They take their stand
Looking down the list of Congress critters who cast a “no” vote on the expulsion of George Santos — this time out giving us a pretty even split in the Republicans (the previous expulsion vote left the NY contingent and some others wanting him gone) — and trying to think of the big names to figure out some line of demarcation for politics here, I still have no idea.
The Democrats have gone from 31 voting to keep ‘im to 2. The “everyone gets their day in court” / “keep the process going” line followed across the ideological divisions in the party back then. Today’s two outliers allow for a quicker search through on reasons — they stand out and they issued a press press release and if you want to read the stated reasoning for Democratic votes to keep Santos you only have to read two pages. And figuring out the political profile requires a quick study of only two individuals.
So. Who is Bobby Scott of Virginia? Who is Nikema Williams of Georgia? What do they have for George Santos?
Williams has the shorter statement.
George Santos is not worthy of serving in the House of Representatives. He will likely be convicted of the crimes of which he was accused. This is the People’s House – and although the House Ethics Committee findings were damning, the people of New York’s Third Congressional District should decide who represents them. I’ll always side on giving power to the voters.
Short enough. Scott? A paragraph to tell us that the man sucks, another going on about due process, another about the last vote, and –that great ballyhoo clarion call of “censure” (tsk tsk indeed) — the final paragraph starts by telling us again the man sucks and continues —
Furthermore, the proceedings were complicated by the subjective reality that an overwhelming portion of the House, and in fact most of the public, just wanted him to leave, and only expulsion, rather than reprimand and censure, could achieve that objective. In the final analysis, we have to recognize that expelling a Member is one of the most serious and solemn actions Members can take, we have to recognize that precedent will be set. Unlike both prior cases of expulsion since the Civil War, Mr. Santos has not been convicted of a crime, and few of the allegations involve conduct that occurred during his service as a Member of Congress. And unlike the other cases, after the Committee reviewed and considered the evidence, it did not make a recommendation to expel him.
Bare and precedents and all that.