Earlier this week 63 House Republicans voted no on a resolution supporting NATO; the next day six of them voted no on a House bill that requires the State Department to preserve evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. A month earlier 17 Republicans had voted against a ban on Russian oil. In all of these pro-Russia votes you’ll find Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, both Representatives from Arizona.
Now a group hopes to remove them and former Arizona legislator Mark Finchem from the November ballot for their central role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The pro-Russia/pro-insurrection stories are not unrelated, as Rep. Raskin noted when he described the “Trump-Putin Axis.”
Gosar and Biggs were implicated in the Jan. 6 planning by the rally’s organizer Ali Alexander, who called Gosar the heart of the movement. Biggs provided a video for the Jan. 6 rally and Gosar was the first official that day to object to the certification, intending instead to introduce Arizona’s fake slate of electors (but then the House floor was cleared). This followed a months-long history of Stop the Steal bullshit; like Trump, well before Nov. 3 Arizona Republicans were priming their base, telling them the only way Biden can win the state is by cheating (despite polls showing Biden ahead). On election night Gosar was already attending a Stop the Steal rally. They continued for months, featuring Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and guillotines, and often led by Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward. Election fraud became the official GOP platform, which led to the outrageous “forensic audit” that only proved Joe Biden won the state by even more votes.
That’s not all, but I probably don’t need to list all of the racist, pro-Putin, anti-women, anti-democratic mush these goofballs have foisted on Arizona and the American people. Six of Gosar’s own siblings have appeared in political ads and interviews calling out their brother’s white supremacy and lies, which were recently on display at Nick Fuentes’ racist conference where the manly men, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, cheered Putin. That’s nothing new for Gosar; a few years ago, during Cliven Bundy’s standoff with the Feds, he went to Nevada to stand with the criminals—against the government. He’s still at it, standing with Putin—against Ukraine and democracy.
For his part, Andy Biggs is only in Congress because he won a $10 million magazine sweepstakes that allowed him to launch his political career at the Arizona legislature, then later Congress. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says she “loves” Andy Biggs (she’s said that about other racist Republicans too), but the only thing Biggs has done is use his position to screw over people who were not as fortunate as this sweepstakes winner.
Mark Finchem, another insurrection cheerleader, is no longer in the legislature, but he was on Jan. 6 when he attended the Capitol rally and riot, then lied about it. Ali Alexander said Stop the Steal would not have gotten off the ground without Finchem. An unapologetic QAnon nutball, he swims in conspiracy theories and is running for Secretary of State. His first act if he wins? Decertify the 2020 election.
This week a lawsuit was filed by Free Speech for People, asserting that Gosar, Biggs, and Finchem should be booted from the November ballot.
A trio of lawsuits seek to disqualify Republican Congressmen Andy Biggs and Paul Gosarand state Rep. Mark Finchem from the ballot for their alleged roles in the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The lawsuits are part of a growing legal effort to use the Fourteenth Amendment to disqualify candidates because of their support of the January 6 attack, claiming they are “insurrectionists” and thus unable to hold public office. The amendment was adopted during Reconstruction after the Civil War and was intended to bar Confederate leaders from being elected to positions of power.
Biggs and Gosar are seeking re-election, while Finchem is running for secretary of state.
Gosar’s office calls the lawsuit “frivolous,” but the candidates aren’t talking. Of course they opposed the creation of the Jan. 6 Committee, and they’ve all tried to block their text messages and phone records related to that day. For the life of me, I don't know why they have not been called to testify before the Committee (as if they’d appear!), but perhaps the members don’t need to hear from them—their public statements, tweets, and actions are incriminating and informative enough. When someone shows you who they are, believe them, and these boobs have not even tried to hide their admiration for insurrectionists or a murderous thug’s regime.
I imagine all three would not object to wearing one of those “I’d Rather Be A Russian Than Democrat” T-shirts.
Please proceed. Go find your freedumb in Putin’s hell hole.