Greene's day

Post-Trump, McConnell meant to rule the roost
and money'd have to flow Kentucky's way.
But somewhere, half the party's screws shook loose 
He'd lost the leverage for pay-to-play.
The CrossFit dominatrix claims the stage
As loud as Hannity, and twice as wrong.
Mitch looks a brittle corpse at twice her age;
unlike her logic, zealotry runs strong.

'Though even Georgia wants her on a leash
this GOP adores a circus show.
Predictably, she votes to not impeach
until the voice of Jesus tells her so.
'twere rich to grant this party has a soul,
but claws come out as cats contest control.

"...shall preside..."

Chief Justice Roberts hopes we'll disregard
his role presiding in this travesty.
to reconcile the Senate Rules is hard

with what judicial process ought to be.

Two dozen lawyers heard no evidence

as if to do so were a waste of time.

They're disinclined to trade Trump in for Pence

although 'twere fitting for his spree of crime.

No check, no balance holds the Donald's rein

psychiatrists attest he's run amok.
But even when our president's insane

it's plain McConnell doesn't give a fuck.
Enlightenment's experiment's a fail

if we can't send this criminal to jail.

tainted

Chief Justice Roberts doesn't want to rule
on what's admissible, and must be heard.
Each side portrays him as the other's tool
although that notion's patently absurd.
The Senate gelds itself, as if to check
Executives were not its sacred writ.
A despot's boot on our collective neck
grinds voters' faces in a world of shit.
Tripartite government bears the attacks
as week by week, what had been bad gets worse.
What Caesar seizes, he ain't giving back
and Trumpty craves the Power of the Purse.
A Unified Executive's the thing
our Founders fought to rid us of a king.

"The time has come" the walrus said "to talk"

John Bolton doesn't want to go to jail;
he told Fiona Hill to write notes down.
A trial would find he left a paper trail
disowning policies set by this clown.
John told the House he wouldn't testify--
unless they'd send subpoenas to coerce.
His loyalty's not wholly to one guy
who broke the Persian deal, and made it worse.
Now, Senators opine they ought to hear
first-hand what had transpired behind closed doors.
Though little Bolton says is wholly clear,
he's quite irate Iran's not yet at war.
The Senate--scared to actually try
a president--has yet to tell us why.

big test

Two bills Pelosi sent up from the House
adjure the Senate to deliberate.
Two sparks McConnell fiercely wants to douse
before the Light of Truth can propagate.
But--in impeachment--Justice would preside
John Roberts takes the seat from the VP.
By oath, he mustn't favor any side
entrusted with the High Court's legacy.
"Two thirds" is still a daunting hill to climb;
Trump's faction keeps their thumbs firm in their ears.
If once we were to prosecute his crimes
some might vote more on ethics than on fears.
Imperfect vessels of our highest trust
could yet prove our republic's been a bust.

Balance of Power

As Alexander Hamilton explained:
a faction might refuse to see the flaw
in crimes as crass as Trumpty's in Ukraine.
They'd hold "their" president above the Law.
James Madison hoped we could dodge these snares:
A growing Union's vast diversity
could mean there's no majority clique there
to trample Justice chasing Unity.
Tripartite government should be a "stool"
to balance Palace 'gainst the People's Halls.
But institutions can't make men of fools
and Mitch McConnell seems have no balls.
Enlightenment's experiment could fail
if we don't send this orange ass to jail.

Parties are a bug, not a feature

What Hamilton most feared has come to pass;
one faction holds the Senate in our times
defending tribally it's arrant ass
ignoring evidence of his high crimes.
No public spirit motivates their ranks;
Each votes as Mitch McConnell says they ought.
Unswerving minions to Big Oil and Banks,
their honor has been weighed and--cheaply--bought.
Four dozen voices; scarce a single brain,
Murkowski stands alone, expressing doubt
whose interests got served in the Ukraine.
For which she's urged to "shut up" and "get out".
Appeal to Heaven's still our last resort
if Congress can't comport as fits a court.

uncharted

Impeachment mechanisms are right there;
the House indicts, the Senate tries the case.
Already, Hamilton smelled factions' snare;
allegiances could shrink to just one's "base".
"Ambition must be made to counter-act..."
James Madison refused to give up hope.
Tripartite government could work in fact
(unless we'd vest high office in a dope).
But still, some failures couldn't be foreseen.
A Congress so deficient in its pride--
subservient to White House's machine
--could fail to take the sov'reign People's side.
The Framers sketched no  roadmap for this mess;
the seat McConnell stole leaves no redress.

testify, sister!

Fiona Hill's a villain to the tribe
who'll never get what makes this country great.
She caught her boss soliciting a bribe
and--by her oath--will not equivocate.
The immigrants who've made this land their own
(not Gorka, but the likes of Dr. Hill)
won't bow to Trumpty on his tin-plate throne
and rain contempt on sycophants who will.
A land where class won't limit where she'll go,
where accent won't define a woman's place;
should not be sullied with Trump's quid pro quo,
or Pence's thinly veiled appeals to race.
No man of woman born can bring him down,
But Hill's the fitting bane of Trumpty-clown.

duplicitous

The scandal Gordon Sondland has described

sets diplomats in conflict on two tracks.

While some extorted allies, seeking bribes

the others blandly claimed to have their backs.
Yet neither could be said to have gone rogue;

each executing what their boss had said.

Confusion over what's the quid pro quo

is wholly inside Trumpty's addled head.

Two sets of books--just like he keeps for tax!

One cover story, one recording crime.

Compulsive liar's "alternative facts"

collide with real reality, real-time.

