On April 26, 2022, House Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) proudly announced on his website that he had won the "coveted Award for Conservative Excellence by the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), the highest conservative rating given to Members of Congress." From the press release:
"I am once again honored to be recognized by the ACUF for my strong, conservative principles and am pleased to have received the highest possible level of rating given. The ACUF is a conservative organization that focuses on holding members of Congress accountable for their voting record. This rating reflects the conservative principles by which I was elected.Since being elected to Congress, I have maintained a 93.23% lifetime rating by the ACUF. I hope people will look closely at this score to see for themselves my voting record on many important issues. I am thankful that the ACU recognizes my conservative track record, and I applaud them for their continued leadership on conservative values."
I guess one of those conservative values involves openly supporting white nationalists, because following the march for reproductive freedom held in Phoenix on Friday June 24, Gosar tweeted a photo of four young men who were there counter-protesting. In the photo, the four men are seen from the back standing across from the protest crowd. One has his hand in the air and the other is holding up a cross. Along with the photo, Gosar tweeted, "It is my firm belief that the future of our country is in good hands. The kids are patriots. May God keep them safe. Way to go, Gen Z!"
Journalist Nick Martin, who reports on hate and extremism, provides some context about these 'patriots'. He tweeted that "at least three of the four men being praised here by Congressmen Paul Gosar are followers of white nationalist Nick Fuentes. They're on video from Friday calling themselves 'incels' and telling the crowd 'sex is gay' and 'we love the Taliban.'"
You can see the video Martin mentions. I was at the march and walked right by these folks. They were standing on the sidewalk on the march path, with all of their "conservative values" on display—crosses held high, yelling at and arguing with folks as they walked by, and calling people 'whores.' No wonder Gosar is so proud.
