Kristie Tertel's Proposal for Senator Toomey's Censorship Resolution: Lehigh County Republican Party Meeting Motion and Voting on March 9, 2021

By: Kristie Tertel, Whitehall District 7 Committeewoman

March 09, 2021

A Resolution of Censure Against U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey, JR

By Declaration of The Lehigh County Republican Committee of the Pennsylvania Republican Party

WHEREAS, the Republican Committee of Lehigh County has lawfully met and agreed upon the following Resolution, infra, by majority vote at the Special Meeting on 09 March 2021.[i]

WHEREAS, on 26 January 2021, 55 United States Senators voted to reject Senator Rand Paul’s Point of Order that the ‘impeachment of a private citizen is unconstitutional”, requiring immediate dismissal- and that among them were five Republican Senators, including Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK), Senator Susan Collins (MW), Senator Ben Sasse (NE), Senator Mitt Romney (UT) and Senator Pat Toomey (PA); The Lehigh County Republican Committee rejects Senator Toomey’s vote as it violates the Constitution[ii], Toomey’s sworn oath of office to ethically represent his constituency and rejects the respected system of conservative values and beliefs that are the foundation of our local,[iii] state and national party of blue-collar, hard-working, God-fearing Republicans.

WHEREAS, also on January 26, 2021 Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr. in a statement said, “there are legal and constitutional arguments both favoring and opposing an impeachment trial of a former president but it is in my view constitutionally permissible;”. The Lehigh County Republican Committee condemns this statement- both in part and in whole.

WHEREAS, on 13 February 2021, Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr. voted against acquitting President Donald J. Trump  in the second politically motivated Senate impeachment trial, inflicting tremendous irreparable damage to the Pennsylvania GOP, current and future Republican candidates for public office[iv] and the67-inpendemnt Republican Committees throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Combined with his previous attacks  on America’s Second Amendment, Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey continues to use the Republican banner while actively working against conservative values, principles, and elected Republicans in public office.

WHEREAS, Senator Pat Toomey has persistently engaged in public acts[v] of ridicule and calumny against President Donald J. Trump questing his agenda, motives, decisions and competency- we, The Lehigh County Republican Committee, object to this unconventional behavior both in part and as a whole.; As such, the Democratically-controlled U.S. House of Representatives-led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi- having tried to convict our President of bogus alleged impeachable offenses since day one of his holding office, delivered a second Article of Impeachment  of President Donald J. Trump, to the U.S. Senate for trial; and, therefore, The Lehigh County Republican Committee rejects Senator Toomey’s votes for impeachment because Toomey’s votes and omissions do not reflect conservative beliefs;

WHEREAS, before, during and after Donald J. Trump’s Presidency, Senator Toomey has publicly shown contempt for Donald J. Trump and the Trump family. The Lehigh County Republican Committee vehemently opposes this sentiment in its entirety.; Moreover, The Lehigh County Republican Committee formally denounces any and all of Senator Patrick J. Toomey’s independent actions whilst in office, where Toomey has repeatedly mocked, to our objections, the integrity of and demonstrated a general disrespect for the Office of the President and his fellow Republican Senators through imprudent public remarks;

WHEREAS, on 10 January 2021, it is a matter of shameful public record that Senator Toomey is directly quoted on NBC 10 in Philadelphia along with Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, unjustly called upon President Trump to “resign and go away as soon as possible.”;[vi] and The Lehigh County Republican Committee condemn Senator Toomey’s behavior as it does not represent our conversative values as a party and as members of his constituency throughout Lehigh County, PA;

WHEREAS, on 26 January 2021, it is a matter of embarrassing public record[vii] that Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr. unreasonably voted against an effort to dismiss former President Donald J. Trump’s

second impeachment trial along with four other Republican colleagues in the United States Senate- directly violating his oath of office and we condemn Toomey’s disloyalty towards the GOP as a whole, Republicans nationwide and misrepresentation of his entire Constituency throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in sentiment, by gross majority.  We, as elected and appointed members of The Committee, denounce this vote. ; As such, in the interest of preserving and promoting party-unity, The Lehigh County Republican Committee condemn  Senator Toomey’s- both as a Lehigh County resident, voting Republican and de facto member of our local and State Committee as an elected official and public servant- egregious behavior and condescending actions in Toomey’s professional capacity, misrepresenting the ‘voice’ of his own constituency.

WHEREAS, on February 7, 2021 on CNN’s State of the Union Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr. said that former President Donald Trump’s impeachment was “clearly Constitutional” and added “I stand by everything I’ve said. I still think the best outcome would have been for the President to resign.”; The Lehigh County Republican Committee rejects Senator Toomey’s reckless sentiments as they misrepresent the GOP’s[viii] mission statement, party objectives and long-term goals, irreversibly;

WHEREAS, Senator Toomey shows indifference of illicit acts[ix] committed during the 03 November 2020 election in Pennsylvania, including but not limited to: oral witness testimony during State Senator Douglas Mastriano’s public hearing of fraud, sworn affidavits from poll workers and voters who witnessed intimidation, irregularities and gross fraud in the submission and counting of ballots; negligence and malfeasance committed by elected officials within the executive and judiciary branches of State and local Governments throughout Pennsylvania- all of which are in direct violation of State Election Laws and/or Constitutions, usurping the plenary power granted to the State Legislature by the United States Constitution[x] in determining the manner, time and place of elections, and the manner in choosing elections.

