Posted on 01/03/2021 3:59:13 PM PST by RandFan
"The text of the Constitution is clear. States select electors. Congress does not. Accordingly, our path forward is also clear. We mush respect the states' authority here," the statement said. "Though doing so may frustrate or immediate political objectives, we have sworn an oath to promote the Constitution above our policy goals."
The seven Republicans began their statement by expressing outrage at the "significant abuses in our election system" through "reckless" adoption of mail-in ballots leading up to the November election.
Trump and several other congressional leaders have complained of voter fraud tied to the widespread use of mail-in ballots during the pandemic, though no evidence supports claims of a rigged election.
"The people cannot trust a system that refuses to guarantee that only legal votes are cast to select its leaders," the representatives wrote. "The elections held in at least six battleground states raise profound questions, and it is a legal, constitutional, and moral imperative that they be answered."
However, they continued, "only the states have authority to appoint electors, in accordance with state law. Congress has only a narrow role in the presidential election process."
The legislative body's role is to count the electors submitted by states, not to determine which electors should have been sent, the representatives said.
Massie, along with Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.; Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; Tom McClintock, R-Cal.; and Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Congress will have no authority to influence the outcome of the election unless a state decides to send a new slate of votes to Congress before Wednesday.
"To take action otherwise — that is, to unconstitutionally insert Congress into the center of the presidential election process — would amount to stealing power from the people and the states. It would, in effect, replace the electoral college with Congress, and in doing so strengthen the efforts of those on the left who are determined to eliminate it or render it irrelevant."
I agree with you...
I think the problem is the party has done little in the states to stop the fraud. They want to see Trump gone. Just look at the GA SoS or read Paul Ryan’s statement.
These Members of Congress are basically saying “We can’t correct this, legally or constitutionally”.
They’re among the most conservative members of the House and I believe well intentioned with their position even though I would like them to challenge or object.
I encourage All to read the statement:
https://twitter.com/RepChipRoy/status/1345816262438514688
Good grief, totally brain dead used car salesmen! They have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution, but have never read it and ZERO clue what they’re talking about.
Disgusting republican cretins.
This is just wrong, the founders didn’t include Congress in the EC system to just be ceremonial and all historical precedent testifies to that.
How may of these fake conservatives voted to put McCarthy and Liz Cheney in leadership? A lot of them I bet.
They don’t call the GOP the Surrender Party for nothing. These are fake conservatives who care little about the actual constitution. If they actually cared they would have dropped a dime on beltway sewer corruption long ago. Have they? Nope.
The contradiction in this grandiose and noble document is so appalling, these people must be hideously stupid.
Why not jump up and down about the stolen election instead?
This is obviously the swamp JV team. Liz Cheney at least could crank out a 21 page back stab memo. These clowns can barely put together a paragraph.
Massie is a preening jackass of long standing. He relishes any opportunity to strike his maverick pose. Results matter not to this careerist.
That is a powerful quote however to my mind it does not free Congress from the responsibility of certifying a true vote. If they did not have that final responsibility there would be no need to certify electors in Congress.
Congress has decided in the past when there was controversy about elector slates which confirms their role. They all swear an oath to uphold the Constitution which guarantees the USA will remain a republic. An election that does not represent the will of the people voids the covenant.
So how do you feel about some crooked asshole from the executive branch or a local election board having something to say about your vote?
I know how I feel about it.
But if everyone stands aside you are happy to have foreign enemies control the election. Fah.
The devil makes use of good intentions when they are not honest. These people are following their own inclinations & cloaking their actions in noble words.
It’s much easier to deal with the crooked A-hole from my state government or the local election board, for sure.
Rep. Massie is one of my favorite Members, but I think he’s wrong on this.
The U.S. Constitution provides that “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
Note that. “In such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” Not the governors, not courts. The Legislature. In several states, the procedure for the election of electors was conducted in a manner contrary to the method the Legislature thereof had directed.
Therefore, their selection is not in accord with the US Constitution.
I think he’s a good guy but this is cowardly.
Chip Roy is my Rep, and he is GOING to hear from me!
The Constitution is not a suicide pact, and if we don’t reverse this fraud, the the Republic is dead. I would say the same if Trump committed the fraud. Fraud is fraud, period, and it is an immediate mortal threat to the Constitution. Failure to protect the Constitution is utterly unforgivable.
"Because eleven Southern states had declared secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, only twenty-five states participated in the election." — Presidential election of 1864.
This time around, instead of secession being argued to ignore electoral votes of insurrectionist states, we need to ignore the electoral votes of Democratic-controlled swing states that fraudulently switched votes from Trump to Biden.
I’m not speaking on their behalf, but don’t think that Trump-supporting patriots in the renegade states would mind their votes being ignored in this case.
Insights welcome.
“Consider that any electoral votes of the Civil War Confederate States were simply ignored in the 1864 election, minimum votes necessary to win probably adjusted.”
Congress rejected the electors of the states of Louisiana and Tennessee and I don’t believe the threshold was adjusted to account for that.
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