Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) on Tuesday defended Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) against a resolution to have her censured for participating in a peaceful protest.
Buck stood up on the House floor to defend Tlaib after several Republicans offered motions to censure her because she spoke at a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“To compare a modern democracy with a repressive terrorist state is wrong, but it is also wrong for Congress to take this action at a time when we have serious issues that we face,” Buck said. “To take an action and take down the words, to strike the words, to censure a fellow member, no matter how incorrect we believe she may be, is wrong.”
“We lower ourselves when we try to take action against someone else for their words,” he remarked. “We all go back to our districts, and thank goodness social media hasn’t caught every one of us with everything that we say back in our districts, because we would all be standing here.”
Buck said members of his party picked the “wrong time” to censure someone for their words.
“Let’s pass a resolution condemning this kind of language, condemning anti-semitism on college campuses and elsewhere, but it is absolutely wrong to vote for this motion,” he concluded.
A move to block the resolution was voted down 213-208 after Buck spoke, signaling a censure of Tlaib was likely.
