Letter to the editor: On impeachment, no courage in the Senate

The authority of the U.S. Constitution fades as sections dealing with impeachment are ignored by President Trump and his Republican allies. Trump gets away with abusing power by ordering witnesses with firsthand knowledge of his impeachable acts — Bolton, Pompeo, Mulvaney, McGahn, Giuliani — to ignore subpoenas by smearing those who comply, while inviting senators, who will ultimately decide his guilt, to lunch with him at the White House. He breaks bread with prospective jurors in his impeachment trial. The Founders must be rolling in their graves.

Unlike most trials, we know how this one will end. Trump will be impeached and spineless senators will find him not guilty. Where are the Howard Bakers and Caldwell Butlers, who placed country above party during the Nixon impeachment? We now have sycophants like Pat Toomey and toadies like Guy Reschenthaler. We have the rudeness and ignorance of Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan. Congressional Republicans have disgraced the oath they swore to uphold and sunk to new lows since impeaching President Clinton for lying about sex while defending Trump who lies about national security.

Those courageous career public servants who testified in the impeachment inquiry made me proud. One political appointee, who earned his ambassadorship by contributing $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, is the exception, even though he, too, said “yes” to the quid pro quo question.

While most Americans still enjoy this land of the free, the U.S. Senate fails us as home of the brave. No profiles in courage there.

Glenn R. Plummer

Unity