If you pay any attention to American politics, you’ve surely heard about the Saturday incident at the Cannon Office Building in Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman fell under intense scrutiny (and mockery) after he appeared to be caught red-handed pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon Office Building.
BREAKING: Capitol police release photo of Jamaal Bowman pulling the fire alarm. pic.twitter.com/XpUoEu9lU4
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 30, 2023
The prevailing theory is that Bowman pulled the juvenile stunt as a means to delay a critical vote on passing a bill meant to avert a government shutdown.
It’s a prevalent theory that Bowman has vociferously denied — even as he admitted to pulling the alarm in the first place late Saturday.
Statement from Congressman Jamaal Bowman. pic.twitter.com/v6qjdHNI7T
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) October 1, 2023
“I want to personally clear up confusion surrounding today’s events,” Bowman wrote in a statement. “Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door.
Should Bowman face repercussions for his fire alarm stunt?
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“I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused.
“But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote. It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.”
The beleaguered representative eventually added: “My hope is that no one will make more of this than it was. I am working hard every day, including today, to do my job, to do it well, and deliver for my constituents.”
Fair enough Rep. Bowman. This writer won’t make more of this than it was. This writer will actually take you completely at face value and acquiesce that you had no idea what you were doing.
That leaves just two options, however: Rep. Bowman is either aggressively blind or incredibly dumb — neither of which is a particularly sterling endorsement of the progressive “squad” member.
Why such a harsh assessment of Bowman?
Well… just look at this viral image of the door that Bowman was trying to “use,” courtesy of reporter John Bresnahan:
This is the door that @RepBowman used to leave the Cannon Building pic.twitter.com/OiUVB0iyJ4
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) September 30, 2023
For anyone who’s never been a part of civilized society before, the above image is the standard image of a door that is rather clearly demarcated as an “Emergency Exit Only.”
So if Bowman was indeed not attempting to obstruct this vote (of note, Bowman did vote along with the continuing resolution, which does genuinely raise the question of why he’d want to delay that, though perhaps by then, Bowman already knew his fire alarm stunt had failed and thus toed the line), and this was an honest mistake… boy, what an honest mistake it is.
Because if Bowman really had no nefarious or ulterior motives for this stunt, it just leaves the following possibilities — and questions:
- Bowman has never seen a fire alarm or emergency door — Does America really need a representative who is so sequestered in his echo chamber that he doesn’t recognize what most 4th graders would?
- Bowman can’t read — Wouldn’t this present its own can of worms for a sitting U.S. lawmaker?
- Bowman can’t see — Wouldn’t this also be an issue for a U.S. lawmaker?
- Bowman doesn’t care — Wouldn’t it be nice to have some Republicans with a backbone who’ll actually act against this nonsense?
As to that last bullet point, it does appear that Republicans are gearing up for some sort of punishment to be levied against Bowman, with possible punishments ranging from censure to expulsion.
Given that Republicans have been rather ineffectual these last couple of years and Democrats haven’t cared in decades, this writer is not going to hold his breath that anything happens to Bowman.
But in all seriousness: If a grown man cannot discern between a door and alarm that is clearly marked for fires and emergencies, and a standard door meant to whisk you to the great outdoors (again, this is his explanation), how can anyone trust this man to discern between issues that will actually affect his constituents?
You can’t.
