Paul Gosar, censure, and the further decline of civility in Congress

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, like many Americans in the age of Facebook and Twitter, has discovered that posting something inflammatory on social media can have consequences in the real world.

On Wednesday, Democrats in the House of Representatives, joined by two Republicans, voted to censure Representative Gosar and strip him of his committee assignments for tweeting an altered cartoon video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and brandishing two swords at President Joe Biden.

If nothing else, the incident demonstrated the depth of animosity that has developed between the majority and minority parties in the House. To Democrats, there was nothing amusing or entertaining about the Japanese anime-style clip. They saw it as a ratcheted-up example of the menacing threats of violence that have emanated from some corners of the Republican Party in recent years.