the only reason democrats went after trump for impeachment is because he went after joe biden "the chosen one".The charges against Trump are made more serious by the Reps impeachment of Clinton for cheating on his old lady and tried to lie his way around it. Remember what Congressman Lindsay Graham said when he presented the articles of impeachment to the Senate. "there doesn't need to be a crime committed in order to cleanse the office".
The focus of Republican rebuttal today is not a denial of what Trump did but rather an attempt to portray him as a victim as well as to demonize the Democrats for voting for impeachment. The fact that Trump is trying to play king by not going before Congress along with his subordinates instead ignoring congressional subpoena's and ordering his subordinates not to speak is why congress is doing what it is doing today.
If he would have done so thereby demonstrating to the American people that nobody is above the law including himself he would have bagged himself a second term virtually uncontested and congress would likely have let him off easy.
If his acquittal emboldens him to continue behaving in his current fashion look for Romney to launch a bid to take the nomination from Trump with enough support from Republican moderates to gain enough delegates to make the convention anything but it's usual coronation .
its just like what happened with nixon.
democrats utterly silent on other impeachable offenses. they are currently too narrow on what they are impeaching trump on. they couldve gone after him on day one. obama shouldve been impeached. republicans did all. the percieved differences between the parties is mostly theatre. they are all part of the same gang.