Almost all my friends say they want Jack Bergman voted out of Congress because he is a carpetbagger who refuses to appear at town halls. Not me. Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton were carpetbaggers in New York. Most Republicans avoid town halls if a Democrat can be found within 50 miles. More important, neither issue has dented Bergman’s landslide hold on voters in Michigan’s First District.

I have a better, more compelling reason for sending Jack home from Washington, wherever that might take him.

Jack Bergman has refused for six years to denounce the Big Lie, Donald Trump’s delusional, unsupported claim that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. Bergman is not alone. Cowardice in the face of Donald Trump bullying is the GOP platform.

Two weeks ago, Trump told a group mourning the murder of loved ones at the hands of undocumented aliens that their offspring would still be alive “if the election wasn’t rigged.” Incredible, crass, narcissistic Trumpspeak. But not a word from Republicans, including Bergman. As is the case with every ethical, moral, and fact-defying outrage from Trump.

How deep does Trump have his claws in Jack Bergman’s soul? Try this:

On Jan. 6, 2021, when insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, Bergman’s mind and mouth were both in the right place. He said the mob’s actions were “un-American and a disgrace to the Republic. Those who broke the law … should receive maximum punishment.”

But a year ago, after serving another two terms as a Trumpist lackey, when asked if it was wrong for Donald Trump to pardon the insurrectionists, Bergman said: “I’m not going to second-guess the president on that.”

Another profile in no courage.

I don’t especially care if Jack likes life away from snow in the Bayou State, or that he won’t do a town hall. I care, very much, that he lacks character deserving of a seat in the United States Congress.

Tom W. Ferguson

Alpena