Posted on 02/03/2021 7:16:20 AM PST by Kaslin
Unity may be the narrative preached by the newly-elected President Biden, but Democrats don't seem to be truly interested in it.
Everyone knows Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., flirted with fringe conspiracy theories before her election to the House in 2020. Democrats are trying to kick her out of Congress for these ill-advised remarks made prior to her run for office— remarks voters had the opportunity to consider before electing Greene.
As many as 61 Democratic members of the House are willing to co-sponsor Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s, D-Calif., resolution in favor of her removal. “It should not be left to the whims of the Republican Party — Congress must act to ensure she is removed from her committee assignments,” Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote in a letter to other lawmakers.
Yes, Green made stupid, questionable remarks prior to serving in government. Yet many people have made ill-advised comments prior to (and after) being elected—Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, D-Minn., “It’s All About the Benjamins” tweet is a prime, awfully antisemitic example.
Yet it’s not wise for Congress to begin purging duly elected lawmakers based on their prior and fully legal rhetoric. If we accept the notion that our elected officials work on behalf of our interests, their campaign to undermine the electoral process cannot be tolerated.
In November, Greene won Georgia’s 14th Congressional District by more than 152,000 votes (74.6 percent). She prevailed by such a substantial margin not only because the district leans heavily red, but also by running a grassroots campaign and aligning herself with the America First movement, which is prominent in rural areas that feel disenfranchised by corporatism. Greene’s wild statements, shameful as they were, do not give Congress the right to disenfranchise thousands of American citizens.
Now, whether these election voters have now lost interest or support for Greene is another story. We are only being given the national story from the mainstream media and Democrats—which is that Greene has supposedly betrayed her oath.
Notwithstanding that it is odd and illogical to say that a lawmaker can betray an oath prior to even taking it, the broader issue points to a trend: Democrats will do anything and everything to belittle Republican voters. For four straight years, conservatives were vilified in the press as racist, white supremacist bigots. It was exhausting. The purge of Greene will set us down a course where the Democratic majority is incentivized through historical precedent to outlaw Republicans for much lesser offenses, based on an arbitrary process.
Many on the left side of the aisle continue to openly support causes significantly viler than the dug-up rhetoric from Greene. In February of last year, all Democratic senators except Bob Casey, D-Pa); Doug Jones, D-Ala; and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. voted against The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Act and The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The former would have mandated medical care for babies who survive abortion, the latter prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks.
Failing to pass this kind of law has effectively made the United States one of seven countries worldwide that allow abortions in this time span, joining the ranks of Communist China and North Korea. No one is saying the Democrats who effectively support such atrocities should be barred from office by Congress, yet it is apparently sensible to consider barring Greene for countenancing wild ideas.
In the U.S. Congress, words seem to matter more than actions. While Democrats in Congress and their media allies flirt with the removal of a lawmaker for comments she made prior to stepping foot on Capitol Hill, over which voters could have decided not to elect her, The New York Times still has yet to mention that Rep. Eric Swalwell slept with a Chinese spy.
Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, also known as the Expulsion Clause, states that “Each House may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderedly behavior and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.” The reason James Madison advocated for a two-thirds vote was to reliably deter against a sectarian interest or minority that seeks to unjustly overthrow the republic.
From 1861 to 1862, 17 individuals were expelled for supporting the Confederacy. Aside from this, only three others have been expelled: Democratic-Republican Sen. William Blunt in 1797 for aiding the British in colonizing West Florida among other crimes; Democratic Rep. Michael Myers in 1980 for bribery in the FBI ABSCAM operation; and Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant in 2002 for bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. All in all, this amounts to only 20 members in 213 years.
Just as Democrats now seemingly want to set a precedent that normalizes one party attempting impeachment whenever it fits their political ends, setting this precedent for expulsion from Congress would be just as unscrupulous. Invalidating an election decided by voters over the information they could have taken into consideration before casting their ballots would politicize a process used to remove lawmakers who criminally violate the public trust.
