Artwork by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
The Trump era has not been the Republican Party’s shining hour. Perhaps the most emblematic instance of Republican shamelessness occurred during last week’s January 6th hearings. At a key point during testimony, Representative Elaine Luria began describing the dangers faced by members of Congress and Vice-President Pence from rioters—as well as the circumstances leading to the violence. She related details of the initial breach of the Capitol and concluded with the lawmakers’ subsequent escape to safety, and, to fully illuminate the circumstances of what happened, she highlighted Senator Josh Hawley’s activities that day.
Ms. Luria showed footage that first showed Senator Hawley walking by the pro-Trump crowd on his way to the Capitol and pumping his fist at them, which a Capitol police officer said “fired up” the mob. Rep. Luria subsequently showed footage of Hawley—this brave revolutionary catalyst—a few hours later, after the Capitol had been breached, running pell-mell down the hall toward safety, away from the people he had previously helped incite.
As these clips were shown, the hearing room erupted in laughter, and Mr. Hawley subsequently became the subject of ridicule and contempt. Social media erupted with a series of sarcastic memes featuring Hawley as a running Forrest Gump, fleeing to the soundtrack of the television show Curb Your Enthusiasm, and fleeing to the theme music of Chariots of Fire and Eye of the Tiger.
This senator’s hypocrisy is not atypical of recent Republican behaviors. Hawley, along with fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz, Tommy Tuberville, and Rick Scott, had promised to vote against the certification on the strength of former president Trump’s bogus claims that the election had been stolen. And, in fact, after the riot had been quelled, and the electoral certification took place later that night, Hawley, Cruz, and five other senators did vote to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania. They did this despite the fact they knew the claims were false.
This Hall of Shame of those who voted against certification—in effect supporting the position of the rioters—included Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ted Cruz of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Roger Marshall of Kansas, John Kennedy of Louisiana, and Rick Scott of Florida. Others, like Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, did not vote against certification, but still—to this day—maintain that the election was stolen.
In fact, Johnson was implicated in the attempted transfer of a fake slate of electors from the States of Michigan and Wisconsin to Mike Pence moments before the initial January 6th certification vote. These slates had been falsely assembled by a team of Trump supporters for the purpose of casting doubt on the validity of the election. When confronted with evidence produced by the Committee that his office had been asked to transfer the fake slates, Johnson (figuratively) turned tail and run away from reporters so fast he might have defeated Mr. Hawley in a foot race.
As proven conclusively the January 6th Committee, the stolen election claims are bogus. Every one of these Republicans knows it, yet they will not disavow Trump or refute his claims. They will not stand up to a power-mad would-be martinet and defend the U.S. Constitution. Instead, they cower in his shadow, afraid of offending his fragile sensibility.
Even those who (for the briefest of moments) showed a slight stiffening of their spines when they denounced both Donald Trump for his incitement of the violent assault on the Capitol, did not, in the final analysis, dare stand up to him.
Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Kevin McCarthy initially berated the former president for instigating the January 6th riot, a position they maintained for a hot minute. Once it became apparent that the riot had not damaged Trump’s standing with the Republican base, they turned tail and ran back to Trump just as quickly as Hawley had fled his “supporters”.
For the most part, Republican behavior during the reign of Donald Trump has been selfish, unprincipled, corrupt, malevolent, predatory, craven, cowardly, and traitorous. Many members of the GOP cast aside their oaths to protect the Constitution and many other democratic principles including equal rights under the law, fair representation, and protection of individual freedoms under the Constitution. Their behaviors have been spineless, feckless, destructive, and short-sighted.
But above and beyond this brand of spineless hypocrisy, there are a few Republicans who deserve recognition for their courage and integrity. One shining light in the Republican universe which can be found without the assistance of the James Webb telescope is Liz Cheney, who has put her career on the line in order to protect the Constitution. She has navigated the January 6th Committee investigation with dignity, strength, and determination. She will very likely lose in the Wyoming Republican primary to a Trump minion but has decided that her principles and her country are more important than her personal interests. She refused to turn tail and run.
Another unlikely hero is the former vice-president. When he refused to reject the election certification, Mike Pence became the target of Donald Trump’s wrath. He targeted his vice-president in a tweet and amidst chants of “Hang Mike Pence”, Mr. Pence narrowly escaped the mob, returning later to complete his constitutional duty by completing the certification of the election. He refusal to buckle under to Trump’s demands may very well have stopped the coup in progress. He refused to turn tail.
Other Republicans have stepped up. Rusty Bowers, Cassidy Hutchinson, Brad Raffensperger, Gabriel Sterling, Jeffrey Rosen, and others have testified against Trump in the Committee hearings. They refused to run away.
Josh Hawley was laughed at for his gutlessness and hypocrisy as he rabbited from the rioters he had just recently incited. Dozens of other Republican senators and representatives, afraid to lose the support of Trump’s rabid fan base, still stand behind the former president’s election lie. Dozens of election deniers are running for office—under the Republican banner—in municipal, county, and statewide elections in efforts to continue refuting the 2020 election. Efforts to control or discredit the free election process is jeopardizing our democracy. If the American citizenry loses confidence in free elections, our republic will cease to exist.
Republicans are playing a dangerous game. They have clung to the coattails of a power-mad martinet who has demonstrated his willingness to destroy our democracy to maintain his grip on the levers of power. Trump’s minions have run away from every decent instinct they may have once had. They have courted the mob, flattered the mob, fed the mob, and manipulated the mob. Eventually, they will have to face the mob—and the consequences of their actions.
They, like Josh Hawley, will soon discover they can no longer run away from the monster they created.