Dear editor:

I listened in on a tele-town hall with Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis last night. They hosted a guest from Veteran’s Affairs, and all the callers I heard from were veterans themselves. Out of deference to these folks, I withheld my own question — “These veterans took an oath to defend the Constitution. You, senators, took an oath to defend the Constitution. The president himself took an oath to defend the Constitution. Now he claims he doesn’t know whether he has to follow the Constitution — he has lawyers for that. Senators, are you going to uphold your own oath, and hold this man to account?”

If you watched the president’s inauguration, you may have noticed he didn’t put his hand on the bible while taking the oath of office. If he thinks that, like a 5-year-old crossing fingers behind his back while making a promise, this absolves him of his oath ... well, I have certainly always thought he’s as petulant as a 5-year-old. Yet his cabinet members follow his lead, Kristi Noem in particular refusing to answer the question of whether everyone has the right to “due process” (Fifth and 14th Amendments requiring notice, opportunity to be heard, impartial tribunal.)

The Constitution, not the president, is what makes America great — it’s what makes America, period. We are not America without the Constitution, and the Constitution itself is just a piece of paper if the people charged with defending it choose to ignore its content.

Phil Anthony

Powell