SHORT MEMORY?
NANCY Pelosi and other Democratic Party members objected to George W. Bush’s 2004 win – but they have slammed recent GOP challenges.
Senator Josh Hawley decided on Wednesday to object to the certification of certain states' Electoral College votes during ' joint session on January 6 .
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He joined several members objecting to force a vote in each the House and the Senate over whether to accept individual slates of electors, which will lead to a debate on the matter.
The chances of overturning the results are slim with Senate Majority Leader and several GOP members congratulating as McConnell discouraged party members from joining the House challenge.
House Speaker said Hawley's decision to force a debate on election integrity issues would have little impact on Biden becoming the next president.
"I have no doubt that on next Wednesday, a week from today, that Joe Biden will be confirmed by the acceptance of the vote of the Electoral College as the 46th president of the United States," she told reporters on Wednesday.
However, when was elected in 2016 and George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004, House Democrats objected to the electoral votes in states they clinched.
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When former Senator Barbara Boxer of and Rep Stephanie Tubbs objected to Bush's 2004 electoral votes in back in 2005, it forced the chambers to leave their joint session.
A two-hour debate then ensued in both chambers on whether to reject Ohio's electoral votes, which they didn't end up doing, and Boxer on Thursday emphasized it "wasn’t about overturning the election."
She was the to vote to reject Ohio's electoral votes that year – and Pelosi praised her challenge while acknowledging that they would accept the election outcome.
"Today we are witnessing Democracy at work. This isn't as some of our Republican colleagues have referred to it, sadly, as frivolous. This debate is fundamental to our democracy," Pelosi said at the time.
"The representatives of the American people in this house are standing up for three fundamental American beliefs: The right to vote is sacred; that a representative has a duty to represent his or her constituents; and that the rule of law is the hallmark of our nation."
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Unlike Trump's recent "rigged " claims, in 2005, Pelosi noted that "under the rule of law today this House will accept the election of President Bush and Vice President Cheney."
"There is absolutely no question about that. This isn't about in any way rejecting that outcome," she said at the time. "It is instead to discuss the real problems with our electoral system."
Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill – who supported objections to votes for Bush in back in 2005 – described Hawley's decision as "the political equivalent of barking at the moon."
"This won’t be taken seriously, nor should it be," Durbin raged.
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"The American people made a decision on Nov. 3rd and that decision must and will be honored and protected by the US Senate and House of Representatives."
Likewise, Senator Chris Van Hollen of supported Boxer's move in a January 6 in 2005 – but emphasized that he accepted the result of the 2004 election.
"It would have been irresponsible to use the certification process to attempt to change that result," he said at the time. "Doing so would establish a terrible precedent."
Yesterday, Van Hollen slammed Hawley's actions as "grossly irresponsible" and said he was trying to "undermine our democratic process, fuel Trump’s lies about voter fraud, and delay the certification of Biden’s win."
But some GOP social media users claimed this was "hypocritical," with one person tweeting that "Dems did EXACTLY the same thing... Was it a "threat to our democracy" then?? Or only when Republicans do it?"
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"So was this treason when Democrats objected to Ohio being counted for Bush..or....no? The left is full if hypocrites," wrote a second user.
"Why wasn’t it dangerous when the Democrats did it to Bush guys are such hypocrites?" a third raged.
In a statement yesterday, Hawley said: "I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on Jan. 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws.
"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.
"At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act."
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"For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on Jan. 6 to raise these critical issues."
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Hawley identified as one of these states during an interview on "The Story," which was hosted by Will Cain.
"There needs to be an investigation as to how widespread this fraud was and there needs to be change. Our election laws need to change," he told Cain.
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