Opinion

Putting Trump loyalty above nation's interests

Posted August 13, 2018 1:00 am

Republican Rep. Peter Roskam tried to distance himself from President Donald Trump in his recent debate with Democratic challenger Sean Casten. But Roskam's actions show he is no different from House Republicans who put loyalty to Trump over responsible policy.

Most recently, Roskam voted for House Resolution 970, part of House Republicans' ongoing sham to discredit the Justice Department. House Republicans criticized the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia tried to help Trump win and routinely attack Robert Mueller and threaten to impeach Rod Rosenstein. Senate Republicans side with the intelligence community.

In a recent hearing featuring Rosenstein's testimony, House Republicans falsely accused the Justice Department of wrongdoing - which Rosenstein forcefully denied - and then passed HR 970, criticizing the Justice Department and demanding more documents, many of which relate to the ongoing special counsel investigation and cannot be shared. Roskam's vote will embolden House Republican's efforts to discredit the critical investigation into Russia's election meddling.

Roskam also joined House Republicans in shielding Trump from Democratic proposals requiring the release of Trump's tax returns so the GOP tax law's impact on Trump could be evaluated. Roskam lacked the courage to require basic, customary transparency to show how the Roskam-engineered GOP tax cuts - which add trillions to our debt and are heavily slanted in favor of wealthy individuals - would help the president.

Roskam claims to support protections for pre-existing conditions but voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement. Roskam joined those hellbent on repealing the ACA with no plausible alternative, either to nurture Trump's grudge against President Obama or to transfer money from the needy to wealthy individuals through regressive tax cuts.

Peter Roskam won't be independent of Trump's Republican Party. Sixth District voters should elect Sean Casten to check the instincts of Donald Trump and House Republicans.

Rusty Perdew

Naperville

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