Two exceptionally excellent members of Congress-- Pramila Jayapal (Seattle) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (Trenton)-- were among the members of Congress who were infected by Republican members refusing to wear masks during the lockdown last week. Blue Doug Brad Schneider was also infected and he was damned pissed off on twitter today: "We can no longer tolerate Members coming to the floor or gathering in the halls of Congress without doing the bare minimum to protect those around them. Wearing a mask is not a political statement, it is public health guidance, common courtesy, and simply what should be expected of all decent people. Unfortunately, I received a positive COVID-19 test this morning following being tested yesterday on the advice of the House Attending Physician. Those that flout public health guidance should be sanctioned and immediately removed from the House floor by the Sergeant at Arms for their reckless endangerment of their colleagues... This week, the House is doing critical work to protect our national security, our democracy, and our Constitution, moving to remove the President from office after he incited this angry mob of domestic terrorists. I regret that I must take these votes by proxy."
Today, Pelosi announced any member walking onto the floor of the House without a mask, will be fined $500 (first offense and $2,500 for a second offense). I'm sure several Republicans and Q-Anon members are already vying for who will be the first victim.
Also tweeting yesterday was Michael Sherwin acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who assured the public that the insurrectionists are not going to get off scott free. "We're looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition... People are going to shocked." Oh-- a good shock for a change. I hope you didn't miss Monica Hesse's essay on Trumpian toxic faux-masculinity in the Washington Post this afternoon. "They had come vowing to overturn the election," she wrote, "but at the first hint they might experience consequences for their actions, they assumed the posture of tourists who had accidentally gotten in line for Insurrection Mountain at the Magic Kingdom… The Capitol riot was the apotheosis of Trumpism: There was just enough boobish amateurism and eye-rolling absurdity on the surface to give cover to those tempted to dismiss a deadly serious attack on the American system as some version of 'boys will be boys.' Was this a mob of domestic terrorists or a confederacy of clowns? Or worse, was it both: a mob doing unconscionable things that included men who somehow viewed the whole day as a field trip? Militant blood lust, commando cosplay, bright-eyed tourism and family bonding, all wrapped up together in what they decided was a fine way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. These images will be the lasting brand of Trumpist masculinity, inspired and applauded by the president whose campaign press secretary went on television Monday to describe Trump as 'the most masculine person, I think, to ever hold the White House.' For better or worse, this is the brand: a combination of inchoate fury and utter buffoonery, feeding on each other as they become more angry and more preposterous."
Today, John Katko and Liz Cheney were the first 2 Republicans to announce they're voting for impeachment tomorrow. Katko: "To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy. For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this president... It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection-- both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day. By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on January 6th, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger." Katko represents a blue district that Trump lost twice.
Cheney represents that entire state of Wyoming, the most politically backward state in America. Trump beat Hillary there, 67.4% to 21.6% and then beat Biden 89.4% to 26.5%. She told the morons she represents that Trump "summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president...There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."
Later in the afternoon, Kinzinger weighed in too, after saying for the last few days he would not vote to impeach:
Even McConnell is trying to squirm out of his 100% support for Trumpism This afternoon, the NY Times reported that McConnell has told some of his cronies that he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him again, believing that it will make it easier to purge him from the party.
Other Republicans are trying to set up a nonsensical censure "compromise" and McCarthy is feeling out his caucus to see if they would back him asking Trump to please resign sir.
While McCarthy has said he is personally opposed to impeachment, he and other party leaders have decided not to formally lobby Republicans to vote “no,” and an aide to McCarthy said he was open to a measure censuring Trump for his conduct. In private, McCarthy reached out to a leading House Democrat to see if the chamber would be willing to pursue a censure vote, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ruled it out.
As more violent images from the mayhem wrought by the rioters emerged on Tuesday, including of the brutal attack that ultimately killed a Capitol Police officer, and as lawmakers were briefed about threats of more attacks on the Capitol, rank-and-file Republican lawmakers grew angrier about the president’s role in the violence.
