Many have commented on my quest to discover why no Democratic member of Congress has invoked the 14th Amendment, Section Three. My favorite is: “Just a few bad actors caused some trouble.”
I want to show those who think that day was just another “legitimate political discourse,” with the 140-plus police officers who ended up in hospitals and the feces smeared on the walls. The commander-in-chief of the most potent military on the planet could have shut that riot down in a heartbeat. Instead, Trump watched his planned insurrection unfold on TV for three hours.
When asked why you haven’t invoked the 14th Amendment, all I’ve gotten from your staff is: “Other projects demand our time and resources” and “The people have spoken.” That’s more than I’ve gotten from Senators Schiff and Padilla, who’ve given standard acknowledgments that they had received my query.
Why hold a congressional hearing on the January 6, 2021, riot if no member of Congress dares follow through?
When our democracy is in danger, invoking the 14th Amendment, Section Three, is every member of Congress’s Constitutional duty. You are my Representative. I count on you.
Our team is losing to a team that is changing the game’s rules so that they will always win. Our time is running out. A resourceful quarterback resorts to throwing a Hail Mary in such a situation. Invoking the 14th Amendment, Section Three might be professional suicide, or it might be the most heroic thing you could do to save our constitutional republic. It’s a gamble worth taking.
Sir, you were in an Airborne unit in Vietnam. Remember jumping out of that plane the first time? Remember how surreal it felt. It was more like a dream than a paralyzing reality. I, too, jumped out of perfectly functioning planes in the military. I came into service a little later than you. I would invoke the 14th Amendment, Section Three if I could, but we elected you to serve us. Now is the time to thrust yourself out the door, yell Geronimo, and ask God to help open your parachute and help with your Parachute Landing Fall.
Major Mel Brinkley,
Retired, US Army, USAF, and Department of Veterans Affairs
I think about 3 more letters asking Congress to invoke the 14th should get the job done.