Rochelle Riley | Detroit Free Press

Wochit

It is absolutely ridiculous.

Democrats drummed two of their most important members out of Congress – Rep. John Conyers of Michigan and Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota – before ethics committee investigations could be completed into allegations against them of sexual misbehavior.

That’s not the most ridiculous part.

They did this without calling for the resignation of Donald Trump.

That’s not the most ridiculous part.

Lawrence Jackson, AP

Here’s the ridiculous part: Gov. Rick Snyder has set the special election to replace Conyers for next November.

Next year.

Yes, 11 months from now.

So, Snyder feels that the 13th Congressional District is so unimportant that it doesn’t need representation in the U.S. Congress for nearly a year?

Let the lawsuits begin.

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"It's going to be a great void for 11 months," the Rev. Wendell Anthony, pastor at Fellowship Chapel and president of the Detroit NAACP, said in an interview with me on 910AM Superstation. "...The governor is saving money doing it at the time of the regular election, but can you put a monetary value on the people's right to representation? If it was me, I'd rather have it sooner. There are so many issues pressing upon us, the budget. If the GOP gets this budget through, next year they're going after entitlements. That's how they're going to pay for it... health care, education, the ability for parents, women to be able to nurture their children, roads, infrastructure, mental health, those things that are people-oriented.

"One of the reasons that Republicans are so happy is that Conyers and Al Franken (are gone). Remember the (Jeff) Sessions hearing? John Conyers questioned the hell out of him. Al Franken questioned the hell out of him and checked him... Now they are gleeful that they have these individuals, stalwarts on civil rights, are gone."

So, here’s where we are. The second most important question that lingers after Conyers and Franken leave Washington is this: The Senate and House ethics committee investigations into Franken and Conyers end with their resignations. But what about the investigation into other members of Congress accused of sexual misbehavior who may have signed secret agreements with taxpayer dollars to silence the accusers?

The most important question is: What will the Dems do after the loss of two members who believe in civil rights for all Americans, including the right to health care, the right to vote and the right to live in peace (without global thermonuclear war)?

It has been clear since last November that the GOP cares little about these things. Its members appear uninterested in: avoiding World War III; finding out whether Russia really did elect an American president; creating a system of health care for all Americans; or honoring America’s legacy of immigration, which brought ALL of their families to this country, while ensuring national security.

The Democratic Party, unable to make a dent in changing policy in a Republican-controlled Congress, has decided to take the high road and take the lead in changing the sexually abhorrent environment in which women have had to live, work and survive for decades, sometimes in silent rage. But in changing the environment, the Dems may win the battle but lose the war.

And this no time to lose the war.

The Dems, in their rudderless, disjointed, unraveled-since-last-November stupor, are vital right now for America. Lord help us.

Donald Trump does not care about people. He does not care about the impact of any of his decisions, which he makes as compulsively as a 6-year-old child.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Ima

So, what do the Dems do? They call for two of their members to leave – without planning what’s next, without looking at what's needed for the 13th District that includes a rebounding-from-bankruptcy Detroit that has the attention and apparent support of the world.

In the 13th, they've left what’s next up to the sharks and to a Republican governor whose gall knows no limits.

The sharks are the dozen or two folks who will vie for Conyers’ seat because they:

a) need a job or

b) want the stature of being in Congress, whether they are qualified or not or

c) need a job.

Not everyone will be a bad choice, but many will. Conyers' congressional staffers are allowed to remain in the office, fielding constituent concerns until a new representative is elected. But they are not elected officials and can only do so much.

And the governor? In case you missed it, Snyder just appointed one of the employees indicted in the Flint water crisis to serve as chair of the new Public Health Advisory Commission, which is designed to ensure the safety and health of all residents. Eden Wells, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the tragedy, couldn’t insure the safety of Flint children being poisoned by lead-tainted water. How is she the right choice?

So his decision to leave the 13th without leadership is in keeping with other decisions he has made regarding people of color and people of little means.

Congress, like America, is at a tragic crossroads – and those who stand between Trump and chaos are becoming fewer and farther between.

Now that we’ve spent weeks talking about the allegations tied to two fallen leaders, it is past time to talk about the leadership Congress is losing.