Letter to the Editor: Is Walberg a Defender of Democracy?

March 28, 2019

To the Editor:

The American system of checks and balances protects our democracy only if each branch of government values and defends its own authority and autonomy. When President Trump declared a national emergency to take money for a wall on our southern border, he circumvented Congress’s right to allocate taxpayer funds, and he may well have violated the Constitution. Since the National Emergencies Act was enacted in 1976, no other president has declared an emergency in order to fund a project rejected by Congress. In response to Trump, the House of Representatives passed a bill to terminate the national emergency, and the Senate approved the same measure (Trump then vetoed the bill, but challenges to the emergency declaration continue in court).

So does Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan’s 7th District stand with democracy on this crucial issue? The answer is a resounding no. Rather than protect Congress’s constitutional authority, Walberg voted to support a president whose grasp for power appears unlimited.

John Heuser
Freedom Township

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.