The GOP is not only going to acquit Trump for all his blatant and egregious wrong doing and abuse of office but now it is clear they intend to block all further witness testimony in an attempt to obscure the truth. The truth will be revealed, its arc may be delayed but it is predetermined. However, incentives force the GOP senators into this action. They cannot vote against Trump, now it is his party and any who even suggest that they are not fully committed are destroyed by Trump himself and his enthusiastic followers. To vote for witnesses or conviction is to invite the primary challenger and defeat at the 85-90 percent that are committed to Trump.

Our political system no longer represents divisions based on any sense of philosophy or vision but instead is a brawl between two self-selected groups. The battleground is no longer idea or hearts and minds but procedure. We are witnessing something every gamer is familiar with, rules lawyering.

The Democratic needs to recognize that the shape of the warfare has changed and is unlikely to ever change back. We will not return to the days when the two parties could compromise on major issues. In those days there were significant numbers of conservative Democrats and Liberal Republicans species that have gone extinct. McConnell has demonstrated that there is no price to b paid for victory no matter how ugly the method by which it is won. Norms have ceased to exist and all that matters is winning.

Going forward the Democrats need to fight the war on the same terms. Should they win the Senate they need to eliminate the filibuster, make P.R., D.C., and Guam into states, add at least one seat to the Supreme Court to counter the stolen one and learn the be as ruthless as their opponents. If they do not they will eventually be replaced internally by those who will. The projectile has been launched and its trajectory is out of our control.