The Good News: Paul Gosar was Censured; The Bad News: Most Republicans Do Not Care What He Did

Voters who need to be reminded which political party to vote for in the 2022 elections should take away a valuable lesson from today's (November 17, 2021) vote in the House of Representatives to censure Arizona Congressional District Four Representative Paul Gosar.

The lesson is to vote Democrat because Republicans, in a 207 to 2 lopsided margin (Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger being the two,) decided to side with Mr. Gosar, the fringe white nationalist who posted a video on social media showing the killing of fellow Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and attacking President Joe Biden.

This is the same Paul Gosar who has repeatedly catered to the alternative reality members of the Trump Zone, may have participated in the organizing of the January 6, 2021, Domestic Terrorist Attacks on the Nation's Capitol, and whose own siblings think is unhinged and unworthy of public office. 

In a case of putting decency and country over party, Republicans crashed and burned big time today.

Just watch how Gosar and Kevin McCarthy said on the House Floor today to illustrate how far the Republican Party has shifted from the mainstream.

Instead of issuing an apology to Representative Ocasio-Cortez or President Biden, Mr. Gosar said he was not attempting to stoke violence but trying to showcase problems with the current immigration system and reach out to younger voters.

That excuse may work with his cultish base (please click on the video link here to see some examples) but not those grounded in reality and decency.

Spineless worm (aka Republican Leader) Kevin McCarthy, the person that did not discipline Marjorie Taylor Greene for listing the phone numbers of the 13 House Republicans who voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill (many of these people have received death threats,) rushed to Gosar's defense, claiming the Democrats were abusing power and claiming (wrongly as usual) that Nancy Pelosi and other members of the majority approved of the behavior of their members when they made inartful comments.

To her credit, Representative Ocasio-Cortez blasted McCarthy afterward, saying on the floor of the House:

"What I believe is unprecedented, is for a member of House leadership, of either party, to be unable to condemn incitement of violence against a member of this body... What is so hard, what is so hard about saying this is wrong? This is not about me. This is not about Representative Gosar. This is about what we are willing to accept... Our work here matters. Our example matters. Lastly, when the Republican leader (McCarthy) rose to talk about how there are all of these double standards and lists a litany of all these different things, not once did he list an example of a member of Congress threatening the life of another...If you believe that this behavior should not be accepted, then vote yes. It's really that simple."

Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the censure of Mr. Gosar was important to demonstrate that violence and harassment against women in Congress and threats against President Biden will not be tolerated.

The two Democrats running to succeed Gosar in the 2022 elections offered their perspective on today's censure vote.

Delina DiSanto offered:

It has been a long time coming to censure Rep Paul Gosar and take him off his committee assignments. This resolution to censure him and strip him of his committee assignments is the first time a sitting House member has been censured in more than 10 years.

 

He has been using American's tax dollars and Congress' resources to be immature, produces videos, post memes, invoke conspiracy theories, pals with Proud Boys and Oathkeepers, leads in the Capitol insurrection, and so much more. He has not cared about Congressional District 4 and the issues facing struggling Arizonans, especially in rural areas. He'd rather be partisan and loyal to Trumpism, not his country. 

 

This is a great first step for members of Congress to hold a member accountable. I'm hoping the Jan 6th commission finds him guilty of being a traitor and he gets expelled from Congress and arrested after he is expelled. I'm not betting on 2/3 of Congress to expel him, though, and that is why I'm running to defeat him at the ballot box and I need everyone to get behind my campaign. Visit www.delinadisanto.com, get to know me, my platform and know I will work for Arizonans. We must get our country back on track and move forward for all Arizonans. 

Judy Stahl issued a statement that read:

“As a long-time constituent of Paul Gosar, I have been continually disgusted and dismayed by his hateful rhetoric, his refusal to support policies that would improve Arizona lives, and his continued attempts to undermine our democratic system. When he first posted his video, I called for his resignation, because I believed his actions reached a new low. I stand by my previous calls--Gosar is not fit for office. That being said, I am grateful to see the House of Representatives taking decisive action to hold. Representative Gosar is accountable."

When voters go to the polls in 2022, remember the vast majority of the Republican Party sided with a far-right unhinged zealot in Paul Gosar who put forth a video of killing a Congresswoman and threatening the President of the United States.

This is the same Republican Party whose majority have been continually fighting to suppress Democracy, obstruct the fight against the Coronavirus, and mostly vote against anything from the Biden/Harris Administration that lifts people up, expands the middle class, and moves the country forward.

Does this seem like a political party you would want to give the keys to power to?

This is not a trick question.