George Washington warned Americans about the evils of political parties and partisan politics in his Farewell Address to Congress. When I ran as a Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, I did so because I saw how the two major parties and partisan politics were destroying our country, and I wanted to give voters a truly independent voice — something we need now more than ever.
As long as all of the Democrats vote “yes” and the Republicans vote “no,” the impeachment of our president will be seen as — and will in fact be — a completely partisan charade. Our country needs representatives with true convictions and real backbones, who aren’t constrained by political partisanship.
Out of all the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, there is only one person who is objectively doing the right thing: Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan. Rep. Amash was tired of divisive partisan politics — but he decided to actually do something about it: He changed his party affiliation from Republican to independent. Now he no longer feels the very real pressure from party elites to vote a certain way. How refreshing would it be if every member of Congress possessed this same conviction?
Accordingly, I believe there is only one way to end this madness: The time has come for our leaders to prove they are willing to put our country before their party by changing their political affiliation to independent.
Drew Gray Miller
South Side