It’s time for Matt Gaetz to go
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who has been surrounded by controversy throughout his time in office, is running for re-election in November. Gaetz began his political career in 2010 as a state legislator but had a questionable history in college that came to light in 2021 when the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began an investigation on whether or not Gaetz was involved in human trafficking with a 17-year-old. Gaetz, who was the only politician to vote against an anti human trafficking bill denied allegations and the case was eventually dropped due to a lack of substantial evidence. It is clear that Gaetz has not had a clean history and how he’s still in congress is astonishing, dangerous to our government and says something about the trajectory our country is heading.
In terms of racial problems in America, Gaetz referred to the Black Lives Matter protesters as terrorists and proposed the idea of “hunting them down like we do those in the Middle East.” Against a vast majority of peaceful protesters advocating for change, Gaetz offered Kyle Rittenhouse, a teen who killed two people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a Congressional internship and called him a “patriot.” In June following the Jan. 6 riots, Gaetz was one of 21 House Republicans to vote against a resolution to award the police officers who defended the capitol a Congressional Gold medal. Gaetz is willing to do anything to prevent change in both policing and systemic racism in the U.S. He calls Rittenhouse a “patriot” but at the same time votes against awarding officers who risked their lives defending the capitol and politicians at the capitol Is Kyle Rittenhouse more of a patriot than those officers? What is a patriot? Is a patriot someone who brings a gun to a protest seeking violence or someone who defends their country from a coup?
In the first place, politicians who can’t follow simple laws and respect others such as Gaetz shouldn’t even be in office. The US seems to be regressing; with Gaetz, an alleged human trafficking offender in office it seems as if anyone can be in office. Politicians, too scared to stand up for what’s right don’t speak out either, and constituents, too bigoted to vote against their party continue supporting Gaetz. With America becoming more and more polarized, this norm of not speaking out against those representing the party you associate with will only increase. Politicians like Gaetz shamelessly encourage further division by insulting those different from him, and threaten the freedom and tolerance that America is known for. This idea has long been the core of America, and what this country was founded on. Gaetz is by far the most unqualified and divisive politician in the US at the moment, and his ideas encourage Republicans to push for more division and less cooperation. I believe that Matt Gaetz’s prior history, his personal views and ideals for America and his words have shown that he is dangerous for America. Gaetz must be voted out as soon as possible and if not, other House Representatives must work to limit his power and influence over America’s agenda.
