Indiana Members of Congress Who Support Efforts to Subvert the Election

Just for posterity, I thought I’d note the Indiana members of Congress who supported the efforts to subvert the election by baselessly objecting to certification of the electoral votes:

• Jim Baird
• Jim Banks
• Greg Pence
• Jackie Walorski
• Mike Braun (Senate)*

*Braun withdrew his objection after the Trumpist mob stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop formal recognition of the Presidential election results.

This vote was always symbolic. There was no chance that the election results were going to be reversed, there is no evidence justifying any doubt that the People of the United States elected Joe Biden as President.  The symbolism was ugly even before the right-wing mob forced its way into the Capitol.  But it got an order of magnitude uglier after that happened. Braun, to give him the minimal credit that’s due, tapped out after the mob did its work. Baird, Banks, Pence, and Walorski had the chance to bail at that point, but they have decided to tie their names to this ugly piece of history. As Senator Romney put it:

We gather today due to a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States. Those who choose to continue to support his dangerous gambit by objecting to the results of a legitimate, democratic election will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy. They will be remembered for their role in this shameful episode in American history. That will be their legacy.

The objectors have claimed they are doing so on behalf of the voters. Have an audit, they say, to satisfy the many people who believe that the election was stolen. Please! No Congressional led audit will ever convince those voters, particularly when the President will continue to claim that the election was stolen. The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth. That is the burden, and the duty, of leadership. The truth is that President-elect Biden won this election. President Trump lost. Scores of courts, the President’s own Attorney General, and state election officials both Republican and Democrat have reached this unequivocal decision.

We must not be intimidated or prevented from fulfilling our constitutional duty. We must continue with the count of electoral college votes. In light of today’s sad circumstances, I ask my colleagues: Do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our Republic, the strength of our democracy, and the cause of freedom?

A disturbing percentage of Indiana’s delegation to Washington are dedicated to their own political fortunes and are absolutely not inclined to respect voters with the truth.