GOP impeachment backers face ire Lawmakers face backlash from Republican voters enraged by election lies. By Jonathan Weisman New York Times July 8, 2021 — 8:05pm Text size Copy shortlink: GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Rep. Peter Meijer cites Gerald Ford as his inspiration these days, not because the former president held his House seat for 24 years or because his name is all over this city — from its airport to its freeway to its arena — but because in Ford, the freshman congressman sees virtues lost to his political party. Ford took control after a president resigned rather than be impeached for abusing his power in an attempt to manipulate the outcome of an election.