People got carried away yesterday when Gret Stet Senator Bill Cassidy voted to uphold the constitutionality of trying a former president. Many read way too much into the vote. Double Bill is not an instant-moderate. In fact, it’s the first time he’s colored outside the right-wing lines since being elected to the senate in 2014.

I tweeted out mild praise of Cassidy, but others were more effusive. It shows how low the bar has gotten when a minor act of decency reaps a whirlwind of acclaim. I’m skeptical. Double Bill remains David Vitter’s creature and the Gret Stet GOP is rabidly pro-Trump:

An unexpected reversal from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (LA) who voted in favor of the constitutionality of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment on Tuesday, drew ire from the Louisiana Republican Party who quickly issued a statement to criticize the move.

“We feel that an impeachment trial of a private citizen is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy, which will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences for our republic,” the party wrote in a statement Tuesday.

“We also remind all Americans that former President Trump is innocent of the politically motivated, bogus charges now pending against him in a kangaroo court presided over by an openly hostile political opponent,” the statement said.

Nothing in Cassidy’s political history leads me to believe he will vote to convict the Kaiser of Chaos. He’s a very timid and cautious pol. Yesterday’s vote was a trial balloon not an act of courage.

I think Cassidy’s vote is about impressing the ten Republican senators he joined in proposing the since rejected COVID relief bill alternative. He showed some leg for Romney, Sasse, Murkowski et al to establish his dealmaking bona fides.

I hope I’m wrong, but my opinion is based on watching Cassidy since 2014. He’s a bog-standard right-winger who has always voted like one. He’s a drone, not a maverick.

Repeat after me: Bill Cassidy is an empty suit until proven otherwise.

While we’re at it, the last word goes to the original studio version of the song that’s not about my senator: