REX TILLERSON DID CORRECTLY CALL THE PRESIDENT AS HE SAW HIM

 21 HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE AGAINST AWARDING CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL TO JAN 6^th CAPITOL POLICE

 

                             …Trump supporters riot at the Capitol on January 6^th

 

The GOP continues to say the Capitol riot on January 6^th was a “normal tourist visit”

 

The measure to award the congressional medal passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support from 406 lawmakers. But the 21 Republicans who voted “no” drew immediate condemnation from a number of their colleagues, and the vote underscored the current tensions in Congress.  And this occurred as some GOP lawmakers actually tried to whitewash the events of that day

Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) he called the “no votes“ a sad commentary on the HouseGOP, while Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) declared, “How you can vote no to this is beyond me.”

“Then again, denying there was an insurrection is as well,” Kinzinger, a vocal critic of former president Donald Trump, said in a tweet. “To the brave Capitol (and DC metro PD) thank you. To the 21: they will continue to defend your right to vote no anyway.”  Defending their right is one thing, but for them to vote “no” to the very people that were protecting the U.S. Congress, that were killed or seriously injured is disgusting.

In an interview on CNN, Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) called “the 21 no votes a new low for this crowd.”

“They voted before to overturn an election. But in their vote today, they kind of sealed the deal of basically affiliating with the mob,” Connolly said. “They are now part of the insurrectionist mob. They brought enormous disrepute and dishonor on themselves in not honoring the brave men and women who defended the Capitol of the United States and everybody in it, but also defending the symbol of democracy in the world, not just here in the United States.”

In March, when an initial version of the legislation was brought to the House floor, a dozen Republicans voted against the measure. Many of those who voted “no” said they objected to the use of the term “insurrectionists” in the resolution.  They seriously don’t think that what happened on the 6th wasn’t an insurrection.

The GOP lawmakers included Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Andy Harris (Md.), Lance Gooden (Tex.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Michael Cloud (Tex.), Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Greg Steube (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and John Rose (Tenn.).  There were others, but these were the group that seem to be the core of those that are trying to say it was a “normal tourist visit”.  Since when does a “normal visit” cause deaths and massive destruction?

The House and Senate have remained in a standoff for three months over whether to honor all the law enforcement who responded on Jan. 6, or to award the Congressional Gold Medal to one officer in particular, Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who single-handedly diverted an angry mob away from the Senate chamber.

The Senate had already unanimously voted to give the Gold Medal exclusively to Goodman. The medal, that is bestowed by Congress, is a symbol of national appreciation for distinguished achievements. What these people did deserved the appreciation.

Ultimately, both chambers agreed to slightly modify the House legislation. Four Gold Medals will be awarded: one for the Capitol Police, one for the D.C. police, another for the Smithsonian Institution and another to be displayed inside the Capitol building along with a plaque that names all law enforcement agencies who helped repel the rioters that day.

On Tuesday, Texas' Lance Gooden, one of the 12 House Republicans who voted against the legislation in March, voted in favor of the new bill.  But the number of opposing votes grew, with 10 other House Republicans switching their votes from “yes” to “no.”

Those Republicans are Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Barry Moore (Ala.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matthew M. Rosendale (Mont.), Chip Roy (Tex.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Mary Miller (Ill.).

“Some of those who voted “no” on Tuesday said they objected to the use of the words ‘temple’ or ‘insurrection’ in the resolution.”

It surprised no one when Marjorie Taylor Greene said: “I wouldn’t call it an insurrection”.

Some House Republicans, such as Georgia’s Andrew Clyde, have sought to recast the violent mob’s actions on Jan. 6 as being little different from a “normal tourist visit” to the Capitol.  Other Republicans have sought to play down that day’s events in different ways.

During the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, rioters attempted to break into the House chamber, punching and busting glass, resulting in the death of Ashli Babbitt, whom police shot when she attempted to climb through a shattered glass door.

Arizona Paul Gosar has previously claimed that Babbitt had been “executed” by the police.  That was even though she defied police warnings and the officer who fatally shot her was later cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

Gosar did so again, claiming during a House hearing that a Capitol Police officer was “lying in wait” for Babbitt and that she was “executed,” Politico reported.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was ousted from the House Republican leadership over her criticism of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, she denounced Gosar’s remarks.

“On January 6, as the violent mob advanced on the House chamber, I was standing near Gosar and I helped him open his gas mask,” Cheney said in a tweet. “The Capitol Police led us to safety. It is disgusting and despicable to see Gosar lie about that day and smear the men and women who defended us.”

It is sad that so many Republicans are taking Gosar’s attitude toward what was an obvious insurrection against our democracy.  As Liz Cheney says, It is despicable that the Republicans continue to lie about that terrible day in our nation’s Capitol.

Copyright G. Ater 2021