On Saturday Feb. 13, 2021 DJ Trump, now a private citizen, was granted his second acquittal by the U.S. Senate as the capstone of his second impeachment trial.

Republican Senators simply will not or cannot quit Trump. They might portray themselves as helpless victims of an abusive boss. But they had, for the second time, the power to convict him and prevent him from ever running for office again. They CHOSE to let him get away with his misdeeds.

For this second impeachment, the crime was a President who launched an insurrection against the legislative branch of government. And for gratuitous effect, he made his own vice president a target of the mob.

Was the mob a murderous mob? Yes. Several people died. (Republicans take note that more died than in Benghazi.)

The mob came for the lawmakers. Some in the gang may have been able to distinguish Sen. Cruz and Sen. Hawley from others. Some might have recognized VP Pence and Nancy Pelosi. However, in the melee random Senators and House members may have been injured or worse. And still the vast majority of Republicans ignored what they lived through on Jan. 6 in their workplace to let Trump off the hook.

Sen. McConnell, power broker, held onto his control of Senate Republicans by first announcing his vote to acquit before the time to vote, voted to acquit as promised, then had the audacity/cynicism/hypocrisy/shamelessness to give a speech on the Senate floor holding Trump responsible for everything for which he was charged.

It was the Republicans, in both the House and Senate, not everyone, not the Democrats, who refused to hold Trump accountable for starting and failing to stop a seditious insurrection!  No both sides do it excuses allowed.

Politics aside, this is exactly how organizations deal with bullies identified within their workforce. For years, the bullies were coddled, reinforced, emboldened to be cruel to those who made them feel envious or jealous. High ranking people looked the other way. Useless HR stonewalled complaints with sham investigations. In the end, bullies were able to bully without fear of consequences.

Without accountability, unconscionable behavior is repeated. By failing to stop it early, the repeated mistreatment becomes normalized. It loses its novelty. Targets resign themselves to accept that they will not get relief. Expectations for justice are extinguished. The culture of hatred, bullying, disrespect hardens.

The road to seemingly irreversible bullying began with a failure to stop the first perpetrator. Over time, the bully cultivates sycophants, toadies, cult believers. Eventually it takes an extraordinary effort to turn an organization’s culture around. The forces of resistance to justice are strong and unified against those who dare to complain.

Yet, it all started with cowardice by those with the power to stop it in the first place.

Good workers abused in the workplace can tell anyone willing to listen that when the power to stop abuse is abdicated, it becomes nearly impossible to stop it later.

Nearly every corporate executive team acts just like the feckless Senate Republicans. Trump lives to undermine democracy another day. Bullies survive, and even thrive, thanks to never being held accountable.