The other day I received Congressman Lawler’s recent newsletter in which he wrote, “ Last week, I wrote an op-ed in the New York Post about one of the biggest threats to our democracy: partisan gerrymandering.”
He continued, “ Congress must pass a national ban on partisan gerrymandering and ensure that redistricting happens only once a decade after the Census, just as our Founders intended when they established the principle of one person, one vote.”
I’m somewhat relieved Congressman Lawler is willing to speak out about this major threat to our democracy and what the Founders intended when they established principles in the Constitution. He is also willing to suggest legislation curbing the dangerous direction our government is headed in terms of gerrymandering Americans out of their voting rights.
Yet, Congressman Lawler is not speaking out about the big picture dangerous threat to our democracy nor is he suggesting legislation to stop abuse of power as put forth in our Constitution. Donald Trump is clearly attempting to remake our democracy to achieve his authoritarian goals.
Congress has the power of the purse. Trump has no authority to freeze funds that Congress has allocated. Yet this interruption of federal spending that he precipitated only one week into his assuming office set off mass confusion, frustration and uncertainty amongst millions of Americans who rely on federally funded child care and food assistance as well as hundreds of nonprofits that depend on governmental grants. Furthermore, more than 60,000 federal employees have lost their jobs since Trump took office. These nonpartisan workers provide crucial public services, such as Social Security, food safety, affordable housing, public education, Medicaid and Medicare, public health, and health care for veterans, among others.
Did Mike Lawler object to this publicly? No
Did Mike Lawler speak out publicly about the masked men who refuse to show identification when profiling and detaining brown people, 70% of whom have legal status? Did he show support for a bill which will amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to require all immigration enforcement officers to display visible identification during public-facing immigration enforcement actions and to promote transparency and accountability? No!
Concocting an emergency to advance economic and foreign policy goals is a clear abuse of presidential power. Trump declared this artificial emergency to impose tariffs. Multiple sources estimate these tariffs will increase a typical family’s expenses by at least $2000 per year.
Did Congressman Lawler publicly object to Trump’s abuse of this power even when it will hurt his constituents? No!
Trump lied that crime in Washington DC is the “worst it’s ever been”. In reality crime is at a 30 year low in our nation’s capital. Trump lied in order to affect a federal takeover of the city’s police by deploying the National Guard. Has Mike Lawler warned his constituents that declaring fake emergencies is right out of the authoritarian playbook? No!
I could never vote for an inauthentic candidate like Congressman Lawler, who betrays his moral and ethical duty by not alerting his constituents and the American people that Donald Trump for his personal enrichment and power continuously ignores the principles the Founding Fathers established in our Constitution.
Thank you for your consideration.
Wendy Holtzman
Peekskill
