On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, profiled Guy Reschenthaler, the U.S. House Representative from Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District and a former member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Reschenthaler’s reputation as a young up-and-comer in the GOP stems from his work as serving as the defense in a military trial for a Navy SEAL accused of covering up the assault of Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi while he was being detained prior to his execution. And if there’s anything the Republican Party loves right now, it’d defending war crimes.
Anyway, Reschenthaler’s political career is somewhat miraculous given what he was doing upon returning home from Iraq… he was the co-host of a radio show with white nationalist Carl Higbie, who on-air, likes to comment about how African Americans don’t “contribute equally to society”, and that “the black race is lazier than the white race”. And Reschenthaler would like to distance himself from his old racist, sexist, homophobic buddy from conservative radio, and pretend that he barely even knows the guy… and yet he wrote the forward for Higbie’s book, which contains discussions about Hurricane Katrina survivors (“human parasites”), slavery (“I certainly don’t agree with slavery, but I do think that you should play the hand you are dealt, and good physical genetics are definitely dealt to many blacks”), Puerto Ricans (“If you are so proud of your old country, then go back”), LGBTQ people (“widespread acceptance is wrong”), Muslims (“it is also my right to be suspicious” of someone wearing a turban), and undocumented immigrants (those who attempt to cross the border should be shot “dead”). When called out for it, Reschenthaler insisted he hadn’t read the book he wrote a glowing forward for.
It will not be surprising to you, then, that Guy Reschenthaler is also a huge cheerleader for Donald Trump, to the extent that it seems to be what he spends most of his energy on since he arrived in Washington, D.C. Whether is was how he rolled up his sleeves to harass Robert Mueller when he testified before Congress or spread conspiracy theories about his investigation into Donald Trump obstructing justice, or calling Trump’s impeachment “Soviet-esque” (while choosing to not attend hearings to actually try and defend the president). As late as February 12th, 2020, Reschenthaler was giddy as he went on Fox Business to declare “Donald Trump is doing better than ever!”, which lines up on the timeline of a stretch where Trump was ignoring warnings about COVID-19 while hitting the links, and on the precipice of a looming Stock Market Crash due to it.
As for Reschenthaler’s voting record of late:
- January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler also voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
- February 28th, 2019: Guy Reschenthaler votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 14th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
- June 4th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Guy Reschenthaler votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
- October 23rd, 2019: Reschenthaler is one of 41 Republicans who, while staring down the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached, stage a ridiculous publicity stunt in response by crashing a classified impeachment inquiry hearing for a “protest”.
- December 18th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
- May 15th, 2020: Reschenthaler votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
- January 6th, 2021: Guy Reschenthaler votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
- January 13th, 2021: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
- February 4th, 2021: Guy Reschenthaler votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
- February 25th, 2021: Reschenthaler votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
- March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
- March 3rd, 2021: Guy Reschenthaler votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
- March 10th, 2021: Reschenthaler votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
- March 17th, 2021: Rep. Reschenthaler is one of 172 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District has a +14 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, so he was obviously easily re-elected in 2020, getting 65% of the vote. He is currently angling to still try to make a run to replace the retiring U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, while trying to play off his vote against certifying the results of the 2020 election not as “seditious” but “symbolic”.
We hope John Fetterman, the giant that he is, grinds Reschenthaler’s bones into bread on the campaign trail, should Guy try to weasel his way into the upper chamber.
One Year Ago, April 5th, 2020: Guy Reschenthaler (PA)… Original Profile
Two Years Ago, April 5th, 2019: Dick Black (VA)… 2019 Update
Three Years Ago, April 5th, 2018: Dick Black (VA)… 2018 Update
Four Year Ago, April 5th, 2017: Dick Black (VA)… 2017 Update
Five Years Ago, April 5th, 2016: Dick Black (VA)… 2016 Update
Six Years Ago, April 9th, 2015: Dick Black (VA)… Original Profile
