#rep. matt gaetz

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A photo of Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez smiling as House Republicans struggled to elect a Speaker for the second day in a row during Wednesday's Congress meeting went viral on social media.

The image shot by photographer Anna Moneymaker and shared on Twitter in the aftermath of the 118th Congress' second meeting, shows Ocasio-Cortez laughing as Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz—who's among the 20 defectors who voted against Kevin McCarthy's bid to become House leader—makes an impassioned speech to his fellow Republicans opposing McCarthy.

"AOC smiling in the background of the ongoing GOP dumpster fire," commented a Twitter user, comparing the image to a well-known meme of a girl standing in front of a house on fire.

"There is so much to be said about the Old Masters-style composition of this photograph by ANNA MONEYMAKER for GETTY IMAGES," lawyer Mike Godwin tweeted.

"Living vicariously through @AOC right now," wrote Gen Z activist Olivia Julianna, who last year raised over $1.5 million for abortion funds after being body-shamed by Gaetz.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, McCarthy lost six consecutive votes, failing to gather enough support to become the Speaker of the House—a historic defeat for the Republican representative.

The opposition to McCarthy of 20 House Republicans, most of whom are hardliners and members of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, has paralyzed Congress and thrown the GOP into turmoil.

Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow Democrats have been accused of reveling in the chaos unfolding within the Republican Party, with Republican Representative Kat Cammack accusing Democrats of getting drunk during voting.

"Diversity of thought is a good thing," Cammack said during a speech in Congress on Wednesday. "But they want us divided. They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there."

Ocasio-Cortez has fought back against the accusation, writing on Twitter: "If only! If Dems took a shot every time McCarthy lost a Republican, we'd all be unconscious by now."

Congress is set to reconvene at noon on Thursday to nominate a House Speaker.

[bloggingblue]

“Zelenskyy was all rumpled and not wearing a suit, very disrespectful.”

“Zelenskyy was all rumpled and not wearing a suit, very disrespectful.”

I am just gonna leave this here:

[rank-sentimentalist]

Hammerhead vs. Matt Gaetz

[fromchaostocosmos]

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who has been criticized in the past for her dalliances with antisemitic tropes and influencers, explained her vote against a bill defining antisemitism by saying that the bill it rejects the “gospel” that “the Jews” handed Jesus over to his crucifiers.

But Greene, posting on X, formerly Twitter, laid out a different concern: that the bill threatened Christian expression. “Antisemitism is wrong, but I will not be voting for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (H.R. 6090) today that could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews,” she said. “Read the bill text and contemporary examples of antisemitism like #9.”

In her tweet, Greene posts two photos: One focuses on the portion of the bill that adopts as part of its definition of antisemitism the 11 “contemporary examples of antisemitism” in the definition of antisemitism composed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The second photo highlights the ninth example, “using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.”

Her fellow far-right Republican, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, explained his no vote in similar terms on the same platform. “The Gospel itself would meet the definition of antisemitism under the terms of this bill!” Gaetz writes, and gores on to quote New Testament scripture that collectively blames Jews for Jesus’s killing

[cleolinda]

January 7, 2023

It’s finally over. After days of negotiations and 14 failed ballots—the most since 1860—Republican Kevin McCarthy was officially elected speaker of the House early Saturday morning. In exchange for the necessary votes to get him elected, the congressman had to beg, barter, and plead with a group of hardline Republicans who held out for a litany of concessions.

Since Wednesday, McCarthy and his supporters have been negotiating with several far-right GOPers, including some who have been implicated in Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, as my colleague Dan Friedman previously reported. House members like Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) all held out on their votes, until McCarthy eventually won them over.

According to CNN, here’s what the holdouts got from McCarthy in exchange for the speakership:

Any member can call for a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair

October 3, 2023

[contemplatingoutlander]

Apocalyptic rhetoric is just as dangerous as the violent kind

Paul Waldman is absolutely correct about how the Republican's "apocalyptic rhetoric" about the Democrats could ultimately lead to violence just as much as the violent rhetoric. The GOP frames Democrats now as deliberately wanting to "destroy" America. (Ironically, it is the GOP who have turned toward autocracy and seem determined on establishing one party rule at all costs. This suggests that once again, Republicans are projecting onto Democrats.)

