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Congress

Democrats Must Punish the House GOP’s ‘Seditious Seventeen’

CLOSE THE ‘TOUGHNESS GAP’

Of the 126 Republican House members who signed that brief, 17 essentially agreed to invalidate their own votes. So invalidate them.

Jonathan Alter

Published Dec. 23, 2020 5:06AM ET 
BEAST INSIDE
opinion

Erin Scott/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty

On Dec. 16, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), a talented member of the House Democratic leadership and the favorite to be the next speaker, gave a rousing floor speech. “I rise today to condemn the treacherous and seditious behavior of some in this nation who continue to poison the integrity of our democracy,” he said. “It’s time to stop providing aid and comfort to an insurrection.”

Appropriate sentiments, but what should those who want to protect American democracy do about it? Right now, it looks like House Democrats might be wimping out.

The list of those who sought to overturn the will of the people includes 17 state attorneys general and 126 Republican members of Congress, more than half of the GOP caucus. Without offering any evidence of fraud, these insurrectionists signed on to a preposterous lawsuit brought by the Texas attorney general that sought to invalidate the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and hand the election to President Trump.

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