As Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan reminded the Judiciary Committee last week, it was none other than Justice Brett Kavanaugh who wrote in a 2011 decision later affirmed summarily and unanimously by the Supreme Court: “the United States has a compelling interest … in limiting the participation of foreign citizens,” much less foreign governments, “in activities of American democratic self-government, and in thereby preventing foreign influence over the U.S. political process.”
The point we need to stress is that it’s not just “the United States” that has this “compelling interest.” It is each and every citizen of this great land. That’s why, as Professor Karlan wisely emphasized in her testimony, this impeachment process isn’t just about separation of powers and checks and balances and other matters that might seem nerdy and theoretical. This impeachment process is about the right to vote. Your right to vote. Our right to live in a free country, governing our own lives. Nothing less is at stake.
