NEW YORK (Dagbladet): The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday with 223 votes against 207 votes to deprive Gosar of two committee positions in a very rare session in Congress. It is over ten years since this form of censorship was last used, and Gosar is only the 24th member of Congress to be punished in this way, reports AP.
The punishment comes after Gosar last week posted an animated video on Twitter.
– It is difficult to look at my brother as anything other than a racist
The video shows the Republican congressman killing his high-profile Democratic colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – often called the AOC – with a sword. In the video, he also threatens Democratic President Joe Biden.
PENALTY: Republican Paul Gosar was stripped of two committee positions. Photo: AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
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The Democrats got two Republicans – who are also profiled Donald Trump critics – to vote for the sentence. The two are Liz Cheney from Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.
Requires response
Democrats believe the video was a clear threat to a congressional representative. However, the Republican minority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, believes it is all “abuse of power” by the Democrats to distract from other problems in the United States, writes AP.
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– These actions require a reaction. We can not have representatives who joke about killing each other. This puts both our elected representatives in danger, and it is an insult to the institution, says the Democrats’ speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
The target of Gosar’s video, AOC, even gave an emotional speech.
Attack by colleague: – Abuse
– When we encourage violence with animations by our colleagues, it drips down to violence in this country. And that is where we have to draw the line, she says.
During the debate before the vote, Gosar denied that he was trying to threaten anyone with the video.
– I do not want violence against anyone. I’ve never done that. It was not my intention to upset anyone, Gosar said.
The decision to censor Gosar is one of the most severe punitive measures in the House of Representatives.
Insulted by colleague: – Fucking hurpe
Repeated death threats
The punishment means that Gosar will no longer be part of two committees. One of them is also an AOC member of.
The AOC has been a highly profiled, democratic shooting star since she was elected to Congress in 2018. As one of the leading politicians on the left wing of the party, she has also received tremendous amounts of threats and attacks.
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Repeated death threats have led to her having to spend large sums on paying for bodyguards.
After the session in Congress, she made it clear that Gosar had not apologized to her. She also reached out to McCarthy not to condemn Gosar’s actions.
– What is so difficult about saying that this is wrong? This is not about me. It’s not about Gosar. But it is about what we are willing to accept, says AOC to the press.
Unpopular brother
Gosar is a very controversial congressman from Arizona and is far to the right politically.
That’s how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (29) became one of America’s most famous politicians
In the election campaign in 2018, six of his own siblings lined up in an advertising video for the opposing candidate to warn against their own brother.
Earlier this year, Gosar considered launching a new America First Caucus within the Republican Party to promote “Anglo-Saxon political traditions.” He also warned that mass immigration endangers the United States’ “unique identity.” Gosar has also participated in far-right gatherings. In February last year, he attended a meeting in Florida organized by Nick Fuentes, who has promoted white power ideology, writes AP.
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