LETTER: Citizens, act through voice and vote
The president, at best, badly misunderstands how a constitutional democratic republic works. He has the alarming misconception that he alone can appoint officials and judges to get his version of the law and the adulation he so desperately needs. He is, due to narcissism, predisposed to the deceit of anyone who flatters him. Unchecked, the powers of this executive will continue to grow to the subversion of the Constitution. And unchecked he is by a Republican Senate that has swallowed its collective tongue.
It is down to the citizens – to you and me – to act through our voices and votes. There are three co-equal branches of government. The advise and consent provisions in the Constitution are critical components of the balance of power, especially as they relate to appointments to the Supreme Court and key Cabinet posts. The independence of the judiciary is a bedrock on which our democracy depends. Experience has reduced these principles to a certainty. We must constantly remind our elected representatives that fealty to party, rather than to the republic, reduces them to a farce.
Matt Cairone
Canonsburg