Joe Gale Should Resign

For too long, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale has communicated racist dog-whistles on Montgomery County letterhead. He has sought to use bigoted hatred to his advantage by manufacturing outrage. 


In his June 1 press release, Joe Gale declared that there was no protest over police brutality. He said “it was a riot” – “not a protest”. He does this to avoid the absolute necessity of respecting all people’s Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly

Joe Gale pronounced that Black Lives Matter is a “radical left-wing hate [group]” “[perpetrating] urban domestic terror.”  In condemning and maligning a movement whose goal is justice for the murders of Black people, Joe Gale is proudly proclaiming that Black lives don’t matter to him.

Joe Gale has abused his office and admitted that he cannot represent ALL of his constituents or uphold the Constitution. Joe Gale should resign.

Impeachment

The President withheld congressionally apportioned national security funds to use as leverage to pressure Ukraine into damaging a political opponent’s reputation to aid in the President’s reelection. 

This action by the President made the United States less safe. It made our strategic ally, Ukraine, less safe. It strengthened Russia’s position of aggression toward Ukraine and the US. 

The President intervened against the direction of Congress, a coequal branch of government. This action weakened the government’s ability to act effectively.

Left unchecked, the President will continue to abuse the power of his office to undermine our democratic process by soliciting election interference from foreign nations, like he has publicly with Russia, Ukraine, and China. “Let the American people decide at the next election” is no longer an option, since the President has made it clear that elections are not to be decided solely by the American people, but by foreign governments and global interest groups as well.

Left unchecked, the President will act with impunity in his own interest above the interests of the American people, without regard for the Constitution or the nation of the United States of America. 

The framers of the Constitution were concerned with this type of abuse of power by the President, and they designed impeachment as the remedy. Impeachment is, in fact, the only redress available to us for this situation.

The House must vote to impeach, and the Senate must vote to remove the President from office.

No Confirmation

Here is a statement from Senator Toomey, which I have adapted to fit the current situation.

“With the U.S. Supreme Court’s balance at stake, and with the presidential election [under investigation], it is wise to [ensure] the American people [were given] a more direct voice in the selection and confirmation of the next justice. Should [Neil Gorsuch] be [brought up for a vote before the resolution of these investigations, Senator Toomey should] be happy to [refuse] his nomination, as [he did] with [Merrick Garland, when he was] submitted by President Obama.”
https://www.toomey.senate.gov/?p=news&id=1703

Muslim Ban Redux

Senator Toomey,
I condemn the White House’s second attempt to ban Muslims from entering the country, and I condemn your support for it. I said this about the first Muslim ban: “This order is absolutely unconstitutional,” and it was ruled unconstitutional by every judge who saw the case. Please read their decisions, because they are still applicable to this revised Muslim ban. This executive order will be found unconstitutional, and you continue to put yourself on the wrong side of history.

P.S. Your voicemail box is full again and no one picked up the phone during office hours.

Toomey’s “Town Hall”

I was on Senator Toomey’s telephone town hall yesterday afternoon, but it ended so quickly that the Senator wasn’t able to get to my question about the Supreme Court nomination.

Senator Toomey said last year, on refusing to hold a hearing for Merrick Garland, that he wished “to give the American people a more direct say in this critical decision.” American Intelligence agencies have stated that Russia interfered with the election. We’ve seen an increasing number of reports of the Republican administration’s, and the Republican campaign’s, connection with Russian government and intelligence. There are several ongoing investigations into these connections, and there are more proposed and requested. We don’t have all the facts. We don’t know to what extent the outcome of the election was the say of the American people or the Russian government. With this in mind, does Senator Toomey intend to break his pledge to withhold a Supreme Court hearing until we know we’ve been listening to the American people, rather than the Russian government?

All signs point to “Yes!”

Supreme Court Appointment

Senator Toomey,
The Senate must NOT confirm any permanent appointments while the election is under official investigation. The Senate is still investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, so any hearings on appointments to the Supreme Court must be delayed until the conclusion of those investigations. You don’t have all the information, so you must not make permanent decisions.
Thank you.