What historians of the future will make of this week’s events on Capitol Hill is more than any of us can know. It may seem the United States can hardly grow more divided and angry, but that, I fear, is wishful thinking, an understandable attempt to deny the ongoing drama of disintegration. Those who eventually write the history of this time will, as always, be the victors, or rather, perhaps, those who survived, who did not reap the full force of the now gathering whirlwind. Perhaps historians will say Democrats made a colossal blunder in pushing their case too quickly, forcing a vote before diligently pursuing all legal means to build a case. Republicans may well be judged as having sold their souls for power, a treasure considerably less than the whole world. Most likely, this week will be seen as one step – perhaps a momentous one – in a larger, longer process. (more…)