JOHN RUTHERFORD, ANOTHER PATHETIC RINO WHOSE TIME HAS NOW COME…

Let me just say that it is once more than I am less than impressed my representative in the U.S. House, John Rutherford. You see, it was after a less than impressive career in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office that Rutherford decided to run for Congress to replace retiring Ander Crenshaw. And while Crenshaw was only a borderline conservative at best, Rutherford, during his tenure, has proven to be nothing more than a reliable RINO. It was during the primary process, after having watched him as Sheriff, that I chose to vote for Rutherford’s opponent, but in the general election I must admit that I did vote for him. But that was the last time I did so.

Rutherford has proven to be no better as a member of Congress than he was as member of the Sheriff’s Department. And it was once again that Rutherford himself has proven me right in choosing not to vote for him. You see, Rutherford has now escalated his increasingly personal attacks against Rep. Jim Jordan as moderates and establishment Republicans, aka RINOs like Rutherford, continue working to derail the Republican’s Speaker nominee. Rutherford has demanded that Jordan now step down, insisting “the race is over” and even suggesting Republicans “either go to conference to show him in private or back to the floor to show him in public."

Rutherford, who also happens to be a stalwart supporter of increased taxpayer aid to Ukraine’s war effort, accused Jordan of “fiddling while the world is on fire.” Rutherford voted against Jordan on both ballots on the House floor this week, and he sighted Jordan winning 200 followed by 199 votes in his two rounds, short of the necessary 217, as being reason enough for him to step aside. Needless to say, I have made more than one phone call to Rutherford’s office, but to no avail. So essentially, he leaves me with no choice but to, once again, not vote for him when he comes up for re-election. My hope is that there will be someone who runs against him.

And I’m sure that it comes as virtually no surprise that in January’s speaker election Rutherford proudly stood by Kevin McCarthy, a fellow RINO, throughout all fifteen rounds of voting, during which McCarthy’s vote totals similarly hovered around 200 through the first dozen rounds. After one of those rounds McCarthy also lost support, and yet maintained Rutherford’s backing. McCarthy won on the 15th ballot by the very slimmest of margins. Rutherford has advocated for Republicans to work with Democrats to empower Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry and has echoed other anti-Jordan Republican talking points in more than few tweets.

Yet the Appropriations Committee, on which Rutherford serves, does not appear to have done much work during the 269 days in which this Congress did have a Speaker. Seats on the coveted Appropriations Committee are traditionally reserved for the most ardent allies of leadership. Crossing Republican leadership by voting against the leadership position can jeopardize one’s position on the committee. Rutherford, a supporter of Steve Scalise for Speaker, has referenced Scalise’s support of the majority of the Republican conference as the reason for backing the Louisianan. On Scalise’s winning ballot, Scalise won 113 votes to Jordan’s 99.

Rutherford is nothing more than a two-bit phony and he has shown, repeatedly, that my decision not to vote for him to be re-elected has been the right one. And it was his statement that Scalise won “by majority rule” that was more than a little misleading. Three of Scalise’s votes in conference came from non-voting delegates from Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico. These members are unable to vote for Speaker on the House floor. Without those three votes from delegates, Scalise fell short of majority support from the House Republicans. But that seemed to matter not to those like RINO Rutherford, we in his district now have the duty to send him packing.

Rutherford’s double standards were again on display in the tweet thread from October 11, the day Scalise won the Republican nomination before later dropping out after lacking a path to the speakership. Rutherford claimed that every Republican should get behind the Republican nominee, saying “any member of the Republican Conference who doesn’t follow majority rule is just an obstructionist.” Despite Jordan winning the Republican nomination just two days later, the “obstructionist” Rutherford has now voted against Jordan twice on the House floor. Rutherford has continually demonstrated that he has no business being in Congress.

As well, I think it worth mentioning that in June 2022, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Rutherford for failure to disclose multiple stock trades in accordance with the law. Rutherford reportedly paid thousands of dollars in fines for missing filing deadlines over multiple years but refused to meet with the committee, leading to the investigation’s formalization. One of the stocks Rutherford purchased was Raytheon, which he purchased the same day Russia invaded Ukraine. It was via a tweet that same day that Rutherford said, “The U.S. and our allies must impose the maximum possible sanctions & leave nothing off the table."

Rutherford’s case is unique to say the least in that he also serves on the Ethics Committee, sitting on its investigative branch. Oddly enough it was that committee that dismissed the charges in August 2022. Just one of those things that make you go, hmmmmmmm. Rutherford is more of a Democrat than a Republican. He just uses an (R) by his name to get elected. For God’s sake, the man has a Liberty Score of 53 percent, an F. Clearly his only reason for opposing Jordan is because if Jordan were to become Speaker, Mr. Rutherford gets his piggy bank broken. He’s for spending, earmarks and massive giveaways to other countries. He needs to go.

With the world is teetering on the brink and a corrupt, dementia patient for a president and a cabinet is filled with incompetent boobs, it’s ‘Republicans’ like Rutherford who seem interested in nothing more than lining their own pockets. Rutherford should not be allowed to continue in his current position. He has no interest in serving his constituents, only himself. And he also has no interest in keeping this nation safe. He is a fraud and a con man. I made the mistake of voting for him once, and since he has now become more a part of the problem than a part of the solution, I have not made, and will not make, that mistake again.

And finally, it’s time for those whom Rutherford relies upon to continue his ‘career’ to come together and put an end to that ‘career,’ as he is no longer deserving of anyone’s support. RINOs such as him are worse than Democrats, at least Democrats are upfront about their desire to destroy this country. Joey has destroyed our economy, our military and has thrown open our border, making it far more likely that our homeland will be hit. There can be no working across the aisle anymore, the enemy is among us. And it would seem that our cadre of RINOs can’t be bothered with doing their job. A thorough House cleaning is now called for, Rutherford and those like him need to be retired.