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Tag: seth moulton
Rep. Paul Gosar

For Defending Capitol Rioters, Rep. Gosar Faces Censure And Shunning

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has been one of the most vocal defenders in Congress of the Capitol insurrectionists. In recent days, he's started to face the consequences.

Last week, Gosar — who spread bogus conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that fueled the deadly Jan. 6 attack and voted to overturn its results — proclaimed the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol to be "peaceful patriots" being harassed by the Department of Justice. He also accused a Capitol Police officer of carrying out an execution by shooting one of the rioters.

On Thursday, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and 19 House Democrats filed a resolution to censure Gosar for "undermining the seriousness of the insurrection" and "dangerously mischaracterizing the events of that day."

If a majority vote for Cicilline's proposal, Gosar will have to stand in the well of the House of Representatives for censure and to hear the resolution publicly read aloud — a rare and embarrassing rebuke.

A Gosar spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story.

But even before that censure effort proceeds, Gosar is already being penalized by the Democratic majority through a growing boycott of his legislative efforts.

On Thursday, Reps. Anna Eshoo of California and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts went to the House floor and removed themselves as co-sponsors of H.R. 1127, Gosar's once bipartisan bill to crack down on foreign donations in American political campaigns.

In the last Congress, the bill had 11 co-sponsors — six of them Democrats. This year, Gosar filed it with only two Democrats (Eshoo and Moulton) joining the GOP backers.

A spokesperson for Moulton, who just returned to Washington, D.C., following paternity leave, made it clear in an email to the American Independent Foundation that he withdrew to avoid any association with Gosar:

When Congressman Moulton signs onto a bill with a Republican, he gives the Member of Congress that introduced it the credibility of bipartisanship, and, on foreign policy and national security, the credibility that comes with his background and his work in Congress. Republicans and Democrats who work across the aisle talk about that work at town halls and in meetings with their constituents to make the case that they are not the problem with Congress.
Congressman Gosar's participation in the riot on January 6th, his vote against the certification of the electoral college — which to be clear is a vote against the will of the American people — and his unwillingness in the days since to hold accountable President Trump and the people responsible for the attack on the Capitol are shameful and traitorous. Congressman Moulton needs to trust the colleagues he partners with on important legislation.

A spokesperson for Eshoo did not immediately respond to an inquiry about her withdrawal.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA) introduced a renewable energy bill without Gosar — legislation that had been a joint effort by the two in 2019. Gosar, upset that Levin refused to make him an original co-sponsor, then filed an identical bill.

A spokesperson for Levin told E&E News on Thursday that Levin saw Gosar as toxic to the bill's chances.

"Congressman Levin invited Congressman Gosar to co-sponsor the bill like any other colleague," he explained. "However, Congressman Levin is determined to get this important legislation to President Biden's desk, and it's clear that having Rep. Gosar as a co-lead could be detrimental to that goal, particularly in the wake of the events of Jan. 6."

The House subcommittee plans to take up the Levin version of the bill on Monday — not the Gosar one.

Gosar has also been facing criticism recently for lying to the House clerk about why he was missing work in February and instead attending a white nationalist conference in Orlando, Florida.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

#EndorseThis: These Extraordinary Women Are Ready To Serve — Again

#EndorseThis: These Extraordinary Women Are Ready To Serve — Again

You’ve probably heard that an unprecedented number of women are running for Congress in this cycle — and you may also know that most of those female candidates are Democrats. No big surprise there.

But you may be slightly more surprised to hear that a significant number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are running this year as Democrats, too — and that eight of those highly decorated, patriotic, exceptional veterans are women who pioneered their roles in US military and intelligence services.

In this snappy ad from Serve America, a political action committee founded by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), they tell their stories.

Click and be inspired.

 

Ebola, Pandering And Courage

Ebola, Pandering And Courage

BOSTON — Seth Moulton, an Iraq veteran and Democratic congressional candidate on Massachusetts’ North Shore, has done something with little precedent in political campaigning: He was caught underplaying his war record.

You read that right: An investigation by The Boston Globe found that unlike politicians who go to great lengths to puff up their military backgrounds, Moulton, as the paper’s Walter Robinson wrote, “chose not to publicly disclose that he was twice decorated for heroism until pressed by the Globe.”