WHEREAS, Senator Pat Toomey disregarded[xi] the laws governing speech which set forth the elements required to judge whether a person’s words violate the criminal code against ‘inciting violence’ and the litmus test therein established by the United States Supreme Court in Brandenburg[xii] remains unproven. Accordingly,  the Lehigh County Republican Committee opposes Senator Toomey’s vote to impeach former President Donald J. Trump in light of Brandenburg[xiii] and the United States Supreme Court’s unchallenged and unchanged precedent therein. President Donald J. Trump’s 06 January 2021 speech does not meet any or all of the prescribed elements that establish, in fact and law, an act of ‘criminal incitement’;

WHERERAS, the Lehigh County Republican Committee denounces Senator Patrick J. Toomey’s unconstitutional vote to impeach former President Donald J. Trump- a private citizen- in direct defiance of the United States Constitution’s ‘plain meaning’ as to the penalty incurred by impeachment and conviction- i.e. removal from office.[xiv] Also, we object to Senator Toomey’s prima facie willful violation of the United States Constitution prohibiting Bills of Attainer.[xv]

WHEREAS, it is the conviction of the Lehigh County Republican  Committee that proceeding with any and all of the formal articles of impeachment against a President who is already out of office is Constitutionally infirm[xvi] and a purely self-serving vindictive and punitive action by those with malicious Establishment political objectives;[xvii]; Moreover, t is the conviction of the Lehigh County Republican Committee that the asserted grounds for impeachment were utterly without merit, an absurdity to pursue, a waste of hard-working Americans’ time and money;

THEREFORE, be it resolved: in consideration[xviii] of the remarks and actions of Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr., of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania,. as stated above in this complaint[xix], and following from our formal deliberation, we the undersigned, the Lehigh County Republican Committee, agree and declare that Senator Patrick Joseph Toomey, Jr. warrants and shall incur the penalty[xx] of CENSURE. Further, we declare such penalty is now imposed by this lawfully convened body- The Lehigh County Republican Committee.   Formal CENSURE is decreed and so moved, this day, 09 March 2021.

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Footnote Index of Citations

[i] Lehigh County Republican Committee By-Laws (updated June 11, 2019 version), Section 4.04(f)-h),  ‘Special Meetings’; [available online at: www.LehighGOP.com])..

[ii] (Read: both State [PA} and Federal (US) Constitutions, respectively).

[iii] Main official website of ‘The Lehigh County Republican Committee’, https://www.lehighGOP.com.

[iv] (Read: for public office, both elected and appointed, and the legitimacy of their individual candidacy therein).

[v] (Read: through both spoken and written words, respectively).

[vi] ‘Senate Could Take Up Trump Impeachment Day Before Bident Inaguration’, CNBC Staff, https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/money-report/live-updates-gop-senate-could-take-up-trump-impeachment-day-before-biden-inauguration-at-earliest-mcconnell-says/2662079/  (10 January 2021).

[vii]‘All But Five Senate Republicans Vote Against Impeaching Donald Trump’, The Right Scoop/Fred T., https://therightscoop.com/breaking-all-but-five-senate-republicans-vote-against-impeaching-donald-trump-even-mitch/ (21 January 2021).

[viii] (Read: including, but not limited to: National [i.e. 85 million Americans who voted for Trump in 2020], RNC,, State [PA}, local [Lehigh County, PA) and individuals [i.e. registered, lawful PA voters], respectively, and the governing Bylaws contained in each jurisdiction previously listed, supra, therein.).

[ix] (Read: as occurred in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan).

[x] United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1; and Article 2, Clause 2.

[xi] (Read: or is inexcusably ignorant of).

[xii] Brandenburg v. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969).

[xiii] Brandenburg v. Ohio 395 U.S. 444 (1969).

[xiv] United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 4; and Article 1, Section 3, Clause 7.

[xv] United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3.

[xvi] ‘Former Trump Defense Attorney On Why Impeachment Trial Is Unconstitutional’, PBS Staff/Judy Woodruff, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/former-trump-defense-attorney-on-why-the-impeachment-trial-is-unconstitutional  (09 February 2021).

[xvii] ‘Former Trump Defense Attorney On Why Impeachment Trial Is Unconstitutional’, PBS Staff/Judy Woodruff, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/former-trump-defense-attorney-on-why-the-impeachment-trial-is-unconstitutional (09 February 2021).

[xviii] (Read: any and all; in both part and whole.)

[xix]‘Amid Growing Backlash Pennsylvania GOP May Censure Toomey, ABCNews/Associated Press-Marc Levy,  https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/amid-growing-backlash-pennsylvania-gop-censure-toomey-75912622 (15 February 2021).

[xx] ‘Pennsylvania Republican Party State Committee ByLaws, https://www.pagop.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/PAGOP-Bylaws_9.25.15.pdf (Accessed: 01 February 2021).

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