“With Malice Towards None”
Friends,
In President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, given during the midst of the Civil War, he finished with this appeal: "With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
As we approach yet another presidential inauguration, our country once again can be inspired by these words. During this time, I believe it's so important to remember our shared values that unite us all as Americans. We have been through divisive and troubling times before. Yet throughout history, God has blessed our nation and working together, we have achieved incredible feats. I am confident we can do this once again.
While I think most Americans agree on the need to unite for the good of our country, I did not support House Democrat's efforts to impeach President Donald Trump last week.
In addition to setting a dangerous precedent for a snap impeachment without one hearing or investigation, this rushed impeachment was not serious. Speaker Pelosi said it was urgent because President Trump is so dangerous he has to be removed from office. Yet, she knew a Senate vote to remove him cannot and will not happen before the President leaves office in a matter of days.
Every American was outraged and sickened by what happened at the Capitol on January 6th. However, rather than impeachment and lashing out at our political opponents, every one of us needs to ask ourselves what we can do to tone down the temperature of the rhetoric, rancor, and violence. Whether it's groups on the left that rampaged in cities for seven months, or thugs who stormed the Capitol building - we must unite and condemn political violence. I'm encouraged that President Trump has since denounced violence of any kind and I join him in that condemnation.
For the sake of our country, Republicans and Democrats must come together to reaffirm our commitment to the Constitution, seek understanding, and start the process of restoring faith in our institutions of government. We must also work together to make sure the attack on January 6th never happens again. There is now information that this attack was premediated by a dangerous group of individuals, not a direct response to a speech given by President Trump. In fact, the attack on the Capitol began while the President was still speaking. It is apparent that some divisions of the FBI knew about this planned attack, but information was not shared with those responsible for protecting the Capitol. We must improve this information sharing and make sure those responsible are brought to justice. However, these facts highlight the reason why both Republicans and Democrats must stop pointing fingers at each other and start working together.
On January 20th, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as our nation's 46th president. As I've said all along, I will be there for the inauguration because I represent every constituent in the 8th District, and because I believe it is a critical cornerstone of America's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
Moving forward, I remain committed to working across the aisle on priorities like rebuilding our economy and restoring our way of life following COVID-19. We have plenty of work cut out for us, but there is some good news.
Last week, Honeywell, Atrium Health, Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Panthers, and the State of North Carolina announced a public-private partnership to reach a goal of delivering 1 million vaccines for our community by July 4th. This partnership will save lives, and is a great example for our entire state and country. It also follows $68 billion Congress authorized for increased vaccine distribution in the latest COVID-19 relief legislation. I've been closely monitoring vaccine distribution in our region and last week, I had a virtual meeting with leaders of the Cabarrus Health Alliance to understand their needs. I will continue to make sure every health care provider in our community has the resources they need.
Also as part of our latest relief bill, last week the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that the Paycheck Protection Program loan portal was reopened. PPP has been a critical program to support small businesses and workers, saving more than 50 million jobs last year. You can find out more about this program and other COVID-19 relief measures at Hudson.house.gov/coronavirus.
We do have our work cut out for us. But I am confident we can meet the challenges of our time. I look forward to getting back to work, "with malice towards none, charity for all."
Until next week,
Richard Hudson
Member of Congress