On Thursday, the House voted 214-191 in a bipartisan manner to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who had pulled the fire alarm on September 30 to exit the House Cannon building, despite there being no fire. He became the 27th member to be censured, and the third in just a matter of months. While some Democrats did vote to censure Bowman, many more did not, and some of them had downright delusional remarks in opposing the resolution from Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI). Among those with something to say was, predictably, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of Bowman's fellow Squad members, who had also been censured last month.
Tlaib herself posted the clip from her official X account. She sought to make both herself and Bowman into victims, with her post claiming that the censure was "yet another attempt to silence a person of color in this chamber."
The clip began with her not only began with claiming those in favor of the resolution "were desperate," but she also brought up the unrelated matter of the Israel-War using particular phrasing, a conflict which she herself has spread falsehoods about. "Y'all so desperate to distract from the fact that you all have nothing, nothing to improve the lives of the American people or in the ongoing genocide," she passionately insisted.
Tlaib's claims continued to get more ridiculous as she said that her colleagues were "trying to shift the focus by baselessly attacking Rep. Bowman to score cheap political points." Her voice took a tone as she then decried how Republicans were "comparing him to the white supremacists on January 6th!" Republican members, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have argued Bowman was obstructing official House proceedings, just as January 6 defendants have been accused of.
"Give me a break," Tlaib went on to say, as she continued to raise her voice. "Your inability to goven is so obvious to the American people! Y'all can't even find enough Republicans to vote to pass a budget or even keep a speaker," she added as she brought up still more unrelated topics.
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"This is yet another attempt to silence a person of color in this chamber," Tlaib offered as she ranted some more. "We all see it! This is all about the fact that Representative Bowman calls out your hypocrisy. Leave him alone! Get a grip! Do something that will actually improve the lives of the American people that you all represent," she demanded, as if members couldn't possibly do that while also censuring Bowman. "Vote no on this cheap political stunt!"
This censure of @RepBowman is yet another attempt to silence a person of color in this chamber.
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) December 7, 2023
They are obsessed with attacking Black and brown members of Congress, but do nothing to help our families thrive. They need to get a grip. pic.twitter.com/BduoDJK6Zo
As our sister site of Twitchy highlighted, the post was hit multiple contextual points from Community Notes. "There is no evidence - in any report - that this censure was racially motivated," the note mentioned. There is an AP news article cited as proof. Not only had he pulled the alarm, Bowman had also moved away emergency exit notice signs.
For all of what Tlaib declared "we see," the necessary amount of members voted to censure him, including three from his own party. Still more fellow Democrats refused to bail him out by voting "present," or by not voting at all.
What Bowman was doing was committing a misdemeanor, something he himself admitted to. Further, he also used to work as a principal, and pulling the fire alarm when there isn't a fire will get you into trouble at that school. Bowman pulled the fire alarm as Democrats were claiming that they didn't have enough time to read the bill to avert a government shutdown, with that bill ultimately passing.
Bowman's even getting a sweetheart deal, given that a deal was struck, and the charge will be withdrawn in three months if he pays a $1,000 fine and writes an apology letter, and the House Ethics Committee declined late last month to take further action on him. This comes even after House Ethics Committee Chairman (R-MS) ended up voting to censure Bowman on with Committee Ranking Member Susan Wild (D-PA) among those voting "present."
Just as Tlaib's talking points amounted to the "cheap political stunt" she herself decries, so have Bowman's narratives. He has repeatedly claimed that efforts to hold him accountable for his actions are a "distraction," and at one point not long after he pulled the fire alarm, he had to walk back talking points sent out by his office that likened Republicans with Nazis.
Tlaib never ceases to amaze with the delusional claims she makes.
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