There is a time for ethics.
There is a time for politics.
Democrats understand which one matters.
House Republicans do not. Their willingness to partner with Democrats to oust George Santos (R-NY) and risk losing a seat to a special election is more proof they can’t accept the fact that ethics is less important than refusing to enable a radical Democrat Party agenda that is inimical to America’s survival.
Conservatives don’t side with radical Democrats. Republicans do.
We are approaching the one-year anniversary of a Republican House majority that began with a protracted battle to choose a speaker they loudly and publicly discarded nine months later instead of directing their attention to halting the Biden administration’s mission to destroy our country.
Republicans continue to suffer from a terminal identity crisis that invites glee and derision from Democrats who accuse them of being unable to govern.1 By all appearances, there is considerable truth to that insult.
Democrats know how to govern. They offer an olive branch and rule with an iron fist. Their “People over Politics” rallying cry2 is a lie that reflects extreme hypocrisy from politicians so obsessed with power that they enforce an open border immigration agenda that punishes their own cities in hopes of gaining more voters in a dimly realized one-party future where illegals are citizens and the GOP is no longer an annoying inconvenience.
We have every reason to suspect that House Republicans will not stand in their way. In fact, too many seem determined to help their opponents get what they want.
Biden impeachment drags on: if Republicans have a case, get on with it
Before conservative lawmakers invited scorn by dumping their hard-won choice for speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was forced to start the Biden impeachment inquiry by committee instead of risking a vote on what seemed like a non-brainer to many of us. There wasn’t enough support from his party despite the plethora of damning evidence assembled by James Comer (R-KY).
When House Democrats impeached Donald Trump for the January 6th riot as he was exiting the White House they knew they would not get a conviction. It didn’t matter. The goal was to make their foe a tainted, “twice impeached president” in case he decided to run again.
We’re still hearing threats of a Biden impeachment inquiry vote from new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Assuming Comer and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) are telling the truth – and we have no reason to believe they are not – why are we still waiting?
If House Republicans do not have the political will to push their case then they should shut up about Biden corruption and find something else to do. Their intransigence is not lost on a Democrat Party that has the megaphone of American media behind it.
When asked during an MSNBC interview about Johnson questioning whether there is enough evidence to go after Biden, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D- CA) accused Republicans of the same strategy his party used against Trump:
This has always been the case about impeachment in general, it’s about weakening your political opponents. It’s not about evidence. It’s not about seeking the truth or what’s good for democracy or governing. This is about your political opponents. And so he [Johnson] just said that part.4
Republicans insist their allegations are all about the evidence. So is another impeachment opportunity with overwhelming evidence that we see on the news every day.
What happened to Mayorkas impeachment?
How do we argue with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) charge that GOP lawmakers cannot govern? Our open border proves his point.
After 11 months Republicans cannot agree to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for a border crisis so outrageous it would make a perfect movie satire. If they accept Aguilar’s standards, this should be a slam dunk.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s H.Res. 863 to impeach Mayorkas failed to come to a House vote, thanks in part to 8 Republicans who sided with a unanimous Democrat vote to kill the action by dumping it on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Rep. Patrick Henry (R-NC) rejected Greene’s resolution and made a case for taking the high road:
Furthermore, impeachment is a hugely significant vote and not one that should be taken lightly. Nancy Pelosi cheapened the process with her two politicized impeachments of President Trump. I think House Republicans should be more serious and responsible with our powers than Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and their allies. We should make a strong case that can succeed on its merits, not simply try to score political points.5
If Trump gets the nomination, “cheapening the process” hands Democrats a “twice-impeached” 2024 Republican candidate for president.
Millions of illegals, terrorist threats, and a U.S. border managed by Mexican criminal cartels are also significant and a threat to American lives. Worry about the optics of political gamesmanship is not going to solve the problem. Neither will lawmakers who sit on their hands while the architect of Biden’s enormously successful illegal immigrant Great Replacement delivers smug excuses during congressional hearings that reflect absolute confidence House Republicans will do nothing to stop him.
While GOP lawmakers complain and point fingers, Democrats hedge their bets that illegals hold the promise of millions of future votes. When they regain their House majority, rest assured Chicago, New York, and other illegal immigrant havens will be rewarded for their pain. Conservative taxpayers will help foot the bill. Lawmakers who failed to put an end to this historic abuse of our sovereignty will move on to other things.
