Hal Rogers’ vote is a ‘disgrace at end of a long line of disgraces.’ He should resign.

Dear Congressman Rogers:

My family has resided in your congressional district since at least 1861, when my great-great-great-grandfather, Johnathan Skeens, moved here from Virginia specifically to fight for his country against an armed insurrection bent on destroying it from within. John joined Kentucky’s 14th infantry, Company H, and fought alongside his brother, William.

Company H fought in battle against Confederate insurrectionists all over the southeastern part of the country, culminating in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, the Battle for Atlanta. It was in this battle that John’s brother was killed by Confederate fire, along with 3,640 other Union soldiers under the command of William T. Sherman. After the battle, my grandfather John carried his brother’s body nearly 500 miles back home to Kentucky, where he was buried on top of a hill.

Last week, I watched while armed insurrectionists carrying the flag of the Confederacy breached the U.S. Capitol. I watched on television while they stormed through barricades and murdered police, making their way into our hallowed halls of self-government—the same halls that my grandfather John fought so bravely to protect. These individuals acted on behalf of their demagogue, a man you have consistently defended and voted to protect for the last five years.

But then I also watched, equally horrified, while you and half of your Republican House colleagues voted to disenfranchise millions of American voters. When asked about your vote, you explained that you did it because of “voting irregularities,” yet no examples of such irregularities actually exist. You have always been a consistent conservative, one who claims to care strongly about small government and states’ rights. Yet, you voted to replace the will of a minority insurrection over that of the democratic will of the people. Your vote was nothing short of a disgrace.

But it’s a disgrace at the end of a long line of disgraces. While you have voted repeatedly to cut taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, your constituents remain the poorest in the country. While your constituents suffer and die from treatable illnesses, you have voted to deny them healthcare. You have voted to deny their children access to food. You have voted against their right to a living wage, you have voted against their right to have a fair day in court, you have voted against their right to unionize, and you have voted against their right to adequate housing. There is no argument that your positions on any issue have been better for your people, yet they continue to elect you to your position. No one has attempted to overturn their will. Why don’t you feel the voters of Pennsylvania and Georgia and Arizona and Michigan deserve the same?

Congressman, I know that you have justified your anti-democratic actions in your own mind, just as those who stormed the Capitol have justified theirs. There is little difference between the actions they took to put down our democracy and the vote you cast mere hours later to do the same. My Grandfather John marched for three years in all weather against armed insurrectionists trying to kill him, only to then have to carry his brother’s lifeless body home to be buried—all in the name of defending this republic. Now, more than a century and a half later, the Congressman representing my grandfather’s Old Kentucky Home has lazily raised his hand in support of destroying that republic at the demand of a tyrant. For that, you deserve endless shame and nothing more.

Resign.

Sincerely, Miles Devon Skeens IV

Miles Devon Skeens IV is a practicing civil litigator and the owner of Skeens Law, PLLC in Louisville.

This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 9:50 AM.