Republican Oaths Are Lies

I’m now a professional football player.  I found a video of my favorite team scoring a touchdown, stood in front of my screen, raised my right hand, and swore a holy oath to play for my team to the best of my ability.  I figure I can bask in the glory for a while, because the Broncos did not make the playoffs.  Does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me?  It’s actually less absurd than Republican attempts to sweep under the rug that two of their experienced legislators did the same thing when they could not tear themselves away from moneygrubbing for corporate cash to take their oaths and violated the Constitution by serving as Representatives without having been sworn in.  Anthony Weiner (D-NY) called them on their BS.

Yesterday, Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) failed to take the oath of office on the House floor along with the other 433 members of Congress which caused the GOP caucus to scurry, worrying that some of the congressional actions Sessions and Fitzpatrick took yesterday may not have been valid. This morning, the House passed a resolution to fix this problem by a vote of 257-159 — with 27 Democrats voting in favor, three House members voting “present” (including Sessions and Fitzpatrick), and 16 others not voting. The resolution invalidated any votes Sessions and Fitzpatrick had taken yesterday, but also said that “all other actions the members took would count as if the two representatives were sworn in on the floor [Faux Noise delinked].”

After the resolution was introduced, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) took to the House floor to criticize the new Majority for violating its own newly-instituted parliamentary rules. “A new section was created…that required at least three days notice to consider legislation,” he said, adding, “It is particularly important in this case since we’re dealing with a constitutional issue, one that is without precedent.”

While the presiding speaker said the new GOP rules only apply to bills and joint resolutions, Weiner noted that by failing to take the oath of office and then conducting House business, Sessions and Fitzpatrick violated a provision of the Constitution (which is ironic considering Republicans led a reading of the founding document on the House floor yesterday in a pledge to uphold the document)…

…Watch it:

 

Indeed, Weiner is correct. By failing to properly take the oath of office, Sessions and Fitzpatrick violated Article VI, clause 3 of the Constitution, which states: “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.”…[emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

The bottom line here is simple enough.  Republicans care for neither their oaths or our Constitution.  They exist to transfer wealth from the poor and middle classes to millionaires, billionaires and criminal corporations and to establish one party rule.  However, I have to admit that watching the Acting Speaker squirm was most entertaining.