If House Republicans think it’s smart to bide their time and let the Biden-Mayorkas invasion continue while they threaten and do nothing, then they are even weaker and more naive than we feared.
Republican weakness supports Tlaib antisemitism, Bowman insurrection, and adding another Democrat to the House
23 Republicans vote to spare Tlaib
Deep-sixing the Mayorkas impeachment was preceded by a handful of Republicans holding out against a resolution to censure Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for her antisemitic, anti-Israel, and pro-genocidal remarks. The censure resolution finally passed, but not before 23 GOP lawmakers joined Democrats to vote against an earlier censure proposal by Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). 11 failed to cast a vote.
Are Republicans afraid that siding with Greene will invite the same attacks from their opponents as supporting Trump? Democrats detest and fear the congresswoman who to her great credit doesn’t mince words, refuses to play along with Democrats, and has one of the stiffest spines in the Republican House.
Democrats impeach Trump for insurrection. Republicans spare Bowman despite criminal charges.
Democrats cast ethics and facts aside when they impeached President Trump. They know that these are luxuries winning politics can’t afford.
At the time of his second impeachment Trump was not charged with anything. Democrats did not care anymore than they cared that their effort was doomed to fail. Instead, they delivered a twice-impeached likely 2024 presidential candidate to their two-tiered, weaponized system of Democrat Party justice to ensure the outcome of the election.
Unlike Trump, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was charged with a crime for throwing a fire alarm that delayed a controversial House vote on government funding. Republicans on the House Ethics Committee declined to go after the Squad lawmaker. Had a GOP congressman committed the same offense, his House chair would be collecting dust alongside George Santos’ vacant seat.
Santos vote reflects a dangerous House Republican refusal to confront a fundamental political reality
As if we haven’t had enough of a feckless House GOP that refuses to stand up, straighten its back, and take political risks on behalf of conservative voters, on Thursday 105 Republicans sided with Democrats to expel one of their own.
Did they expect a pat on the back? A much wiser Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) blasted the party and falsely called Santos a “serial fraudster” even though the congressman has not been convicted of any wrongdoing:
It is unfortunate that George Santos was coddled for so long by the House Republican conference. Today represents an important step forward in ensuring that the House of Representatives has a basic standard of professionalism as we endeavor to solve problems on behalf of hardworking American taxpayers. We must continue to strive for the restoration of regular order.6
The vote was another step to re-establish the dominance of minority House Democrats who are well versed in manipulating weak, eager to please Republicans like feckless puppets on a string.
After the vote to dump Santos, scrutiny turned to Bob ‘Gold Bar’ Menendez (D-NJ) in the Senate. Will Democrats step up and vote to remove him?
The question is purely rhetorical. They won’t. Democrats aren’t subservient to false ethical guardrails that excuse inaction or even simple right and wrong when it comes to one of their own. This brings us full circle back to the Biden impeachment inquiry and their “nothing to see here” propaganda campaign to defend the president.
As the investigation into the Biden family drags on interminably, House Republicans continue to demonstrate a fundamental inability to understand that ethics on Capitol Hill is an anachronism that ensures only failure and shame. It’s an ugly truth, but like feces on San Francisco streets it’s something Democrats accept without question and aren’t ashamed to roll in if that’s what it takes to win.
Sources
1“Leader Jeffries: “It is Obvious That House Republicans Are Unable to Govern on Their Own.” democraticleader.house.gov. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-it-obvious-house-republicans-are-unable-govern-their-own, retrieved December 3, 2023.
2“People Over Politics.” dpcc.house.gov. https://dpcc.house.gov/people-over-politics, retrieved December 3, 2023.
3“Running for Office. The Campaign.” National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/press/press-kits/berryman-cartoons/gallery-page4.html, retrieved December 3, 2023.
4“Chairman Aguilar: It’s Going to Take Democrats and Republicans to Prevent a Showdown.” dems.gov. November 13, 2023. https://www.dems.gov/newsroom/press-releases/chairman-aguilar-its-going-to-take-democrats-and-republicans-to-prevent-a-shutdown, retrieved December 4, 2023.
5“McHenry Releases Statement on Impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas.” mchenry.house.gov. November 14, 2023. https://mchenry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=404639, retrieved December 4, 2023.
6“Leader Jeffries Statement on the Expulsion of George Santos.” democraticleader.house.gov. December 1, 2023. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-statement-expulsion-george-santos, retrieved December 2, 2023.
Leave a Reply