The storming Wednesday of the U.S. Capitol by right-wing radicals, instigated by President Trump earlier in the day, should be a sad event for all Americans, and one that has revealed deep rifts within the Republican Party.
There are a number of Republican officials who have placed love of country and adherence to the Constitution, the rule of law and the sanctity of the electoral process over partisan politics. We can admire the positions taken by individuals such as Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, each of whom has had the courage to speak truth to power, and who were not swayed by the lies emanating from Trump and his enablers about the outcome of the election. Former Vice President Joe Biden clearly won with a significant number of both electoral and popular votes.
Unfortunately, our own congressman from the 15th District, Glenn Thompson, was not among this group of stellar Republicans — instead, he chose to be a supporter of Trump’s countless lies regarding the election and its outcome, and he along with many other GOP House members and a handful of GOP senators must bear part of the blame for what took place before the eyes of the world on Wednesday.
Even after the storming of the Capitol and the accompanying injuries and loss of life, Thompson remained among those Republicans who chose to vote to overturn the results of the presidential election in Arizona and/or Pennsylvania, which in the eyes of Christopher Krebs, a Trump-appointed former cyber security expert, was the most secure election in the nation’s history.
Thompson insulted every hard-working election official in our state (Republican and Democrat). He has in essence shown his desire to throw the voters of Pennsylvania under the bus by not allowing the will of the people to determine where Pennsylvania’s electoral votes go, and he has shown a lack of respect for the rule of law, the sanctity of the electoral process and adherence to the Constitution.
It is important that we not forget what he has done.
The 2022 congressional election will be here before we know it. While it may be unrealistic to think that a Democrat could win the 15th District seat, I would urge my Republican friends in McKean County and in the district beyond to identify a strong candidate to run against Thompson in the 2022 GOP primary — one who reflects the character, respect for the Constitution and the rule of law like a Romney, a Sasse or a Raffensperger.
Thompson’s legacy is now sealed, and it’s time for him to go — the people of our district, and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, deserve much better.
K. James Evans
Bradford
