Letter to Senator Romney

I sent the following to Senator Romney in response to the mob violence on the 6th:

Senator Romney,

I have thought long and hard about the events of this last Wednesday (1/6/2021). At first I just wanted the whole thing to blow over. I thought, “let us wait out the next two weeks, the president is unlikely to do something worse in that short time and regardless of how loudly extremists shout, most people are reasonable.” Upon reflection I have concluded that the consequences of inaction are too much to ignore. If we stand by and let the clock run out simply because we are so close to the end of his term we are telling future demagogues that there are no consequences for inciting a violent mob while in office – at least in the last coupe of weeks. That’s a dangerous message to send.

As a loyal Republican I assert that the proper response is impeachment – no matter how inconvenient that answer is. A Trump resignation or a 25th Amendment action would address the danger of the next couple of weeks but only impeachment tells those in the future that inciting a mob to interrupt Congress in the discharge of their Constitutional duty and/or seeking to overthrow an election will not be tolerated in this nation. Only impeachment will prevent the possibility of Trump trying to gain power again in a future election.

I’ve seen plenty of vapid arguments that Trump didn’t actually do anything to cause the violence on Wednesday but no reasonable person believes that those things would have happened without a president doing and saying the things Trump has done and said over the last few months.

It is the job of rational citizens everywhere to encourage their congressional representatives to action and it is the job of good public servants to do everything in their power to send the message to this president as well as future seekers of power that this was a line which cannot be crossed without serious and rapid consequence.

I hope that there are millions of such letters from around the nation being sent to members of Congress right now.

Not to make this too religious but Trump’s actions and followers remind me of Amlici in Alma chapter 2. The only difference is that Trump won office in 2016 before losing this election and inciting his followers to violent insurrection.

Senator I have been so proud of the way you have conducted yourself – keeping clean of the taint that comes with too close an association with Trump and being a vocal opponent of his actions when they are out of bounds with a nation of laws. Please do everything in your power now to send that message again by making it clear that impeachment is the proper response to these egregious actions.