Today’s Edition: A lot of explaining to do.

November 18, 2021

          Republicans will have a lot of explaining to do in 2022 for their failure to condemn Rep. Paul Gosar’s incitement to violence. On a party-line vote, the House of Representatives censured Gosar and removed him from all committees. Gosar joined twenty-three other representatives who have been censured for offenses including giving a speech from the House floor urging recognition of the Confederacy, severely beating a Senator who had just delivered an anti-slavery speech, molesting congressional aides, and selling appointments to the U.S. Military Academy. Seven of the censures were for using “unparliamentary language” during House proceedings. Gosar’s “depiction of himself killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking President Joseph Biden” falls within the range of conduct that warranted previous censures.

          House Resolution 789 recited the grounds for the censure (in part) as follows:

Whereas Representative Gosar issued a statement on November 9, 2021, defending the video as a “symbolic cartoon” and spreading hateful and false rhetoric about immigrants;

Whereas the leadership of the Republican Party has failed to condemn Representative Gosar’s threats of violence against the President of the United States and a fellow Member of Congress;

Whereas the Speaker of the House made clear that threats of violence against Members of Congress and the President of the United States should not be tolerated and called on the Committee on Ethics of the House and law enforcement to investigate the video;

Whereas depictions of violence can foment actual violence and jeopardize the safety of elected officials, as witnessed in this chamber on January 6, 2021;

Whereas violence against women in politics is a global phenomenon meant to silence women and discourage them from seeking positions of authority and participating in public life, with women of color disproportionately impacted.

          Under House rules, Gosar must “stand in the well” of the House of Representatives while the censure is read by the Speaker. Gosar released a response that claimed the depiction of him killing Rep. Ocasio-Cortez “does not incite violence [or] promote violence.” Notably, Gosar’s response does not include an apology, which Minority Speaker McCarthy claimed was his reason for opposing the censure of Gosar.

          Every GOP member of the House voted against the censure, except for Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. The cowardice of the rank-and-file GOP caucus is striking in light of the January 6th attack on the Capitol and the attempted assassinations of Representatives Steve Scalise and Gabby Giffords. The supposed “satire” of the “cartoon” published by Gosar will evaporate when, inevitably, political violence strikes again.

          Trump’s ugly calls to violence and misogyny during his term of office ultimately drove away enough suburban women and Independents to cause his defeat. Every GOP representative seeking re-election in 2022 will be forced to defend the refusal to censure Gosar. Granted, GOP voters who are undeterred by an insurrection will not care about Gosar’s fantasy killing of a Latina woman to promote his anti-immigrant stance. But some women and Independents will. If the issue puts a thumb on the scales in only a handful of contests, that may be enough to defend the Democratic majority in the House.

          Republicans know that the frequent need to defend the outrageous conduct of the radicals in the GOP conference is hurting their cause. See Politico, “GOP can't escape 'self-inflicted injuries' as they fight to reclaim House.” (“[Gosar’s] antics . . . forced them on defense just hours before Democrats are expected to take a high-stakes vote on Biden’s signature bill to expand the social safety net.”) The rationalizations and false equivalencies are fooling no one. Most people recognize that Paul Gosar is an extremist whose bizarre behavior is beyond the pale of civilized society. Indeed, Gosar’s siblings published an op-ed in August of this year calling on him to resign from Congress. See op-ed in NBCNews, “Our brother Paul Gosar backed Trump's lie and betrayed America. Has he no shame?” (“Unless your GOP colleagues step in, you are doomed to go down in history as a cautionary tale: a person who betrayed his family, his country and himself.”)       

          The lesson that Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, and Lauren Boebert will take from the failure of the GOP caucus to censure Gosar is that they should do more of the same—only worse. That will be painful to watch, but the further the GOP lurches to the extreme right, the more difficult it will be for them to flip the House. The GOP’s self-destructive tendency is no cause for complacency, but it should help us maintain perspective as we fret about Democratic squabbling over substantive policy issues.

