Massachusetts Democrat Expelled from State House after Conviction for Assaulting a Woman http://t.co/v4edEKSlrf
— National Review (@NROcorner) February 7, 2014When I see a headline like this, I always wonder what color the Democrat in question is. I've been surprised that way before. It turns out that the Dorchester Democrat is both Hispanic and black, as Katherine Connell on NRO's corner doesn't quite say, but you can't avoid race in this story:
Though Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Governor Deval Patrick had called on Henriquez to resign following his conviction, the New England branch of the NAACP, an organization of which Henriquez is a member, was not inclined to pass judgment, and sent an open letter to members of the house urging them to vote against or abstain from voting on the measure.[Emphasis added]
Here's a picture:
6 months in jail for lawmaker Henriquez | Dorchester Democrat sentenced to 6 months in assault case, By Maria Cramer and Michael Levenson, Boston Globe,January 15, 2014.
The NAACP wants Henriques not expelled in spite of being convicted, because (a) he might get off on appeal and (b) what the hell, it's a misdemeanor, so the State House doesn't have to expel him.
Datechguy writes
Seriously, the NAACP, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the country is going to bat for Carlos Henriquez? Why on earth would they do this?
There are two basis on which NEAC makes the request. Firstly, the matter of expulsion is premature since Representative Henriquez’s case is under appeal. The House of Representatives must respect the Massachusetts judicial process and let Representative Henriquez’s case before the Appeals Court proceed, without jumping to judgment before the appellate decision is rendered.
Seriously? A conviction isn’t good enough, he has to lose the appeal as well. Cripes with a good set of lawyers to delay the process he could stay long enough to become speaker.
Secondly, while NEAC respects the jury’s decision, there is currently no rule for expulsion that applies to misdemeanor convictions. Representative Henriquez was duly elected by the electorate and there is no legal basis upon which the House of Representatives can properly act.
So there is no specific rule for expelling a member of the Massachusetts House if they assault a women who refuses them sex. That’s seriously the argument the NAACP is making?
NAACP supports Carlos Henriquez IN WRITING! is it a national story yet?,February 7th, 2014
The NAACP is defending Henriques because he's black and they're black. This is far from being the most despicable thing the NAACP has done on these lines. In their death penalty activism, they spend a lot of time defending people who are guilty of the most terrible murders—simply because they're black. See Troy Davis, Lawrence Brewer, Wyatt Matthews And The Disparate Death Penalty .
