House Speaker Pelosi pushes to ban gendered language
Democrats propose ban on words like 'mother' and 'father'; senior policy analyst at the Independent Women's Forum Patrice Onwuka weighs in.
We learned last month that my colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, had a friendly relationship for years with a Chinese spy. The Chinese Communist Party official funneled cash to Swalwell’s campaign and even influenced hiring decisions in his congressional office.
Congressman Swalwell sits on the House Intelligence Committee and had weekly access to highly-sensitive, classified material as a result.
Yet, he won’t lose access to this information because members of Congress are far too often treated as a special political class, exempt from the rules that apply to the rest of our country. In this case, members of Congress are granted access to classified material without needing to go through the extensive security clearance process used to determine access to classified information that every civilian and member of the military goes through.
This is wrong and needs to change.
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When I was in the military, I had a TS-SCI and Q security clearance.
To obtain my clearance, I was interviewed and that including being asked psychological questions, allegiance questions, drug-use questions, lifestyle questions and even submitting to polygraphs in some cases.
Then, my family and a person I knew at every single place I had lived, worked or attended school was interviewed to verify that the biography I provided was accurate.
Next, these people gave the investigator names of people I knew whose names I did not provide so that they could also be interviewed.
My finances, bank records and more were also scrutinized.
As a member of Congress and former member of the military, I know from firsthand experience there is a big difference between being elected and being vetted to safeguard sensitive information.
As a result, I believe all members of Congress should be required to obtain a security clearance that can be taken away if they violate the public trust.
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I put forward this proposal to be included in the rules package for the House of Representatives this week, which are the procedures that the House of Representatives will operate by for the next two years. Apparently to defend Rep. Swalwell and other members who leak information to their allies in the liberal media, Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked my amendment.
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Speaker Pelosi’s dedication to protecting those who leak classified information is even more abhorrent when you consider what was included in the rules package:
First, she included a provision striking so-called "gendered language" from the rules of the House of Representatives. This includes removing words she deems offensive such as "mother," "father," "son" and "daughter"—essentially restricting the House of Representatives from using these descriptions. This is yet another step toward forcing their radical, condescending, repressive and discriminatory views on all of us.
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Second, she further consolidated her own power by eliminating a vital tool used by the minority party to ensure the American people are represented.
For more than a century, the House rules have provided the minority with one last chance to make their voices heard before a bill is passed by introducing amendments to the final text and guaranteeing a vote on those amendments. Under this rules package, this safeguard—called the "Motion To Recommit"—has been eliminated.
Speaker Pelosi is not stopping there. A third provision in the rules package codifies censorship over members of the House, subjecting them to disciplinary action if they post or share information deemed to be "distorted or manipulated."
The question, of course, is deemed by who?
The tech giants so eager to assert control over what is allowed to be shared don’t have a great track record when it comes to deciding what information is accurate.
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In the weeks leading up to the November election, for example, Twitter banned the account of the New York Post for a story discussing an investigation into Hunter Biden even though the Department of Justice later confirmed the investigation was taking place. This rule change will hand Democrats and their allies in Silicon Valley another weapon to wield against Republicans whose opinions they dislike.
These are just a few examples of many that show a clear trend: Speaker Pelosi is more interested in maintaining her position atop the Washington, D.C. political class and satiating the radical desires of her followers than protecting our country’s national security.
Congressman Swalwell and other members of Congress from any party who do not take the responsibility to safeguard classified information seriously would lose access to this information if they were anybody else.
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Yet again, however, the Pelosi Doctrine is "do as I say, not as I do."
Our country is less safe as a result.
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