Horowitz: House Republicans should all resign their committee assignments and create their own

Congress doesn't govern any more. The executive and judicial branches control every aspect of our lives, and Congress only exists to virtue-signal and sign off on the president's insane budget without holding him accounting for power-grabs. This is true of both parties when they have control of either Congress or the White House. Yet with Democrats violating basic constitutional and even human rights of the GOP minority, why not actually break off and form a much more powerful messaging operation, given that the existing Congress is all about talk?

While Congress gets to determine the rules and proceedings of its body with majority support, Democrats have now run the chamber in such a way that it violates at least the spirit of democratic representation of individual members of Congress. Representatives cannot speak without muzzles on their mouths; they are prevented from uttering a number of things thanks to new rules; and they are now frisked on their way into the chamber, which are all in violation of the prohibition in Article I Section 6 against detaining a congressman on the way to work.

Representatives have the right to talk, debate freely, and offer amendments. Article I Sec. 6 not only prevents them from being detained on the way to and from work, it also guarantees them the right to speak and debate freely. Some might find their speech repugnant, but that is what elections are for.

This principle has been completely abrogated by the new rules of this Congress. Now, they are picking members they don't like and throwing them off committees, even though they were duly elected by the people. Well, committees don't do any work anyway. Nor can they offer amendments on the floor. All the important legislation that actually affects our future is crafted behind closed doors by lobbyists and executive branch officials and is either ensconced in a budget bill or an emergency bill, which is then voted on within hours of being introduced.

So, what is the point of the GOP members remaining in the House as a minority only to suffer abuse and humiliation without even being able to investigate, propose amendments, and use their voices?

There is nothing in the Constitution prohibiting them from simply breaking off and refusing to show up, opting instead to form their own shadow Congress. No, they will not conduct votes, and obviously will wield no constitutional authority, but as mentioned, this is essentially what the real Congress does anyway. It's all about social media virtue-signaling. Their voices matter so much more than their votes, given our broken structure of government. So why not use their voices when and where they can actually talk freely?

They should divide members into shadow committees and hold fact-finding field hearings with guests to educate the public on the threat to civil liberties posed by COVID fascism, the two-tiered justice system, illegal immigration, and rampant crime, just to name a few issues. Rather than the same boring C-SPAN video, people would be able to view on a platform like Rumble an array of exciting guests and witnesses. Again, it would have no legal grounding, but everything that goes on in Congress anyway is nothing but showboating. So why not do a better job of it?

Nothing is stopping Republicans from putting out reports, broadcasting hearings, posting speeches, and giving voice to the concerns of their constituents. Democrats, with their majority, will do what they want anyway and always have the votes to pass anything. If they want to run the House like a dictatorship, why not let them have their fiefdom and show the American people their unvarnished radicalism without the Republicans as a distraction?

This is not cutting and running. Democrats have declared war on Republicans by kicking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off committees, a precedent that will not end with her. They are openly discussing banning members outright. So why play in their rigged system and get humiliated? Republican members should use their voices as private citizens, with the notoriety of elected officials, to augment the voices of their constituents more effectively.

A sane Republican Party would resign all committee posts in protest, regardless of what they think of Taylor Greene personally. This is a body that hosts members with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a body that hosts Rep. Alcee Hastings, who was one of the only federal judges in history to be removed through impeachment. In 1989, he was removed for a charge of taking a bribe in exchange for a lenient sentence. He was originally impeached by the House, which was then controlled by Democrats, by 413-3. Why isn't he thrown off committees?

Ilhan Omar made anti-Semitic insinuations and downplayed 9/11 — the exact same conspiracy theories Green is accused of parroting. Where is the censure vote or effort to strip her committee assignments? And speaking of committee assignments, Rep. Eric Swalwell is accused of being in bed – literally – with a Chinese spy, yet he not only sits on the Homeland Security and Intel committees, but is one of the Democrat impeachment managers!

Jerry Nadler, the current Judiciary Committee chair, secured a clemency for Susan Rosenberg, the woman who planted a bomb in this very Capitol in 1983. He is in charge of the law-and-order committee of this chamber that was bombed.

Some might suggest that in the case of Hastings, his Florida constituents knew about his history and still voted to elect him to Congress years later, and he therefore has a right to serve. I actually agree with that sentiment. But that should apply to Taylor Greene, too. We are not talking about new behavior in office. These comments she has made about conspiracy theories were well known. Either her constituents don't care, or they are so sick of fake Republicans going along with much more harmful conspiracy theories being peddled by clowns like Dr. Fauci that they would rather elect someone who believes in bizarre conspiracy theories but gives voice to them on the core issue than members who don't believe in those theories but give voice to bizarre conspiracy theories like lockdowns and masks stopping a virus. Either way, that is their constitutional right to vote for her as it is for Alcee Hasting, Ilhan Omar, and a number of other repugnant Democrats who are either corrupt, anti-Semitic, or racist.

Black Lives Matter and Antifa are rioting and promoting insurrection to this very day. They have destroyed more public and private property in one hour of rioting than right-wing criminals on January 6 and have killed many more people. Should every Democrat (and RINO) who has promoted BLM and Antifa be removed from Congress?