Receipts, not rants.
Tracking what they said then versus what they say now.
Mark Foley
Behavioral“Foley led the House caucus on missing and exploited children and fought for harsher penalties for sexual predators targeting minors.”
“Foley resigned after sexually explicit messages he sent to underage Congressional pages came to light.”
Championed legislation to protect children from sexual predators while simultaneously engaging in sexually predatory behavior toward underage Congressional pages
Newt Gingrich
Behavioral“What is at stake is the rule of law... No man is above the law.”
“Gingrich admitted he was having an extramarital affair with congressional staffer Callista Bisek during the same period he was leading Clinton's impeachment.”
Led the impeachment of a president for lying about an extramarital affair while simultaneously conducting his own extramarital affair with a congressional staffer 23 years his junior
Mitch McConnell
Temporal“You'll regret this, and you may regret it a lot sooner than you think.”
“We need to restore the norms and traditions of the Senate and get past this unprecedented partisan filibuster.”
Warned Democrats they would regret changing filibuster rules, then expanded those same rule changes further when it was politically convenient for Republicans to confirm a Supreme Court justice
Lindsey Graham
Partisan“I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”
“I will support President Trump in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.”
Explicitly stated the rule should apply regardless of which party held the presidency, invited people to use his words against him, then did the opposite when a Republican president had the vacancy
Mitch McConnell
Partisan“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
“President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”
Established the precedent that Supreme Court vacancies should not be filled in an election year, then reversed the rule when it benefited his party, filling a vacancy much closer to an election than the one he blocked
Larry Craig
Behavioral“Craig voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and co-sponsored the Federal Marriage Amendment. He earned high ratings from the Family Research Council and American Family Association for his anti-gay voting record.”
“Craig pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after an undercover police officer accused him of soliciting sex in a men's restroom at Minneapolis airport.”
Built an entire political career on opposing LGBTQ rights while privately engaging in the same behavior he legislated against, weaponizing anti-gay sentiment for political gain
Republican Party
Partisan“Republicans pushed the federal government to the brink of default and demanded spending cuts under President Obama, claiming the national debt was an existential threat.”
“Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act projected to cost $1.9 trillion over ten years and also increased spending, despite the economy being at the peak of the business cycle.”
The same party that nearly triggered a global financial crisis over deficit concerns under a Democratic president then added trillions to the deficit under a Republican president with no comparable urgency or concern
Mitt Romney
Temporal“I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country.”
“I am firmly pro-life.”
Complete reversal on one of the most fundamental political positions, with the change conveniently aligning with the audience he needed to appeal to (Massachusetts voters vs. Republican primary voters)
Democratic Party
Partisan“Democrats used the filibuster to block 10 of Bush's judicial nominees and warned that eliminating the filibuster for judicial nominations would be a 'raw abuse of power'.”
“Democrats invoked the nuclear option to eliminate the filibuster for executive and judicial nominations when Republicans used the same tactic against Obama's nominees.”
Democrats passionately defended the judicial filibuster when they were using it to block Bush nominees, then eliminated it when Republicans used the same tool against Obama nominees
Bill Clinton
Behavioral“Clinton displayed his wife and daughter during his presidential campaign to project the image of a loyal, committed family man.”
“Indeed I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.”
Cultivated a public image as a devoted family man for political benefit while conducting an extramarital affair in the White House, then lied about it publicly and under oath
Harry Reid
Temporal“The threat to change Senate rules is a raw abuse of power and will destroy the very checks and balances our Founding Fathers put in place.”
“The American people believe Congress is broken. The American people believe the Senate is broken. And I believe the American people are right.”
Passionately defended the filibuster for judicial nominees when it benefited Democrats, then eliminated it when Democrats controlled the Senate and Republicans were the ones filibustering
Scott Perry
Temporal“We're bankrupting America... We cannot continue to spend money we don't have.”
“We helped secure changes to the Trump legislation that brought its cost down by more than $1 trillion.”
Built his entire political identity around fiscal conservatism and deficit reduction, then voted for what his own Democratic colleagues called 'the single greatest increase to our national debt in American history'
Mitt Romney
Temporal“With regards to the mandate, the individual responsibility program... I proposed it. I'm proud of it.”
“If I'm elected president, I will repeal Obamacare.”
Romney championed the individual mandate at the state level, and the ACA was explicitly modeled on his Massachusetts law with help from his own advisers, yet he campaigned on repealing the federal version of his own policy
Gavin Newsom
Behavioral“Newsom issued strict COVID-19 guidelines banning indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than a dozen people and requiring masks at all times when near others outside the household.”
“Newsom was photographed dining at the French Laundry restaurant at a lobbyist's birthday party with a dozen guests, closely packed and without masks, violating his own COVID protocols.”
Imposed strict COVID rules on millions of Californians while personally violating those same rules at an elite dinner party, demonstrating a 'rules for thee, not for me' attitude
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Behavioral“For our government just to say, 'OK, well your debt is completely forgiven'... it's completely unfair.”
“Greene's business, Taylor Commercial Inc., received a PPP loan of $182,300, which was later fully forgiven with interest totaling $183,504.”
Criticized government loan forgiveness as unfair while having benefited from $183,504 in government loan forgiveness for her own business
Josh Hawley
Behavioral“Hawley raised his fist in solidarity with the crowd of Trump supporters gathering outside the Capitol.”
“Hawley was seen running through a Senate hallway, briskly descending a staircase to flee the rioters he had encouraged.”
Encouraged the crowd with a solidarity fist pump, then fled when they acted on the energy he helped create, and later monetized the fist-pump image while condemning the violence
Donald Trump
Temporal“I'm not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican, and I'm not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.”
“This is a great plan. I actually think it will get even better.”
Made an explicit, repeated campaign promise not to cut Medicaid, then supported legislation that would have cut it by $880 billion
Ted Cruz
Behavioral“Hurricane Sandy funding bill is filled with unrelated pork. Two-thirds of that bill had nothing to do with Sandy.”
“Texas has been hit by a devastating natural disaster, and the state needs the federal government's help.”
Voted against federal disaster relief for other states citing fiscal concerns, then sought the same type of relief when his own state was affected. Fact-checkers debunked his claim that two-thirds of the Sandy bill was pork
Robert Bentley
Behavioral“Bentley campaigned as a 'family values' candidate and Sunday school teacher, emphasizing his devout Baptist faith and family-centered lifestyle.”
“Bentley was accused of committing adultery with his top political adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason, with recorded audio of intimate conversations released publicly.”
Campaigned explicitly on Christian family values and moral leadership while conducting an extramarital affair with a political adviser and allegedly using state resources to conceal it