          The same self-destructive dynamic is unfolding over the infrastructure and Build Back Better bills. The thirteen GOP House members who voted in favor of the infrastructure bill are receiving death threats—perhaps courtesy of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is publishing the phone numbers of those members. In a stark demonstration of the schizophrenia of the GOP, members who voted against the infrastructure bill for being “reckless” continue to claim credit for the resulting investment in their districts. As with their failure to support the censure of Gosar, Republicans who voted against the infrastructure will have a lot of explaining to do in 2022.

          But the most serious fissure in the GOP continues to be Trump’s assault on Mitch McConnell. The enmity between the two runs deep and threatens to upstage efforts of the GOP to gain control of the Senate. On Wednesday, Trump issued a statement in which he attacked McConnell for failing to stop the infrastructure bill. See Talking Points Memo, “Fly High, Mitch. You’re A Crow Now.” Trump said, in part,

          McConnell is a fool and he damn well better stop their ‘Dream of Communism Bill’ and keep his Senators in line, or he should resign now, something he should have done a long time ago. . . . Use the Debt Ceiling like it should have been used, you Old Broken Crow, to do so would hurt our Country far less than this horrible Bill.

          The fight between Trump and McConnell will make it more difficult for Trump to win the GOP nomination and harder for McConnell to regain control of the Senate—though both are possibilities that we ignore at our peril. But whatever difficulties we face as Democrats, Biden is not calling Schumer a “fool” who should “resign.” So, let’s try to keep Democratic disagreements in perspective and force Republicans to explain in 2022 whether they are for or against violence, investment in infrastructure, expanding Medicare, promoting renewable energy, raising children out of poverty, and educating the next generation of American workers. Republicans have a lot of explaining to do—and we should make them do it, early and often.

Insurrectionist / QAnon Shaman receives 41 months in prison.

          In a significant development, the highly recognizable face of the insurrection—the QAnon Shaman a.k.a. Jacob Chansley—was sentenced to 41 months in prison. The sentence is significant because Chansley is the first insurrectionist to plead guilty to a felony charge of obstructing Congress' certification of the 2020 vote. All previous sentences involved a misdemeanor plea to parading without a permit. Let’s hope that the tide is turning on the DOJ’s tepid prosecutions of insurrectionists. There are wannabe insurrectionists watching what happens. Forty-one months in prison is a life-changing event. Let’s hope future potential insurrectionists get the message.

Hospitalizations rising for fully vaccinated adults.

          Hospitalizations are rising among fully vaccinated adults. See NBCNews, “Hospitalizations rising among fully vaccinated in U.S., Fauci says.” Dr. Fauci explained that the increase in hospitalizations is occurring among patients who have been “vaccinated but not boosted.” (Of course, the unvaccinated account for the greatest number of hospital admissions by far.) If you are medically able to do so and satisfy the other criteria, get a booster shot! We cannot let up in the fight against the coronavirus. Biden is right to continue his emphasis on fighting the pandemic despite the progress we have made. Protect yourself and your friends, family, and complete strangers.

Concluding Thoughts.

          This edition of the newsletter spent more time discussing Trump and the bad actors in the GOP than usual. Readers sometimes comment that I should ignore Trump and discuss only Democratic candidates and causes. While I understand the sentiment, we can’t ignore the difficulties we face. Like it or not, Trump is the unchallenged leader of the Republican Party and is the leading contender for the 2024 GOP nomination. Those facts alone make him newsworthy, however much we would like to ignore him.

          But just as Trump is the strength of the Republican Party, he is also its Achilles heel. For Trump to succeed, he must subdue or destroy everyone who is not fully committed to him. He is driving moderates from the party and stripping the party of ideas and principles. That makes it more difficult for GOP candidates to compete in general elections (as opposed to primaries). So, do not let Trump’s control of the GOP cause undue concern. Trump’s attacks on McConnell on Wednesday are a reminder of how destructive his presence is within the GOP. As the election seasons draw nearer, Trump will become more outrageous, unhinged, spiteful, and chaotic in his leadership of the GOP. That should give us more reason to hope that we can prevail in 2022, but no reason for complacency.

          Talk to you tomorrow!