Two things can be true at once: (1) Green can be identified as an oddball un-representative of the sort of candidate Republicans should want to put forward, but (2) the idea of removal based on remarks that pale in comparison to historical precedent would be dangerous for future elections. Greene might be a bad apple among Republicans, but the left’s disdain for Republican voters who fail to abide by their orthodoxy runs just as deep.
Censuring Green, thereby stripping her from her committee assignments, is a different story. While the majority of cases of congressmen being censured involved illegal involvement, several examples may in fact prove to be slightly compared to this. From 1867 to 1921, six congressmen have faced censure: all for “using unparliamentary language.” However, it is important to note that such language occurred while the lawmaker was actually serving in Congress—not an American citizen like Green with no prior accountability to Congress.
If Democrats wholeheartedly believe Greene is bad, they ought to let the process work, permitting her to stay in Congress as elected and facing the voters for proper accountability. This present misguided effort, though, will only stir more distrust among Republican voters who already feel disenfranchised by Washington elites already verifiably out of touch with the overwhelming public.
Unity may be the narrative preached by the newly elected President Biden, but Democrats don’t seem to be truly interested in it. If this is what unity looks like, we best prepare for endless revisionism to historical precedent based on wild partisanship.
Biden’s path to the WH is paved with ‘dangerous precedents’....what’s one more??
They should not be able to expel an elected Congressional member. This would really make elections worthless.
The more violent and hate-filled the commie ‘RATS and Nazis get now the more I am convinced the bastards and bitches STOLE THE ELECTION. They are more violent now than they were during the four years of President Trump’s administration. “Democrats” are evil and hateful people.
“Biden’s path to the WH is paved with ‘dangerous precedents’....what’s one more??”
My thoughts exactly.
Have the majority impeach who you want and expel who you want. Democrats have cheapened the whole process.
So if a person doesn’t fit in Congresses predefined box, they get removed? I guess change will never take place in that government body. Isn’t the makeup of congress supposed to be defined by citizens? Let her constituents decide if she stays or not.
the Demons have helpers.
Romney and McConnell, who suck at the teats of
Ukraine and China, dabble in cocaine, dead fetuses,
and sex trafficking.
A perfect example of the press editorializing for the benefit of the left. Sickening.
Who the eff is the author to say that her remarks were shameful?
Each House may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderedly behavior and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.
Pelosi’s legacy.
Millions of people literally saw her insanity when she tore up the President’s speech last year. It hasn’t stopped for a second.
The worse thing is the democrats who, knowing all this, still elected her Speaker last month. The insanity is indeed shared.
May she and they be remembered in the annals of American history more cruelly than Benedict Arnold.
I believe Adam Clayton Powell (D-NY) was also expelled. He simply ran again for the vacant seat and easily won re-election. When the House refused to seat him, he sued and SCOTUS said he had to be seated.
If the dems (and gutless rhinos) succeed in expelling her, she should run again. Hopefully her constituents will tell the House to shove it.
First the game the machines and allow for harvesting, then they remove duly elected officials. I can't imagine anyone would be excited to vote any longer.
A two-thirds vote is required to expel a member of Congress.
Expel her? She should be the House Speaker.
The reasons should not be ideological differences. They should ONLY BE for crimes and immorality. We know tor DANG sure that a huge basket of demshoviks could be kicked out on those latter grounds.
Like stealing a Presidential election doesn’t set a dangerous precedent......../s
There are no Congress people anymore dangerous than the SQUAD. If Green goes, these insurrectionists need to be right behind her.
“the Demons have helpers. Romney and McConnell, who suck at the teats of Ukraine and China, dabble in cocaine, dead fetuses, and sex trafficking.”You nailed it. Hypocrites, fraudsters, traitors, grifters, and backstabbers. No sane person would share a foxhole with either one of these crooks.
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