First Casualty For Democracy Is How The U.S. Congress Elects Its Leadership. Republican Party To Disenfranchise House Members And A Possible New Member- Its Second African-American U.S. Senator
Why Wait For Votes To Be Counted: The First Casualty For Democracy Is How The United States Congress Elects Its Leadership
Republican Party Leadership To Disenfranchise A Possible New Member- Its Second African-American United States Senator
Can’t Wait To Count All Votes Or Don’t Want To Wait To Count All Votes?
How Do You Not Spell D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y?
This week the Republican Party Conference will elect its leadership for the 118th United States Congress which will commence on 3 January 2023. Important to note that the 117th United States Congress has yet to conclude.
This week too commenced what is described every two years as the “lame duck session” of the United States Congress. During these legislative days, of which there are few until adjournment in mid-December 2022, all 100 members of the United States Senate and 435 members of the United States House of Representatives will be voting on legislation that they failed to finalize prior to the 8 November 2022 national elections.
Most decisions need to be made by 16 December 2022 including for nearing US$1 trillion to be spent on defense; assistance to Ukraine (probably nearing US$50 billion, which would bring taxpayer borrowing for Ukraine from 24 February 2022 through 24 February 2022 to more than US$100 billion; same-sex marriage; reform of the Electoral College- for presidential elections; and perhaps an increase in the national debt-limit.
Those voting include members who are retiring, members who have been defeated as they sought re-election, and members who retired from one chamber to be a member of the other chamber. During this “lame duck session” there remain vacancies in the United States Congress due to death, resignation, or retirement.
There is no debate, at least there should be no debate as to whether members who are retiring or have been defeated should participate in votes during the last two months of the 117th United States Congress. They were elected and paid to serve a two-year term (United States House of Representatives) or a six-year term (United States Senate).
Where members, voters (taxpayers), observers, pundits, and, well, everyone should be appalled and insulted and disgusted- the current leadership in Republican Party conference for the 117th United States Congress, both in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, plans this week to elect new leadership in the Republican Party conference for the 118th United States Congress. The Republican Party leadership in the United States House also plans this week to formulate the rules package for the 118th United States Congress. The Rule Committee on the United States House of Representatives controls what legislation reaches the floor and under what conditions legislation reaches the floor.
What’s wrong with this?
There remains one of two members of the United States Senate from the State of Georgia who will remain unknown until a run-off election on 6 December 2022 due to neither candidate, the incumbent from the Democratic Party, nor the challenger, from the Republican Party, receiving 50% of the vote on 8 November 2022. Regardless of the outcome of the run-off in the State of Georgia, the Democratic Party will remain control of the United States Senate, either by 51-49 or by 50-50 with Kamala Harris (D- California), the Vice President of the United States, casting, if necessary, the tie-breaking vote.
There remain nineteen (19) unknown outcomes for elections to the United States House of Representatives. Of critical importance is while the expectation is for the Republican Party to gain control of the chamber, although with not much margin above the required 218 votes for a majority, the counting of votes in 4.3% of districts remain incomplete. Each district includes 761,179 voters; so, the Republican Party is disenfranchising 14,462,401 voters across the United States out of approximately 168.3 registered voters. Meaning approximately 8.59% of all registered voters.
As absurd as it may be, the Republican Party’s current leadership in the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives will choose to willfully disenfranchise from the voting process members of their own party.
For the Republican Party of 2022, every vote is not equal, and some votes are clearly inferior to others…
A final thought: The 6 December 2022 run-off election in the State of Georgia is between two African-American men. The Republican Party conference in the United States Senate currently has one African-American member, who holds one of the two seats representing the State of South Carolina. An election victory in the State of Georgia would increase by 100% African-American representation in the United States Senate Republican Party conference. By not awaiting the outcome of the run-off in the State of Georgia, the United States Senate Republican Party conference is disenfranchising a possible new member- who is African-American. The message that sends to the public is unmistakable- and pretty much trends toward political racism.
Some good news…The Democratic Party plans to await the outcome of all elections to the United States House of Representatives and to the United States Senate prior to scheduling leadership votes.
