This Saturday (May 21), Virginia’s 5th congressional district Republicans will hold a convention to select their nominee. The two candidates are incumbent Rep. Bob Good (for more on him, see “I can tell everything I need to know about Bob Good in this one photo”, Virginia GOP Rep. Bob Good Makes Blatantly Racist, Revolting Comments About Afghan Refugees, Far-Right, Insurrectionist, Extremist Rep. Bob Good (R-VA05) Endorses Conspiracy Theorist, 1/6 Trump Rally Attendee State Sen. Amanda Chase for Reelection, etc) and U.S. Air Force veteran Dan Moy. This is a “deep-red” district (Youngkin won it 60%-39%; Gillespie won it by 10 points over Ralph Northam), so the winner of the Republican nomination (almost certainly Bob Good, sad to say) is highly likely to be elected in November over Democratic nominee Josh Throneburg (who would be INFINITELY superior to Good, of course).
Anyway, with that depressing background, see below for who’s endorsing Bob Good, including a quick comment on each. The endorsements are very revealing, both of the endorsers themselves and also of insurrectionist, extremist, bigot, climate-and-COVID-science denier, conspiracy theorist, etc. Bob Good.
- The endorsement of Good by supposed “moderate” (hahahaha, right!) Glenn Youngkin says a great deal about Youngkin, and absolutely nothing positive. At “best,” this endorsement is cynical or simply robotic party loyalty on Youngkin’s part. At worst, Youngkin actually agrees with Good’s extremism, bigotry, etc. Either way, it’s anything but “good.”
- Del. Nick Freitas is about as far right as you can get, plus he’s really ambitious politically (he ran – and lost – for U.S. Senate in 2018, then ran – and lost – for U.S. House in 2020) so his endorsement of Good isn’t surprising. But it’s very revealing…of both of them.
- VA State Senator Bill Stanley (R) last fall campaigned with insurrectionist/extremist Amanda Chase (even after abstaining on the Senate’s vote to censure her). He also just delivered a completely unhinged speech (see this article for more) in support of moving Loudoun County’s school board elections up a year. So it’s not surprising that he’d endorse the unhinged Bob Good. But still…WTF?
- Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) is not really any better than Bob Good. For more on Cline, see Video: In Cringe-Inducingly Bad Speech at Extremist CPAC Conference, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Claims Virginia Was One of “Original States Fighting the Original Cancel Culture” Against Thomas Jefferson, etc.; Audio: On Trumpster Radio This Morning, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Demonstrates Yet Again Why He’s Utterly Unfit to Serve in Congress; Virginia’s Four Republican Members of Congress All Get “F/Very Poor” Ratings On New “GOP Democracy Report Card”; etc. Any further questions?
- For more on Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, see here. Among other things: “In 2020, Biggs joined Representative Paul Gosar in a video falsely claiming that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election”; “Biggs also spoke at rallies promoting the ‘Stop the Steal’ election conspiracy movement, and has claimed antifa was behind the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol”; and “In the aftermath of the events on January 6, Biggs’s brothers William and Daniel wrote a letter to the editor of The Arizona Republic demanding their brother’s removal from office. They wrote that Biggs is “at least partially to blame” for the Capitol storming. They also condemned his refusal to wear a mask in the secure location.” Great, huh?
- Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania is another piece of work. For instance: On December 20, 2021, the House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack called for an interview with Perry – the first time it publicly sought to question a sitting member of Congress. Perry emphatically declined the request the next day. The panel’s chairperson said it had evidence from several witnesses that Perry had ‘an important role’ in efforts to install Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general, as part of attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.” Horrible.
- Rep. Thomas Massie is one of the most far-right members of Congress. For instance: “In September 2020, Massie said Kyle Rittenhouse, who was charged with first-degree intentional homicide after shooting two people at a protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, had shown ‘incredible restraint’, noting that Rittenhouse ‘didn’t empty a magazine into a crowd.'” WTF? Also: “Massie is a part of a small group of Republicans who voted against a House resolution reaffirming commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power in the United States under democratic principles.” So…yeah, a perfect fit with Bob Good.
- But wait, there’s more! Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia “has a history of repeatedly sharing quotes falsely attributed to the Founding Fathers”; “has been described as a staunch Trump loyalist and an America First Republican”; “said that supporters of abortion rights are worse than Adolf Hitler”; “was one of 21 House Republicans to vote against a resolution to give the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6”; etc. Beyond disgusting.
- Then there’s Rep. Chip Roy of Texas: “Over 100 text messages gathered by the January 6th Commission revealed the coordination by Roy and Utah’s U.S. Senator Mike Lee with Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to overturn Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election…On November 7, 2020, before traveling to Georgia to help fight the election results there, Roy texted Meadows: ‘Dude, we need ammo. We need fraud examples. We need it this weekend.'” Yikes.
In sum, Good has been endorsed by some of the absolute worst of the worst in this country – insurrectionists, extremists, Trump dead-enders, etc. The fact that Good is likely to win the Republican nomination this Saturday, and also likely to be reelected in November, is infuriating and highly disturbing.
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