There’s a new faction in the GOP, the Dirty Dozen of Republican politics. They intend to star in a piece of political theater on January 6, at the formal joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes. If you’re wondering who they are, wonder no more. According to The Hill they are:Â
GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Ron Johnson (Wis.), James Lankford (Okla.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Kennedy (La.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), and Mike Braun (Ind.), and Senators-elect Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) said in a joint statement that they will object to the election results until there is a 10-day audit.
“Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states,” they said. “Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed.
“Accordingly, we intend to vote on Jan. 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed,” they added.
The group’s announcement now means that at least a dozen GOP senators will object on Wednesday. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) was the first senator to announce he would be joining a band of House conservatives to force a debate and vote on the Electoral College results.
One small step for the GOP, one giant leap towards the invalidation of representative government. Mark the names of these senators well. These are the people who have no problem dynamiting the very foundation of democracy, which is trust in the electoral process. Vladmir Putin must be laughing now.
Is this legal? Can’t just be for “disputed states” – all or nothing. Republican coup on our democracy. SCREAM it out folks.
I settle for a facepalm and my usual growl of “Idiots.”
They don’t expect to win – this time.
Both Hawley and Cruz should know that they’re lying.
Of course they know. They both have Ivy League law degrees which should be revoked for this stunt.
Yes, this time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRpckirW4Mk Among all the other priorities Trump is leaving us with, we need to get any elected official who goes along with this seditious stunt out of office.
It’s a howl of crazy. Yes, the election of 2004 was protested, and because my congresswoman was one of the two people (along with a senator who I forget) to protest I can tell you why she did it. She didn’t think she would overturn the election or prevent George Bush from taking office, although some crazies on the left believed Democrats should protest the election and would somehow be able to do that (we have election crazies on our side to). What wanted to do was call attention to how poorly the election was run in our state (Ohio) in a deliberate way that disproportionately impacted voters of color, poor voters, older voters and students.
This gang has no valid point based in any real-world facts. They’re feeding fantasy to the delusional base. They are disgusting and should be called out for this.
No surprise that both of my state’s Senators are sharing the stupid here. Their Orange Sugar Daddy is on his last legs and they want to inherit his voters. What’s gonna be funny is how it won’t mean a thing in a few years other than a punchline.
Maybe a punchline in a few years but right now it feels like a gut punch. I’m so disgusted with those dirt bags.
Suck up the pain for a few more days. We’re nearly there.
Dammit where is Coryn… as usual LOL. He is of the chicken poop brigade.
Probably still deciding what more of a stupid move to make.
It’s a SECRET ballot for crying out loud – how are you supposed to ‘audit’ disputed votes?
The States have already certified the results – lawfully, so why do they have to repeat that?
Under the US CVonstitution (as I understand it) the presidency transfers on 20th January – stalling certification or acceptance of the already confirmed votes will simply mean that Nancy Pelosi becomes the next president.
As is said here – if they had brains they’d be dangerous.
A “Dirty Dozen” sore losers who need to be arrested and tried for sedition if they really try this stunt!
Or just have Lee Marvin kick their collective ass.
Johnson, Daines, and Kennedy are nearly half the Moscow Seven.
Yes, indeed. Vladimir Putin must be delighted. For once, I hope the mainstream media covers this for what it is: an attempted coup. There will be blood on January 6 and it will be on Trump’s hands. He must be tried as a traitor.
Putin is currently trying to convince the oligarchs who’ve been backing him to keep him alive right now. Trump may have been one eff-up too many for the latter. The US is the last thing on his mind, even as an amusement.
Hawley wants face time for a 2024 run for president. He and the others, I fervently hope are signing their political death warrant. The country, and those sensible people living in their states deserve much better than traitors to their oath, to their country, and to all but their corporate owners
McConnell actually has an option at his disposal IF he’s willing to take it. Since these guys have now made their names public, McConnell COULD deny each and every one of them from taking their seats. The first day of business begins by swearing in ALL the Senators (not just the newly-elected ones, but also those re-elected to office). According to a report titled “The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the Senate Floor” (at senate.gov): “The Vice-President then announces the receipt of the certificates and credentials of election of Senators who were newly elected or reelected in the most recent general election . . . .” What’s notable is that the reading of these is usually waived IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION.
Knowing that he’s got a dozen of his own caucus planning to defy his orders/directives/wishes, he can easily turn the tables on them and object to waiving the full reading of the results. (The results, if waived, are still published officially in the “Congressional Record.”)
And, of course, Mitch does have another weapon that he could use: Threaten to pull every single committee assignment of every one of the turncoats.
You are vastly overestimating McConnell’s power at this point, Joseph. He lost control of his caucus by late 2020 and he’s never getting it back. At this point, he’s Control in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a broken old man whose lifetime of bad decisions have finally caught up with him.