Senate
Republicans finally capitulate
Opinion by
Columnist
Dec. 16, 2020 at 6:45 a.m. CST
A “mere” six weeks
after Joe Biden’s decisive win in both the electoral college and the popular
vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and a few other Republican
holdouts finally recognized him
as president-elect. Snarky commentators observed that
McConnell recognized Biden’s win after Russian President
Vladimir Putin did so publicly.
The delay was
unconscionable. It was apparently not enough for the networks to call the race.
Or for multiple recounts to confirm the results. Or for states to certify the
results. Or for dozens of courts to
throw out President Trump’s ludicrous claims. It took until the electors cast
their ballots Monday for McConnell to finally decide it was time to capitulate
to reality, to get off the Trump train wreck and to recognize nothing more was
to be gained by supporting the increasingly deranged president.
It is not clear why
McConnell finally took an off-ramp. Did the threats to the lives of state
workers finally wear him down? Did big donors, including business interests,
finally tell him to knock it off? We do not know, but we should not applaud a
six-week delay that facilitated an entirely unprecedented attack on our
democracy.
Some Republicans were
trying to make excuses at the bitter end. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), often
considered a “reasonable” Republican in some quarters despite never having
stood up to Trump in any meaningful fashion, acknowledged Biden’s win in a written statement,
but not without insisting that “although there were instances of fraud and
irregularities, it has not been shown to be widespread enough to change the
result of the election.” I asked his office, “What fraud or irregularities?” I
got no response. That’s because there is none; indeed, Trump’s own
lawyers repeatedly insisted they
were not bringing fraud cases when pressed.
It is precisely this
immediate falsification of history that Democrats and patriotic Republicans
should call out. They can take several steps to prevent future presidential
candidates from undermining our elections and Republican officials from
abetting their assault on democracy.
First, the incoming
attorney general should review all post-election conduct, including the
lawsuits filed, the lack of evidence of fraud, the actions of local officials,
the attacks on local officials and the public statements from Trump and
congressional Republicans. We must memorialize who did what.
Second, it is not
clear if any state or federal laws were broken by, for example, Sen. Lindsey O.
Graham (R-S.C.) when he phoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
allegedly to suggest that valid ballots be thrown out. It certainly is illegal
to threaten public officials with bodily harm; any Trump supporters who engaged
in such monstrous conduct must be identified and prosecuted. The need to close the Michigan Capitol and for one
elector to wear a bulletproof vest to
cast the legally required electoral college ballot was an utter disgrace. This
is the sort of thing one sees in illiberal regimes. Did Trump cross any legal
lines in attempting to sway Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), a Wayne County, Mich., canvassing
board member or Michigan state legislators into overturning the
results?
Third, the incoming
attorney general needs to make legal recommendations to button up the electoral
system so that the threat of competing slates of delegates and the refusal of
low-level election officials to perform ministerial functions do not upend our
elections. If not already covered by statute, we need to clarify federal law to
prevent interference with election officials’ tabulation and certification of
election results. The attorney general should make recommendations to state bar associations to
sanction attorneys who willfully bring frivolous lawsuits in seeking to
overthrow an election.
And finally, each
house should make rules to eject a member who seeks to overthrow an election,
who joins frivolous lawsuits to change the results or who pressures local
officials. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution reads: “Each House shall
be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Member. …
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for
disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.”
While several election law experts confirm that Congress cannot add to the
requirements spelled out in the Constitution, it certainly is within the power
of both houses to expel members for this kind of conduct. Former House
impeachment counsel Norman Eisen tells me, “It would be appropriate for this
democratic body to regulate members who attack democracy, whether by filing
blatantly abusive lawsuits to frustrate electoral processes or intimidating
hard-working election officials who are just trying to do their jobs.” Rarely
will a two-thirds majority be obtained, but having such a rule would
nevertheless act as a deterrent — and a reminder of the appalling conduct of
2020.
Republican House and
Senate members’ anti-democratic conduct in the post-election period should not
be forgotten. The names of those who
sought to delegitimize democracy should be engraved in roll of dishonor. State
and federal laws must be adjusted to prevent a reoccurrence of their despicable
conduct.