A Follow-Up RE: The Republican Party Is No Longer A Party

This morning, I was thinking about two things regarding yesterday's post.

First, I meant to (and forgot to) say something about the fact that the GOP Animal House stunt took place on a day when Pelosi was in Baltimore, at the funeral of her brother, Thomas D'Alesandro III, a former Mayor of the city.  It was also the day before the body of Elijah Cummings was to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.  Cummings was, among many other things, the late chair of the House Oversight Committee, which happens to be one of the committees taking part in the impeachment investigation.

There's no need for me here to recite the life history and accomplishments of Cummings.  They have been more than adequately chronicled elsewhere, as they should be, and we should all mourn his passing and look to him as a role model for our own conduct going forward.  Indeed, coming at a time when his leadership skills and moral authority were perhaps more sorely needed than they ever were before, one is forced to wonder what G-d, fate, kismet, or whatever prime mover you believe has in mind for the Republic at this point.  Personally, I'm inclined to think that G-d loved Cummings so much that he took him ahead of the Biblical allotment of threescore and ten, and is now demanding that the rest of us step up to fill the void he leaves for all of us.

In any case, the fact that the Gaetz Gang would pull their "prank" at a time like this only underscores the inherently cowardly nature of their actions.  That's something to keep in mind as well, especially if events in the near future are going to follow a similar pattern, as I expect they will.  What's left of the Republican Party is little more than a rump gang of bullies--and bullies are cowards at heart.

I don't think that the Speaker wanted to address the attack of the Gaetz Gang on federal statutory law, congressional oversight, and due process in general during a 48-hour period during which she was observing a personal and civic day of mourning, especially for two men to whom she was close.  I respect her for that.

But, come tomorrow, if she does not recommend formal charges against the gang's members, including the confiscation of their cell phones to determine whether they have been compromised by their actions, I will be worse than deeply disappointed.  However much one prizes civility in government, one must always remember that civility is a two-way street.  All the more so when one is the person in charge of maintaining that civility.  There is, in the last analysis, such a thing as going too far.  And that's exactly what the Gaetz Gang did.

Second, there's the alleged pretext for the Animal House action:  the alleged violation of House rules regarding the investigations.

The investigations are being conducted under rules adopted by the House when the Gaetz Gang and its party were in control.  Had Pelosi and the Democrats attempted to change them, the GOP would have found a way to have a juvenile snit over that.  Rather than giving them a chance to do so, they went forward with the status quo, which ought to be credited to them as a form of "bipartisanship."

And, once more time:  under those rules, Republican members, including members of the Gaetz Gang, have been present and able to participate in the investigations all along.

Enough said.  For now.