Cross-posted from trevorloudon
I would demand time to speak, then stand at the lectern and declare:
My fellow Members of Congress – and specifically, to my brothers and sisters over on the Democrat side of the aisle – as we embark on a vote as to whether or not to impeach President Donald Trump, I bear witness before you this day.
The history of our civilization, over and over, tells us of how individuals find themselves at the juncture of events that will, with time, prove to be of lasting import, to be monumental – the proverbial “one for the history books” moments.
Yet often at that time and place the individuals themselves do not recognize the full gravity of what is transpiring; as humans we are wont to assess based upon the passions of the moment, our individual preferences and goals, or merely taking the momentary path of least resistance or to avoid potential consequences.
I submit to you that this is one of those times of lasting import. Such times, and the conduct resulting, later prove to have been an immortal test of individuals’ character and integrity. We will eventually pass on – but our actions, or inactions, at this time will become our legacy.
Consider: who now do you believe more likely to be in heaven, and who burning in Hell – those who informed the Gestapo about where Jews were hiding, or those who hid them? Those Vichy who collaborated with the Nazis, or those who joined the Resistance to fight evil?
In this chamber we face mere political unpopularity and, perhaps, loss of enriching political power – consequences which pale in comparison to the potential loss of life confronted by those about whom I just referred, those who stalwartly resisted evil.
By this vote, those of us in this chamber are being tested – and many, perhaps even a majority, will be found wanting – by choosing the transitory path of political expediency and party loyalty.
Indeed, is not this the very essence of temptation – the succumb to immediate satisfaction, but at the long-term detriment of our immortal souls?
People who have comported themselves with integrity, with courage and good faith, may not gain advantage in the near-term – indeed history shows that many suffer grievously for their fealty to a higher calling. Yet they will be rewarded in the end.
This impeachment effort has been born of hatred, propelled by bad faith, and is so unmeritorious that, if the stakes were not so high, it would seem to be parody.
The term “Stalinesque” has been used to describe the proceedings to date – can you marshal compelling facts to refute this characterization. Try if you wish – but you will fail.
Your party – your Democrat party alone – seeks to remove a duly elected President from office, using indisputably unfair hearing processes, and relying solely upon not just concocted allegations, but ones that are demonstrably false. The stakes in this abuse of process are monumental.
And what are those stakes? Our Founding Fathers, those serious men, with divine inspiration gifted us with greatest form of government yet devised, as scribed in our Constitution. Yes, they included an impeachment process – but to provide a mechanism for maintaining the integrity of our republic, not to make a mockery of it.
I need not here detail the usurpations of due process and basic fairness committed by your Democrat party in its zealous pursuit of undoing the election of 2016 – and preemptively manipulating the election of 2020.
You may not have been directly involved in your party leadership’s schemes in designing the so-called “impeachment inquiry.” And you may not have been a direct participant in the Intelligence and Judiciary committee machinations. But you are here now, as a participant in this vote.
And though the so-called “mainstream media” has carried your party’s water, and so kept from the public, history will not be blinded to the abject venality of the course your Democrat Party leadership has pursued. If you vote to impeach, you adopt that venality, and you too will own it.
By your vote in this body whether to impeach President Trump on – well, trumped-up calumnies – you will be making historic choice. You can become a collaborator with these Democrat intrigues that will ultimately be damned by history, or you can stand with honesty, integrity and fairness. Stand with evil, or with good. It is your decision to make.
If with good, you may well suffer retribution by your Democrat Party – but consider that while ultimately none of us control our secular fate, we ultimately control our own soul’s fate!
Secular consequences will pass, but eternity and eternity’s God are watching. This vote alone will not represent the sum total of your life when you face your eternal judgment, but surely the moral decisions we make at critical junctures carry great weight.
By your vote you will rendering judgment about more than just impeachment. May you decide well.
Mr. Wigand is the author of the book Communiqués From the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions).