An Open Letter

This is an open letter to House Democrats that I share here, hoping it will be read and shared by anyone who cares about the future of our country.

Dear House Democrats,

I ask that before you vote on impeachment next week that you put on your objective thinking caps.  I realize that this entire impeachment is the culmination of 3+ years of hatred directed at the President, but I ask that you stop and consider what your vote will mean.

I understand that many people find Donald Trump’s style to be abrasive and unconventional as far as the politicians and leaders that we are used to.  They dislike his direct and colorful speaking style, his tweets, his ability to say what he thinks in plain language without the niceties and falsities of typical politi-speak.  This may be enough for some people to hate him.  It is not, however, enough or a justifiable reason to impeach him.

I understand that he embarrasses many Democrats, first because he, an outsider, bested them in the 2016 election.  On top of that he continues as president to do things that they have only perhaps promised or dreamt of:  keep his campaign promises; improve the economy; record low unemployment; improved standing in the world; prison reform; equal and consistent enforcement of laws; standing up to the deep state; refusing to let unelected bureaucrats make policy and other decisions that it is his responsibility as the people’s elected choice to make.  He is doing what the people elected him to do, and his success embarrasses many Democrats. 

I understand that the feeling of embarrassment alerts one to one’s own failures.  It hurts and it can lead to a hatred of the one who has embarrassed you.  It is not, however, enough or a justifiable reason to impeach that person.

I understand that most Democrats do not like many of the President’s policies.  That is not abnormal:  the losing party usually advocates for different policies than the winning party.   That is what elections are all about:  the people side with one set of policies or another and in the instant case the policies of Donald Trump won.   That the people did not side with your policies does not make them stupid as many of your fellow Democrats assert.  The President, elected by the people, has both the power and the duty to enforce his policies; it is not an abuse of power for him to do so.  You may hate those policies and hate him for the way in which he enforces them, but that is not a justifiable reason to impeach him.

I understand that you cannot wait until the day that this President is no longer in office.  The way to accomplish that is to present to the people a reason why they should vote for policies that you are presenting rather than for his.  The office of president should not be based upon some sort of likeability/personality contest.  And dislike of personality is not a valid basis for impeachment.

I understand that the Democrats have seized impeachment as a way to rid themselves of this strong president, but there really is no valid basis to do so; its use here is a violation of every core value upon which this country is based.  

I listened to the hearings (both Intelligence and Judiciary committees) and it struck me that your Democrat colleagues all spoke with passion and emotion along with personal narrative about their distaste of the President and his actions.  But if you listened to the more rational and logical presentations of the minority, you cannot deny that there simply are no facts upon which to base these impeachment charges aside from personal distaste for the President, his personality and style, and his policies.  

The Democrats like to call personal opinion and hearsay “fact” and in a sense it is – there is a fact that person X has an opinion.  But that opinion is not a fact of what happened.  And the actual event facts necessary for impeachment are simply not there.

Indeed, many of the facts on which the Democrats base their more general hatred of the President and his supporters are nothing more than opinions or their interpretations or predictions or speculations of what words meant, not what they actually were.  The hatred stems from negative labeling or interpretation of actions or policies that do not conform with those that your party approves.  

It is this dislike of someone who behaves and believes differently than what is endorsed by Democrats that has led to a 3+ year campaign of daily attacks against the President and his supporters.  And, as Democrats realize that they may lose the 2020 election, they bring their dream of impeachment to the House floor in their desperate attempt to subvert the will of the people, not only in 2016 but in 2020 as well.

As you cast your vote on impeachment next week, you have the opportunity to not only halt the farce that this impeachment has become, you can also show this country that you have an objective and clear mind, that you can think rationally and for yourself, that you can overcome personal emotion and stand for what is not only right, but necessary to preserve the future of our country.

I know that the Democrats love to assert that they are somehow protecting the country and Constitution with this impeachment.  But that is a false and frightening talking point.  The Democrats have already displayed a shameful disregard of the Constitution in the manner in which the impeachment inquiry and committee hearings were held.  Not only has the disregard of Constitutional mandates and protections been rampant along with disregard and disrespect for laws, rules, and procedures, but also underlying the entire impeachment charade is an egregious disregard of the core principle of our democracy that it is the people who choose, via their vote for president, what policies they want pursued. 

A vote for these sham articles of impeachment is a vote to overturn the will of the people and with it our democracy itself, for such a vote will forever destroy the ability of the office of president to truly represent the people who have elected its inhabitant.

So, I urge you to put your personal (or party) hatred of Donald Trump aside, to put aside your dislike of his policies or your belief that you have better ideas and policies.  I urge you to look objectively at the evidence or lack thereof.  I urge you to consider what your Democrat party is doing to the country with this absurd impeachment crusade.   You took an oath not to your Party but to our country and our Constitution.  I believe that if you put emotion aside, clear your head, and use your thoughtful brain that you will understand how misplaced a vote for impeachment would be. 

For the good of the country you simply must vote NO.