As I write this the House Judiciary Committee debates the articles of impeachment against the President. They are on their ninth hour of debate. All signs point to a party line vote by the time this story hits the paper this weekend. We have not seen anything so far to suggest anything otherwise.

And so the future of the President and our country lies in the hands of Mitch McConnell and the United States Senate. Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the trial. As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court he certainly views himself in a position of grandeur, above the tedious partisanship of the Legislative Branch. One can expect him to oversee the proceeding fairly and prudently (though he is doubtless a staunch conservative.) Trust he grasps the significance of this moment in history.

Look for Senate proceedings to be sober and deliberate compared to the circus for which the rubes in the House are infamous. President Trump has allies in the upper chamber but nothing like the obnoxious hangers-on in the House. Senate Majority leader McConnell, I suspect, views Trump basically as a useful stooge. He won’t risk his majority just to appease the President and his outfit of scoundrels unless it suits him.

Democrats will be more precise and frankly, serious in their deliberations than their counterparts in the lower chamber too. The Senate is the big leagues. And impeachment is the World Series. Everyone is aware there is little time or patience for too many shenanigans or grandstanding. There will still be plenty of both, obviously–they’re professional politicians after all. More refined grandstanding, how’s that?

For all his claims of innocence President Trump could clear his name in one day if he wanted to. Hell has a better chance of a white Christmas than White House lawyers letting Trump go under oath, though. They’re smarter than that.

Anyway, it comes down to votes. No more. No less.

Not to ruin the suspense but there will not be the two-thirds majority required to remove the President from office. That said, there are Republican Senators from moderate and blue states up for re-election next year who lie awake in a cold sweat every night considering their prospects after having to take this vote. With all the evidence currently in the record and possibly more to come out, attaching their legacy to Trump won’t be easy for them to stomach.

The drama has reached a fever-pitch. There are infinite political angles to consider. The fate of our republic hangs in the balance. But I will tell you one thing: It better not interfere with any pro-football.

Derek Smith is a Frewsburg native.