Republican party members in a key Michigan county want the state GOP to censure U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) over their votes to impeach then-President Donald Trump.
The executive committee of the Macomb County Republican Party voted 28-0 earlier this month to urge an “emergency session” of the Michigan Republican Party to admonish Upton and Meijer after they joined with Democrats and eight other Republicans to pass an article of impeachment.
Macomb County party vice chairwoman Lisa Mankiewicz told the Detroit News her area “absolutely loves President Trump”.
“We back President Donald Trump. These men pretended to be supporters of Trump and turned out to be just the opposite,” she said.
Local party chairman Mark Forton was sharper in his language.
“We want them gone,” Forton told the paper about Upton and Meijer. “They are not Republicans.”
Macomb is the largest county in the state to vote for Trump and the third-largest overall. Neither Upton nor Meijer represent Macomb.
Trump won the county 53 percent to 45 percent in 2020. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by over 11 points. No Republican presidential candidate had won it since 2004.
“Macomb County, Michigan, is the home of Trump Republicans,” the resolution read, according to the News.
Earlier this month, the Calhoun County GOP censured Meijer over his vote.
“Our decision to censure was not made lightly,” Calhoun County chairwoman Jeannie Burchfield said in a news release:
“Both our executive committee and other local Republicans who inundated us with calls to take action agreed that we needed to make Congressman Meijer aware, through formal means, of the numerous objections we had to his vote to support the impeachment of President Trump.”
Burchfield said “a fair assessment of the facts” led to the “unprecedented response.”
He narrowly avoided a censure from the populous Kent County when its members deadlocked 11-11.
In January, party activists in Allegan County censured Upton for his vote.
Mlive reported delegates to the Allegan County Republican Convention voted to “censure and condemn” Upton’s support for impeachment:
The delegation stated Upton “ignored the voice of his voters in Allegan County” by voting for Trump’s impeachment. The delegation claimed “incomplete evidence, little debate, and the absence of due process” led to its condemnation of Upton.
“The unanimous voice vote was confirmed during a meeting of the Executive Committee immediately following the convention by another unanimous voice vote,” the group said. “The AGOP Issues Committee is charged with making recommendations for further action.”
“I always said I’d support President Trump when I agreed with him and disagree when I thought he was wrong. Congress should not tolerate any effort to impede the peaceful transfer of power,” Upton responded.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays — download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.