"The text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."
Democratic
Rep. Bill Pascrell on Friday charged that some of his Republican colleagues
shouldn't be sworn in for the next session of Congress, accusing them of
violating the U.S. Constitution and attempting to "demolish
democracy" by backing President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the
November election, which he lost to
President-elect Joe Biden.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep.
Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the Committee on House Administration, the New
Jersey congressman specifically condemned the more
than 100 House Republicans who are supported a lawsuit filed
by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that aimed to block the four key
battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—all of
which Biden won—from voting in the Electoral College.
Pascrell cites Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, which gives each
chamber of Congress final authority over membership, as well as Section 3 of
the 14th Amendment, which says:
No person shall be a senator or representative in
Congress, or elector of president and vice president, or hold any office, civil
or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
"Stated simply, men and women who would act to tear the
United States government apart cannot serve as members of the Congress,"
writes the longtime Trump
critic.
"These lawsuits seeking to obliterate public confidence in
our democratic system by invalidating the clear results of the 2020
presidential election attack the text and spirit of the Constitution, which
each member swears to support and defend, as well as violate the rules of our
House of Representatives, which explicitly forbid members from committing
unbecoming acts that reflect poorly on our chamber," he adds.
Pascrell urges Pelosi and Lofgren to exercise their power to figure how they
can respond to these alleged constitutional violations and, if possible, refuse
to seat incoming members who, in his words, are "seeking to make Donald
Trump an unelected dictator."
Their actions "must be repudiated in the strongest possible
terms," he argues. "The moment we face now may be without parallel
since 1860. The fate of our democracy depends on us meeting that moment."
The congressman was far from alone in condemning the
behavior of GOP officials who have rallied around Paxton's long-shot lawsuit
and other legal challenges to Biden's decisive victory. Earlier Friday, Rep.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also slammed supporters
of Trump's attempt to sow doubt about the security of the election.
"House Republicans are spending critical time when people
are starving and small businesses are shuttering trying to overturn the results
of our election," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, "but please
tell us more about how 'both sides are just as bad.'"
Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said Thursday that
"they are attempting a coup in broad daylight, and it should not be treated
as anything less."
Here are their treasonous names:
Rep.
Mike Johnson of Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Gary Palmer of Alabama’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Ralph Abraham of Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Rick W. Allen of Georgia’s 12th Congressional District
Rep.
James R. Baird of Indiana’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Jim Banks of Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Jack Bergman of Michigan’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Andy Biggs of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Gus Bilirakis of Florida’s 12th Congressional District
Rep.
Dan Bishop of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District
Rep.
Mike Bost of Illinois’s 12th Congressional District
Rep.
Kevin Brady of Texas’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Mo Brooks of Alabama’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Ken Buck of Colorado’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Ted Budd of North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District
Rep.
Tim Burchett of Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Michael C. Burgess of Texas’s 26th Congressional District
Rep.
Bradley Byrne of Alabama’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Ken Calvert of California’s 42nd Congressional District
Rep.
Earl L. “Buddy” Carter of Georgia’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Ben Cline of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Michael Cloud of Texas’s 27th Congressional District
Rep.
Mike Conaway of Texas’s 11th Congressional District
Rep.
Rick Crawford of Arkansas’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Dan Crenshaw of Texas’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida’s 25th Congressional District
Rep.
Jeff Duncan of South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Neal P. Dunn of Florida’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Tom Emmer of Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Ron Estes of Kansas’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Drew Ferguson of Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Bill Flores of Texas’s 17th Congressional District
Rep.
Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Russ Fulcher of Idaho’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Matt Gaetz of Florida’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Greg Gianforte of Montana’s at-large congressional district
Rep.
Bob Gibbs of Ohio’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
Louie Gohmert of Texas’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Lance Gooden of Texas’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Sam Graves of Missouri’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Mark Green of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
Michael Guest of Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Andy Harris of Maryland’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Vicky Hartzler of Missouri’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Kevin Hern of Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana’s 9th Congressional District
Rep.
Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Bill Huizenga of Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Bill Johnson of Ohio’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
John Joyce of Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District
Rep.
Fred Keller of Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District
Rep.
Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District
Rep.
Trent Kelly of Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Steve King of Iowa’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
David Kustoff of Tennessee’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Darin LaHood of Illinois’s 18th Congressional District
Rep.
Doug LaMalfa of California’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Doug Lamborn of Colorado’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Robert E. Latta of Ohio’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Debbie Lesko of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Kenny Marchant of Texas’s 24th Congressional District
Rep.
Roger Marshall of Kansas’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Tom McClintock of California’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District
Rep.
Carol D. Miller of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
John Moolenaar of Michigan’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Alex X. Mooney of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Gregory Murphy of North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Dan Newhouse of Washington’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Ralph Norman of South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District
Rep.
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District
Rep.
Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District
Rep.
Tom Rice of South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
John Rose of Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
David Rouzer of North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
John Rutherford of Florida’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Austin Scott of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Mike Simpson of Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Adrian Smith of Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Jason Smith of Missouri’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Ross Spano of Florida’s 15th Congressional District
Rep.
Elise Stefanik of New York’s 21st Congressional District
Rep.
Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District
Rep.
Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
William Timmons of South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Ann Wagner of Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Tim Walberg of Michigan’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
Michael Waltz of Florida’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Randy Weber of Texas’s 14th Congressional District
Rep.
Daniel Webster of Florida’s 11th Congressional District
Rep.
Brad Wenstrup of Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Bruce Westerman of Arkansas’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Roger Williams of Texas’s 25th Congressional District
Rep.
Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Rob Wittman of Virginia’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Ron Wright of Texas’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Ted S. Yoho of Florida’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Lee Zeldin of New York’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Kevin McCarthy of California’s 23rd Congressional District
Rep.
Robert Aderholt of Alabama’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Jodey Arrington of Texas’s 19th Congressional District
Rep.
Brian Babin of Texas’s 36th Congressional District
Rep.
Doug Collins of Georgia’s 9th Congressional District
Rep.
Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Morgan Griffith of Virginia’s 9th Congressional District
Rep.
Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District
Rep.
Jody Hice of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District
Rep.
Billy Long of Missouri’s 7th Congressional District
Rep.
Barry Loudermilk of Georgia’s 11th Congressional District
Rep.
Steven Palazzo of Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District
Rep.
Greg Pence of Indiana’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Bill Posey of Florida’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
Mike Rogers of Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District
Rep.
Pete Stauber of Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District
Rep.
W. Gregory Steube of Florida’s 17th Congressional District
Rep.
Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District
Rep.
Mark Walker of North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District
Rep.
Jackie Walorski of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District
(published in Buzzfeed)
“I actually think that we’re trending toward secession. I see more and more people asking what in the world do we have in common with the people who live in, say, New York? What is there that makes us believe that there is enough of us there to even have a chance at winning New York? Especially if you’re talking about votes.
ReplyDelete“I see a lot of bloggers — I can’t think of names right now — a lot of bloggers have written extensively about how distant and separated and how much more separated our culture is becoming politically and that it can’t go on this way. There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.
“And I know that there’s a sizable and growing sentiment for people who believe that that is where we’re headed, whether we want to or not — whether we want to go there or not. I myself haven’t made up my mind. I still haven’t given up the idea that we are the majority and that all we have to do is find a way to unite and win, and our problem is the fact that there are just so many RINOs, so many Republicans in the Washington establishment who will do anything to maintain their membership in the establishment because of the perks and the opportunities that are presented for their kids and so forth”—Rush Limbaugh, December 9.
(Patheos).