By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

All is not lost for those of us who want to see Donald Trump convicted by U.S. senators for inciting an insurrection against the government he took an oath to defend and protect.

The ex-president isn’t likely to “earn” that conviction, given the cowardice that infects so many Republicans serving as jurors in the second-ever impeachment trial that begins today.

However, let us ponder something that isn’t lost on many of us: Even though the Constitution sets a high bar for conviction, there well might be enough Republican senators who no longer fear retribution from Trump and his cult of followers if they vote their conscience.

Imagine, then, a 60-40 Senate vote to convict. The Constitution requires 67 conviction votes to seal the deal. How does Trump pitch a possible political return with the stain of a potentially significant majority of senators believing he did what the House of Representatives impeached him for doing?

A number of GOP senators have announced their intention to retire from the Senate; they won’t seek re-election in 2022. The school of thought goes that Republican “jurors” fear for their political backsides if the were to cross the Trumpkins who still command the political stage in the GOP.

Sens. Pat Toomey, Richard Shelby and Rob Portman are lame ducks. Then we have Sens. Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell and possibly Mike Enzi who could jump from the GOP ship and vote to convict Trump of inciting the riotous mob of terrorists to storm Capitol Hill on the Sixth of January.

The aim no longer is to remove Trump from office. A free and fair election took care of that already. The idea now would be to keep him from running for federal office ever again.

So … I will await a likely pre-ordained outcome. Trump will be “acquitted” — or so it appears — because most of the GOP Senate caucus will stand with him. I do not expect to hear a single senator defend the conduct of the ex-president. They’ll argue that a trial is unconstitutional; I do not believe the argument will hold up.

One final point: I want a quick end to this saga. I am weary of commenting on Donald Trump. Really! I am! I want to move on. However, I want us all to remember what occurred on the Sixth of January 2021. That memory should compel us to remember who was singularly responsible for that hideous event.

May that individual, Donald John Trump, cope with the indelible stain it will leave on what is left of his legacy.