THE GOP IN CONGRESS SHOULS BE CALLED THE ”NO CAUCUS”
…Lauren Boebert, Matt
Gaetz & Marjorie Taylor Greene are the GOP ring-leaders
Even
though the resolution passed 362-63, those 63 votes were GOP votes against the
concept of NATO
63 Republicans bucked their party to vote in opposition to a resolution in support of NATO. Those who did so offered a myriad of reasons. The vote came as something of a surprise, after all, given the ongoing war in Ukraine and the general spirit of camaraderie that NATO has enjoyed from American leaders as a result.
Among those 63, though, were several dozen legislators for whom coming out on the wrong end of a lopsided vote was very familiar.
Much has been written about this group of legislators before, labeling them the “nay caucus”. It includes several familiar GOP names, like Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), 56 “nay” votes, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) 79 “nay” votes and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) 51 “Nay” votes,. But the scale at which this group has opposed legislation that was destined not only to pass but to pass with the support of most of their caucus is remarkable.
On the Republican side, the legislator who has cast the most “nays” in such votes is Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.). He has voted “nay” slightly more often: 99 times out of those 139 votes.
Since the beginning of the 117th Congress in January 2021, there have been just140 votes in which less than a tenth of the House has voted in opposition to NATO. Of those votes, more Republicans than Democrats joined the minority. Many involved just a handful of legislators voting in opposition to the proposal, but more than 30 involved at least two dozen legislators voting “nay.” Of those 31 votes, 29 were led by House Republicans, and most were supporters of Donald Trump, who was against NATO.
The resolution states that the House is voicing its "unequivocal support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization," and tells President Biden to declare his "support for shared democratic values" and his commitment "to enhancing NATO's capacity to strengthen democratic institutions within NATO member, partner, and aspirant countries."
Of the 63 Republicans who voted against reaffirming support for NATO, as expected, they included Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Chip Roy (R-TX).
"NATO is a relic of the Cold War. Why should Americans pay for Europe's defense?" Thomas Massie tweeted in defense of his "no" vote Tuesday.
The vote came amid Russia's ongoing brutal invasion of Ukraine. The Russian government, led by President Vladimir Putin, has been working to weaken the NATO alliance in order to expand the country's power and influence in Eastern Europe.
House Democrats quickly condemned the 63 Republican lawmakers who voted against the resolution, which was sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). "My resolution is simple. It reaffirms that democratic principles are at the heart of NATO and calls for a new NATO center dedicated to the protection of democracy worldwide," Connolly tweeted on Tuesday evening. "63 of Putin's Puppets voted against it."
"Just now 63 House Republicans, nearly one-third of the entire GOP caucus, voted against support for NATO 'as an alliance founded on democratic principles,'" Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) tweeted on Tuesday evening. "The GOP truly is Putin's Party."
Even
some House Republicans expressed confusion about why their colleagues voted
against the resolution. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) chastised his fellow
Republicans for "showing Putin sympathy."
"I
don't even have a clue why ... I mean every no vote should be asked repeatedly
by their local papers why," Kinzinger tweeted on Tuesday
night.
"I hope my party can finally remember where our foundations are and actually say that we're not going to be Putin-sympathetic anymore," he added in a video posted to Twitter, adding that his hope was likely "wishful thinking."
The most
‘nay’ votes
Below
are 21 Republicans who voted “nay” as part of roll-call votes
in which no more than a tenth of the House cast a vote in opposition.
The cutoff for the most Democrat’s voting “nay” was 25 times with a “nay”
votes, That was the most cast by any
single Democrat in these same 140 votes. Forty-eight Republicans voted “nay”
in these votes at least 10 times.
(You will notice that the least number of "Nay" votes of these 21 Republicans was 28 "Nay" votes, and the most was 99 "Nay" votes..)
Rep.
Thomas Massie (Ky.), 99 “nay” votes
Rep.
Chip Roy (Tex.), 93 “nay” votes
Rep.
Andy Biggs (Ariz.), 85 “nay” votes
Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), 79 “nay” votes
Rep.
Ralph Norman (S.C.), 73 “nay” votes
Rep. Bob
Good (Va.), 57 “nay” votes
Rep.
Matthew M. Rosendale (Mont.), 56 “nay” votes
Rep.
Lauren Boebert (Colo.), 56 “nay” votes
Rep.
Matt Gaetz (Fla.), 51 “nay” votes
Rep.
Scott Perry (Pa.), 49 “nay” votes
Rep.
Mary E. Miller (Ill.), 49 “nay” votes
Rep.
Clay Higgins (La.), 49 “nay” votes
Rep.
Andy Harris (Md.), 47 “nay” votes
Rep.
Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), 47 “nay” votes
Rep.
Louie Gohmert (Tex.), 44 “nay” votes
Rep.
Jody Hice (Ga.), 40 “nay” votes
Rep. Ken
Buck (Colo.), 35 “nay” votes
Rep. Randy Weber (Tex.), 30 “nay" votes
Rep.
Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.), 30 “nay” votes
Rep.
Lance Gooden (Tex.), 29 “nay” votes
Rep. Tom
McClintock (Calif.), 28 “nay” votes
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