House decides when enough is enough

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Virginia's off-year gubernatorial election has thrust the state into the national spotlight. Glenn Youngkin's victory is sending Democrats into a frenzy to understand how they lost a state trending blue for the last decade, while GOP leaders are looking for lessons to replicate elsewhere next year. But for Youngkin and his team, what matters now is governing. As former Republican governors of traditionally blue states, we understand the demands of the job, and the somber obligation to put the needs of one's state above petty partisanship. As Republicans who have stood against the lies, conspiracies, and hatred of Trumpism, we also understand the political pressures—and even threats of violence—that are aimed to subvert those duties. State Republican parties across the country have lurched further and further towards the extremes. In Virginia, the party even went so far as to rewrite its primary election rules to excise members who don't share fringe views. That fear of a primary from the
right has driven numerous national Republicans to compromise their beliefs and give voice to conspiracies they know are wrong, just to protect their power. But Youngkin is the governor for all of Virginia, not a servant of the state party he now leads. If Republicans are to regain their footing in the state, it will not come from the radical fringes. It must come from principled leaders who can live up to our highest expectations for public servants. The Commonwealth needs a governor who will respect the rule of law and won’t chase populist appeals or fan the flames of culture wars for personal gain. Youngkin could be that governor, but the decision to do so must be made now. —Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey & William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts ([link removed])

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** 'Does anyone in this chamber find this behavior acceptable?'
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Unfortunately, yes, some House members voted not to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and remove him from his committee assignments today for posting a violent anime video to his Twitter account last week. The video depicted an animated version of himself attacking animated characters representing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden. However, it wasn't enough. Ultimately, 223 House members—including Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger—voted in favor of the resolution following a floor debate. ([link removed])
* — "This is about what we are willing to accept." During debate, Ocasio-Cortez said, "Our example matters. There is meaning in our service and as leaders in this country when we incite violence with depictions against our colleagues, that trickles down into violence in this country." She also criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for inaction. "What I believe is unprecedented is for a member of House leadership of either party to be unable to condemn incitement of violence against a member of this body," she said. ([link removed])
*
* — "It was not my purpose to make anyone upset." Yeah sure, Paul. Speaking on his own behalf, Gosar said he didn't believe the violent video was "dangerous or threatening" and claimed he took it down "out of compassion for those who generally felt offense." He also twisted his defense into an anti-immigration rant, claiming "the cartoon directly contributes to the understanding and the discussion of the real-life battle of this administration's open border policies." Ugh. ([link removed])
*
* — "It's not about partisanship. It's about decorum, civility, safety, and yes, the rule of law." House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urged other lawmakers to vote "yes" on the resolution, arguing, "No one, Democrat or Republican, ought to be involved [with] or engage in the promotion of violence against a fellow member or indeed a fellow American." Fortunately, the majority of House members agreed with him. —CNN ([link removed])


** Bump: Trump may be gone, but lock-step loyalty remains
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"We've moved from an era in which Republicans learned to respect the power Trump has to move his voters, to an era in which they act in anticipated response to those voters even independently of how Trump is directing them. It's fair to wonder how sustainable this effort might be. A legislator can be a Republican in good standing one day and, because they supported a bill negotiated by Republicans that would increase funding in their districts, they suddenly emerge as an enemy of the right and an ally of socialism." —Philip Bump in The Washington Post ([link removed])

Philip Bump is a national correspondent for The Washington Post.

MORE: With democracy under duress, a few—but too few—Republicans speak up —The Boston Globe ([link removed])


** FBI to monitor school-related threats
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The FBI has set up a process to track threats against school board members and educators, who've experienced an uptick in violent threats this year over politically charged issues such as pandemic mask mandates. The new procedures were prompted by an Oct. 4 memo from Attorney General Merrick Garland ordering the FBI to help local leaders stop potential violence against teachers and school staff. Some Republican lawmakers have criticized the order, saying it could improperly target parents protesting local education policies. The FBI responded to that charge yesterday. "The FBI has never been in the business of investigating parents who speak out or policing speech at school board meetings, and we are not going to start now," the Bureau said in a statement. "We are fully committed to preserving and protecting 1st Amendment rights, including freedom of speech." — ([link removed]) The Wall Street Journal
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MORE: OSHA suspends enforcement of Biden's vaccine mandate —National Review ([link removed])


** 'We in Congress must act'
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Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, where he faced harsh criticism of the department's handling of migrants at the southern border and Afghan evacuees. Ranking member Chuck Grassley accused Mayorkas of running the DHS like a "fan club" to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Josh Hawley focused their questioning on how many Afghan refugees were properly vetted. Committee Chair Dick Durbin said Mayorkas inherited a department "riddled in chaos" and called the operation to resettle Afghan evacuees "daunting." Multiple Democratic senators said only Congress can truly fix the U.S. immigration system. Sen. Chris Coons said, "Simply grandstanding and fingerpointing isn't going to solve a broken immigration system." —United Press International ([link removed])

