who lost her parent, the department that lost its officer, the wife who lost her husband. They will exploit whatever -- whomever -- to get the desired result. Sickening.

4. Democrats stand together -- no matter what.

This is nothing new. Democrats have their playbook together. (It's Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals," by the way.) They may fight and claw amongst themselves, which we know they do, but when they emerge from inside their den, they do so with a plan -- and the plan is to destroy Republicans and advance their own agenda. It reminds me of a sentence from "The Light in the Forest" by Conrad Richter: "Though dogs may fight among themselves, they are one against the wolf." The same is true of donkeys facing elephants.

5. Republicans are as weak-kneed as ever.

The GOP has great courage -- to counter their own. While Democrats are steel in standing together, Republicans are putty. They throw one another under the bus at lightning speed. Seven voted to convict Trump, to remove a man from office who, um, is no longer in office, to lay upon him the blame of other folks' foolishness and crime. And, like those on the other side of the aisle, they know better. Many lawmakers are corrupt, but they're not stupid. Hear me on this, lest I be misunderstood: I'm not suggesting politicians vote against their conscience (assuming they have one). I'm saying they know better, but many in the Never Trump camp are in Trump's own party, and this was their opportunity to stick it to him. It was also their opportunity to cozy closer up to the left. Did y'all see Sen. Mitch McConnell's speech even after his "not guilty" vote? What in the world?! Republicans have almost zero courage whenever it's time to stand up for their principles but possess an abundance of it when it comes to siding with the dogs on the other side of the aisle, using -- metaphorically, of course -- Richter's term.

6. They're scared of Trump.

In addition to hate for Trump, there's intense fear of him. Many, including the media puppets, laughed at the idea of a Trump victory in 2016. No doubt, some are still in therapy over that one. They saw the movement he created. They fear a comeback. So the impeachment sham was to ensure no comeback. Constitution be darned. Common sense be darned. Taxpayer dollars be darned. Certain acquittal be darned. Hatred was at the heart of it, but fear was runner-up. Maybe even vice versa.

Here's the upshot: I'm no Republican and sho' ain't no Democrat. I'm a common sense conservative. I have no loyalty to any of these jokers. My only loyalty is to what's right, so I call out both sides, just as I praise both sides when warranted. All except one of the "guilty" Republican votes was expected, so, thankfully, most did the right thing. It won't be long, however, before another situation arises. Just hang on; more shameful shams are sure to come.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.