What Sen. Josh Hawley's Planned Electoral College Objection Really Means

Every court which has considered Donald Trump's claims of election fraud and similar Trump lies at the state and federal level, including the U.S. Supreme Court, has found the claims to be without merit. Indeed, in some of the lawsuits when Trump attorneys were faced with harsh questioning from the court, fearing potential disbarment, they conceded they had no proof to support the wild claims of the lawsuits.  Thus, Stanford University and Yale Law School educated Senator Josh Hawley knows full well that the only real fraud is Trump's false claims and those of his self-prostituting sycophants. Why then is Hawley saying he will challenge the Electoral College certification on January 6, 2020?  There are two reasons that interrelate. The first is that Hawley is ambitious on a dangerous level and wants to run for the Republican 2024 nomination.  The second is that he wants to win the allegiance of the deplorables and conspiracy theory nutcases who comprise Trump's base of support. Simply put, to Hawley, the truth and the rule of law don't matter if they interfere with his ambitions, thus indicating he's as morally bankrupt as Trump but without Trump's mental illness. Pieces at CNN and the Washington Post look at Hawley's shameless and false statements.  Here are highlights from the Post piece: 

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — Yale Law School, Supreme Court clerk, Missouri attorney general and, according to the first line of his Twitter bio, “constitutional lawyer” — surely knows better.

His plan to challenge the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory when Congress convenes for that purpose on Jan. 6 has no basis in the facts or the law. That is putting it too charitably, actually. It is, if anything, anti-constitutional — inconsistent with the Constitution’s vision of the ceremonial role of Congress in ratifying the election results.

It is doomed to fail — except, perhaps, at its scarcely disguised purpose of winning Hawley favor in the eyes of the Trumpian base. Think of it as the first act of Hawley’s all-but-inevitable 2024 presidential campaign. Think of it as what it is: a stunt.

It forces a vote that will have the salutary effect of requiring his Republican colleagues to decide — and to put on the record —whether their loyalty is to President Trump or to the Constitution. Better to know than to guess. Better to inflict some accountability rather than to enable dodging.

Put another way: Any vote that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fervently wishes to avoid is one I’m for. Put every member of the House and Senate on the record, and let them reap the consequences, for good and for ill, in the short term of political fallout and in the long view of history. Those who vote against certifying Biden’s victory can explain it to their grandchildren.

To back up, here’s what’s supposed to happen on Jan. 6, as set out in the 12th Amendment and the 1887 Electoral Count Act. Congress convenes in a joint session, presided over by Vice President Pence, in his role as Senate president. According to the Constitution, states submit their electoral votes to Congress. On Jan. 6, the date specified by the Electoral Count Act, “The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted.”

“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 harrumphed. “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.” Um, Senator, there is no vote requiring you to certify. A vote only happens if someone like you insists on a challenge.

The place to decide whether Pennsylvania complied with Pennsylvania’s election laws is in the courts of Pennsylvania — which, guess what, did just that, at Trump’s behest. He lost. Pennsylvania certified in timely fashion that its electors cast the state’s votes for Biden. Case closed. Hawley’s objection on the ground of alleged corporate interference is even dumber. Hold a hearing, Senator. Draft a bill. In the joint session, your role is to accept the votes of the electors. Period.

As Hawley well knows, it is over for Trump this time. All his intervention will do is to gum up the works, temporarily. If he persists, the House and Senate will debate separately for two hours — and even if Republicans retain their majority, there appear to be well enough Republicans willing to join in rejecting the challenge. This is literally political theater.

Put Republicans to the uncomfortable test. During the four years of Trump’s presidency, they have too often been able to evade accountability. If Hawley wants to put them to the test, let us watch and see if they choose to fail.

If Hawley goes through with his objection based on falsehoods, he will demonstrate two things: (i) a tawdry whore has more integrity than he does, and (ii) he is morally unfit to ever hold the office of the presidency.