June 19, 2019

Rally to Impeach Trump Draws Crowd to Hinds Plaza

IMPEACHMENT ACTION: Rutgers University Professor Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh demonstrated against President Trump and circulated a petition calling for impeachment at Saturday’s #ImpeachTrump event in Hinds Plaza. (Photo courtesy of Mary Stevens)

By Donald Gilpin

Carrying signs reading “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” “Defend Democracy: Impeach Trump,” and “Trump is Not Above the Law” — demonstrators gathered in Hinds Plaza last Saturday, June 15, and called on Congress to impeach President Trump.

Sponsored by MoveOn.org as part of a national day of action, the rally featured four speakers, all expressing outrage at Trump and his actions and urging the House of Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings.

“How much longer are we going to be governed by scofflaws in the executive branch?” Princeton Councilman Tim Quinn asked the crowd, estimated at 70 by MoveOn organizer Mary Stevens. “How much longer are we going to allow the legislative branch to abdicate its moral and constitutional obligation to impeach this scofflaw president, whatever the outcome?”

Quinn continued, ”How much longer are we going to defund public goods like schools and libraries while demonizing our public workers? How much longer are we going to stand for the 40-year erosion of the modest gains made in the last century?”

In her speech, Stevens reviewed the factual justification for seven articles of impeachment, based on a recent Washington Post article.

Co-organizer Linda Gochfeld then spoke, reporting evidence of the destructive effects of the Trump administration on the social fabric of our country. She urged, “We must stand up against this threat to our American democracy before it is too late.”

Gochfeld, a psychiatrist, pointed out, “People are anxious, worried, and depressed. The country is divided, neighbors can’t speak to neighbors. There are more ‘deaths of despair,’ addiction, and suicide, especially in the millennial generation.”

Accentuating the urgency of the current situation, she said, “We can’t wait for the 2020 election. Trump is wreaking continued destruction of environmental and other safeguards, women’s rights, education, the social and economic safety net, our international treaties and alliances, and the very future of the planet. His trade wars and tariffs threaten our economy. His poor judgment and impulsivity threaten a disastrous war at any time.”

Coalition for Peace Action Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore opened the proceedings with a condemnation of the moral and spiritual crisis he says Trump has created. “The Republicans have lost their soul,” Moore said.

“They are putting party before country, party before soul,” he added. “That’s very troubling.” Moore noted that Trump’s action are “horrifying,” “treasonous,” and “should outrage every American.”

Moore emphasized that impeachment is both “the right thing to do” and “the most effective thing to do too.”

The percentage of Americans in favor of impeachment has risen in response to the release of the Mueller report and Mueller’s subsequent statement, according to MoveOn. A recent Reuters poll found that 45 percent of Americans currently support impeachment, with 42 percent opposed. Public support for impeachment is significantly higher than it was when Congress began impeachment inquiries into President Richard Nixon.

Rep. Rashida Elaib (D-MI) and Rep. Al Green (D-TX) are co-sponsors of a House resolution to begin an impeachment inquiry.