Rep. Gosar Used Pandemic Vote-by-Proxy to Speak at Far-Right Extremist Event
Joining Gosar in playing hooky were at least 13 House Republicans
Peter Wade, provided by
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Last year, the House of Representatives gave its members the option to vote by proxy by designating another member to cast a vote in their absence if the member’s absence was due to the “ongoing public health crisis.” But Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) voted by proxy on Friday so he could also appear at the far-right AFPAC, the right-wing extremist answer to CPAC. And a number of Republicans joined Gosar in playing fast and loose with the rules of this new option. More than a dozen GOP members of Congress skipped votes on the Covid-19 relief package Friday to attend CPAC.
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The conference is a white nationalist alternative to CPAC.
Gosar cited special rules introduced by Congress during the pandemic to skip attending the vote in person.
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona skipped Friday night s vote on the stimulus bill to attend a white nationalist conference in Florida.
Gosar on Friday night was among the attendees of America First Political Action Committee (AFPAC), a far-right alternative to the CPAC conference of conservatives held nearby.
White nationalist activist Nick Fuentes organizes the conference. Fuentes was among the far-right activists who rallied Trump supporters ahead of the January 6 Capitol riot and attended the Charlottesville white nationalist rally in 2017.
good evening, everyone. i m erin burnett. outfront tonight, facebook not making many friends this evening because just a few hours ago, facebook came out with its first earnings report as a big public company. and it did do about what people thought. revenue was up 32% from a year ago. that may sound good but the problem is facebook s shares are taking a big hit. you remember, this is a company that was second biggest stock market launch ever. today facebook shares closed at 26 a share. $26 a share. you see that black diamond-looking ski slope. it s falling even after the market closed tonight. down about 30% from where it went public. this obviously has hurt a lot of people who struggled to try to get shares of this ipo. why are people so nervous? there s one word and it s money. during tonight s conference call with investors, mark zuckerberg, the ceo of facebook, made it clear that making money from advertising is a top priority. we know that social ads perform much be
earnings report as a big public company. and it did do about what people thought. revenue was up 32% from a year ago. that may sound good but the problem is facebook s shares are taking a big hit. you remember, this is a company that was second biggest stock market launch ever. today facebook shares closed at 26 a share. you see that black diamond-looking ski slope. it s falling even after the market closed tonight. down about 30% from where it went public. this obviously has hurt a lot of people who struggled to try to get shares of this ipo. why are people so nervous? there s one word and it s money. during tonight s conference call with investors, mark zuckerberg, the ceo of facebook, made it clear that making money from advertising is a top priority. we know that social ads perform much better than nonsocial ads so our job over the next few years is to increase the percentage of ads that are social and engaging. social and engaging ads. well, you know, advertising a w