Representative Tulsi Gabbard voted “present” on both Impeachment Resolutions directed toward President Donald Trump in the House, and instead introduced this Resolution to Censure the President for putting personal political gain over national interest. Agree or disagree with her, it once again demonstrates her integrity, character, and independence of prudential judgment regarding how she sees her solemn duty as an elected representative in a constitutional republic. Like her predecessor Ron Paul, she is a rarity in that body, very much in the Burkean mold regarding her office.
Edmund Burke was a famous Member of the British Parliament. His immortal Speech to the Electors of Bristol defined for all time what representatives owe their constituents who elect them to office. It is not to be merely an automaton or robot sounding out and being subservient to the narrow majority opinion of their district’s voters but to weigh issues with principled, deliberative and prudential judgment in the interest of the whole nation. Burke took the unpopular position of supporting the cause of independence and secession of the British colonies in North America.
How many elected officials in the course of the nation have tried to operate on this basis? Author John F. Kennedy, in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, describes some of the few exceptions.
6:08 pm on December 22, 2019
