Jamaal Bowman Should Be Disciplined For Pulling a Fire Alarm on Capitol Hill, But Republicans Are In No Position to Punish Him

I've never been impressed by New York Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman and I'm even less impressed by him now for his sheer stupidity in pulling a fire alarm as Congress was trying to and eventually succeeded in averting a government shutdown on Saturday. 

Bowman might have attempted this as a delaying tactic, but it caused the evacuation of the Cannon Building as well as unnecessary panic. For his part, Bowman claims he made an "honest mistake", but his given the signage was clear his explanation seems implausible. His actions do certainly warrant an investigation by U.S. Capitol Police. 

Bowman's Squad ally AOC does him no favors when she makes excuses for his conduct. Yes, AOC is right to take Republicans to task for sticking behind New York Republican George Santos who has been charged with actual crimes, but that still doesn't absolve Bowman of his behavior. Bowman certainly didn't help himself when he circulated a list of talking points which referred to Republicans as Nazis.

While Bowman's Nazi analogy is out of line, Republicans aren't covering themselves in glory either. The aforementioned Santos called Bowman "an insurrectionist." House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (at least for the moment) likened Bowman's actions to January 6th. Mind you, McCarthy also supplied Tucker Carlson with thousands of hours of videotape in an attempt to make January 6th look like a normal tourist visit. Defeated, former President Trump also compared Bowman's actions to that of January 6th rioters. Of course, Trump has also called the January 6th rioters had "love in their heart." As such it is hard to take them with any degree of seriousness.

Ditto for New York Republican Elise Stefanik, who is also the third ranking member of the House Republican Conference. Stefanik claimed Bowman committed a felony. Nonsense. At most, Bowman could be charged with a misdemeanor which could result in 6 months in jail and/or a fine of $1,000. While Bowman is clearly in the wrong and not above the law, Republicans don't help their cause by exaggerating Bowman's actions while turning a blind eye to their own.

It is worth noting another New York Republican Nicole Malliotakis has put forward a resolution calling for Bowman's expulsion. But as long as Santos is welcome in Congress, her resolution is DOA. 

Despite GOP posturing and shenanigans, Bowman is a headache Democrats don't need. They might want to police themselves and get behind Bowman's primary challenger Michael Gerald so as to avoid further embarrassment in the long run.