As the impeachment debacle reached its inevitable climax, it was clear that the Rule of Law was under siege.

Despite undisputed facts, a blockade of important witnesses and a paper-thin defense, the Republican-controlled Senate, acquitted the President. Incredibly, Mitt Romney was the lone dissent crying out for principle and integrity. Indeed, the fact that Romney was so virulently attacked by his erstwhile colleagues showed how far our democracy has fallen. Republicans writ large has abrogated their principles and constitutional responsibilities in pursuit of unbridled power.

The party’s slavish devotion to the cult of Trump is mystifying. A corrosive agent on our democracy, he has subverted the Justice Department, runs a shadow foreign policy, and damaged American credibility abroad.

Susan Collins, the Republican Senator from Maine naively reiterated that impeachment would have a sobering effect on Trump. Yes, I am still laughing.

Invariably Trump has been emboldened by his acquittal sought to punish political enemies, and purge non-Trump acolytes from government, and trying to lighten jail sentences for his allies; convicted felons Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. These swirling currents in play, the American public could be forgiven for being impacted by a heavy dose of cynicism in light of today’s political state. However, now is not the time for apathy. America in the past has negotiated rough political terrain, and clearly, an engaged electorate is the key to restoring a nation's enduring faith in democracy.

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