McCarthy’s behavior cannot be accepted
What do you call a person who foments open insurrection and sedition against his nation, then condemns and disavows the people who act on his words? What should you do when that person is your congressman?
My congressman, Kevin McCarthy, went on nationwide television in November, after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had been elected, and said, “President Trump won this election, so everyone who is listening, do not be quiet. Do not be silent about this. We can not allow this to happen before our very eyes. We need to unite together.” He was lying, but it was not the usual lie that comes from a politician. It was a very dangerous lie — a lie that ultimately led to right-wing terrorists attempting to overthrow our government by attacking the United States Capitol building while the House and Senate were in session. It was a lie and call for insurrection that has left five people dead and countless injured, including at least 14 police officers.
When McCarthy spoke in November, his words were not meant for law-abiding citizens who rejoiced at the election of a new president and vice president. They were not meant for those of us who celebrated the election of the first Black and Asian vice president. They were not meant for the vast majority who accepted an election that Trump’s own cybersecurity chief Christopher Krebs had called “the most secure in American history” and added, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” McCarthy was speaking to the unhinged Trump worshipers and minions that he could count on to join him in denouncing our most sacred democratic institutions. He was speaking to the most radical right-wing zealots who refuse to believe in any fair and free election that results in a victory for the Democratic Party.
Since November, McCarthy has persisted in promoting his lie and egging on a revolt against our nation’s system of democracy and judicial oversight of elections. Even after the violent attack and illegal occupation of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, he took to the floor of the House of Representatives that very night and supported the terrorists’ aims to violate the Constitution of the United States and overturn the will of the American people. How can we continue to be a beacon of democracy and orderly government to the rest of the world while we allow one of our most powerful political leaders to agree to the demands of anarchists who were bent on terrorizing our elected representatives and desecrating the very building where they were in the process of validating our new commander in chief and leader of the free world?
Those who defend McCarthy might say that he never meant to foment violent insurrection and sedition, but McCarthy knows enough about history to understand that claims of corrupt and illegal elections by one powerful political party against another powerful political party can easily lead to violent clashes and open revolt ending in bloodshed and destruction of a nation. When a powerful leader tells his followers “do not be quiet” and “we can not allow this to happen before our very eyes,” as McCarthy has, he is lighting a match to ignite the torches of all who believe his lie that “President Trump won this election.” No amount of backpedaling and condemnation of what we witnessed on Jan. 6 will extinguish the torches he lit, and McCarthy must be removed from office as soon as possible.
Americans are unable to remove an elected member of the House or Senate from office because there is no recall mechanism set forth in the Constitution. It is up the individual chambers, House and Senate, to remove members by way of expulsion. The House or Senate can expel a member if there is the support to do so by at least two-thirds of the members. That is why I have contacted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and dozens of House members, whether they be Democrat or Republican. I have asked each of them to join in the process of expelling my congressman due to his lies and treasonous behavior.