It took Robinson’s reporting to discover that Moulton had won the Bronze Star and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal for valor during the battles for control of Najaf and Nasiriyah.

In a telephone interview, Moulton said his reluctance reflected a “healthy disrespect” among his comrades-in-arms for boasting about citations.

“The relative few of us who really were on the front lines don’t like to talk about it and don’t like to brag about it,” he said. “I saw a lot of heroic kids who were on the front lines … and didn’t get the recognition they deserved.”

Moulton’s story is a refreshing change of pace in a midterm election campaign short on displays of either courage or reticence. Voters are unhappy with both parties and there is no driving issue, so a play-all-the-angles approach that takes whatever story is dominating the news cycle and tries to turn it into a wedge.

Nowhere has this pattern been clearer than in the rise of public worries about Ebola and the effort by Republicans to turn fear into a closing argument.

It is normal for the party that doesn’t control the White House to be critical of how the incumbent has handled a crisis. And President Obama himself, according to The New York Times, was frustrated with aspects of the government’s handling of the episode, one reason he called on Ron Klain, the Washington veteran, to coordinate the response.

But it’s something else again to stoke alarm and to set up an unrealistic policy demand as a test of “toughness.” (Yes, those quotation marks are intended to convey the cynicism involved.) Thus did many Republicans call for a travel ban from the countries affected by Ebola, even though there are no direct flights from them to the United States. This raised the prospect of grounding connecting flights from European cities, and the administration argued that the ban would encourage people to lie about their travel history, making screening for the disease much harder.

Now, Republicans have quietly conceded how problematic a travel ban would be. So they are rallying to a new tough-sounding backup position, calling for a suspension of visas for travelers from the affected countries. Trying to answer symbolic politics with practical measures, the administration on Tuesday announced that travelers from Ebola-zone countries would be required to enter the United States through one of five airports equipped for screening.

To examine the way all this has played out in the congressional contest between Moulton and Republican Rich Tisei is to see how last-minute campaign pressures can push even independent-minded candidates to find ways of gaining a slight edge or avoiding political damage.

Tisei is one of the few socially moderate Republicans on the ballot this fall. Openly gay, Tisei got married in the summer of 2013, and boycotted the state Republican convention this year to protest the party’s conservative platform. Yet like other Republicans, he jumped on the idea of “banning flights” from countries where the disease is raging and of “quarantining people before they come into the country.”

For his part, Moulton, after initially resisting the flight ban, sought to find middle ground by declaring that “until we can get people properly screened, we may need to shut those flights down.” But in the interview, he reiterated his view that “we can’t pretend that we’re going to win this fight simply by shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world.” He also endorsed Obama’s latest move on screening. And on Wednesday, Tisei’s spokesman, Charlie Szold, said his candidate did not want a flight ban to force any interruption of aid to the affected countries to combat the disease.

One would like to hope that Ebola posturing will not be decisive in either the Moulton-Tisei race or in the larger campaign. There are signs that the issue is fading as reality catches up with the pandering. In the meantime, Moulton, who knows what courage means, could usefully bring a GI’s “healthy disrespect” to the ways our country’s politics makes problem-solving harder.

E.J. Dionne’s email address is ejdionne@washpost.com. Twitter: @EJDionne.

Screenshot: Seth Moulton and Richard Tisei debate on WBZ (Seth Moulton/YouTube)

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Five Key House Races For National Security

Five Key House Races For National Security

Conventional wisdom holds that the midterms are driven by economics and outrage, yet some commentators argue that national security — by way of fear — will be a decisive force in this year’s elections. In any case, real, concrete national security issues should matter when Americans head to the polls this November. So ignore the drivel about Ebola-slobbering terrorists coming to destroy the fabric of Americana, and check out the races below. These candidates know veterans’ issues, military, energy, and other matters of national security, and are fighting for smart solutions to real challenges.

Tammy Duckworth

Name: Tammy Duckworth

Status: Incumbent running for second term

Constituency: Illinois’s 8th congressional district

Committee Memberships: Armed Services; Oversight and Government Reform

Service Experience: Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran deployed in 2004. She earned a Purple Heart for her service when a rocket propelled grenade nearly downed her Black Hawk helicopter. Duckworth chose to enter public service while recovering from a double amputation in Walter Reed.

