Rep. Ben McAdams deserves thanks and respect for giving careful and thoughtful consideration to his decision on impeachment, and then for taking a courageous and risky stand to do the right thing.
Alone among Utah’s members of the House of Representatives, he didn’t merely choose the easiest path to reelection. Despite his district being bombarded with manipulative and (at best) factually questionable advertising attacking impeachment, he made a difficult choice.
The Constitution clearly establishes oversight of presidential misconduct as the responsibility of Congress, and unlike others, Rep. McAdams did not make the weak excuse of calling on voters to do his job. And where other Utah legislators seemed to immediately jump to following the party line without even truly considering the evidence, McAdams agonized over his choice and then did what he thought was right.
When the history of this period in our nation is written, Rep. Ben McAdams will be a figure viewed as a patriot and a good man who followed his conscience. Utah and Washington need more like him.
Paul Gibbs
West Valley City