TIME TO QUIT?

November 11, 2017

  

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: Time to quit?

I hear that the number of Republican Congressional representatives who have decided not to run for re-election in 2018 now totals 29. Is it time to add your name to the list?

I suspect there are at least two reasons for the defections: the movement of the Republican Party, over the past few years, further and further to the right, until it is now dominated by the loud voices of fanatical far right-wingers; and Donald Trump, whose arrogant, erratic and unprincipled leadership must gall every Republican who retains an ounce of decency or common sense.

Republican policies are currently wildly unpopular: the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” is disapproved by a 17-point margin. Americans are now fully tuned in to your party’s efforts to further enrich the wealthy at the expense of the average voter. Analysis of this past week’s election results favoring Democrats show just how much antipathy was aroused among voters by your repeated attempts to repeal Obamacare and replace it with wholly inadequate alternative plans. In short, you and your colleagues are way out of touch with the mood and the wishes of the country.

I would like to believe (against considerable evidence to the contrary!) that you are a reasonable and decent man. If this is true, perhaps now is a good time to either step aside, or begin to listen to the voice of your constituents and act accordingly.

(By the way, you might like to know that today is my 45^th wedding anniversary. Want to offer your congratulations to my wife and myself? No? I thought not!)

Respectfully,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.