Rep. Raskin ended by quoting Thomas Paine for whom his late son, Tommy, was named

[My Pet Orangutan]

Raskin ended by quoting Thomas Paine for whom his late son, Tommy, was named

Rep. Jamie B. Raskin’s final words before the House managers rested their case against Trump was also an ode of sorts to his late son, Tommy.

Less than six weeks ago, Raskin’s 25-year-old son took his life, and in the intervening weeks the congressman buried his only son, lived through a violent attack on the Capitol and took the lead on the effort to impeach and then convict the former president.

“These are the times that try men and women souls,” Raskin (D-Md.) began, a modernized spin on a quote from the opening lines of the famous essay written by Thomas Paine at the start of the Revolutionary War.

Raskin has called Paine one of his personal heroes — so much so that he named his son, Thomas, after the writer.

In a statement about his son the day after his death, Raskin wrote, that he “never had a negative word for anyone but tyrants and despots.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/02/11/senate-trump-impeachment-trial-live-updates/

[ariadne0614]

1. Heartbreaking. n/t

[wcmagumba]

2. So so sad...I didn't know that about his son...what an unbelivably strong individual he must be....

Makes me hurt for him inside...the Buddhists say life is suffering...in my view, they are right...