The Fresno Bee Editorial Board
Fri, November 19, 2021, 6:00 AM·3 min read
In the week leading up to Veterans Day, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield highlighted a different member of the armed services each day in his social media posts.
It was a nice gesture from the Republican leader in the House to honor the military. It was a genuinely American thing to do.
But earlier that week, another Republican member of the House, Paul Gosar of Arizona, posted an animated video on Twitter that portrayed him stabbing Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in the neck. Blood spurts out of her wound. Gosar then flies to a large image of President Biden to battle him.
It was all make-believe. Still, the anime video generated 3 million views before being removed, and understandably ignited the outrage of Democrats. They united on Wednesday to formally censure Gosar and strip him of all committee assignments. Gosar became only the 24th House member to be censured, which is one step from expulsion.
How did McCarthy react to Gosar’s stunt? Not by condemning the demeaning video, but by complaining how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco was “breaking another precedent” with the censure process.
That was a genuinely un-American thing to do.
McCarthy joined 206 other Republicans to vote against censure. Only two GOP members voted for it.
A few days before the censure vote, McCarthy told CNN that he chatted with Gosar about the video. “I called him when I heard about the video, and he made a statement that he doesn’t support violence, and he took the video down.”
That was the extent of emotion from McCarthy over a Republican colleague’s fantasy video showing him attacking the Democratic congresswoman. As for leadership, McCarthy raised the threat to remove Democrats from committee posts should the GOP recapture the House majority in next year’s election and he becomes the speaker.
McCarthy’s hypocrisy is this: Pay homage to the U.S. military in one breath, stand by silent when a fellow Republican creates a nasty video about a duly elected member from the other party, herself an American.
Valley needs honesty, truthfulness
So why should this matter to people living in the central San Joaquin Valley? Because if the nonpartisan commission redrawing political boundaries has its maps adopted, McCarthy’s 23rd District could extend all the way to Clovis and Fresno starting next year.
And if Democrats lose the majority in the House, McCarthy would become the next speaker, making him one of the most powerful politicians in the land, and the third in line to lead the executive branch if the president and vice president are unable to do so for whatever reason.
So the question arises: Is McCarthy capable of seeing things as they really are — i.e., Gosar totally earned censure with his beyond-the-pale video — or will he be a power-at-all-costs politician, empty of ethics and values?
By failing to forcefully speak against Gosar, McCarthy effectively gives quarter to those who would like to destroy American government — like many of those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Hypocrisy also emerges if one flips the script. What if a Democratic representative had created a video showing an attack on then-President Trump? Would McCarthy have remained similarly dismissive?
Residents of the San Joaquin Valley need representatives who are truthful, honest and courageous. They are not well served by politicians bent on nothing more than securing power. The problems are too pressing — better health care access in a region way too short of doctors; a fully diversified economy that provides more head-of-household wages; and consistent water deliveries to support agriculture, the backbone of the Valley.
If McCarthy’s district does extend to Fresno, he should be prepared to do the work while handing out discipline to extremists like Gosar when necessary. If he cannot commit to that, Bakersfield can keep him.
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