“I cannot stand these people that are destroying our country,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to a crowd of Donald Trump’s supporters at the Iowa State Fair this past weekend while the former president looked on approvingly. Gaetz then added: “Only through force do we make any change in a corrupt town like Washington, D.C.” The second part of that statement made headlines, as it’s not every day that a member of Congress advocates “force” to achieve political goals. But the first part ought to be just as troubling, because the two parts operate together. The idea that our opponents are purposely attempting to lay waste to America is often the justification for all kinds of radical action — violence very much included. Barely a day goes by without prominent Republicans repeating that claim. Trump regularly says his political opponents will “destroy the country,” or have already nearly destroyed it. It’s a staple of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s rhetoric. “If woke ideology takes over, it will destroy this country,” DeSantis says. If President Biden is reelected, the governor insists, “the left is gonna absolutely destroy this country.” [...] Yes, liberals have made dire warnings about a second Trump presidency. But that’s unique to Trump, who actually tried to overturn a lawful election and retain power, and last year called for the “termination” of the Constitution. So the assertion that if he became president it could mean the end of democracy is at least not too far-fetched.* The talk of the United States ending its run some time in the next few years because Democrats passed some modest expansion of health coverage or kept pushing for a transition to green energy, on the other hand, is bonkers. Yet, unlike other kinds of rhetorical calls to extremism, we don’t police it at all. Journalists tend to be very attuned to hints of political violence. When a candidate says he wants to start “slitting throats” in the federal government, as DeSantis recently did, we condemn it and explore its troubling implications. We press Republican contenders to admit that Biden fairly won the 2020 election and to repudiate the violent insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. In contrast, we treat partisan apocalyptic rhetoric as mere hyperbole. But it’s the premise that turns anger into action. If you actually believed your opponents were literally trying to destroy your country, what wouldn’t be justified? Threatening election officials? Storming the Capitol? Assassinations? You might protest that Republican politicians don’t really believe this talk. But clearly, many of their supporters do. Which is no surprise given how often they’re told that it’s true. [...] Any rational Republican knows the truth about the next election: If Biden wins, it will mean nothing more than four years of policies they don’t like. That will be deeply unpleasant for them. But it won’t mean the end of America, and they shouldn’t be allowed to say so without challenge. We ought to treat apocalyptic rhetoric just like we treat violent rhetoric: Take note of it, condemn it, challenge candidates to defend it, and explain the threat it poses. Why? Because many of the voters who are listening think the Republicans spinning out wild tales of America’s imminent destruction mean what they say. [emphasis added]

____________ *In my opinion it isn't just Trump, many on the left have legitimate concerns about extreme right-wing Republicans like DeSantis and white Christian nationalists who seem to want autocracy/ one-party rule because they have either said and/or shown that they do.

[catboygretzky]

Do I even want to know what happened in the last 24 hours 😭 I'm almost afraid to ask but I'm also insanely curious

You probably don't want to know but I'll tell you because you have no choice. This will be long and...awful. But there are sources so that's fun! Please keep in mind that this was all released within 24 hours on Thursday, September 20th, 2024 and that, unfortunately, I haven't mentioned everything.

But! The GOP was certainly having a wild one yesterday.

To start things off:

The first 'Big News' to break was about Mark Robinson.

For those saying 'who the fuck is Mark Robinson', he's the current (R) Lt. Gov of North Carolina that is running for Gov. Before yesterday, he was best known for openly hating LGBT+ and Jewish folks, being a Holocaust denier, being (forcefully) anti abortion, saying it was better when women couldn't vote, anti immigrant, hating the civil rights movement, etc, just being a hateful Evangelical nasty fascist. MAGA to his core. Trump has endorsed him, saying he should be cherished and calling him "MLK on steroids". (Robinson is Black).

So, yeah, that's bad enough right? Yesterday it got even worse. CNN released a report about some comments he made on a porn site forum 12 years ago, the most prominent being 'i'm a black NAZI'. He also commented that he wished slavery was legal and that he'd own a few, and called himself a 'perv' that used to 'peep' on women in public locker rooms when he was a teenager.

Also the tale as old as time that I'm sure you could guess when I mentioned 'GOP' 'loudly transphobic' and 'porn site scandal' - trans porn was a favourite of his. Because of course.

Also of course - the GOP hasn't taken him off the ticket, and he will continue to be the nominee for governor in North Carolina!

Read the article, there's more about him and the situation in general. Mind the warnings.

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Now on to our favourite worm brained bear eating anti vaxxer conspiracy theorist, Robert F. Kennedy Junior! I'm putting this under a read more now.

The first thing to drop about him yesterday was the news of an investigation after he allegedly cut off the head of a dead whale and took it home 20 years ago. Now I bet you're thinking, wow that's bad! Unfortunately for RFK Jr yesterday got worse. It was then revealed that he (70) was having an affair with right wing journalist Olivia Nuzzi (31) after New York Magazine suspended her.

Everything I learn about RFK Jr I learn against my own will.

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Saying goodbye to RFK for now, let's move on to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida! This Matt Gaetz, with the botox if you didn't recognise him.

Scary lookin, right?

This isn't a completely new story (here's an article about how he alledgedly paid for sex with a minor) but new court filings were released yesterday alledging that he attended a drug-fueled sex party in 2017 with the 17-year-old girl at the center of the alleged sex trafficking scandal.

Sure is great to have such trustworthy men representing this country!

OKAY, on to the next.

