Letter writer: "It sickens me that 146 members of Congress continued to object to the certification of the Electoral College results even after Wednesday's insurrection."
The president has disgraced the country.
The only thing I want to hear from any Republican member of Congress or any member of this administration is “I’m sorry.” President Trump did not recently change his stripes as Mick Mulvaney suggests. He has always been who he is and was elected in spite of it, and for many people because of it.
It sickens me that 146 members of Congress continued to object to the certification of the Electoral College results even after Wednesday's insurrection. They should be held to account for violating their oath of office and removed from their positions if they refuse to resign. They have by definition committed treason.
Fox News also bears a significant amount of blame for amplifying a circular argument of accusation as evidence. They knew full well what they were doing for profit and that their viewers would be all-in for this “entertainment.” Perhaps in order to have “News” appear anywhere on the screen there should be some rules regarding journalistic principles.
It will take years to recover our reputation as a world-leading democracy even if our leadership can rededicate themselves to truth.
Mike Myers, Lincoln
Make America Great Again. What a show. The law and order president incites rioting. He has definitely made America grated.
We would be best served if someone in the current cabinet would invoke the 25th Amendment. And then, the House should impeach and the Senate uphold impeachment.
The treasonists who attacked the U.S. Capitol Building should all be in jail. The instigator of this treason should also be charged. We, the people, deserve the upholding of the law for all of the lawbreakers involved.
Steven R. Skoda, Lincoln
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s protest/riot/insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, it strikes me as hypocritical to hear so many Republican supporters of President Trump condemn his behavior. What exactly did they expect when they have spent four years cajoling, ignoring and in many cases enabling his dangerous rhetoric?
What transpired on Wednesday was despicable and those who participated in the mob should be held accountable and prosecuted for their behavior. Yet where is the accountability for those elected officials who have remained silent for so long? Their behavior is as complicit as those who violently forced their way into the halls of Congress.
Gary Targoff, Lincoln
As a landowner in the 3rd Congressional District, which is supposed to be represented by Rep. Adrian Smith, I'm disappointed, to say it mildly, by his adding his name to the list of Trump loyalists to contest the Electoral College vote count.
He has added fuel to the fire that ignited the Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. He said many rioters were acting "peacefully." I beg to differ, since they breached the doors of the House and Senate.
We deserve better representation than this. Smith paid no attention to the facts of an election that was not rigged, supported by 60 failed lawsuits, the Supreme Court, the U.S. attorney general, the head of Homeland Security, Republican governors, state attorneys general and election commissioners.
So why did Congressman Smith feel compelled to join the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Josh Hawley? There are leaders and there are followers. There are those who respect the Constitution and those who want to challenge the rule of law to get re-elected.
Those who opposed the Electoral College have to live with their names on that list, but don't tarnish our state and the will of those millions who cast their votes all legally. Anyone who followed the rulings by the AG, and the Supreme Court and Head of Homeland Security should have had enough sense to resist throwing in with an effort that was doomed to fail along with a president who encouraged an assault on the nation's Capitol.
Don Hutchens, Lincoln
A profound thank you to the members of the United States Congress for fulfilling their duty to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, despite a violent attack on the U.S Capitol that interrupted their deliberations and threatened both their safety and the integrity of our constitutional process.
Some of the members were unhappy with the result of the election. Some have questions about election procedures in certain states. Nevertheless, as soon as it was safe to do so, the members reconvened, continued their debate and saw the process through. They were true to the dignity of the office each holds and to the trust reposed in them by the electorate.
Most importantly, they honored their sworn oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States” by carrying out their constitutional duty in extremely difficult circumstances. From a grateful American, thank you.
Kathryn Campbell, Lincoln
After Wednesday’s disgraceful Trump and House- and Senate-Republican-incited seditious riot on Capitol Hill, several things need to be done immediately.
If he hopes to save his political career and professional reputation, Vice President Mike Pence needs to begin the process of invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment in order to remove Trump from office immediately. That done, federal and/or state authorities need to arrest Trump.
Next, the entire Senate Republican membership needs to condemn formally the actions of Trump and his followers, all of the rioters and officials surrounding and encouraging Trump in the White House. The House’s entire Republican membership needs to do the same thing.
Further, the 140 Republican House members who willfully participated in the sham challenge to the election’s results need to be given the option of resigning or facing indictment for having been party to encouraging riot by their continued promotion of baseless and unhinged conspiracy theories regarding election outcomes. The senators following Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley need to be given the same option as the conspiring Republican House members.
