Welcome to what is the 849th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Guy Reschenthaler, the freshman U.S. House Representative from Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District and a former member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Reschenthaler’s reputation as a young up-and-comer in the GOP stems from his work as serving as the defense in a military trial for a Navy SEAL accused of covering up the assault of Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi while he was being detained prior to his execution. And if there’s anything the Republican Party loves right now, it’d defending war crimes.
Anyway, Reschenthaler’s political career is somewhat miraculous given what he was doing upon returning home from Iraq… he was the co-host of a radio show with white nationalist Carl Higbie, who on-air, likes to comment about how African Americans don’t “contribute equally to society”, and that “the black race is lazier than the white race”. And Reschenthaler would like to distance himself from his old racist, sexist, homophobic buddy from conservative radio, and pretend that he barely even knows the guy… and yet he wrote the forward for Higbie’s book, which contains discussions about Hurricane Katrina survivors (“human parasites”), slavery (“I certainly don’t agree with slavery, but I do think that you should play the hand you are dealt, and good physical genetics are definitely dealt to many blacks”), Puerto Ricans (“If you are so proud of your old country, then go back”), LGBTQ people (“widespread acceptance is wrong”), Muslims (“it is also my right to be suspicious” of someone wearing a turban), and undocumented immigrants (those who attempt to cross the border should be shot “dead”). When called out for it, Reschenthaler insisted he hadn’t read the book he wrote a glowing forward for.
It will not be surprising to you, then, that Guy Reschenthaler is also a huge cheerleader for Donald Trump, to the extent that it seems to be what he spends most of his energy on since he arrived in Washington, D.C. Whether is was how he rolled up his sleeves to Soviet-esque when he testified before Congress or spread conspiracy theories about his investigation into Donald Trump , (while choosing to not attend hearings to actually try and defend the president). As late as February 12th, 2020, Reschenthaler was giddy as he went on Fox Business to declare “Donald Trump is doing better than ever!”, which lines up on the timeline of a stretch where Trump was ignoring warnings about COVID-19 while hitting the links, and on the precipice of a looming Stock Market Crash due to it.
- January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler also voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
- February 28th, 2019: Guy Reschenthaler votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 14th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
- April 4th, 2019: Guy Reschenthaler is one of 158 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- May 17th, 2019: Reschenthaler votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
- June 4th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Guy Reschenthaler votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
- December 18th, 2019: Rep. Reschenthaler ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District has a +14 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, and in November will face off against William Marx, a civics teacher, veteran, and union member with a Master’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh. We’re definitely hoping for an upset, but Marx will have a big hill to climb.
One Year Ago, April 5th, 2019: Dick Black (VA)… 2019 Update
Two Years Ago, April 5th, 2018: Dick Black (VA)… 2018 Update
Three Year Ago, April 5th, 2017: Dick Black (VA)… 2017 Update
Four Years Ago, April 5th, 2016: Dick Black (VA)… 2016 Update
Five Years Ago, April 9th, 2015: Dick Black (VA)… Original Profile