Blind eyes

Americans have the attention spans of gnats. Seems most can’t be bothered to tune into the impeachment hearings.

More than 80 percent of the nation reportedly watched at least part of the Watergate hearings when Richard Nixon’s presidency was on the line. Today, in the reality-TV era, roughly 4 percent have that type of intellectual curiosity.

That’s a shame given the stakes—you know, just America’s constitutional democracy.

Based on the testimony I’ve watched thus far, it doesn’t take long for any rational person to see that Donald Trump abused his power for personal gain at the cost of national security.

But that’s really not a surprise. It’s been clear for the bulk of his term that his work in the Oval Office is part of the long con. The Ukraine imbroglio is just one small part of it. Recall how quickly his sycophants went from saying there was no quid pro quo to saying that the president could basically do whatever he wants. That’s because they know he’s guilty.

In fact, that’s probably why Trump’s base isn’t tuning in. I can’t believe I’m about to write a sports analogy, but, look, nobody wants to watch their home team get its ass kicked.

The question ultimately is whether the GOP-controlled Senate is willing to determine that Trump is above the law. If so, they’ll set a dangerous precedent. Thing is, they’ve had their minds made up for weeks—prior to the start of the open hearings—hence the fingers in their ears. Case in point: Sen. Lindsey Graham publicly vowed not to watch them.

Congressional Republicans’ defense strategy in the hearings thus far has largely involved either easily debunked conspiracy theories or character assassination of key witnesses. Problem is, we’re talking about people with exemplary records who have spent decades in service to their country under presidents of both parties.

The exception came Wednesday morning (Nov. 20) during the testimony of Gordon Sondland, a Pacific Northwest hotelier serving as Trump’s ambassador to the EU. He’s not a career service member, but rather a rich guy who bought his post via GOP fundraising. He was expected to plead the Fifth Amendment. Unfortunately for the president, that didn’t happen: “Was there a ‘quid pro quo’?” Sondland read from his opening statement. “The answer is yes.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Trump spins that testimony. For advice, we can be sure that he’ll turn to his favorite mouthpiece, Fox News. Hell, an anchor at that network, the Trump administration’s unofficial state TV, actually encouraged the president to ignore the entire proceedings. That is, a purported news source told the most powerful man in the world to turn away from the process outlined in the Constitution as the way to hold corrupt members of the executive branch to account. I’m sure that message wasn’t lost on viewers.

Perhaps most baffling is how Trump is able to hold the support of low- and middle-income earners when he’s so clearly not working in their interests. Income inequality is at the highest point in five decades—the point at which the federal government began tracking it.

But whatever. Move along. Nothing to see here. Just your basic banana republic.