Republicans consistently practice the “do as I say, not as I do” mantra in their governing. This generally means that they have no problem holding all of us to some standard of ethical behavior while they practice a very different one for themselves. While this approach might work as a parenting style, it is completely hypocritical coming from a political party which is claims to be the party of values and the moral compass of America. Each day, the GOP sinks to new lows in this regard. And while its hard to imagine stooping lower than physical assault, Montana Rep. Greg Gianforte is testing just how low the party can go by refusing the court order which requires him to be treated like the criminal he is.
Rep. Greg Gianforte, the Montana Republican who pleaded guilty to assaulting a reporter the day before his election, does not want to be treated like a common criminal ― for more than a month, he has been quietly fighting a court order requiring him to get fingerprinted and photographed at a local jail. [...]
Just a few days [after entering his guilty plea, paying a fine and receiving his sentence], his legal team filed a motion arguing that the county’s Justice Court does not have the authority to force him to be fingerprinted or photographed because, among other things, he was neither arrested nor charged with a felony.
Welcome to the Trump era, friends—where attacks on the media (both literal and physical) are now fair game. If you heard the recording from the exchange where he assaulted reporter Ben Jacobs from The Guardian, Gianforte lost it after Jacobs asked him a simple question about the Republican health care plan. It made absolutely no sense and speaks to how out of control and aggressive Gianforte is. Somehow, he believes that he can pay a fine for bodyslamming an innocent person, but doesn’t need to have his fingerprints or photos entered into official record. Like Trump and his friends, he thinks he is above the law.
“Greg Gianforte claims he has ‘taken responsibility’ for assaulting a reporter who asked him about health care, but he continues to do everything in his power to fight a routine criminal procedure resulting from his conviction,” Nancy Keenan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, told HuffPost in an email. “No matter what he says, it’s clear to Montanans that Congressman Gianforte has not taken responsibility at all. He’s hidden from it.”
No matter what Greg Gianforte thinks, he was actually convicted of a crime. He got off easy. If this had been someone else, they would have very well seen jail time. And had it been a Democrat, the Republicans would have been calling for their removal from office. He should pay the price, which includes this very small process. Enough of Republicans making up their own rules and doing the opposite of what is expected of everyone else: make Gianforte take those mugshots. Treat him like the assaulter he is. Maybe then he’ll learn his lesson and never do it again.