Republicans were smart to take a second crack at impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas today. Rep. Steve Scalise is back to give them one more vote and break last week's tie, but Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who won George Santos's old seat tonight, hasn't been sworn in yet. He could be by the end of the week, though, and that would have tied things up again and killed impeachment. Republicans had a window of only a few days when they had the votes to impeach, and they took it.
It's still pretty shameful that the vote was close enough for this to matter, thanks to the fact that only three Republicans were honest enough to break ranks on the Mayorkas charade. But those are the times we live in.
It's true that they got it in while the gettin' was good, but how about "desperate" as opposed to "smart"? Aside from choosing not one but two speakers in the same term, it's the only thing I can think of that the House's governing party has managed to pull off all by itself. My mind's ear can almost hear Pelosi's tongue-clucking.
Additionally: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4466861-democrat-misses-close-mayorkas-impeachment-vote-due-to-covid-19/
Further, the vote was 214-213 - that sums to 427. There would have been 434 voting members (with Santos booted). So, what of the other 6 representatives? That same The Hill story mentions one D and one R who say their flights were delayed, so I guess that leaves four unaccounted for.
There are still three vacant seats (one in a Democratic leaning district, two in Republican leaning districts).
Yeah we’ve seen these shenanigans already in the states. Like when NC republicans waited until Democrats were attending a funeral to push through something they couldn’t pass otherwise. It’s shameful but Republicans’ superpower is having no shame whatsoever.
You could almost turn that last line into a bumper sticker - but who knows? They might brag about b it, shamelessly.
Judy Chu (D-CA) has covid so was not on the floor to vote
Really? Sounds like a missed opportunity to me. She could have voted then walked over to MTG and coughed on her.
Unfortunately, Dems still have human decency, so they don’t think to do things like “purposefully infect your opponents with plague” as a routine legislative tactic.
The rare success of the Republican bloc actually means...nothing. Will the Senate even read the impeachment? So was it really a success?
Shrug. Looks like just another republican circle jerk.
God, please let MTG be one of the impeachment managers. I look forward to watching her lose it in front of serious people.
It's likely she will be but it will almost certainly be meaningless. I'm not sure how Schumer will proceed, or what the rules require, but a full blown trial--or even a proceeding even marginally related to one--is certainly off the table. So she'll just be tweeting into the wind.
It's not shameful the vote was close. It's shameful the vote was held.
And I think it will backfire on the GOP, because now it's clear this was a wholly partisan attack (and there was bipartisan opposition) and he will be cleared with bipartisan votes in the Senate.
Essentially they impeached Mayorkas for what they say is not securing the border a week after deciding not to secure the border until Trump is in office. They voted for it after they voted against it.
Didn't work for Kerry, and it's worse here.
I've never been a normie voter & the ones in my friends & family circles avoid discussing politics with me because I get impatient with them. So I have no idea what they think of things like this or how it might impact whether they vote or how they vote.
We all know that the only way the repulsives can "win" is by cheating. They almost have it down to a science.
Successfully impeaching someone on the second try is like having to explain your joke.
One of the positives for me is that the incessant TV ads for Suozzi and that MAGA witch has finally stopped (there could be 4 or more of them in a row). Suozzi won by a healthy margin in a district that just slightly leans Democrats.
Also my MAGA House rep, Mike Lawler (the purported GOP moderate from the NY 17th district) voted to impeach Mayorkas, and I believe voted to start the Biden impeachment process. Hopefully his opponent will be able to bash the shit out Lawler with his MAGA voting record in November.
"Republicans were smart"
Define "smart."
Never mind. I'll do it.
Smart means intelligent. If you are smart, then you have an IQ that is significantly higher than average.
Intelligence is to a life what a vehicle is to a journey. The more intelligent you are, the faster you go. Wisdom is about knowing the right direction. Whether intelligence is an asset or a liability depends on the context.
Imagine you're moving slowly in the right direction expecting to be passed by people moving fast. It's obvious that, as Speaker Mike passes you quickly in the wrong direction, he has no idea where he's going.
Just a bit better aim sigh.