Politics

An Open Letter to Republican Friends of Elijah Cummings: Stop Voter Suppression

After the recent death of Elijah Cummings, many Republicans who call him friend have come forward to offer condolences....

After the recent death of Elijah Cummings, many Republicans who call him friend have come forward to offer condolences. I don’t doubt that some of them were sincerely his friend. Cummings himself during a televised hearing mentioned that one of his closest friends was Republican Congressman Mark Meadows. He tweeted:

“There was no stronger advocate and no better friend than Elijah Cummings. I am heartbroken for his wonderful family and staff — please pray for them.

I will miss him dearly.”

Trey Gowdy, the former Republican Chairman of the House Oversight Committee which was Cummings position said:

“ Cummings was one of the most powerful, beautiful, and compelling voices in American politics. We never had a harsh word outside of a committee room.”

These people and many other Republicans called Cummings a friend. Elijah himself confirmed that in some cases andI’m willing to take them all at their word. Mark Meadows called upon that friendship during a committee hearing when Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) suggested Meadows committed a racist act in positioning a black woman behind him to give credence to his position. Cummings dramatically revealed their close friendship and stood up for Meadows. A short time later in an unrelated event, Donald Trump accused Cummings of racism. Meadows rather weakly said he believed neither Trump nor Cummings were racist.

One of Elijah Cummings’s prime issues was voting rights and fighting voter suppression. He believed every eligible voter should have an equal opportunity to vote without regard to which party they belonged to. Cummings didn’t care if they were from the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Democrat or Republican. He railed against voter suppression while those that call him friend, fully supporting it, although they called it by another name. If you were truly Elijah Cummings friends. I ask you to reconsider your position. Think of your friend, perhaps your country, something besides your party’s desire for power while they continue to diminish in numbers.

Mark Meadows, you personally have screamed at the top of your lungs about “massive voter fraud” with no evidence to support it. When Republicans in North Carolina were found guilty of real voter fraud, you said “it’s too early to tell” if fraud was committed despite sworn affidavits from many involved. I wonder if you ever explained that behavior to your late friend? The next time you have a chance to take a stand on voter suppression, ask yourself if you could look the late Mr. Cummings in the eyes and take the same position? When you needed your friend to stand up for you, he did so for all America to see and hear. What will you do?

It’s easy to say the right thing after someone dies. Even Donald Trump had someone else issue a statement of condolences. We know someone else wrote it because… spelling. My question is, what will you do when it gets harder when a little time has passed? Will you do the right thing? Ask yourself… what would your friend Elijah Cummings do?

Written by William Spivey
There's the writer I am and the writer I long to be. I write about race, politics, and education. I long to be a Sci/Fi/Fantasy writer, incorporating race, politics, and education, as part of an epic tale pitting good vs. evil on a vast scale. I'm shopping that book to literary agents. Putting that out in the universe. Until then, I want my voice to be heard and to make a difference. Profile

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