An Insurrection Too Evil To Ignore. . .

We are frighteningly aware of what happened when a large mob of domestic terrorists stormed our Capitol on January 6, 2021.  We are also fully aware that President Donald J. Trump invited, encouraged, and pleaded with them to commit this criminal catastrophe.  The President is being charged with incitement to commit an insurrection against the United States of America.  It is being widely said that it even rises to the level of treason.  Whatever the crime, the time has come to refuse to sweep these serious acts under the rug.  We must rise and say, "Enough is Enough!"  This kind of politics is not who we are as Americans!

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In the 14th Amendment, Section 3, it says, "a person cannot hold office if they've engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

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Senator Manchin, of West Virginia, puts it bluntly, "    Of course they shouldn't hold office, and I don't know how they even sleep at night."  He is referring to the Republican U.S. Senators and U.S. House Members who, just prior to the insurrection, rose to the floor of their respective houses and objected to the final results of the electoral college's vote of 306 to 232 to give Joe Biden the win. Those GOP Senators put their now-defunct congressional legacies on the line when they stated clearly that they were standing to overturn that decision.  Their deliberately false interpretation of the election  results was the basic cause of the unimaginable insurrection on our capitol. These Republican Congressional Members are as guilty as the President, and as guilty as if they all donned camo fatigues, strapped on weapons, and carried the Confederate Flag with wrong-headed and misplaced pride  These people were once our elected leaders  Now, they are our enemies!

What are our choices of punishment?  Do we dare even consider the crime of incitement to insurrection by our elected officials?   This is not a parlor game being played below the dome of our capitol.  What happened on Jan. 6, 2021 was a criminal act! And the perpetrators were those who admitted their desire to overturn an American Election, fairly held and certified by all fifty states,  and the President of the United States.

 

Congressional Expulsion, as mandated in the Constitution, requires a two-thirds majority vote.  A censure and reprimand, which evolved through House and Senate precedent and practice, are imposed by a simple majority of the Full House or Senate.

Article 1, Section 5, of the United States Constitution provides that "Each House (of Congress) may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member."  Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen of its entire membership.

Members of of Congress who have been censured are required to give up any committee chairs they hold.  Like a reprimand, a censure does not remove a member from their office, so they retain their title, stature, and power to vote.  There are also no legal consequences that come with a reprimand or censure.

 

Much is being said about politicians who defraud, and outright defame our democracy.  They seem to be getting away with treason these days.  And what is their penalty?  Not much.  And what is the suggested penalty?  Wait 'til their next election. 

Well, I'm sorry, but that old dog don't hunt no more!

There are solutions already in place for the prescribed crimes:  Censure and/or Expulsion.

Why should we have to wait for years to correct the problems of a wayward and sinister rule-breaker.  We are quickly learning that a president with about two weeks to go can commit a truckload of unbelievable grief for our nation. Senators and Representatives on the wrong side of our rule of law can not only cause a wagonload of furor in their respective houses of congress, but they can potentially be responsible for domestic terrorists to loose the hounds of hell on all creation! 

These people should never be left to their own devices.  They are traitors to their own oaths of office.  They incite violence and open Pandora's Box of all kinds of terror.  

We do not need to coddle them and give them free reign to continue their unamerican ways until we can vote them out of office.

We can censure them at the least, and expulse them at the worst.  Their decision to overturn a free and fair election of the people was committed by 147 Senators and Representatives. Their names are available for all to see.  Their actions were the match that brought a horrific mob to attack, trash, and destroy our Capitol.

They must be punished!