Many of you are already familiar with Tom Steyer’s organization, “Need to Impeach”, which he formed shortly after Donald Trump’s constitutional shortcomings became apparent.
His is the petition you may have seen on line and on television that asks our Congressional leaders to begin Impeachment investigations.
On Jan 27-29, Mr. Steyer hosted a volunteer summit, training, and advocacy day in Washington, DC. This was free to participants. Of the diverse group of approximately 350 attendees, 64 were from South Carolina, more than any other state, and 17 were from Georgetown County!
Mr. Steyer and several prominent legal scholars from Free Speech for the People spoke to everyone about the reasons this movement exists, the 10 Impeachable Offenses this President has demonstrably committed, and the plan of action to begin the impeachment process. “FAQs” were answered. Their book, The Constitution Demands It, lays out the legal basis for impeachment is available here and on Amazon.
I have had my reservations about impeachment. While I have no doubt it is warranted, I have mixed feelings about when it should begin. Having said that, I signed up as a summit volunteer based on my knowledge of Tom Steyer and the principles expressed in his “Five Rights”. Now that the summit is done, I have come to agree with Mr. Steyer; that impeachment is necessary and the sooner the better.
Many who question the timing or appropriateness of beginning impeachment proceedings, and many of the congressmen and congresswomen we visited expressed similar concerns. For example,
Q: The GOP Senate won’t vote to convict Trump, so why try?
A: Privately, many members of Congress, of both parties, say they think Trump is dangerous and unfit for office. But they fail to act for political reasons. So it’s important we continue to challenge them to stand up to Mr. Trump, so Americans can see the trial in the Senate and everyone - can see the same set of facts. So everyone can decide. And the Senators will be forced forced to vote on whether the President has undermined the Constitution. The people elected new House leaders to help put the country back on track and that includes holding Trump accountable for his lawless behavior.
Q: Shouldn’t we be focusing on electing a new president in 2020?
A: Think of what has become “normal” since Mr. Trump has been in the White House. It’s “normal” for the president to lie. It’s normal for foreign governments to shovel money to him through his real estate holdings. It’s normal for him to tweet something offensive or that puts our nation at risk. It’s normal to hear the administration has multiple conflicts of interest and are serving explicit corporate interests.
We have to remember, there is nothing normal about this and unless we fight against this every day, including calling for impeachment, then we risk being a part of normalizing his dangerous behavior. Can we really risk giving Trump 2 more years to continue denigrating our institutions and undermining OUR constitution and rights?
And, one of my favorite objections,
Q: You can't impeach a president just because you don't like him or his policies.
A: True, policy issues are resolved at the ballot box, but whether you "like" the president of not, you can impeach if he's committed bribery, treason, or a myriad of high crimes and misdemeanors. Here's a list of those: 10 Impeachable Offenses
On Tuesday, Jan. 29, all 350 Summit volunteers broke into teams and visited the office of each Congressman and Congresswoman, delivering them copies of articles of impeachment, the list of 10 Impeachable Offenses, a letter from Tom Steyer, and a sample resolution for congress to begin an investigation. The representatives were each asked for their position on impeachment, and there was good dialog with them and/or their staff members.
If you’d like to know more about “Need to Impeach”, various volunteers will be presenting an overview of the efforts in progress during meetings of various organizations and activist groups over the next few weeks. We will be publicizing those dates and times shortly. Watch this space!
Thanks for checking in,
Deb Smith
GCDP
during meetings of various organizations and activist groups over the next few weeks. We will be publicizing those dates and times shortly. Watch this space!
