Two Lives. . .

(Two Lives. . .)

There is intrinsic value to each Member in Congress and in the Senate and the leadership of both Chambers needs to decide how best to handle individuals who might have acted improperly and whether expulsion is a desired remedy. However, expulsion removes a vote from the total tally and in a close piece of legislation, removing a Member over some "ethical" concern is self-defeating. A Congressman and a Senator have both faced charges of varying nature recently. Republican George Santos (R-NY) was the one who was dismissed from the House was reputed to have used his Office for personal gain. The other is Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) who brokered an arms deal with Egypt. He, unlike Santos, is still in Office and, like Santos, who is compromising Republican prerogatives in the House, Menendez's removal would compromise Democrat prerogatives in the Senate.

House Speaker Johnson now has a three seat Majority after Santos departure. As close-run things have been with the House, holding Santos to the standard that allowed for his dismissal could prove self-defeating. Corrupt politicians are as common as used car salesmen, but the latter still sells cars. Santos could be retained because, in a sense, he would still be selling cars.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer is adopting a different approach than Speaker Johnson, namely that Senator Menendez has kept his post and still goes on the Floor when required. Unlike the House Speaker, Schumer is aware of Menendez's "intrinsic" value, the true worth of an individual in the Senate.

Why then did the House vote, convincingly, to expel Congressman Santos ? Was his intrinsic value not recognized the same way Schumer saw in Menendez ? Now Santos' NY-3 is on Long Island and could be a Republican precinct so when another election is convened, Santos' replacement could also be a Republican. But that is no guarantee and a Democrat could ostensibly be Santos' replacement.

So, by failing to recognize Santos' intrinsic value, Speaker Johnson and the balance of the House Republican Conference risk losing a rare and very valuable asset, a Republican-held seat in New York State. One can stick to principle and act accordingly. One can only hope that it will be worth the price.