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This wasn't really breaking news because this is just Trump being Trump but he gave a speech at an ANTI ANTISEMITISM EVENT where he preemptively blamed the Jews for being the reason he'll lose this election, telling them they need to get their head checked if they vote for Harris (that's pretty much part of his stump speech by now though) and saying he'll reinstate his Muslim ban. White fascist blaming Jews? Wow, I did Nazi that coming.

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I genuinely could go on, I really truly could.

Oh! Kamala Harris went on Oprah and it was really nice and not at all insane and she talked to the family of the first known victim of Trump's abortion ban and it was very touching. Trump's official social media then posted a clip of her talking about her gun and saying 'If somebody breaks into my house, they're getting shot' like it was a snatch when in reality Republicans in the comments are saying 'actually, this would make me vote for her'. Thanks, Trump Team for the free advertising!

Misc:

Chris Rufo (known racist and anti immigration right wing activist) got revealed to have an illegal immigrant wife, and then got revealed to be a user of Ashley Madison (database where people go to cheat on their partners)(Robinson was also on Ashley Madison).

Jasmine Crockett during her thing and ripping white republicans to shreds. (idk this was just fun to me)

Actually Republicans and Project 2025 got ripped to shreds and shut down in general by multiple Congress members.

GOP is on the brink of causing a government shutdown, because of COURSE they are.

Cards Against Humanity sues SpaceX over “invasion” of land on US/Mexico border.

Anyway there's actually MORE believe it or not but I can't remember if it happened yesterday. Thank you for reading, I'm always open to discussing current events. I don't think it's a well known fact that I'm into politics because I don't talk about it on tumblr because people are kinda stupid. Anyway!

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Members of congress have claimed more than $5 million under new expenses rules that allow them to claim back costs without receipts.

The new rules, which have been criticised by transparency campaigners, came into effect last year. Attracting rare bipartisan support, the system relies on members’ honesty and is designed to help with the costs of running homes in both Washington and members’ districts.

A total of 319 of the 435 voting members claimed $5.2 million in expenses under the rules last year, meaning that, on average, each claimed just over $16,300.

The biggest beneficiary of the system was Jack Bergman, 77, a Republican from Michigan, who claimed more than $32,000 for accommodation and another $12,000 for meals, which are also permitted under the programme.

A member of the congressional anti-abortion caucus, Bergman — who was also a candidate to become House speaker in October last year before losing to Mike Johnson — voted to block taxpayer funds that were being used by the US military to pay for abortions for women stationed at bases in states that have outlawed terminations. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

Matt Gaetz, a self-styled firebrand Republican from Florida, has also railed against the wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money. In March he “emphatically” voted against a federal spending bill that, he said, “continues to advance an unconstitutional process” and “unconstitutional agencies”, and would instead fund “all kinds of LGBTQAIXYZ stuff”.

Gaetz, 42, claimed almost $30,000 in accommodation expenses and more than $10,000 for meals in 2023.

A spokesman for Gaetz told the Washington Post that the congressman was reimbursed for accommodation expenses on days when the House was out of session but when he had stayed in Washington on official business for depositions related to his post on the select committee on the “weaponisation��� of the federal government.

“Representative Gaetz has always complied with House rules regarding congressional reimbursements,” the newspaper was told.

A number of members did not claim any reimbursements under the new scheme. In all, 153 Democrats and 166 Republicans submitted expenses claims under the new scheme.

“This system is ripe for abuse,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Good Citizen, which advocates for better government. “Many members of congress are not wealthy so a reimbursement system is important, but there should be full transparency and disclosure, and receipts must be produced. The loopholes are ridiculous.”

“Matt Gaetz says he was working on committee business during days the House was not in session, but no other committee members appear to have made similar claims.”

Some of the other claims raised eyebrows after it became apparent that members had claimed for accommodation expenses in Washington despite owning homes in the city. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, owns a townhouse in the capital, but submitted $3,000 for lodgings in Washington.

There are rules dictating what can be claimed, but actual evidence of spending is not required. Instead, the members of the House are “strongly encouraged,” but not required, to keep records of their spending related to their congressional work.

[reality-detective]

Rep. Matt Gaetz hammers Director Dettelbach on the ATF’s failure to live up to its own standards. 🤔

[wilwheaton]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Walter Einenkel at Daily Kos:

The GOP attempted to distract the public from Donald Trump’s conviction by bringing Attorney General Merrick Garland in front of the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday. While Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida pushed conspiracy theories, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California shut them down in an embarrassing defeat. “I'm starting to think you're in a cult,” Swalwell said. He proceeded to point to the cognitive dissonance among the GOP’s Trump apologists, and then he listed off the 37 countries that ban convicted felons from entering.  While Swalwell rattled this off, Republicans objected and Committee chair, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, pounded his gavel. 

Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) brough some truth bombs for everyone by calling out the GOP’s sycophantic loyalty to Convicted Felon Donald Trump.

Video:

[nudityandnerdery]

Meanwhile, in American politics...

I think I speak for many of us when I say: