Montana House Rep. Zooey Zephyr's censure shows that American standards of political decorum are failing
Retrieved on:
Thursday, May 4, 2023
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Zephyr sued Republican leaders of the Montana House of Representatives for barring her from proceedings on the floor.
Key Points:
- Zephyr sued Republican leaders of the Montana House of Representatives for barring her from proceedings on the floor.
- I am a political scientist focusing on American politics, minority politics and prejudice reduction.
- I have written and researched about the impact of prejudice in American politics as well as how public policy affects minorities.
- But previous standards of decorum appear now to be diminishing in state politics.
What happened
- With this vote, the Montana House of Representatives barred Zephyr from the House floor for the remainder of the session, which normally ends in May.
- This means that while Zephyr can vote remotely on measures, she cannot speak on the House floor.
- The only person silencing Rep. Zephyr is Rep. Zephyr.
- Zephyr’s censure comes amid a wave of efforts nationwide to restrict access to gender-affirming health care.
Understanding rules of decorum
- The U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures have specific rules governing decorum, or how lawmakers should behave while in and outside of legislative sessions.
- These include rules allowing the House speaker or other political leaders to choose who can speak and for how long.
- Legislatures, at both the state level and Congress, can choose to reprimand – or remove – members who breach the rules.
- Using parliamentary rules to silence and censure lawmakers also violates the spirit of those rules, according to Jefferson.
These rules have a long history
- Current Senate rules are also heavily influenced by Jefferson’s manual.
- Jefferson wrote these rules during a tumultuous time in the nation’s history.
- He saw the rules as “the only weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against” the abuses of the majority.
The censuring is a failure in political civility
- I believe this is because of a breakdown in civility and a lack of empathy in American politics.
- Informal norms in American politics – such as civility toward all colleagues – tend to promote political cooperation and contribute to the functioning of a healthy democracy.
- During such a polarizing time, I think it is more important than ever to exercise political restraint and compassion toward those unlike ourselves.