Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona is a very well-known dirtbag bigot. He has been one of the leading vacuous blobs of hate that has taken up the space left by fellow white nationalist former Rep. Steve King. Along with fellow fascist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Gosar has founded the America First Caucus—which is exactly the kind of racist and xenophobic drivel you might imagine it to be. And as terrible as Marjorie Taylor Greene is, Paul Gosar has a very special talent for alienating everyone who has ever been close to him. The entirety of his family has actively campaigned against him for years because of how generally awful he is.
You need only look at some of Gosar’s embarrassing antics over the past few years to understand the kind of personality that is speaking loudly for the Republican Party these days. Recently, the right wing of the country has moved to not only obstruct any investigations into the events leading up to and during the Jan. 6 Capitol building insurrection; they are openly lying about what happened in the hopes of whitewashing the history of what was an attempted coup. Gosar has been one of the loudest, most hateful voices in this Orwellian caucus. Part of the shrill tenor and invective Gosar has thrown around concerning the Jan. 6 insurrection is probably connected to the fact that any real investigation into the events of that day would potentially expose Gosar to serious consequences. And facing consequences for one’s actions is not something the GOP likes to do—unless you happen to be Black or brown, of course.
On Wednesday, Paul Gosar’s sister Jennifer went on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show to talk about her estranged brother and his recent casting of the FBI as the true culprits of insurrection, and domestic terrorist Ashli Babbitt as some kind of American hero fighting against … democracy? It was worth the watch.
This is not the first time someone in Paul’s family has come out and actively said he must be made to atone for his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attempted overthrow of our democracy. In April, three of Gosar’s siblings appeared in a video produced by the Trump Accountability Project, calling for Gosar to be held accountable for his part in the insurrection. On Wednesday, brought on and asked by Cooper whether or not Jennifer Gosar thought her brother was guilty of being “partly responsible for the January insurrection,” she replied rather definitively: “Absolutely.”
Jennifer Gosar went on to say that most importantly, “I have no evidence to the contrary. And it would be, at least, a requirement of our congressional body, the Senate and the House, to investigate that. As they have tried but the Senate has filibustered.” She is of course referring to Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party’s filibuster of a bipartisan commission into the events of that day.
She also told Cooper after watching the January events unfold live on television, like everyone else did that day, and watching footage in the days following the Jan. 6 insurrection, she is even more disappointed in not only her brother but the entire Republican Party and the institutions that support their lies about this very recent history. “Not only does the NBA have far higher standards for their code of conduct for sitting members, but then, also, to see like our congressmen are actively trying to erase what is a very documented insurrection—and to know my brother is part of that is not surprising to me, Anderson.”
But Jennifer Gosar isn’t simply blaming her tragically hate-filled brother, she pointed out that the people who fund his campaign should also be held accountable “for not speaking up, not putting on pressure, and to actually investigate what was a criminal act.” She explains that she does believe Paul Gosar was one of the organizers of the events that took place on that sad January day.
Cooper asks the human question: Does Jennifer think Paul actually believes any of the madness he spews or is he just cynically saying what he believes will work up his base?
JENNIFER GOSAR: That's a rich question, honestly, because I mean, the convenience with which Paul finds stories to fuel his anger, his hate, and his bigotry. Does he believe it all? I think he, probably, doesn't. But it's so convenient, and he keeps telling himself that, that he's able to find the anger, and fuel his rhetoric.
She goes on to point out the corner that Gosar and other GOP officials have painted themselves into: “If this erasure isn't, you know, successful, then they have to answer to the American public. And the congress—the congress, writ large—has to actually take, make those members that were involved accountable. And all of the organizers and instigators of that insurrection.” And therein lies the rub. Cooper points out how cynical the statements from Republicans like Gosar downplaying the events of that day as a “tourist visit” are and how they sound, to most people, delusional.
Jennifer Gosar sums it up better, calling these kinds of statements “despicable,” but also pointing out that there is more here than simply the words. “Does despicable really capture it? Those are the best words I can think of but to be honest with you, I think it goes to the point of criminal—and that’s why I think the effort is so intense. Because if they are not able to erase—and really gloss over—and if people like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer allow this to continue, if there is not a stronger effort to hold them accountable, like Representative Pramila Jayapal did—asking for an ethics investigation. If efforts like that aren’t taken, if measures aren’t taken, then this campaign will be successful. And these criminal acts will not be held accountable. I think it’s paramount to maintaining the stability of our democracy and I don’t think I have to convince you about that, Anderson, I think it’s something you are well aware of.”
Republished with permission from Daily Kos
