Sen. Josh Hawley’s promise to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election seems to have put an end to any semblance of respectability he was still holding onto in the eyes of the GOP establishment.
New York Magazine‘s Olivia Nuzzi said Friday that according to a Republican official, the party is frustrated with the Hawley (R-MO) for his plans to challenge Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote Wednesday because “he’s not some moron like Louie Gohmert.”
According to Breitbart, CNN anchor John Avlon asked Nuzzi during a discussion about Rep. Gohmert’s (R-TX) recent lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence, “How seriously should anyone take Louie Gohmert?”
Nuzzi said, “I think the general answer is not very.”
“So much more cynical”
Hawley, for his part, has faced criticism from many on both the left and right since announcing last week that he would challenge the congressional certification of Electoral College votes from certain swing states that he said illegally changed their election laws before the election.
Citing an unnamed GOP official, Nuzzi suggested Friday that — apparently unlike Gohmert — Hawley should know better.
“The reason why people are being harsher in how they’re assessing what Josh Hawley is doing is because it seems so much more cynical,” Nuzzi said, according to Breitbart, “whereas in Washington, at least among establishment Republicans, Louie Gohmert has always been viewed and continues to be viewed as pretty much a joke.”
Hawley knows his election challenge will likely not succeed, but he wants to bring attention to problems with the election that millions of voters have recognized and light a fire under Congress to fix those problems before the next match-ups take place in four years. And he’s not the only one.
“A persistent challenge”
On Saturday, a group of nearly a dozen Republican senators vowed that they would similarly contest the certification of the Electoral College votes on Wednesday, albeit separately from Hawley. According to Fox News, the group, led by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R), also includes GOP Sens. James Lankford (OK), Steve Daines (MT), John Kennedy (LA), and Mike Braun (IN), Ron Johnson (WI), and Marsha Blackburn (TN).
“Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed,” the lawmakers said in a Saturday statement, according to Fox. “By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes.”
Hawley reportedly expressed a similar sentiment in an email to fellow Senate Republicans last week.
“I strongly believe there should be a full-fledged congressional investigation and also a slate of election integrity legislation,” the Missouri senator said, according to Politico. “I intend to object during the certification process on January 6 in order to force these issues to the fore, and to point out the unprecedented failure of states like Pennsylvania to follow their own election laws and the unprecedented efforts of Big Tech corporations to interfere with the election.”
The post Report: Establishment Republicans outraged over Hawley's vow to contest Electoral College results first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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