By LaKeshia N. Myers
Representative LaKeshia Myers
There are some days when I want to just, “throw it all away” and start over—the world that is. Because its too much; and after this week, its safe to say Republicans have lost their damned minds. And collectively (and ideologically) the deep end is where they reside. If you don’t know what I’m referencing here is the latest list of events:
Trump indicted—Former President Donald Trump faces more than thirty counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury. This is the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges. While the former president has long avoided legal consequences in his personal, professional and political life, with this week’s indictment, it seems the jig is finally up. According to CNN, Trump has settled a number of private civil lawsuits through the years and paid his way out of disputes concerning the Trump Organization, his namesake company. His indictment is a fateful reminder that eventually, everyone must atone for their sins. How fitting for Holy Week 2023.
Wisconsin GOP threatens to impeach Protasiewicz-As the dust settled on Tuesday, Wisconsin elected a new member to the State Supreme Court, Judge Janet Protasiewicz. Justice-elect Protasiewicz, had barely given her acceptance speech when newly elected State Senator Dan Knodl, suggested that he would be open to impeaching Protasiewicz because his ascension would give the GOP a two-thirds majority in the Wisconsin senate.
While Assembly Republicans hold the simple majority needed to impeach civil officers for corruption or crimes, they lack the two-thirds majority required for removal under the address process, which covers misconduct issues such as judicial ethics. Why is this important? Because it points to the Republicans’ modus operandi—“by any means necessary, screw Democrats”. I caution them to tread lightly with any plans for impeachment.
Tennessee State Legislature Expels two Democratic members-As if this week wasn’t already chock full of foolishness, enter Tennessee’s state legislature. According to the New York Times, “in the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three Democratic lawmakers took to the floor of the Republican-controlled Tennessee House chamber last week to rally for stricter gun control. On Thursday, two of the lawmakers, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, were expelled from the House, a dramatic act of political retribution. But the third lawmaker, Representative Gloria Johnson, survived, shocking some Democrats: The chamber voted 65 to 30 to remove her, falling one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed in the 99-seat chamber” (New York Times, 2023).
During the floor session in Tennessee, Republicans alluded to the three democratic lawmakers as “insurrectionists” and compared them to the rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol in 2021. I immediately thought about Wisconsin and my own dissent towards the recently passed riot bill debated on the assembly floor. If I speak out, would my Republican colleagues choose to classify me as a “rioter” and expel me? It makes you wonder.
The tables have been set, and the hour is now for agency and activism against anti-democratic extremism. The ball is in motion and the narrative suggests that the people have had enough. Republicans, you are imploding in short order and I’m not sure you realize that the, “arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” and justice will always prevail.