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My name is Tom Taylor and I am running as a Democrat in Utah’s 4th Congressional District. There are many reasons that I decided to run for Congress, but one of the main ones is the erosion of our democracy and the destruction of the political norms that preserve it. The firing of FBI Director James Comey sent chills down my spine and we may have just crossed the Rubicon.

Before I get started, let me just say that I am not James Comey’s biggest fan right now. The way he brought Hillary Clinton’s email woes back into the spotlight right before the election without even knowing whether there was any new information was beyond reckless and it may have swung the outcome in favor of the authoritarian nightmare we are currently dealing with. James Comey’s action will be a blight on our justice department for years to come. With that said, firing James Comey while there is smoke billowing all the way from Moscow to our shores should be incredibly disturbing to anyone that cares about our democracy.

Let me be clear, I have seen no hard evidence that President Trump colluded with Russia in order to swing the election in his favor. However, the mounting connections between Trump, those close to Trump, and Russia are numerous and incredibly suspicious. Just have a look at this massive rundown put together by The Washington Post. I hear tinfoil makes for fashionable head apparel these days.

Watergate is the most famous political scandal in modern American history and I think it is instructive to consider what happened. At its core, Watergate was about the Committee for the Re-election of the President breaking into the Watergate hotel to photograph documents from and bug the phones of the Democratic National Committee. When we compare this to a foreign enemy being successful in interfering with our election and the possibility that the current President of the United States colluded with this enemy in order to be elected, Watergate ends up looking so...quaint.

In order to have a functioning democracy, American constituents need to have faith in the system that elects their representatives. Even if all of the Trump-Russia questions prove to be false, the negative effects on our democracy will be far reaching unless we appoint a special prosecutor to investigate. We need to know that if there is something amiss about our electoral process, that there are functional checks and balances in place to protect us from interference in future elections. This can only be accomplished by a truly independent investigation. An FBI Director replaced by President Trump can never put our fears to rest. Dan Rather expressed his feelings on this situation thusly:

Future generations may mark today as one of the truly dark days in American history, a history that may soon take an even more ominous turn. President Trump's sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey is a matter that should deeply concern every American, regardless of party, partisan politics or ideological leanings. The independence of our law enforcement is at the bedrock of our democracy. That independance [sic], already grievously shaken under the brief tenure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is now shattered by uncertainty.

Members of Congress that are actively trying to prevent a real investigation need to be replaced. Times like this call for true leaders to stand up and fight for their country and the silence by the party in power is deafening. This is bigger than Red vs Blue and is not the time to exploit political power for short-term legislative gain. This is one of the main reasons that I am running for Congress. We need politicians on the front lines that will stand up and say, “This is unacceptable and we the People will no longer stand for it.” Please join me in my fight to save and preserve our democracy. Visit www.tomforutah.com and make a donation to my campaign. Follow me on Twitter @TomForUtah and let your friends know about my efforts. Together, we can save our democracy.