Dear Republican Congress Members:
Since the start of Trump’s first campaign in June of 2015 it’s been a wild ride starting with a charismatic if unconventional candidate who promised to enact a conservative agenda. Unconventional because Trump wasn’t a traditional, or even conservative candidate. He was unconstrained by facts and openly violated the norms of respect and civility while his behavior was celebrated by supporters who praised him for his ‘honesty’ and ‘telling it like it is’.
When, early in his campaign, he claimed that undocumented aliens were “…bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Maybe you could brush it off as “Donald being Donald”, even though you knew immigrants that were hard working, dedicated employees. The immigrants that cleaned your house, tended your yard, or cooked the food and washed the dishes at your favorite restaurant. The immigrants that harvest our crops, build our houses, and care for us in our old age. But you also knew that his supporters wouldn’t object. After years of struggle chasing the elusive American Dream they were desperate for an answer to why they had failed. And Trump provided it in the form of an easily identifiable enemy while conveniently distracting them from looking in your direction.
But what about when he said that John McCain was “… not a war hero … He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured”? I suspect that you were privately shocked, although careful not to comment publicly. Did you really believe that Senator McCain was a “loser” for having been held as a prisoner of war? The Republican party has had a long history of revering our troops. How were you able to ignore or even defend this attack knowing that Trump was able to avoid the draft because he was wealthy?
When Megan Kelly asked Trump about his insults directed at women, saying "You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs' and 'disgusting animals” I suspect that you were uncomfortable. After all Republicans have had always claimed to be protective of the “weaker sex”. Maybe you thought it was justified because he was talking about the enemy, women who had criticized your leader. But how did you look into the eyes of your wife, daughter, or son (or in the mirror) and believe this?
I can’t imagine how you explained your acceptance of his comments overheard on an Access Hollywood bus. "I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ... Grab 'em by the p***y. You can do anything." How did you justify your silence and continued support? Maybe you forgave him when he publicly “apologized” in a desperate attempt to avoid censure, and his wife Melania called it “boys using locker room talk”.
After his election you and many Democrats may have expected or hoped that Trump would become more “Presidential”. But these hopes were dashed by his erratic and uninformed response to the Covid crisis, which ranged from “we have it under control”, “its just the flu”, to "It's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear. And from our shores, you know, it could get worse before it gets better. Could maybe go away. We'll see what happens. Nobody really knows."
While the pandemic came as a rude awakening to many, the predominant view among health care professionals was that the question was not whether, but when, the next major pandemic or public health emergency would strike. Yet, despite these insights, decades of preparedness work, and considerable investment, President Trump, in March 2020, claimed, “Nobody knew there'd be a pandemic or an epidemic of this proportion. Nobody's ever seen anything like this before” (White House, 2020).
And how did you feel when he discounted the advice of medical professionals and suggested the use of bleach and light as cures. Did you tell your family not to wear masks or to take ivermectin (veterinary de-worming medications) instead of the newly developed vaccines? Or did you quietly follow the advice of your doctor while publicly ignoring Trump’s incoherent ramblings?
When it became apparent that he was threatening to withhold already authorized military support from Ukraine unless President Zelenskyy helped to legitimize the Biden investigations how did you feel? Did you believe that Trump was pursuing a legitimate investigation, or did you recognize it as another case of Trump’s single minded focus on his own best interests?
And then came January 6th. Many of you were in the Capitol and experienced the fear and chaos of that day. You watched as Trump complained that Mike Pence wasn’t brave enough to ‘do the right thing’, and then spent hours watching television as the mob beat up Capitol Police and a protestor was killed. Although many of you expressed outrage at the time, within weeks the news was dominated by talking points designed to normalize the events as a peaceful public protest. Did you repeat them, or just avoid commenting?
When the January 6th committee was formed and carefully documented the events and Trump’s culpability, how did you find a way to vote for acquittal? Did you really think that he was innocent, or was it just expedient? Did you believe that Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were traitors, or did you admire their courage and willingness to sacrifice their privilege for moral clarity? And for the next four years while Trump continued to claim a stolen election in spite of all evidence to the contrary, did you ever wonder about the damage being done to our tradition of free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power?
Now that we’re in his second term and Trump has put a private citizen in charge of unilaterally dismantling agencies and programs that the Congress created and funded, are you privately thankful that it removes your obligation to actually make policy in a public forum? Are you concerned that, having ceded your authority to an autocrat, you no longer serve any useful function? Can you reconcile your talking points about ‘unelected bureaucrats running the government’ with Elon Musk’s current role as head of the DOGE wrecking ball?
But the ultimate betrayal of Republican beliefs has to be Trump’s abandonment of eighty years of post World War II support of democracy and freedom in favor of an axis of autocrats led by Russia’s Putin. Could this be a bridge too far? Or just another step on the rapid descent into autocracy in service to plutocrats? Have you begun to wonder if Putin has ‘kompromat’ that compels Trump’s loyalty?
Washington insiders claim that many of you are privately repulsed by Trump and his actions, but continue to appease him because you are either unwilling to give up the power and privilege of your position or afraid of threats from Trump’s mob. In either case, I’d remind you of your oath to defend the Constitution. Will history record your actions as an active participant in the destruction of our 250 year old democracy and leader of the free world? Is there no bottom to your servitude to Trump and his cadre of plutocrats? As Joseph N Welsh, Chief Counsel for the US Army said to Joseph McCarthy, “sir, have you no decency”1?
I believe that it’s long past time to reflect on your legacy, and for true patriots to either actively resist or quit and let someone with the courage to do so take their place. It will take only a very small number of you to put a stop to the chaos and reject tyranny.
https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/investigations/mccarthy-hearings/have-you-no-sense-of-decency.htm
Beautiful said, Jim.