Sunday, conservative talker Mark Levin blamed the January 6 House Select Committee for what he declared to be the "demise" of the country, which he said was an effort to get an indictment against former President Donald Trump. | Clips
By Sen. Cynthia Lummis, exclusive to Cowboy State Daily
When the U.S. Capitol Police were rushing us out of the Senate chambers at the height of the chaos, a reporter asked me who I thought was leading this mayhem. I said that if it was indeed Trump supporters, I would be heartbroken.
I am heartbroken.
An attack on our Capitol is an attack on our Constitution and democracy itself. I strongly condemn the violence that occurred, which did more to damage the democratic process than to defend it.
What made this senseless act even more offensive is that it disrupted the constitutional process that myself and other members of the Senate were trying to peacefully use to ensure each and every American’s vote counts.
This story first appeared on Cowboy State Daily
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) released the following statement on today’s certification of the Electoral College votes:
“I have serious concerns about election integrity, especially in Pennsylvania, and expressed some of them in a written statement to the Senate. But today’s sickening, un-American attack on the U.S. Capitol overshadowed that debate.
“Congress cannot fix problems with election integrity, only states can fix these problems. But Congress can investigate those problems and raise awareness. The allegations of fraud during this election were unprecedented, and left millions of Americans concerned that their votes don’t count. Discussions of election integrity must occur and I will seek another forum to continue that discussion.”
The US Congress meets on Wednesday to tally the Electoral College votes, the final constitutional step in determining the next president of the United States.
In an ordinary presidential election year, this ceremonial and non-controversial joint session of Congress is the culmination of a hard-fought campaign. But the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath were anything but ordinary. And now, President Donald Trump and many of his congressional backers are hatching plans to protest President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, though their plans are doomed to fail.
What happens when Congress meets?
At 1pm (18:00 GMT), the House and Senate will convene a joint session of Congress, presided over by the vice president in his role as president of the Senate, to conduct the constitutionally prescribed counting of the Electoral College votes, which were determined by the results of the November 3 presidential election.
Jan. 6, 2021
As Republicans in Congress prepare to formally contest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on Wednesday, many of them have cited precedent for their effort: similar complaints lodged by Democrats in other presidential elections. After Republican victories in 2000, 2004 and 2016, for instance, Democrats in Congress used the formal counting of electoral votes as an opportunity to challenge election results.
But the history of Democratic efforts to contest the outcomes of presidential elections is not a history worth emulating. On the contrary, it only underscores that the certification of a president-elect’s victory by the House and Senate is an improper forum for the airing of political grievances and an inappropriate occasion to readjudicate the decisions of the states concerning things like vote tallies, recounts and audits.