The Democrats have more than one club to use on those Members-elect of Congress who signed on to the lawsuit Texas v. Pennsylvania, which sought to invalidate the votes of citizens in Pennsylvania and three other states:
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today called on House leaders to sanction Members and exclude from the 117th Congress any Members-elect who are supporting Donald Trump’s efforts to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. Pascrell cites the text of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment which disqualifies from service any individuals who seek to attack American democracy, as well as Congress’s power to exclude Members by majority vote as acknowledged by the U.S. Supreme Court in Powell v. McCormack.
“Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the United States government apart cannot serve as Members of the Congress. These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public confidence in our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020 presidential election undoubtedly attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which each Member swears to support and defend,” Rep. Pascrell writes House leaders. “Consequently, I call on you to exercise the power of your offices to evaluate steps you can take to address these constitutional violations this Congress and, if possible, refuse to seat in the 117th Congress any Members-elect seeking to make Donald Trump an unelected dictator.” [Insider NJ]
I fear this is only meaningful if Speaker Pelosi actually undertakes to prevent the seating of those House members who signed on, and I don’t see that happening; meanwhile, the electorate won’t give a shit. They’re tired of the drama. I know I am.
That said, this is illustrative of the ball-breaking machine that the Republican Party has become. The tenet of toxic team politics has bred a culture of Yes-men, a culture in which the only way to get ahead was to agree with the figures higher up the ladder (or RINO them out of the Party). They’ve done the anti-abortion polka dance, kissed asses above, taken advantage of gerrymandering and the Republican marketing machine, and seized for themselves a position of prestige and power.
But now they find themselves between Scylla and Charybdis, the legendary monsters from Greek myth which ground incautious Greek ships and sailors mercilessly to their doom. Republican House members, frantic to remain in the good graces of the would-be dictator, supinely do his bidding and find themselves caught in a shredder, brought on by their own lust for power, misunderstanding of what it means to lead, and, if they were in earnest, the foolishness of the entire abortion issue.
Ah! If only it were all true, that I have written! But I’d be surprised if this even makes it into national news, much less actually occurs. I think Rep Pascrell has a case, but it doesn’t seem practical to cast out more than half of the incoming Republican class of 2020.
Which is too bad. I’d guess filling the empty seats could lead to some real surprises.
