Opinion: Tlaib is okay? Santos? The new speaker's House is off to a bad start. - WP
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But this week, the House chose to not censure Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib and voted not to expel New York Republican George Santos — a lousy start that allowed two of the most embarrassing members in the chamber to wriggle off the hook. House Republicans, you guys climbed out of the abyss of hopelessly divided chaos for this?
On Wednesday, the House voted to table an effort to censure Tlaib over her comments and actions related to the Israel-Gaza war. Tlaib continues to insist that Israel deliberately bombed a Gaza hospital, and that U.S. intelligence indicating Israel didn’t do it is falsified, long after the allegation has been dispelled by objective outside observers. In a world where so many people seem panicked about “disinformation” in the form of your great-aunt Edna posting on Facebook that President Biden sold Nebraska to China, plenty of folks seem awfully blasé about a member of Congress promoting false stories about Israeli war crimes and accusing the Biden administration of providing cover.
But 23 Republicans voted to spare Tlaib from being censured, and 24 House members — 11 Republicans and 13 Democrats — didn’t even vote. What, were they bingeing some Netflix series or something? This is your job, folks. Tlaib is now claiming vindication, repeating her earlier released statement that the effort to censure her was “deeply Islamophobic.”
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Sure, expelling Santos would create a vacancy until a special election was held, and that would put House Republicans at a slight, and I mean slight, temporary disadvantage compared with keeping Santos. But running a GOP House majority with 220 Republicans and three vacancies is only a smidgen more difficult than the current circumstance of 221 Republicans and two vacancies. And within a couple of months, Republicans would get a new member in that seat who isn’t a national punchline and evidence that you can fabricate your life story and still be elected by inattentive, overly credulous voters.
But just 179 members voted to get rid of Santos. Nineteen members — 15 Democrats and four Republicans – voted “present.” Way to take a stand, guys. The JFK Library will be calling any moment to notify you of your Profile in Courage awards. And 22 members — 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats — didn’t vote. We often hear politicians declaring “It’s time to get Americans back to work again.” The House of Representatives would be a nice place to start.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/02/speaker-mike-johnson-tlaib-santos-votes/
