I didn’t really need any further indication that our political culture is in Bizarro World, but the opinion piece by Scott Martelle is proof positive [“Moving to impeach Trump would only make him stronger,” Opinion, April 19].
He argues that Democrats should not move to impeach President Trump on the merits of the clear evidence against him because it would create the “perception” that they are doing it for political reasons. Instead, according to Martelle, Democrats should hold off on impeachment in order to not alienate independents and preserve the best chance of defeating Trump in 2020.
In other words, Democrats shouldn’t pursue justice based on the facts because it will be falsely perceived as political, but rather they should do the political thing based on expediency because it will be falsely perceived as just.
The sad thing is, as a matter of sheer national self-preservation, Martelle might be right. Which only tells you how far our great constitutional republic has been brought down.
Rick Kosterman, Seattle