No. of Recommendations: 15
Tony Gonzales
No morality clauses with a House majority this small.
We wrote last week about the scandal surrounding Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who had been accused of having an affair with a staffer who later took her own life by self-immolation, after her husband discovered the texts and the staffer was allegedly ostracized at work. It got worse this week (apparently possible). Extracted texts between Gonzales and the former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, were published showing him repeatedly sending her explicit sexual texts and her rebuffing him.
This is the stuff that usually ends in short order with a resignation, either of the member’s own volition or at the speaker’s insistence. That’s not the case now. While some individual Republicans have called on Gonzales to resign, Gonzales has said he won’t, and Speaker Mike Johnson is saying he’ll allow House investigations into the matter to run their course. Johnson also observed that Gonzales is facing a primary on Tuesday and “these things will play out.” Well sure, but that’s for a term that wouldn’t start for another 11 months. Can we be clear about what’s going on here? Mike Johnson’s majority is 218–214, and he doesn’t want to lose another vote. That’s the bottom line. And it gives all other House members the green light to be as sinister as they’d like for the rest of the year. Slate
Mike Johnson, that phony Christian...is there anyone more slimy and disgusting? Oh, it's the GOP, chock full of slimy and disgusting.
