Four House Democrats out of 219 don’t amount to even 2 percent of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s caucus.
But if they hang together, they might be enough to prevent Pelosi from driving the country off a cliff of irreparable division.
The Free Press readers recall that this website reported just last week that the San Francisco Democrat was open to an investigation into an Iowa congressional race won by Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Miller-Meeks defeated Democrat Rita Hart by six votes.
Hart claims 22 ballots were not properly counted, and if she got her way, they would show she won by nine votes. Yet instead of working through the state court system to appeal the state’s certification of Miller-Meeks’ victory, Hart went straight to Pelosi and House Democrats.
The House Administration Committee is now reviewing the complaint. If Democrats convince themselves it has merit, they could vote to eject Miller-Meeks and seat Hart.
This, of course, undermines everything Democrats have said about accepting election results and upholding the sanctity of our elections since Donald Trump’s victory.
And Pelosi, natural but still nonsensically, dismissed Republican allegations that Democrats are hypocrites by noting, “it’s just who they are.”
Yet four Democrats see peril in this process. They include Reps. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, David Price of North Carolina, Dan Kildee of Michigan, and Rep. Lou Correa of California.
All four are openly questioning the party that self-paradoxically promotes “unity” overturning a duly processed election.
Phillips tweeted on Monday: “Losing a House election by six votes is painful for Democrats. But overturning it in the House would be even more painful for America. Just because a majority can, does not mean a majority should.”
On Sunday, Kildee told The Wall Street Journal, “The standard (for booting Miller-Meeks) has to be a very high standard. Unless we see compelling evidence that there’s something seriously wrong, then we should defer to state and local officials.”
Correa told CNN late last week that “these are issues that right now are probably best left at the state level.”
Price, appearing on Fox News on Monday, said, “I don’t think there’s the slightest chance that (overturning the election) would happen. I have confidence that all sides of the House Administration Committee process are well aware of how sensitive and how difficult this is.”
Sure. But the Democrats on the panel seem intent to pursue Hart’s claims anyway.
These Democrats deserve credit for putting the country over party. And it would take only two of them to thwart Pelosi’s attempt to send Miller-Meeks packing.
But it’s one thing to look firm when speaking to a conservative audience following Fox News of The Wall Street Journal, and quite another when Pelosi calls the question to a vote. Time will tell.
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Pelosi better look at 2022, when the GOP takes the house.
It’s the Ultra Liberal Democrat Socialists trying to steal another election. Who woulda thunk it?
Correct me if I am wrong , while the house can refuse to seat a representative it can not pick the person to represent the district.