Detroit Free Press Editorial: These 5 GOP US reps should be voted out of office
"Will you accept the results of the 2024 presidential election?"
It's a simple question, one that any candidate for elected office, especially at this nation's highest levels of government, ought to be able to answer quickly—and affirmatively.
But for five Michigan Republican incumbents seeking re-election to the U.S. Congress, the question of whether they'd uphold democracy seems to have stumped the band.
Over the course of three weeks this summer, the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board reached out multiple times to the re-election campaigns and Washington D.C. offices of the five GOP incumbents.
None responded.
The representatives' silence on the 2024 election is particularly ominous, given that each member of this quintet worked, in some way, to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and unfairly and illegally hand the election to then-President Donald Trump, once again his party's presidential nominee.
Underlying each maneuver was the perpetuation of lies about election fraud—although none of the five seem to believe this supposed fraud should delegitimize his or her own election.
Each of these representatives advanced his or her own political career at the expense of American democracy, and in our estimation, don't deserve the offices they hold.
One member of this inglorious “FAB FIVE” is Rep. Jack Bergman, who was first elected to represent Michigan’s 1st District in 2016.
Undermining our elections
Bergman, McClain and Walberg voted to disallow electors certified by Republican-majority legislatures in Arizona and Pennsylvania—states Biden won in 2020—and held this position long after most of their fellow GOP lawmakers had abandoned the ill-conceived fight.
Bergman, Huizenga, Moolenaar and Walberg signed a brief supporting a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that aimed to stop Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from casting each state's Electoral College votes for Biden.
The U.S. Supreme Court quickly dismissed the lawsuit. That the coup was unsuccessful does not negate the culpability of the four congressmen in perpetuating it—or that each effectively asked the high court to disenfranchise 2.8 million Michigan voters, including their own constituents.
It's a disgraceful distinction no person who aspires to elective office should hold, and the damage is incalculable. The persistent work of these lawmakers to undermine the results of free, fair elections legitimized fringe complaints and wild conspiracy theories, contributed to dangerous polarization and diminished faith in our system of elections.
And while we hope to be proved wrong, absent a declaration to the contrary, we fear they could do the same this year.
'People of the Lie'
These diligent efforts to undermine American democracy are inextricably linked to the Jan. 6 insurrection—built on the backs of the untruths perpetuated by supposedly credible lawmakers like Bergman, Moolenaar, Huizenga, Walberg and McClain.
In the wake of that dark day, the Free Press Editorial Board dubbed these five, along with 23 other prominent Michigan Republicans, "the people of the lie."
We understand that Trump's dominance of GOP politics leaves some Republicans in a difficult position. Trump himself did not concede defeat, and has campaigned ever since on the premise that his rightful victory was stolen. Winning the former president's endorsement requires even a candidate who doesn't question the election system to pay homage to Trump’s most cherished grievance.
But holding leadership does not mean taking the easy route, or following the path of least resistance. It means leading, even when that path is hard.
Some things are more important than winning.
So far, Bergman, Moolenaar, Huizenga, Walberg and McClain have no tangible incentive to change course. Each handily won re-election in 2022, and are favored to do so this year, in no small part because they have lied to the constituents who trust them, playing upon fears they helped to create.
Michiganders—Michigan Republicans—deserve better. Voters throughout the 1st Congressional District can do their part by saying “NO” to Jack Bergman.
Elect Callie Barr to Congress and send Jack Bergman back to Louisiana.
