Democrats are condemning Republican Sen. Josh Hawley for objecting to certifying the 2020 election results, even though they are guilty of doing the same thing for purely political reasons.
On Wednesday, Hawley announced he will object during the Electoral College certification process on Jan. 6, unless an election integrity and voter fraud investigation is called.
“I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws,” Hawley said, noting that some Democrats objected to the elections in 2004 and 2016.
“And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega-corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden,” he added. “At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act.”
Hawley’s announcement was met with harsh backlash from politicians, journalists, and others on the left.
“This is how you run for President on the Republican side in 2024. You join a coup attempt,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said.
This is how you run for President on the Republican side in 2024. You join a coup attempt.
Democracy will prevail. As lead Dem on Rules Com. I will guarantee it. There’s a bipartisan group of electeds who will put our country first. See you on the 6th! https://t.co/jDkGVi4vDw
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) December 30, 2020
“By announcing that he will object during Congress’s counting of Electoral College votes, @HawleyMO is the clear winner of the ‘Most Craven, Unprincipled, & Corrupt Senator’ award. Senators Johnson, Paul, Graham, McConnell, Cruz, & Rubio were very competitive, but Hawley wins,” former CIA Director John Brennan said.
By announcing that he will object during Congress’s counting of Electoral College votes, @HawleyMO is the clear winner of the “Most Craven, Unprincipled, & Corrupt Senator” award. Senators Johnson, Paul, Graham, McConnell, Cruz, & Rubio were very competitive, but Hawley wins. https://t.co/N6wMF8SpXV
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) December 30, 2020
Making him unfit to serve, anti-democratic. Un-American. And a disgrace. https://t.co/p4YQtFHzQ4
— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) December 30, 2020
Despite the left’s frustrations with Hawley, Democrats have objected to Republican certifications for more than a decade.
In 2016, multiple House Democrats attempted to object to the electoral votes from multiples states in Donald Trump’s election to the presidency. Many cited concerns over the now-disproved Russia hoax and potentially “hacked” voting machines.
“The electors were not lawfully certified, especially given the confirmed and illegal activities engaged by the government of Russia,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said.
The objections were overruled by then-Vice President Joe Biden, who repeated that objections were required to be in writing and signed by someone from each chamber of Congress.
Even before that in 2005, Democrats in Congress objected to the certification of Ohio’s 20 electoral votes for George W. Bush on the grounds that “they wanted to draw attention to the need for aggressive election reform in the wake of what they said were widespread voter problems.” The objection was overturned but continued to be highlighted by some on the left.
“How can we possibly tell millions of Americans who registered to vote, who came to the polls in record numbers, particularly our young people … to simply get over it and move on?” the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, said.
The same process occurred in 2001 when at least 12 members of the Congressional Black Caucus and others attempted to block Florida’s electoral vote certification for George W. Bush, claiming that the black vote was suppressed. The objections were ruled as out of order by then-Vice President Al Gore after the objections were not supported by any members in the Senate.
