Letters to My Congressman (4)

I wonder if you are as mystified by your Republican Party as I am. What does it stand for these days? Fiscal conservatism? Then why did you vote with your Party to shovel 1.5 trillion dollars to the rich? And now the deficit has expanded this year to almost $985 billion dollars. Is that fiscal conservatism? Defending the constitution? Have you read the emolument clause recently and heard about the many unconstitutional edicts your president has attempted to inflict upon our citizens? Defending our fundamental American values? Have you seen the pictures of tear-gassed women and children at the border? It’s a far cry from the wonder and nobility of the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor. Perhaps you should take a trip up there one day to remind yourself of one of the reasons why our country has become great: our ability to absorb the millions of people who came to our shores to make a better life for themselves and their new country.

What intersects these three issues, once so dear to the now unrecognizable Republican Party, is the recent decision by our current president (who never served in the armed services due to his bone spur deferments) to send troops to our southern border this holiday and election season. I must have missed the news that Mexico invaded our country or was it reported on Trump TV Fox News? (I don’t listen to their fake news.) Is that why our soldiers were so quickly deployed to our southern border at great cost to taxpayers? Surely this decision wasn’t made as a political stunt to encourage the president’s political base to come out and vote in the midterm election. I can’t believe our cost-conscious Republican Congress would have allowed such a wasteful misuse of military funding to occur on their watch.

Some even argue that it is unlawful for our troops to be used in this manner citing the 1878 Posse Comitatus clause. Do you feel that this phony deployment for a phony invasion is lawful? If not, what have you done to check this president’s unlawful military decision?

And then there is the morality of this decision. Will our brave military be used to attack defenseless women and children who have traveled hundreds of miles seeking legal asylum? Is this a wise use of our military forces? Is it fair to them and their families during this holiday season? What does it do to their morale when they see their expertise being used for a political stunt of dubious moral character?

How do you feel about this deployment? Is it a wise use of taxpayer dollars, is it consistent with the rule of law and our constitution, and is it leading to actions which reflect the true character of our seemingly forgotten American values?

And how did you feel when you saw defenseless women and children being tear-gassed? Are you proud of your Party’s leadership here? Is America indeed becoming great again under your Party’s stewardship?

I personally am looking forward to better leadership under Chairman Pelosi in January. I am hoping you will find it in your heart and mind to “reach across the aisle as an independent moderate” and support her excellent leadership so these ugly incidents, sullying the character of our great nation, finally stop happening.