Key Achievements: Before joining the legislative fray, Duckworth made strides working at the Illinois and national VA. Her idea of a tax credit for businesses that hire veterans in Illinois was copied into Congress’s 2009 stimulus bill, and she had a special focus on developing tailored resources for female vets and working to end veteran homelessness.

What’s Next? Duckworth has pushed for a smart and measured approach to countering the ISIS threat, and she is pushing for a clear (though politically difficult) public argument and vote on a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq and Syria. Her voice will be critical in forcing Congress towards this essential action.

Scott Peters

Name: Scott Peters

Status: Incumbent running for second term

Constituency: California’s 52nd congressional district

Committee Memberships: Armed Services; Science, Space, and Technology

Service Experience: N/A

Key Achievements: Peters has secured more than $1.2 million in benefits for veterans and military families in his home district. He also partnered with Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) to introduce the Department of Defense Energy Security Act (DODESA), and later worked key provisions addressing the military’s energy security and innovation into the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act.

What’s Next? With the threat of sequestration hanging like the Sword of Damocles above the DoD, Peters promises to be a strong advocate against cuts across the board that would otherwise create a hollow force. He also will be an essential proponent of foreign aid, pushing back against his opponent’s characterization of democracy and development assistance abroad as “bloated and wasteful.”

Paul Cook

Name: Paul Cook

Status: Incumbent running for a second term

Constituency: California’s 8th congressional district

Committee Memberships: Armed Services; Foreign Affairs; Veterans’ Affairs

Service Experience: Cook is a U.S. Marine who served as an infantry officer during the Vietnam War. He earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in his 26 years of service.

Key Achievements: Cook reached across the aisle to partner with Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) to secure $2 million in aid to hire over 3,100 National Guard, Reserve and veterans in California. He also helped broker a deal to expand the vital Marine Corps training base located in Twentynine Palms, CA, while adhering to the unique needs of his constituency.

What’s Next? Cook will be using his position on the Armed Services Committee to authorize an innovative direct placement model for National Guard, Reserve and veterans employment, based on California’s successful Work for Warriors program. Cook included this concept in an amendment to the FY15 House National Defense Authorization Act.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Name: Seth Moulton

Status: Challenger (after unseating incumbent Rep. John F. Tierney in a primary)

Constituency: Massachusetts’ 6th congressional district

Committee Memberships: N/A

Service Experience: Moulton served four tours in Iraq as a U.S. Marine. The Boston Globe only recently discovered that he was awarded the Bronze Star and Navy and Marine Corps commendation — an achievement about which Moulton has been so quietly humble that his parents were surprised to learn of the news via the paper’s report.

Key Achievements: Moulton drew inspiration from his service in Iraq to seek infrastructure reform at home. As the managing director of the Texas Central Railway, he supervised the preliminary engineering and planning of a 240-mile high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston.

What’s Next? Moulton has indicated that he wants to bring VA health care reform back to the top of Congress’s to-do list because it is essential rather than politically expedient. He has pushed for increased funding to the department on the campaign trail as well as expanded educational opportunities in the GI Bill. He will be a leading voice on issues facing post-9/11 veterans.

Tulsi Gabbard

Name: Tulsi Gabbard

Status: Incumbent running for a second term

Constituency: Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district

Committee Memberships: Foreign Affairs; Homeland Security; Armed Services

Service Experience: Gabbard served two tours of duty in Iraq, actually stepping down from the Hawaii State Legislature (of which she was the youngest member ever elected) for her deployment. She is still a member of the U.S. Army National Guard at present.

Key Achievements: Gabbard sponsored the Helping Heroes Fly Act of 2013, which provided for expedited screening for severely injured or disabled active duty military or veterans. She also introduced, along with Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), a bill suspending the visa waiver program for any country that has identified passport holders fighting with ISIS and other extremist organizations.

What’s Next? Gabbard’s work on the Military Justice Improvement Act in 2013 indicates that she will continue to work for reform of how the military prosecutes sexual assault cases. Being from Hawaii, she also will be leading legislative efforts to support the Obama administration’s strategic emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region via advocacy for missile defense and naval funding.

Andreas Mueller and Shawn VanDiver are members of the Truman National Security Project. Mueller is the co-chair of the Cybersecurity Expert Group, and VanDiver is a leading member of the San Diego chapter. Views expressed are their own. 

Photo: Diliff via Wikimedia Commons

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