Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Fifth District Congressman Bob Good was one of only 12 members of the House (all Republicans) who voted against a resolution Wednesday, March 17, to award three gold medals to the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police and the Smithsonian in recognition of those who defended the Capitol from the attack of a Pro-Trump mob January 6.

Exactly why Good joined the 11 other lawmakers is unclear. I emailed Good’s office last week asking why Good voted against honoring those who helped protect him and his colleagues from harm on that horrific January day, but so far, no response has been received.

Some of the dozen objected to calling the attack an “insurrection.” I’m not sure what other word they would use to describe the events when Capitol Police officers were sprayed with bear spray and lawmakers hid from rioters who briefly took control of the building. Others didn’t agree with calling the Capitol a “temple of democracy” saying the Capitol was not a temple and calling the language sacrilegious.

The closest thing to a response from Good has been a tweet.

“Law enforcement officers are worthy of gratitude and praise for their service and sacrifice in our communities every day, not just when politically convenient for Speaker Pelosi. I support @replouiegohemert’s pro-police bill.”

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas presented his own resolution that made no mention of the events of the attack on Capitol. It seems Good and the 11 others want to forget it was thousands of people carrying Trump flags who carried out the attack.

Good can’t have it both ways. The time to vote to honor the police officers who bravely defended the Capitol was during the vote on the resolution, but Good couldn’t bring himself to push the yes button along with 413 of his colleagues. Wordsmithing a Congressional resolution honoring people, including one who died, while defending your life seems more than a bit disingenuous.

The bigger issue for the people of the 5th District is the group of extreme, right-wing legislators the first year congressman has aligned himself with. Among these 11 far right  House members are the infamous Marjorie Taylor Greene,  who has seemingly never heard a conspiracy theory she didn’t believe; Matt Gaetz, who recently said he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin would beat President Joe Biden if the two debated; and Gohmert, who was fined $5,000 for not going through a metal detector before entering the House chamber. It appears our rookie congressman has chosen the wrong table in the Congressional cafeteria to find new friends.

Good is not going to be judged by how often he appears on Fox News to recite GOP talking points. The people of the 5th District need someone who is going to help our businesses recover from the pandemic, get our people back to work and our children back in school.

Our congressman needs to come back home and hold a Town Hall to have the values and needs of the people of the 5th District reenforced. We want a congressman who honors the police, helps out the citizens whenever possible and helps brings jobs and economic growth to provide a better life for all.

The 5th District doesn’t have any time or patience for Good’s political games. There is plenty of hard work that needs to be done. Good’s brand of hyper-partisanship isn’t going to get us where we need to be.

Roger Watson is editor of The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Roger.Watson@KVDispatch.com.