MORE: 'Terrorists' at the border? To please Donald Trump, Homeland Security tweaked reports —Newsweek ([link removed])
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** Lawrence: Is infrastructure the last gasp of bipartisan deal-making?
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"Imagine living in a country where you can get death threats for voting to upgrade bridges, roads, ports, airports, and internet connections. Oh wait. We do live in that country. America has turned into a place where it's risky to look out for the people you represent in Congress, who may be in dire need of clean water or a power grid that doesn't collapse in a storm. It's risky to give a political 'win' to a president from the other party. Some of your own leaders and colleagues have it in for you. They're ready to get you kicked off committees or contested in a primary, or post your phone numbers on Twitter—and let their inflamed supporters take it from there." —Jill Lawrence on ([link removed]) USA Today ([link removed])

Jill Lawrence is a columnist for
USA Today and the author of "The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock."

MORE: McCarthy tries to tamp down Republican infighting over infrastructure bill —NBC News ([link removed])


** Global roundup
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The crisis at the border between Belarus and Poland has escalated, as Poland's Border Guard deployed water cannons and used tear gas on migrants who had been throwing objects at security personnel. The situation has become increasingly miserable for those camped on the Belarusian side of the border with limited food, water, and medical supplies. Thousands of people, mainly from Middle Eastern countries, have attempted to enter Poland, but have been rounded up and sent back into Belarus by Polish authorities. While Russia has come to the defense of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the European Union has accused Belarus' dictatorial regime of orchestrating the crisis. —Deutsche Welle ([link removed])
* — Ethiopia. At least 1,000 people—including several people working for the United Nations—have been detained in cities across Ethiopia since a state of emergency was declared on Nov. 2, according to the UN. The declaration, which primarily targets ethnic Tigrayans in the country's northern region, allows suspects to be detained without trial for as long as the state of emergency lasts and allows house-to-house searches without a warrant. It's the latest development in a year-long conflict between the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and forces aligned with the Tigray People's Liberation Front. —Al Jazeera ([link removed])
*
* — Hungary. The verdict is in in the latest legal battle of the European Commission's years-long conflict over migration with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz government. The decision stems from a 2018 Hungarian ([link removed]) bill ([link removed]) dubbed the "Stop Soros" law—a reference to American-Hungarian businessman George Soros—that criminalizes support for asylum-seekers and limits the right to asylum. The European Court of Justice, the bloc's highest court, ruled yesterday that it violates EU law, and Hungary had "failed to fulfill its obligations" by passing it. —Politico ([link removed])
*
* — Bulgaria. Bulgaria's new centrist anti-graft party, We Continue the Change (PP), is looking to strike a hopeful new start for the EU's poorest country. With pledges to root out widespread corruption and bring prosperity, PP, set up just two months ago, won the Balkan country's national election on Sunday with 25.7% of the votes. It launched coalition talks this week to form a government following its surprise victory. —Reuters ([link removed])

MORE: Biden places travel ban on Nicaraguan officials after 'sham' election —The Hill ([link removed])


** Rubin: We could use a domestic democracy summit
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"Perhaps what the administration needs in the lead up to the international summit is a White House democracy summit with members of both parties. If only the president could extract basic pledges from Republicans (e.g., install standardized and professional election audits, decline to question the legitimacy of our electoral system, respect duly authorized subpoenas, seal off the Justice Department from political interference), we might have some credibility to demand more of summit invitees." —Jennifer Rubin in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at
The Washington Post.

MORE:Antony Blinken says U.S. has seen how 'fragile our democracy can be' —Newsweek ([link removed])

Now that Liz Cheney has been voted off of the Trumplican Island, let's get the new Center-Right Party started. Liz can be the new party's leader! Evan can be her right-hand man. —Ken G., Colorado

Predicting the past means saying what would have happened if another course of action had been taken. Predicting the future means saying what will happen. Both are difficult things to do. But despite those two admonitions, I am going to try to do both. Had the GOP and others not turned vaccinations and mask-wearing into divisive political issues, more people would have been spared COVID-19 infections, and we would be a lot further on the road to economic recovery. If the GOP and others continue to discourage adherence to proven science regarding vaccine effectiveness, we will see many more infections, and our economic recovery will be delayed even further. Why do those Republican politicians who are denying medical science, want to convince their own voters to risk their lives? Is getting elected really that important to them? —Bill M., Pennsylvania
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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