I knew it was a bad sign when the Senate Impeachment Trial started with The Fonz strapping on a pair of water skis. Day one ran a cool 13 hours. It was a lot to binge (C-Span and Chill?). Next time maybe they should release one episode a week. And the content it most resembled? Groundhog Day. Hour after hour, we saw the same scene play out. The House Managers offered thus far undisputed evidence of Trump’s abuse of power. And the president’s lawyers attacked their opponents and littered their arguments with almost as many distortions as their boss tends to deploy. Think I’m exaggerating? White House counsel Pat Cipollone said the following, slowly, and with a straight face: “President Trump is a man of his word.” And then there were the party line votes. 47-53. 47-53. 47-53. 47-53. If you started watching day one of the trial when you were 47, you were 53 by the time it ended. Even my two beagles, who have suffered through more hours of cable news than the White House night staff, were fully traumatized by the time the Senate adjourned. The key question that was being debated is best summed up by Marvin Gaye: Can I get a witness? So far the answer from the GOP majority is a resounding no. Next up, the House Managers will lay out a “factual chronology” of the president’s actions. (Facts. How quaint…) Here’s the latest from WaPo and CNN.

+ “If Mitt Romney shows up at the White House and demands Trump’s resignation, does anybody—least of all Mitt—think Trump would listen or care?” Garrett Graff in Politico Magazine: Why No GOP Senator Will Stand Up to Trump.

+ As I mentioned yesterday, I think the current era more closely resembles Joseph McCarthy’s rise and fall than any prior impeachment. I fleshed out that argument, and explained why this story will end differently: Where’s My Edward R. Murrow?

+ The Cut: Are Senators Truly Allowed to Drink Milk on the Floor? (Thankfully, home viewers can drink whatever they need…)