Another day in the U.S., another bunch of people murdered with weapons designed for warfare. And, if you’re a Republican, 19 dead kids is just another day at the office, where you sit back and do just what you did yesterday and the day before that: absolutely fucking nothing.
Several Republicans offered their “thoughts and prayers,” or the hot new equivalent: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who received $176, 274 from the National Rifle Association (NRA) in 2019, said he and his wife were “fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families.” Mitch McConnell claimed to be “horrified and heartbroken” while he received $1,267,139 in donations from the NRA in 2019. Sen. Krysten Sinema was also “horrified and heartbroken,” as was Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who asked that we all join her in “lifting [the families] loved ones up in prayer,” just for good measure.
Rep. Tony Gonzales offered his prayers on Twitter as well, and even quoted a bit of scripture. Gonzales is the man of the hour. He represents Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were slaughtered in cold blood Tuesday at Robb Elementary School. After his deeply felt offering of prayers for his dead constituents and their families, Gonzales conveniently forgot that just last year he bragged on Twitter about voting no on gun control. Welp, Twitter remembered.
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Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson blamed the recent shootings on rap music, video games, and access to the Internet. Then he suggested we “not point fingers,” but take the time to ask ourselves “why did this happen, how could this happen,” and “what’s wrong with our society?” Interesting question from a Republican lawmaker. Here’s another: “What’s wrong with the culture in this country that allows something to happen in this country right now?”
Anyone want to tell Ronny that it’s his party? They’re what’s wrong with this country. They are the murderers hiding in the house in plain sight.
Oh, and by the way, CNN reported on Monday that Jackson, a former White House doctor, is being investigated for violating federal law for allegedly using campaign funds for his personal use. In 2021, Jackson was reviewed by the Department of Defense inspector general (IG) who concluded that he made “sexual and denigrating” comments to women, drank while taking sleeping medication on the job, and “established a workplace where fear and intimidation were kind of the hallmarks of him, his command, and control of his subordinates,” a witness interviewed by the Defense Department IG said.
Florida GOP Rep. Randy Fine decided to go on the offensive in the wake of a mass shooting of elementary school kids with a threatening tweet to President Joe Biden. Good timing, Randy!
“I have news for the embarrassment that claims to be our President—try to take our guns and you’ll learn why the Second Amendment was written in the first place,” Fine tweeted.
In a recent interview with WPLG-TV in Miami, Fine said he believed Democratic lawmakers who protested on the House floor over bills targeting Walt Disney Co.—a move that led to a temporary pause on floor activities—should be arrested and charged with felonies. He even compared it to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
"What happened on the floor of the Florida House was far worse than what happened in Washington on January 6," Fine said.
“Gun control has never stopped anyone. Most people get bludgeoned to death and stabbed to death, than they get shot. I mean it’s a tragedy, it’s an absolute tragedy,” Hung Cao, the GOP candidate for Virginia’s 10th District, allegedly told Loudoun County, Virginia, reporter Hayley Milon Bour.
Cao, 50, is a retired Navy Captain and Vietnamese immigrant who served 25 years as a commissioned Navy officer, The Washington Post reports. He touts his lack of political experience (a true Republican indeed), telling the Post, “They [voters] didn’t want a political veteran; they wanted a fresh voice.”
Down in Georgia, former NFL star and Trump-endorsed candidate Herschel Walker secured his place as the GOP Senate nominee. After his big win Tuesday, he was asked about his thoughts on gun laws by CNN’s Manu Raju. As usual, the man with the violent, shady past gave his usual: a barely comprehensible answer.
“What I like to do is see it and everything and stuff,” Walker said, and then walked away. Illuminating!
For the record, Walker has lied about graduating from the University of Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He’s exaggerated his business acumen. He once held a gun to his now ex-wife’s head, telling her he was going to “blow [her] f---ing brains out.” He once hawked an “FDA-approved spray” that he claimed, “will clean you of COVID.” And he questioned the science of evolution, challenging the notion of ongoing species diversification by positing that if apes and humans coexist, there must be no evolution. And most recently, it seems a program he dubiously claims to have founded has been duping veterans.
Lastly, Colorado Republican Rep. Boebert, a rabid gun owner and advocate, offered five hollow words following the deaths of American children. “You cannot legislate away evil,” she tweeted Tuesday.
This is the same congressperson who followed another shit-stain lawmaker, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, in posting Christmas cards on social media featuring their families posing with assault rifles.
Let’s be frank, though: These lawmakers support gun rights because they’re paid to. The gun lobby is one of the most powerful groups in the nation, spending about $3 million a year to influence gun policy, according to the BBC.
Let us not forget. Here are the faces of the NRA. And any Republican who does nothing to change this has blood on their hands. So far, that’s all of them.
