@RepTomColeman: “Failure to pursue impeachment is to condone wrongdoing. To condone wrongdoing is to encourage more of it. To encourage wrongdoing is to give up on the rule of law and our democracy…[and]invites autocracy and eventually dictatorship”
Tom Coleman is the former Republican lawmaker who is calling for Donald Trump to be impeached. In an op-ed in the Kansas City Star, Coleman wrote that the House of Representatives should open an investigation into the president and then consider impeachment. He wrote that failure to do this amounts to encouraging “wrongdoing” and giving up on the rule of law.
Coleman wrote, “Failure to pursue impeachment is to condone wrongdoing. To condone wrongdoing is to encourage more of it. To encourage wrongdoing is to give up on the rule of law and our democracy. To give up on the rule of law and democracy invites autocracy and eventually dictatorship.”
Here’s what you need to know about Tom Coleman:
1. He Says Trump Is ‘Frequently Untethered from Reality’ & Shouldn’t Be Handed a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ Card
Republican Former Rep. Tom Coleman: Trump, Pence are illegitimate. Impeach them. “The vice president should resign or be impeached as well if for no other reason that he has been the chief enabler for this illegitimate president.” t.co/xnC1diAjOU
Coleman writes that the Trump campaign allowed a “foreign power” to defraud American voters in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Coleman wants the president — and the vice president — to face repercussions for that. He argues that Trump often acts as though he is above the law; he argues that, if the president gets a “get out of jail free” card after the Mueller report, he will continue to escalate and will become more lawless. Coleman wrote:
“Contemplate the possible behavioral problems of a Trump untethered from the law and who is frequently untethered from reality. Would we be surprised if he were to repeatedly brandish his get out of jail card while breaking, at will, democratic norms, presidential precedents and criminal statutes? Trump said early in his campaign that he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?” Are we now at that point?”
2. He Says Pence Should not Be Allowed to Become President
Coleman argues that Mike Pence was an “enabler” for Trump and that he was at least passively involved in the “misdeeds” that led up to the 2016 presidential election. That’s why, he says, Pence should be either impeached or forced to resign. He writes,
“Because the misdeeds were conducted to assure the entire Trump-Pence ticket was elected, both former candidates — Pence as well as Trump — have been disgraced and discredited. To hand the presidency to an illegitimate vice president would be to approve and reward the wrongdoing while the lingering stench of corruption would trail any Pence administration, guaranteeing an untenable presidency. If Trump is impeached, then Pence should not be allowed to become president. The vice president should resign or be impeached as well if for no other reason that he has been the chief enabler for this illegitimate president.”
3. Coleman Represented Missouri in the House of Representatives for 17 Years
“What if House Democrats decide not to embark on impeachment? If that were the case, I believe the public would conclude Democrats are no better than the Republicans who have enabled Trump for the past two years, putting party above country.” t.co/fWc92bNjFp
Coleman grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, attending the local public schools and eventually earning his BA from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. He served as Missouri’s state attorney general before going on to successfully run for a seat in the US House of Representatives. Coleman remained in the House of Representatives for 17 years, from 1976 until 1993.
4. He & His Wife Have 3 Daughters & 3 Granddaughters
Coleman and his wife live in Fairfax, Virginia. He and his wife have three daughters and three granddaughters.
5. He Went to Work as a Lobbyist After Leaving Congress
Coleman, a Republican, represented Missouri in the US House of Representatives for 17 years. When he left the House, he went to work as a lobbbyist for The Livingston Group, a lobbying organization founded by former Congressman Bob Livingston.