U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has faced bipartisan criticism for vowing that he will object to the Electoral College vote tally next week when Congress convenes to certify Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s reported victory.
One Democratic senator, however, is accusing his GOP colleague of something akin to treason for his stance on the issue.
“Borders on sedition”
“I think it’s outrageous,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) during a recent interview with Andrea Mitchell of NBC News. “More than that, it borders or sedition or treason.”
The charged rhetoric comes after weeks of President Donald Trump insisting that November’s election was rigged — a complaint Democrats have largely rejected as baseless.
When Hawley became the first senator to signal his opposition to the results of the election, promising to object on Wednesday when Congress meets to ratify the vote, he attracted immediate opprobrium.
For Shaheen’s part, the Missouri Republican had affirmed his effort to “undermine our democracy” by joining the allegedly seditious conspiracy.
“The fact that we’ve got somebody who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, which calls for the peaceful transition of power — that’s one of the basic tenets of our democracy,” she continued.
“This is my one opportunity”
According to Shaheen, the former Missouri attorney general “should know better” than to take part in the “unacceptable” election challenge.
Of course, it is not just Democrats who are upset over Hawley’s stance on the divisive issue. He has reportedly further driven a wedge between the president’s populist base and the GOP establishment, which has largely recognized Biden as the rightful president-elect.
Seen as a 2024 Republican White House contender, Hawley presumably wants to ingratiate himself with the president’s supporters ahead of a period in which Trump is likely to maintain significant influence over his party.
Nevertheless, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), a frequent Trump critic, took a thinly veiled shot at Hawley for allegedly aiming a “loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”
Hawley, however, insists that he is merely standing up for what he believes, declaring: “I won’t tell other folks what to do. I don’t have the power to overturn anything. My objective in this is, as I’ve said repeatedly, is this is my one opportunity in this process to stand and be heard.”
The post Dem colleague accuses Sen. Hawley of 'sedition or treason' for Electoral College challenge first appeared on Conservative Institute.
No comments: