Hypocrisy Unbroken
Listen to the Faux Freedom Fighters
Call her Rep. Marjorie “Black Power” Taylor Greene; henceforth, know him as Rep. Louie “Kumbaya” Gohmert and thank Sen. Ted “Soul on Ice” Cruz for all of their full-throated support for declaring Juneteenth a national holiday acknowledging the end of slavery.
Now, Greene of Georgia, Gohmert and Cruz, both of Texas, et al can get back to the important work at hand of restricting voting rights, battling against teaching critical race theory in schools, defending trump for inciting the Capitol riot and loosening those overly harsh rules that keep lawmakers from bringing their guns to Congress.
The vote was unanimous in the Senate where hypocrisy rules and in the House, in a curious way, the 14 Republicans who voted against the bill, may at least have kept their integrity as honest racists, including Reps. Andrew Clyde, Ronny Jackson, Doug LaMalfa, Tom McClintock, Ralph Norman, Mike Rogers, Matt Rosendale, Andy Biggs, Mo Brooks, Scott DesJarlais, Tom Tiffany, Thomas Massie, Paul Gosar and Chip Roy. Funnily, but 11 of the Republicans are from southern states, if you include Texas and Arizona, and I do. Imagine that, a congressman from a state that fought to defend slavery votes against a bill to honor the day slavery ended. That is rich.
Now, I can’t say this for certain, but I have a funny, sneaky feeling that some if not all of those who voted either for or against a Juneteenth holiday may understand its meaning. Maybe they think it really honors the month of June and its place as a precursor to summer and others may believe that Juneteenth has something to do with African Americans, maybe the day when Willie Mays made that amazing catch in deep centerfield.
For the record and possibly the education of the esteemed members of Congress, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery, when on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers traveled to Texas to announce that enslaved African Americans had been were emancipated. But why quibble about details.
Here’s a bit about those ethical Republicans who voted their conscience.
* Greene: The crazy lady from the Peach State has already gotten way too much ink.
* Clyde: The Georgia Republican said the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was more like a “normal tourist visit” and then refused to shake hands with Michael Fanone, a Washington, D.C., police officer who was assaulted by pro-Trump rioters while protecting the Capitol.
* Jackson: The Texan was previously the White House doctor under trump when he declared that trump was basically the sanest, most together person on the planet and who now is demanding that President Biden undergo competency tests.
* LaMalfa: The California representative voted against Juneteenth because it “could lead to further racial division as it now appears we have two different Independence Days” and because it would cost too much to pay federal workers for another day off. Interesting logic, Mr. LaMalfa, why not just make it illegal to be black or is it already?
* McClintock: A representative from California, McClintock signed on to a lawsuit to overturn the 2020 election results and voted against trump’s second impeachment, making McClintock a truly independent voice of the people.
* Norman: The lawmaker from South Carolina said he’s had it up to his ears with federal holidays and asked if next, “Are we going to do one for the Native American Indians?” God, that would be insane. Famously, Norman also rejected claims that race had anything to do with his vote.
* Rogers: They don’t get any redder than Alabama where Rogers lives and was really big on forming a “Space Force” to battle off intergalactic attacks by aliens, including Marjorie “Black Power” Taylor Greene. He also got ink for making a homophobic joke while he has pressed for a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions.
* Rosendale: If nothing else, the Big Sky state congressman has been consistent as he voted against Juneteenth and against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to Capitol Police officers killed at the January insurrection. Calling a spade a space, Rosenthal said the Juneteenth legislation was intended to make “Americans feel bad and convince them that our country is evil.” Well, yeah.
* Biggs: The representative of the Grand Canyon state worked hard but lost in his effort to get Arizona to reject certifying the state’s vote for Biden but he had nothing to do with the Capitol riot, unless you believe one of the rally organizers who said that Biggs helped plan the “Stop the Steal” rally.
* Brooks: The Alabamian has been sued by a California congressman for having incited the Capitol riot and helping the rioters. Also named in the suit are trump; his son, Donald Jr. and Rudy Giuliani.
* DesJarlais: This evil-looking Volunteer State rep was tweeting about election fraud, claiming trump won, before the votes were counted and he said that trump did not incite the insurrection but instead “has announced a smooth, orderly and seamless transfer of power.”
* Tiffany: To paraphrase the Wisconsin lawmaker, there you go again. Tiffany said the vote for Juneteenth was another Democratic effort to “to balkanize our country and fuel separatism by creating a race-based ‘Independence Day’” “to turn Americans against one another and foment division based on skin color instead of uniting us.”
* Massie: The Kentuckian who is not an immunologist and needs to comb his hair more, said last week that he hasn’t been vaccinated for COVID-19 because he’s protected as he had previously tested positive for the virus. He also is leading a Republican move to oust Dr. Anthony Fauci as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, claiming that Fauci misled the public during the pandemic. That’s rich.
* Gosar: Tim Gosar said that his brother, Paul, a congressman from Arizona, “played a big role” in the attack on the Capitol. Gosar voted against certifying Biden’s victory and accused Capitol police for having “executed” a protestor who was part of the angry, violent mob.
* Chip Roy: The Texas lawmaker gave lynching a shout out at a hearing on anti-Asian violence when he said “There are old sayings in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. Round up the bad guys. That’s what we believe.” Roy also voted against awarding congressional gold medals to police officers who defended Capitol on Jan. 6.