Culture wars intensify as legislators face censures, expulsions
Legislators face a growing trend of censures and expulsions amid an intensifying culture war. Censures and expulsions in some state legislatures have become a growing consequence of the intensifying culture wars across the country. In Montana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma – states with Republican supermajorities in the House – conservative legislators have led the charge in disciplining lawmakers on the other side of the aisle. Democratic legislators have been expelled from their legislative seat, barred from the House floor, or removed from their committees for a variety of reasons, including allegedly violating parliamentary procedures in the course of their dissent. “Every time we read about one of these, we hear that it is historic in that state's context,” said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at University of California, San Diego in an interview with ABC News. The country is facing an increasingly polarized political climate, with debates around transgender rights, gun...