Wednesday’s vote by the House to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, (R-Arizona), was a harsh rebuke to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D–New York) last week. The video depicted an animated version of him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D–New York) as well as attacking President Joe Biden.
The House voted 223-207 in favor of censure Gosar. Resign him from any assignments to his committee. Gosar was a member of the Natural Resources Committee as well as the House Oversight Committee. These committees oversee the government and internal congressional affairs. Ocasio-Cortez is currently a member of the latter committee.
Only two Republicans were elected, Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyoming), and Adam Kinzinger(Illinois). voted for the censureAfter Republican leaders whipped representatives to vote “no” on the resolution earlier on Monday. One Republican, Rep. David Joyce (Ohio) voted “present.”
Censure is the abolition of a person’s rights. second-harshest punishmentA member of the House may be expelled to receive it. This is meant to disgrace that representative. It is extremely rare to see it used by 23 representatives have been censuredSince the 19th century. A member’s removal from a committee assignment can have a disciplinary effect on them and their party. sending a messageBy removing a member’s voting power. (Seats on the Oversight Committee, moreover, are coveted for the group’s jurisdiction over a broad range of issues.)
“It is a sad day in which a member who leads a political party in the United States of America cannot bring themselves to say that issuing a depiction of murdering a member of Congress is wrong and instead starts to venture off into a tangent about gas prices and inflation,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “What is so hard about saying this is wrong? This is not about me, this is not about Representative Gosar, but this is about what we are willing to accept.”
“As leaders in this country, when we incite violence with depictions against our colleagues, that trickles down into violence in this country,” she continued, condemning Republicans for dismissing the video as a joke or lighthearted. “And that is where we must draw the line independent of party, identity, or belief. It is about a core recognition of human dignity and value and worth.”
Indeed, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) attempted to minimize Gosar’s responsibility by saying it was the representative’s staffThe video was authorized by Gosar’s office, and not Gosar. McCarthy later equated Gosar’s actions to that of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), who publicly supported the movement for Black lives.
This is a willfully incorrect comparison: Gosar’s video was about inciting murder of a fellow lawmaker; last year’s protests were about stopping police violence against Black and oppressed people.
Others Republicans have lied and claimed that Gosar had apologized for the mess. Gosar hasn’t apologized and has made excuses for the video in interviews over the last week. on the House floor.
“I explained to them what was happening. I did not apologize,” the Republican recently said in an interview. “I said this video didn’t have anything to do with harming anybody,” Gosar continued, even though the video very clearly depicts him and fellow extremist Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) slashing and killing Ocasio-Cortez.
Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker described the censure as an “emergency” ahead of vote on Wednesday, saying that the issue is of immediate importance to “the lives of our members.” Other Democrats have also condemned Gosar’s action, with House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-New York) calling it “vile, hateful, outrageous, dangerous and inciting to violence.”
Pelosi further condemned video during the House vote Wednesday. saying, “We cannot have a member joking about murdering each other or threatening the president of the United States.” The Speaker also emphasizedOcasio Cortez’s threat against her was especially alarming because it was a threat against a woman who is of color.
Other Democrats also called for Gosar To be expelledIt is also an extremely rare punishment in this House. Only fiveA chamber vote has ever expelled members. The most recent example was Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, in 2002. convicted for bribery.
Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Tuesday that expelling Gosar would be the ideal scenario, and that it would happen “in a perfect world.”
“If he was telling the truth, he would have apologized by now. It’s been well over a week,” she said. “He not only has not apologized, he not only has not made any sort of contact or outreach — neither he nor the Republican leader of the party — but he has also doubled down.”