'Though Trump--predictably--will throw a fit

Fiona Hill's not taking any shit.

adult supervision

Ken Starr concedes Pelosi's case looks strong
but doubts Republicans will sign on--yet.
To punish Trump--although it's plain he's wrong--
Is not the way this partisan would bet.
The straw that made Dick Nixon cut and run:
four party elders told him to his face
Their role in his whole cover-up was done.
They'd shouldered far too much of his disgrace.
Each day, another witness testifies
They'd asked for bribes 'cause Trumpty'd told them so
While Giuliani coached them in their lies,
the goal was manifestly quid pro quo.
When Starr admits Pelosi's case makes sense
a Democrat may face off with Mike Pence.

honor among thieves

The Walsh investigation hit a wall; no witness summoned would cooperate. A dozen parrot "I cannot recall" what Bush or Reagan'd done in ContraGate. How different everything looks in Ukraine! Omerta's not a value in Trump's tribe. Ambassadors demur to take the blame; what Trump'd solicited's a blatant bribe. Between the Devil and the deep blue Sea Zelensky tried his best to do what's right. Is he complicit in Trump's felony? He barely has a stake in this dogfight. Our diplomats won't meekly take the hit for Trumpty-Dumpty's partisan bullshit.

ad-hominem

The SwiftBoat libel Kerry failed to quash
was never prosecuted as a crime.
This cycle, all eyes focus on Amash;
Perchance the better man could win this time?
John Yoo inpugns a hero's loyalty
as if he didn't hold those values dear
that should define this "Land of Liberty".
And Vindman's suspect 'cause he's not born here.
Impeachment turns on votes, as much as laws,
as Publius warned in our nation's youth
Trump's violation's blatant, clause by clause...
but Hannity's contemptuous of Truth.
Ad-hominem attacks hold center stage
while half our voters sneer and disengage.

change?

Pelosi's trained a lifetime for this role
presiding with a gavel in her claw.
A visionless tactician in control
finds partisan advantage in the Law.
The "Right" reviles her for what she is not;
Progressives know she doesn't have their back.
But she makes any chair Trump sits in hot,
and brings a certain verve to each attack.
Still, fixing our republic's out of range
she won't do what big donors don't endorse
a Sanders or a Warren would want change
and Wall Street wouldn't get to plot that course.
Impeachment may give spectacle and fun
but these are Nancy's last days in the sun.

inflection

Sam Donaldson remembers Nixon well
abusing power for his private ends.
This year, he welcomes Trumpty to this Hell
where we'll find that he doesn't have two friends.
Just Mitch McConnell--staunch guard at his rear--
still promising to quash Pelosi's bills,
stands firm while others slink away in fear
(although he pulls his head into his shell).
Pelosi's counting votes and bides her time;
she won't lob Mitch a slow-pitch he can hit.
Before the Senate's voting on Trump's crime
McConnell's allies might be wise to quit.
A nation's nightmare, played out to the crowd--
'though slow to start--is getting very loud.

disloyal

John Yoo can't forge a legal argument
to justify what Trump's done in Ukraine;
soliciting a foreign government
has no place in a federal campaign.
Swiftboating patriots' been tried before
when--on the merits--Kerry might have won.
Professor Yoo's a more then eager whore
who does it less for fee, than for the fun.
The immigrant who loves his country's cause
survived an IED blast in Iraq.
Back home, where he expects the rule of laws,
contemptibly takes gunfire from the back.
A party scant on honor, spine, and sense
now fears their best remaining option's Pence.

niggling

The full report refutes Bill Barr's glib gloss;
the Special Counsel felt his hands were tied.
He had no writ to prosecute his boss,
despite strong evidence he'd bigly lied.
That Russia meddled's proven without doubt
but Putin might have done that on a whim.
As candidate, Trump didn't have the clout
to dictate KGB hitlist to him.
A race so close depended on a thread
as turnout was suppressed by foreign aid
Since Trump and Putin plainly were in bed,
who cares if Mueller can't prove Vlad got paid?
No SpecialCounsel could transcend his writ
when Mitch McConnell doesn't give a shit.

and loyalty towards none

The shock's exquisite on Trump's spray-tanned face;
November swept all Orange County Blue.
His name's a millstone in this midterm race
the House  now boasts a cyanotic hue.
When even Mitch McConnell won't defend
Trump's quid pro quo corruption in Ukraine,
The egoist who's never made a friend
finds few stands by him swirling down the drain.
Just Pence heels dog-like, orbiting his mass
Like Hillary adhering to her Bill.
His lips seem stapled to the orange ass
as if he has no independent will.
Pelosi's counting votes, and likes her odds;
Iconoclasts are faithless to false gods.

co-equal

The fabric of society could burst
as Trump transgresses every rule and norm.
He started bad, but day by day gets worse
and  makes no slightest effort to conform.
Dick Nixon hoped no statutes could apply
to anything the president had done.
Now Trumpty goads his minions to defy
the courts that must restrain their Chosen One.
John Roberts will be tarred by Limbaugh's base
presiding in the Senate as he must
if our republic's to survive this case,
we've got to hope this Justice will prove just.
When Trump feels free to lie, defraud, extort...
our Senate sits as court of last resort.


                 

self-dealing

Awarding contracts to his own resort
Trump grabs emoluments the law forbids.
Defying both the Congress and the courts,
to separate his interests from his kids'.
Both Foreign and Domestic, seizing both
he gives our Constitution zero heed.

You'd be a fool to think he'd keep his oath

to guard a Constitution he can't read.

This crime, Pelosi thinks, she can explain
to even Trumpty-Dumpty's basest base.
Fundraisers for his cause will feel the pain

as this drags into next November's race.
Infractions even Mitch strains to defend
tip this new nightmare back towards Nixon's end.