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What's On Our Mind ...
The House took an important step on Thursday to strengthen our democracy with the passage of the Protecting Our Democracy Act.
This act is a historic package of pro-democracy reforms to create new and strengthen existing guardrails to prevent the abuse of executive power, restore Congress as a meaningful check on executive authority, and reinvigorate Congress’s exercise of its own constitutional power.
Republicans almost unanimously rejected this legislation. Only Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) voted for the bill yesterday. Even though Rep. Elizabeth Cheney (R-WY) stood up to Trump and is a member of the committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol, she did not vote for this bill which would prevent another president from abusing the office. Her support would have sent an important message to her party. In the past, many provisions of the bill would have gained bipartisan support.
Meanwhile, Democrats know this issue goes beyond partisan politics. “Today, the House delivered a simple, unequivocal message — our democracy is worth fighting for. We will not allow the abuses that defined the previous administration to become our norms, nor will we will allow a future autocratic president, Democrat or Republican, to exploit weaknesses in our democratic institutions,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack is also dealing with the issues of abuse of power by a president. One of their main goals is to determine what, if any, direct role Donald Trump and his top aides played in directing and orchestrating the assault. Trump's involvement in the planning or execution would be a clear violation of the office of the presidency.
Our democracy is fragile. Its protection is every elected official's duty. But today’s Republicans shirk from that responsibility. They continually choose politics over country.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) threatened this week that when the GOP takes power there will be no real oversight and real subpoenas. “It’s going to be the days of Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Dr. Gosar and myself.”
Elections have consequences. We need to ensure that JAC candidates are elected to the House and Senate to prevent the extinguishing of our democracy’s bright beacon that Gaetz is anticipating and promoting.
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