There are twenty-one Republicans who voted against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Metropolitan and Capitol police officers who defended lawmakers on January 6th. The final vote was 406-21 and the list of GOP representatives who voted against the bill was full of familiar names. They include, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Some of the lawmakers who opposed the legislation said they did so because it called the rioters a "a mob of insurrectionists.” Clearly, they felt as though their far right constituents wouldn’t like that depiction. Congressman Massie’s excuse was that calling the event an “insurrection” could complicate ongoing prosecution against some of the people trespassing that day. Representative Greene said she voted against the bill because it called the Capitol building a “temple.”

These same Republicans who voted against awarding medals will go back to their districts claiming they “back the blue” and that their communities are protected by a “thin blue line.” But in this case, they found it politically advantageous not to support the police officers who defended the Capitol because they thought it would make Donald Trump and his supporters look bad. This is grifting — but instead of it being done in the media space, it’s being done by these far right politicians. What makes this even more egregious is that the bill was an opportunity for lawmakers to thank the officers who protected their lives specifically. The lives of everyone in the Capitol were at risk that day, and that includes Democrats and Republicans members alike. It couldn’t be more obvious that these 21 Republican lawmakers don’t deserve to be in their positions of power.

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Capitol Congress David Pakman Lauren Boebert Louie Gohmert Marjorie Taylor Greene Matt Gaetz Police Republicans Texas The David Pakman Show Thomas Massie