Mornin’ Politocadoes!
The House of Representatives voted to censure Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) yesterday along party lines. Republicans initially had issues getting enough votes but after it initially failed, tweaks were made such as killing a $16 million fine. The measure, introduced by Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) passed after a key procedural vote narrowly passed, again along party lines. The Democratic Caucus supported Schiff shouting down House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he tried to grandstand while presiding over the censure. And why this censure? Why Adam Schiff? Well, because of the Russia Investigation.
Censure is a motion to express strong disapproval or to deliver a rebuke in a parliamentary setting to a public official for their conduct or their voting behavior. It isn’t limited to one political organization. A censure can be issued from a political party’s county, state or national committee, or a from a political institution like the House of Representatives. The punishment is often just the censure itself but it can take other forms, the aforementioned fine, or in the case of former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a loss of her position in caucus leadership. It happens all of the time. It’s not that big of a deal, usually, it’s just in the record that so-and-so had been censured for their actions
Adam Schiff had been Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and led a broad, sweeping investigation into Donald Trump’s finances and his ties to Russia. Regardless of how effective we all might feel the investigations were, they were well within the scope of the Committee’s powers and there had been enough to come out about both topics for an investigation to be run. Schiff was also one of the House Managers in Trump’s first impeachment trial. So it’s interesting then, that Schiff also noticed that Trump himself had been demanding Republicans vote for it by threatening to have their seats primaried.
Ultimately, it seems like that they’ll be getting more than they bargained for. Throughout this whole censure thing, Republicans had been leery about signing on. Schiff is running for Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat after all, and could use his censure to boost fundraising. Others questioned its’ constitutionality and that it would spark a tit-for-tat. The usual concerns brought up when a representative doesn’t feel like voting for the measure. If someone as effective as Adam Schiff is ends up in the Senate, and it’s partly due to this, Republicans only have themselves to blame. Or Trump. Both? Both is good.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect.
Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status. EVEN VACCINATED INDIVIDUALS CAN STILL GET IT AND SPREAD IT
GIGANTIC MOD NOTE:
We are gonna start warning people who can’t stop being ghoulish about this sub thing. There’s your pre-emptive warning. Cut it out.