10 Dems & The Shameful Censure of Congressman Green

This Is No Way to Stand Against the Attack on Democracy.

Photo Credit: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-censure-al-green-protest-health-care-1235289363/

This is the moment ten Democrats decided to censure Representative Al Green. They made their choice—not to stand with us, not to fight for democracy, not to protect those who will suffer under Trump’s policies—but to censure one of their own. Instead of exposing the real threat, they punished defiance.

But rules, when selectively enforced, are not justice. And order, when demanded by the oppressor, is not peace. Green’s protest wasn’t an act of chaos; it was an act of clarity. I watched as he stood, cane in hand, and called out Trump’s lie that he had a "mandate" to gut Medicaid. He did what we expect leaders to do—he spoke truth to power. And for that, he was punished.

Republicans howled in outrage. The same people who defended January 6 rioters, who shielded Trump from every consequence, who have turned Congress into a circus of white grievance, suddenly demanded discipline. They shouted Green down, mockingly chanting na-na-na-na, hey hey, goodbye, like a schoolyard mob. It was expected. What I didn’t expect—what I still cannot stomach—is that ten Democrats later validated their outrage by voting to censure him.

The Democratic Party calls itself the party of we—the party that stands together, that defends democracy as a collective force. But these ten Democratic congressmen chose to vote to censure Green, choosing I over we, self-preservation over solidarity, capitulation over courage. They didn’t just fail Green; they failed us.

I’ve heard the excuses—decorum, order, focus. Some claim censuring Green was a way to shift attention back to pressing issues like Medicare and Social Security, as if this meaningless gesture was the real obstacle to progress. But that excuse collapses under scrutiny. If protecting social programs were truly the priority, why waste time legitimizing a Republican stunt instead of exposing the real threat? We are fighting for survival, and they are worried about appearances.

Some Democrats still believe that if we follow the rules, the rules will protect us. But the rules have already been rewritten. Trumpism thrives not on governance but on grievance. Republicans violate norms because they know Democrats will not retaliate. Worse, they know we will punish our own.

This censure achieves nothing but self-inflicted damage. It lets Republicans claim "both sides" hold their own accountable, even as they let insurrectionists run unchecked. It keeps Democrats on the defensive, bending over backward to appear “reasonable” in a political environment where reason is no longer a currency of power.

We do not win by self-policing while our opponents seize control. We do not win by mistaking decorum for strength. This was an unforced error, a moment where we could have drawn a line but instead chose to play by rules that no longer exist.

And history will remember who, in the face of real threats, chose to censure a man for disrupting a speech while others worked to dismantle democracy itself.