Written by Laurie Hess, Warwick Township. This piece was first published here, the LancasterSpeaksUp.com blog, on January 10, 2021 with permission from the author. This piece was also published on January 13, 2021 in LancasterOnline/LNP.
This is not my first letter to the editors of this newspaper. Most of my letters have been Kumbaya affairs, extolling the virtues of compassion and urging readers to disavow hate.
This one is different.
I would like to add my voice to the call for the resignation of Congressman Lloyd Smucker.
Republican elected officials in general, and Mr. Smucker in particular, have been lying to their constituents since the election, whipping them into a frenzy with tales of voter fraud, a stolen election, vanishing freedoms.
When speaking to the press, they dressed up their lies with words of concern about election integrity, making it seem as though their intentions were noble. Their real intention was to elevate their political capital by echoing an increasingly unhinged president.
Words are powerful. People believed these specious arguments. Some of these angry people broke into the Capitol building and temporarily brought the democratic process to a halt.
Incredibly, even after the riot, Lloyd Smucker stood by the lies. He objected to counting Pennsylvania’s votes because his constituents were upset with the way the election was carried out. This is disturbing circular logic. Constituents were angry because they were lied to by the very people who wished to benefit from that anger.
Mr. Smucker, you lied to people who trusted you. You broke your oath to uphold the constitution. You tried to disenfranchise Pennsylvania voters. You do not deserve to represent the people of Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District. It is time to step aside.
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