All of these political leaders and officials, having engaged in one way or another in this collective act of sedition, must face the legal consequences regarding the degree to which they participated in deliberate action that led to incitement of riot.
If possible, the Senate needs to reconsider the House’s impeachment of Trump and vote to bar him from any future state or federal office on grounds of having been the principal voice inciting insurrection.
Liam O. Purdon, Lincoln
It appears that Sen. Ben Sasse is using his position as a Republican to do far more damage to the Republican Party than he could if he was a Democrat. He apparently feels he is very clever in doing this, but it is absolutely disgusting.
President Trump has accomplished more for our country in his nearly four years than has been accomplished in the last several decades. One can expect that the Democrats would have unfounded criticism about the president but not a Republican senator. Hopefully we only have one Democrat in the Republican Party and that voters and congressmen can see through Senator Sasse’s sham.
Roger Meyer, Utica
I commend Congress for accepting the election results on Wednesday despite the riot. The next task is to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting the riot, remove him from office and to do this immediately. After that, prosecution for incitement should follow to show ourselves and the world that the United States of America does not accept such behavior, not even from presidents.
Although the president now promises an orderly transition of power, after his decades of lying, cheating and stealing, I don't believe it. Congress must act today to make absolutely clear that his term as president is finished.
Curtis Bryant, Omaha
Mr. Trump lost the election. He and his Republican bootlickers (including most from our state) continue to try and delay the inevitable. I do not understand how it is that grown adults, labeled as leaders, continue to act like children that just lost a board game and can't handle a defeat.
This is the same election process (and even more scrutinized) that put Mr. Trump into an office he has continuously made an embarrassment. Think about this. Do you raise your children to lie, call people names and to handle a fair defeat with sour apples? If you support Mr. Trump I guess the answer to those questions is "yes."
I am convinced that those in our Congress who continue to support Mr. Trump are simply weak leaders. They fear what Mr. Trump will not do for them after he leaves office. Maybe they fear they will never be allowed to golf at Mar a Lago or hang out by the pool there?
This miserable tenure for a U.S. president can't get over soon enough! And for those in Congress who still support this, uh, president? There are some spinal doctors out there who will just love to take your business!
Goodbye, 45!
Randy Clark, Lincoln
As a citizen, I believe congressional members spending resources to contest the election are wasting everyone's time and money.
Our senators' time would be better spent in finding out how government agencies were hacked through a private IT company with extensive interactions and access to so many companies and agencies and the damage done to our country. Just spit-balling.
I would think that our congressional resources would be better spent trying to figure out why the rollout of the vaccine is floundering. Think of the vast resources being used to find and correct the obstacles/lack of planning now being painfully made apparent. Just spit-balling.
I would think that congressional resources are better used to address and alleviate the economic consequences of the pandemic on individual Americans, families and small business. Just spit-balling.
Instead, we get 12% of our senators and almost 33% of our representatives flogging themselves in public for the amusement and gratification of a pygmy Mussolini. I have two observations to make here. Most political mass movements based on a cult of personality fail once the demagogue fades away. I can only conclude you are pandering to position yourself for future political benefit. Not a good look, and you will need independent votes to win. Just spit-balling.
This country has a multitude of problems we need to spend time on and resolve. What we get is buffoonery and political hacks thinking of only themselves and lust for power at any cost to the body politic.
Phillip Ness, Denton
There has not been a single day since Donald Trump took office that I have felt safe as an American. His term started with the most divisive environment America has ever had post-Civil War, and it is coming to a close with an armed insurrection and terror attacks at our nation's Capitol. It is high time for all of us to decide which is more important to us: racism or the republic, demagoguery or democracy.
It is not enough for Trump to be chastised. He needs to be removed from office and prosecuted at the very least, and his responses to the attack early this week prove he and some of his followers, both in and out of government, are a unique threat to the republic.
Ronnie Dupree Turner, Lincoln
So, Reps. Adrian Smith and Jeff Fortenberry don’t think the election was legitimate. They’re absolutely right. There is no way that we Nebraskans would elect them to represent us in Congress. I want to thank them both for pointing this out.
Honesty is something I don’t generally associate with the Republican Party so I am surprised and grateful. I am looking forward to a special election in order to send their replacements. Thanks again, you guys, for admitting to the debacle that elected you.
Gerald Larkins, Diller
