Western Pennsylvania Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler and Mike Kelly are among 136 members in the U.S. House and Senate getting “Very Poor” grades in a “GOP Democracy Report Card” by the conservative group called “The Republican Accountability Project” (RAP).”Unfortunately for both of them, they both actually failed the Democracy test. They both got “Fs” on this report card, Olivia Troye, director of the Republican Accountability Project, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.Troye served in the Trump administration as a top aide and national security advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, but became a Donald Trump critic. What are the grades based on? Fueling false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen.”Voting against certifying the election results, and casting doubt on the election through their statements and public rhetoric. What they were saying, they went along with Donald Trump’s big lie. And they chose to personally carry that narrative forward,” Troye said.Reschenthaler, (R) 14th District, did not grant repeated requests from Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for comment — and hasn’t done so since the Jan. 6 insurrection and riot at the U.S. Capitol.Kelly dismisses the criticism of him and Reschenthaler as the work of “never-Trump” Republicans.”Guy and I do think the same way on a lot of things. I think 75 million Americans thought the same thing we did,” Kelly, (R) 16th District, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.The Republican Accountability Project gives Pennsylvania US Senator Pat Toomey an “A” grade, rating him as “Excellent.”The group says Toomey “affirmed certification of all state’s electoral college votes”, and “made statements that supported the integrity of American Democracy”.We asked Kelly, “Do you feel the election was not lost by Donald Trump?Kelly responded, “I feel there’s enough there that should have been looked at that was never looked at.”Kelly blames the U.S. Supreme Court for not hearing challenges that had been rejected as baseless by lower courts.”It’s not that we lost the presidency. It’s just that we’re losing confidence now in the way that we’re holding our elections,” Kelly said. Troye says that rhetoric is dangerous for democracy.”And it’s leading to some dangerous rabbit holes, I would say, of conspiracies and divisiveness. And it leads to a whole group of the population out there that still believe today that the election was stolen,” Troye said.Republican Accountability Project is part of a group called Defending Democracy Together. RAP was formerly Republican Voters Against Trump. The project was formed after the events of Jan. 6.”We launched this project, really, to hold the people accountable who were some of the main enablers of that moment,” Troye said, “And also support the few Republicans who took a stand for our country and for their oath to the Constitution, and voted to convict former President Donald Trump in the impeachment proceedings, based on what we saw at the U.S. Capitol that day.” Kelly said, “It sounds to me like it’s the usual suspects. People who were never happy that Donald Trump became our presidential candidate.”
Western Pennsylvania Congressmen Guy Reschenthaler and Mike Kelly are among 136 members in the U.S. House and Senate getting “Very Poor” grades in a “GOP Democracy Report Card” by the conservative group called “The Republican Accountability Project” (RAP).
“Unfortunately for both of them, they both actually failed the Democracy test. They both got “Fs” on this report card, Olivia Troye, director of the Republican Accountability Project, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
Troye served in the Trump administration as a top aide and national security advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, but became a Donald Trump critic.
What are the grades based on? Fueling false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
“Voting against certifying the election results, and casting doubt on the election through their statements and public rhetoric. What they were saying, they went along with Donald Trump’s big lie. And they chose to personally carry that narrative forward,” Troye said.
Reschenthaler, (R) 14th District, did not grant repeated requests from Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for comment — and hasn’t done so since the Jan. 6 insurrection and riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Kelly dismisses the criticism of him and Reschenthaler as the work of “never-Trump” Republicans.
“Guy and I do think the same way on a lot of things. I think 75 million Americans thought the same thing we did,” Kelly, (R) 16th District, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
The Republican Accountability Project gives Pennsylvania US Senator Pat Toomey an “A” grade, rating him as “Excellent.”
The group says Toomey “affirmed certification of all state’s electoral college votes”, and “made statements that supported the integrity of American Democracy”.
We asked Kelly, “Do you feel the election was not lost by Donald Trump?
Kelly responded, “I feel there’s enough there that should have been looked at that was never looked at.”
Kelly blames the U.S. Supreme Court for not hearing challenges that had been rejected as baseless by lower courts.
“It’s not that we lost the presidency. It’s just that we’re losing confidence now in the way that we’re holding our elections,” Kelly said.
Troye says that rhetoric is dangerous for democracy.
“And it’s leading to some dangerous rabbit holes, I would say, of conspiracies and divisiveness. And it leads to a whole group of the population out there that still believe today that the election was stolen,” Troye said.
Republican Accountability Project is part of a group called Defending Democracy Together. RAP was formerly Republican Voters Against Trump. The project was formed after the events of Jan. 6.
“We launched this project, really, to hold the people accountable who were some of the main enablers of that moment,” Troye said, “And also support the few Republicans who took a stand for our country and for their oath to the Constitution, and voted to convict former President Donald Trump in the impeachment proceedings, based on what we saw at the U.S. Capitol that day.”
Kelly said, “It sounds to me like it’s the usual suspects. People who were never happy that Donald Trump became our presidential candidate.”
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