Yet as they attempted to balance the affection their core voters have for Mr. Trump with the now-undeniable political and constitutional threat he posed, Republican congressional leaders who have loyally backed the president for four years were still stepping delicately. Their refusal to demand the president’s resignation and quiet plotting about how to address his conduct highlighted the gnawing uncertainty that they and many other Republicans have about whether they would pay more of a political price for abandoning him or for continuing to enable him after he incited a mob to storm the seat of government.
But... but... but... as far as I can tell, most congressional Republicans either still believe in Trump and Trumpism or are still too scared to act against him. A gang of fascists in the House screams "RINO!" at anyone who questions the glorious insurrection they encouraged and, in some cases, still stand by. One of the seditionists who would certainly be expelled if Cori Bush's resolution passes, is Confederate scumbag Mo Brooks of Alabama. "Today," he shrieked at the crowd just before they descended on the Capitol, "is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? Louder! Will you fight for America?"
Even after the tear gas cleared and the Capitol was secured, more than 135 House Republicans, including the party’s two top leaders, ultimately voted to throw out millions of lawfully cast votes, fulfilling the rioters’ demands and answering Mr. Trump’s call for Congress to subvert the election results in his favor.
But a handful of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies in the House had gone even further in the days and weeks before the riot, urging their supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6 to make a defiant last stand to keep him in power. They linked arms with the organizers of the protest and used inflammatory, bellicose language to describe the stakes.
Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, first-term lawmakers who ran as outspoken defenders of Mr. Trump, referred to the day as Republicans’ “1776 moment.”
Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, who for weeks promoted the Jan. 6 protest and other “Stop the Steal” events across the country more than a dozen times, repeatedly referred to Mr. Biden as an “illegitimate usurper” and suggested that Mr. Trump was the victim of an attempted “coup.”
“Be ready to defend the Constitution and the White House,” Mr. Gosar wrote in an op-ed titled “Are We Witnessing a Coup d’État?”
...Their comments have raised questions about the degree to which Republicans may have coordinated with protest organizers. In a since-deleted tweet, Representative Pete Sessions, Republican of Texas, wrote that he “had a great meeting today with the folks from Stop The Steal,” one of the leading groups that organized last week’s rally.
...For his part, Mr. Brooks has remained unapologetic about his role in encouraging the rioters.
“I make no apology for doing my absolute best to inspire patriotic Americans to not give up on our country and to fight back against anti-Christian socialists in the 2022 and 2024 elections,” Mr. Brooks told a local newspaper. “I encourage EVERY citizen to watch my entire rally speech and decide for themselves what kind of America they want: One based on freedom and liberty or one based on godless dictatorial power.”
Representative Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey, on Monday introduced a resolution to formally censure Mr. Brooks, asserting that he was responsible for inciting the crowd and “endangering the lives of his fellow members of Congress.”
“We’re going to need to take a broader look at members of Congress who may have encouraged or even facilitated the attack on the Capitol,” Mr. Malinowski said in an interview.
“People like Brooks literally endangered the lives of their fellow members,” he said.
Other House Democrats were pushing to invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, added after the Civil War, which disqualifies people who “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States from holding public office. The clause was originally enacted to limit the influence of former Confederates in the Reconstruction era.
Representative Cori Bush, Democrat of Missouri, introduced a resolution on Monday with 47 co-sponsors that would initiate investigations for “removal of the members who attempted to overturn the results of the election and incited a white supremacist attempted coup.”
“I can’t act like it didn’t affect me,” Ms. Bush said in an interview of being in the Capitol during the siege. “I felt in danger. My staff was in danger.”
Ms. Bush said she did not know ultimately how many members of Congress should be expelled, but expected to learn the number from an investigation of the Ethics Committee.
“Even if it’s just a few, we have to make sure the message is clear that you cannot be a sitting Congress member and incite an insurrection and work to overturn an election,” she said.
At this point, the House members most likely to wind up at least censured, if not expelled are:
Mo Brooks (R-AL)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA)
Lauren Boebert (Q-CO)
Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
Mad Cawthorn (Nazi-NC)
Gym Jordan (R-OH)
