Arizona House Congressional Democratic Candidates React to the Impeachment Vote on Donald Trump.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairperson Jerry Nadler were right to say no one should be joyful about voting to impeach a President.

This vote should not be a game of gotcha with the Republican President. It should be a matter of protecting the Constitution and following the oaths, Representatives took to safeguard the Republic.

Arizona’s Democratic Representatives (Ann Kirkpatrick, Ruben Gallego,  Raul Grijalva, Tom O’Halleran, and Greg Stanton) after seeing the considerable evidence from the few first-hand and many second-hand sources, concluded, along with hundreds of Republicans (those not in Congress), legal authorities, and historians, that Donald Trump, in his handling of the Ukraine matter, committed impeachable offenses and voted to pass the two Articles of Impeachment.

Unfortunately, the Republican contingent of Arizona’s House Delegation ( Debbie Lesko, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, and David Schweikert) voted cult over the country, deciding to vote against the Two Impeachment Articles, claiming debunked conspiracy theories and false process arguments to justify their positions.

Matt Grodsky, spokesperson for the Arizona Democratic Party commented on the Arizona House Republican’s decision that:

“Arizona Representatives David Schweikert, Debbie Lesko, Paul Gosar, and Andy Biggs ignored the clear and overwhelming evidence that the president abused the power of his office. Rather than uphold their oaths of office, Arizona’s House Republicans yet again put partisanship first, proving that they can’t be trusted to be independent representatives in Washington.”

Some of the Democratic Congressional Candidates hoping to defeat these Republicans made their thoughts on impeachment and their Republican opponent’s positions known on either social media or in response to a request for comment.

Their thoughts are below.

Democratic Congressional District Four Candidate Delina Di Santo

“Of course Rep Paul Gosar voted against Impeachment of Trump. He swore to uphold the constitution. Gosar says we were against Trump from the beginning. Well … every President has been attacked by the other party, but Trump rants about being victimized, and the GOP complain that he has been attacked since he was elected. So Immature. Think about it … Trump was attacked before he was elected. Thousands of GOP were against him and now many stand up for him because their biggest fear is Democrats will win in 2020 like we did in 2018. This shows they are party over country. They don’t care about the people they represent. He abused his power & lied about it. Period. Well I’m here to take on Gosar and get him out of office”

Democratic Congressional District Five Candidate Joan Greene

On December 18, 2019:

“One minute and 6 seconds after Andy Biggs said the Pledge of Allegiance, Biggs told us who he pledges his allegiance to.”

“This is a solemn moment in our history and should be treated as such.”

“Today we saw Andy will not protect our country and the Constitution.”

On December 19, 2019:

“Yesterday’s vote to uphold the Constitution was the first step to unify the USA.”

“Thank you for never giving up, for fighting for truth, giving strength and love to each other as we came out of the darkness into the light.”

“We still have a bumpy road in front of us but we will travel it together, of this I am certain.”

Democratic Congressional District Six Candidate Anita Malik

“As Congresswoman for Arizona’s sixth, I will always stand by my duty to protect the Constitution. I will uphold the rule of law no matter what party is in power. Any threat to our democracy must be stopped.”

“Now, while we anticipate what happens next, we must also focus on the path ahead and work to bring us back together. We must move forward on the issues impacting our families and take steps to ensure we don’t repeat this point in history.” 

Democratic Congressional District Six Candidate Stephanie Rimmer

“For only the third time, our country is now under the leadership of an impeached president.”

“Whatever the outcome, whatever comes next, our first obligations have to be to our Constitution, to the law and to each other.”

“May God bless America and grant us all the wisdom and grace to see this through with justice and integrity.”

Democratic Congressional District Eight Candidate Michael Muscato

“How can anyone not be amazed at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s short memory and inability to understand context? Not only was she painful to watch during yesterday’s Rules Committee meeting (in the Articles of Impeachment) for distorting history and facts, she repeated the same false claims in the Well of the House this morning. We are all fact witnesses to her ineptitude. She has no business being in Congress.”

Democratic Congressional District Eight Candidate Bob Musselwhite

“In my opinion, based on the credible testimony given by people that could be secured, both of those conditions are present. Of course, we would know for sure if the President had not refused to allow those who were directly involved from appearing to give their side of the story.”

“Clearly, the intention of the founders who wrote the Constitution was that the power of the monarch/king/tyrant be divided into three different co-equal branches. In my view, the United States House of Representatives had no other choice than to indict the President to preserve the coequal nature of our government that has served us so well since 1789.”

“Now maybe at the trial in the Senate, the witnesses will appear that the House committees asked for to start with. If they do not appear and provide
the truth which I believe will lead to a just decision, then we will have to guess that there really is something to hide by this individual, and more important by his actions something that will damage the future of our Republic. It will show that the U. S. Congress can be ignored by an overreaching President/would-be tyrant
both now and in the future.”

“The President of the United States does not hold a private office. He holds a public office and as such the public has a right to know how power is being used on our behalf. It is the job of the U. S. Congress to provide oversight. Power is delegated from us to the President but it still retains strings as prescribed
by the Constitution.”

“The Republic and its survival for the protection of our individual rights are far more important than any one individual. Ask any member of the United States Military in any branch.”

“I agree with the indictment/impeachment by the U. S. House of Representatives. Now let’s see if the Senate is interested in the truth and the preservation of our Republic.”

Mr. Musslewhite, a history instructor, is correct in reminding the reader that the next phase of the impeachment process is the trial in the Senate.

There it will be decided, probably with just a few vulnerable and conscientious Republicans joining the Democrats, whether to hear from additional first-hand witnesses.

It will be interesting to see what approach Senator Martha McSally takes in the impeachment trial phase.

Arizona Democratic Party Chairperson Felecia Rotellini, following the House Impeachment vote, issued a statement questioning, based on recent news reporting, Senator McSally’s objectivity, relaying that:

“Today is a solemn day for our nation. Nobody is above the law — not even the president. Now that the House has rightly held this president accountable for abusing his office, it is incumbent on the Senate to hold a full and fair trial.”

“Unfortunately, Senator McSally has clearly shown she’s not an impartial juror and is instead taking her cues from Mitch McConnell. This is a serious issue that should be above political games, and it’s unfortunate that Arizonans cannot trust Senator McSally to be an independent voice for our state.”

Hopefully, Senator McSally and all of her 99 Senate colleagues will follow the evidence and vote country over party for the right reasons, not the ones swallowed up by the residents of the Trump Zone or Fox Island.

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