Graves: Trump impeachment part of a drive to purge anyone who voted for him

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

There’s been a lot of talk about what’s going on in Washington over the last week—from the lawlessness at the Capitol to the beginning of another impeachment with just days left until the upcoming inauguration. While it dominates the news cycle, it doesn’t help the American people.

As we all know, in the midst of what was a peaceful protest, violence and lawlessness broke out, interrupting Congress’s proceedings and tearing up the Capitol.

Tragically, several Americans lost their lives, including a United States Capitol Police Officer. It was shocking and wrong what fringe elements resorted to. I believe in the law and the law must be upheld. The 1st Amendment protects peaceful protestors. It doesn’t protect lawbreakers.

This week, amidst a drive to purge anyone who voted for the President from daily life, Speaker Pelosi decided to take a second crack at impeachment. Just days before he’s set to leave office anyway, I voted against spending more taxpayer dollars on a process that’s going nowhere and won’t even be finished before the next President takes office. The political theater continues.

While the talking heads in Washington babble on about the goings on inside the Beltway, dividing us even further, folks are being left behind.

The pandemic continues to have a disastrous effect on everyday life. Thousands of small businesses have closed their doors for good, leaving workers without jobs and families without futures. Tens of thousands of small businesses owners are still struggling to make ends meet, with little hope on the horizon, even with the Paycheck Protection Program reopening this week. Doctors and nurses in our nation’s hospitals are still struggling to just keep the doors open and keep treating patients. Millions of American children aren’t getting the education they deserve as schools continue shunning in-person education in favor of online classes.

In North Missouri, we still have roads that need to be fixed, high-speed internet that needs to be deployed, river priorities that need to change to prevent future flooding and countless other important issues that we face daily, but easily get lost in the back and forth of the 24-hour news cycle.

This has to change. Americans cannot afford more politics as usual. We need to start thinking about America first, not Washington first. We need to start by helping our hospitals, workers, small businesses, and schoolchildren emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever. We need to continue working to rebuild our aging infrastructure and protect our communities from flooding. We have a lot of work to do and no time left to play games. It’s time to get back to work.