Many members of Congress have had a great few years in Washington. When you’re in the majority party, you have the joy of bigger offices and many extra side benefits, and have the ability to bring numerous grants and benefits home to your constituents. It’s not a bad job, but sooner or later you have to cast some tough votes that may decide whether you’ll be re-elected.
The moment of truth is fast approaching for Democratic lawmakers who will have to decide whether to vote to impeach President Trump. There will be little or no hand-wringing on the part of any Republican House or Senate members. Many fear a party primary challenge from the conservative wing, so they’re prepared to die for the president. Others are party loyalists.
I must confess that I don’t envy any lawmaker who must take a controversial vote on any issue. I was a State Assembly member for 23 years, and during that time I had to make many choices that were unpopular with some of my constituents. Women’s reproductive rights, increasing taxes and the death penalty were just a few of those tough votes during very conservative times. Any of those votes could have ended my career in the Assembly, but my oath of office came first.
A vote to impeach Trump might end a few congressional careers, but allowing his conduct to go unpunished would be a signal that he is free to ignore the Constitution and to continue to turn the office of president into a hollow shell. Trump’s defenders say the impeachment effort is an attempt to subvert the results of the 2016 election. But winning an election isn’t a free pass to do anything you want for the rest of your term. Trump’s idea that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and get away with it is his idea of what the Constitution allows him to do.
Encouraging a foreign government to interfere in our politics in order to facilitate his re-election isn’t protected by any clause in the Constitution. Threatening witnesses who appear before Congress is a crime. Ignoring subpoenas from Congress, and silencing government officials who are required to testify, are violations of law. Fighting court orders to turn over your tax returns and records of hush-money payments isn’t protected by any law.