Politics is a tough game.
It is with deep disappointment that Citizens’ Impeachment and Courage for Democracy have revoked the Courage Candidate endorsement from Analilia Mejia. She will likely win her special election after making it through her primary in February. There is no doubt she will be a passionate fighter for her constituents, but as of today, Thursday April 16, her campaign has refused to commit to a plan for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, and so we must withdraw our endorsement.
Our country is caught between two realities. On the one hand, the President and his executive branch have conducted more than 3,000 undemocratic actions in the past year and a half, Cabinet members routinely lie to Congress, and the unchecked aggression of the nation has blossomed into an illegal war that murders schoolgirls and sends gas prices through the roof. On the other hand, Congress wanted to take their full vacation over spring break.
Congress continues with business-as-usual while the American people watch prices spike and the destruction of democratic norms.
Ignoring their responsibility to their constituents and the Constitution is par for the course for the 119th Congress. They only “consider” reasserting themselves. This is not good enough, and the American people know it. Our grassroots candidates at Courage for Democracy are firefighters, healthcare workers, lawyers, social workers, and organizers. They have seen the harm being done to their constituents firsthand, and they are running for office because they have a need to hold this government accountable in a way that the current Congress will not.
Every one of our candidates goes through an interview with us where we discuss the pro-impeachment, anti-corruption, anti-authoritarian platform. We make a hard ask of them: to introduce articles of impeachment for Tyranny, Treason, and Obstruction of Justice once elected to office. Every single one has said yes. Often they are relieved that someone, somewhere is taking a principled stand. Always, they’re proud to share the courage of their convictions and grateful to stand beside people who are willing to fight for this democracy.
When the Mejia campaign asked us to endorse them in the weeks immediately before their primary, we knew it was a risk. But Mejia has a reputation as a fighter and she was unapologetic about the need to hold this government accountable. We took their campaign at their word when they agreed to introduce articles of impeachment and force a vote on them.
And then politics happened. The staffer who spoke with us left the campaign. When we reached out to discuss the plan of action, we were met with confusion and irritation. After a meeting where we reiterated the need for courage and positioned Mejia as the vanguard of an Accountability Congress we wanted to build, we were told that she would check in with the members of Congress who had already endorsed her, people like Rep. Jayapal (WA-10) for instance, who has told Citizens’ Impeachment outright that she will not take action before the midterms because she expects to chair the Judiciary Committee. Mejia has also held events with Rep. Raskin (MD-08), who is currently pushing a 25th amendment plan he knows full well will not work. In the end, Mejia’s team ghosted us, without even the courtesy of rejecting the proposal.
It is a disappointment. And it highlights the insidious effect the establishment has on even the the most well-intentioned people.
We know that our uncompromising stance on accountability is a threat to the establishment. A Congress that allowed Eric Swalwell to prey on women for nearly a decade – and decided to welcome back Cuellar after demonstrated ethics violations – is not seriously interested in being anti-corruption. Their strategy is to instead co-opt newcomers with promises of political power and integrate them into the existing machine. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s refusal to entertain impeachment is just one example of this soft slow corruption of morals. We can now add future Rep. Mejia to that list.
