To the editor:

We had an opportunity to rise from the rubble with a bipartisan condemnation of Donald Trump. But that was rejected. In the face of damning evidence, the hijacked Republican Party allowed the perpetrator of an attempted coup to walk away unscathed. And that sets a dangerous precedent for the next autocrat who becomes the People’s Choice. We are going to pay a high price for personal ambition being placed above patriotic duty.

But it is not just those senators who voted for acquittal who are a problem. It is also the nearly 74 million citizens who are the voting base for them. Unless that huge segment of our society becomes better informed and exercises wiser judgment, the future of our republic is in serious jeopardy. As things stand now, there is a good chance they will fall prey to the next con artist who shows up full of empty promises.

Patrick Shannon,

Lawrence