科罗拉多州众议员肯·巴克周三宣布他不会寻求连任，并在一份措辞严厉的声明中解释了他的决定，他指责选举否定主义这已经被一些保守派同僚所接受在房子里。
“太多的共和党领导人在对美国撒谎，”巴克说在一段视频中说道在社交媒体上发布，“声称2020年选举被盗，描述1月6日参观国会大厦并断言接下来的起诉是我们司法系统的武器化。"
“这些阴险的叙述滋生了广泛的犬儒主义，侵蚀了美国人对法治的信心，”巴克说。
他继续说:“共和党不可能直面我们的问题，并为未来提供一个方向修正，同时又执迷于对过去人为不公正的惩罚和报复。”
甚至在他宣布之前，巴克就已经在1月6日和2020年选举问题上与他的一些同事决裂了——这一立场，投票显示，也使他与多少共和党选民说他们的感受不一致，并成为该党最近的议长之争中的一个显着的异议者花了几个星期买房子.
在凯文·麦卡锡被罢免最高职位后，巴克帮助阻止了俄亥俄州司法委员会主席吉姆·乔丹赢得议长职位。
巴克也是八名共和党人之一，他们和民主党少数派一起，在10月初投票“空出”麦卡锡的议长职位。
他说过他不同意麦卡锡时期的预算流程是如何处理的。
关于乔丹，他上个月告诉ABC新闻，“吉姆，如果他要在总统选举周期领导这个会议...将不得不强硬地说唐纳德·特朗普没有赢得选举。”
2015年3月4日，德克萨斯州共和党众议员凯·格兰杰在她的朗沃斯大楼办公室接受点名采访;科罗拉多州共和党众议员肯·巴克对弹劾的第一条投了反对票
汤姆威廉姆斯/CQ唱名和帕特里克斯曼斯基-池/盖蒂图片，文件
然而，在周三的声明中，巴克说得更广泛。
今天的共和党，不是一个建立在亚伯拉罕·林肯和罗纳德·里根这样的领袖传统之上，继续以自由和“经济自由”为中心原则的党...无视关于法治和有限政府的不言自明的真理，以换取自私自利的谎言，”他认为。
这位连任五届的国会议员和前检察官表示，虽然他很感激自己在任期间，也很感激选民支持他“反对左派的政策”，但他表示，他担心目前状态下的共和党不是一个足够的选择。
“美国人理所当然地关心我们国家的未来，并期待华盛顿的共和党人做出正确的调整。但他们希望共和党人采取果断行动的希望可能是徒劳的，”他说。
“我们的国家正在与现实发生冲突，”他说，“坚定不移地坚持真理——即使是令人不快的真理——是唯一的出路。”
“我决定离开国会，因为艰难的投票正被社交媒体地位所取代，”他说，并继续补充说:“是时候停止灌输流行的叙事，开始解决长期的解决方案了。”
巴克并不是本周宣布离开众议院计划的唯一著名的共和党人。强大的众议院拨款委员会主席、德克萨斯州众议员凯·格兰杰说在她自己的陈述中她将在本届任期后离开国会，这是她的第14届任期。
格兰杰的投票在议长之争中也引起了关注，当时她与党内其他一些温和派和当权派成员一起，阻碍了乔丹的上升.
格兰杰在她的声明中说:“我在这一生中取得了超乎我想象的成就，这一切都归功于我不可思议的家人、工作人员、朋友和支持者。”。“美利坚合众国是世界上最伟大的国家，因为我们的人民和我们的开国元勋们的愿景，他们创造了一个确保每个男人、女人和儿童都有机会成功的国家。”
“我所在地区的下一代领导人让我深受鼓舞，”她说。“是时候让下一代站出来接过衣钵，为人民做一个坚强而勇猛的代表了。”
Retiring Republican congressman slams GOP leaders for 'lying to America'
Colorado Rep. Ken Buck on Wednesday announced he won't be seeking reelection and, in a sharply worded statement explaining his decision, he blamed the election denialismthat has been embraced by some fellow conservativesin the House.
"Too many Republican leaders are lying to America," Bucksaid in a videoreleased on social media, "claiming that the 2020 election was stolen,describing Jan. 6as an unguided tour of the Capitol and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system."
"These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans' confidence in the rule of law," Buck said.
He continued: "It is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past."
Even before his announcement, Buck had broken with some of his colleagues over Jan. 6 and the 2020 election -- a position that,polling shows, also put him at odds with how many Republican voters have said they feel -- and became a notable dissenter in the party's recent speakership fight, whichconsumed the House for several weeks.
Buck helped block Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, from winning the speakership in the leadership scramble after Kevin McCarthy was deposed from the top spot.
Buck was also one of the eight Republicans who, along with the Democratic minority, voted to "vacate" McCarthy's speakership in early October.
He has saidhe took issue withhow the budget process was handled under McCarthy.
Of Jordan, he told ABC News last month, "Jim at some point, if he's going to lead this conference during the presidential election cycle ... is going to have to be strong and say Donald Trump didn't win the election."
In his statement on Wednesday, however, Buck spoke more broadly.
Rather than a party that built on the tradition of leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, continuing to center principles of liberty and "economic freedom," "The Republican Party of today ... is ignoring self-evident truths about the rule of law and limited government in exchange for self-serving lies," he argued.
The five-term congressman and former prosecutor said that while he was grateful for his time in office, and for voters' support to fight "against the left's policies," he said he worried the GOP in its current state was not a sufficient alternative.
"Americans are rightfully concerned about our nation's future and are looking to Republicans in Washington for a course correction. But their hope for Republicans to take decisive action may be in vain," he said.
"Our nation is on a collision course with reality," he said, "and a steadfast commitment to truth -- even uncomfortable truths -- is the only way forward."
"I made the decision to leave Congress because tough votes are being replaced by social media status," he said, going on to add: "It's time to stop feeding popular narratives and start addressing the long-term solutions."
Buck was not the only notable Republican to announce their plans to leave the House this week. Texas Rep. Kay Granger, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, saidin her own statementthat she would be leaving Congress after the current term, her 14th.
Granger's vote also drew attention during the speakership fight when she, along with some other moderate and establishment members of the party,blocked Jordan's ascent.
"I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters," Granger said in her statement. "The United States of America is the greatest country in the world because of our people and the vision of our Founding Fathers who created a nation that ensures every man, woman and child has the opportunity to succeed."
"I am encouraged by the next generation of leaders in my district," she said. "It's time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people."
