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Letter to the Editor: A Call to Rise above Partisanship

It has finally happened: the formal inquiry by the House of Representatives into the impeachment of the president of the United States. When I heard [Speaker Nancy Pelosi] pronounce the formal inquiry, I felt profound sadness – sadness that the country had to endure this trial, and sadness that the office of the presidency has, for the fourth time in our history, descended into such ignominy. But I also felt relief – relief that the Congress was choosing to do its duty, however difficult or unpopular.

I was not sure the Democrats would have the courage to do it. Public opinion was anti-impeachment. The Mueller Report had given them enough to act, but they dallied. Then, the president himself “helped” them. With his self-destructive pursuit of dirt on his political rival, he was willing to break the law and violate his oath of office again. Enter the whistleblower. The Democrats had no choice but to act.

In a brief time, we will see the House of Representatives vote for impeachment, and then the trial of the president will be conducted in the Senate. The jury will be the senators themselves. In a true sense, they – especially the Republicans – are the ones on trial. What will they do? Will they put the country and Constitution first or their political futures? There is more than enough evidence in the Mueller Report to support the president’s removal from office, and now the Ukraine Affair makes it starkly clear that the president committed another “high crime and misdemeanor.” But will the president be removed?

In my opinion, Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton both should have been thrown out of office for violations of the law. I know this is a stark position to take, but I believe our democracy depends on it. Democracy depends on our elected leaders being held strictly accountable to their oath of office by our elected representatives. I pray this time, those representatives rise above partisanship and Make America Great Again by removing Donald Trump from office.

Patrick Cerra

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin