In Opposition to Impeachment
I didn’t like the President’s speech on January 6th. I thought he was wrong to assert that the Vice President and Congress can pick and choose which electoral votes to count. He was wrong to set such a confrontational tone in a politically tense situation.
But what did he actually say? His exact words were, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” That’s impeachable? That’s called freedom of speech.
He also threatened to oppose candidates in future elections. By the way, that was directed at Republicans like me who had resolved to uphold the constitutional process and protect the Electoral College. So what? That’s called politics.
If we impeached every politician who gave a fiery speech to a crowd of partisans, this Capitol would be deserted. That’s what the President did. That’s all he did. He specifically told the crowd to protest “peacefully and patriotically.” The vast majority of them did.
But every movement has a lunatic fringe.
Suppressing free speech is not the answer; holding rioters accountable for their actions is the… Read More