above all, I know what the courts, the executive branch, and the elections officials can and cannot do without approval of the State legislature. During my tenure, I knew that my authority was confined to the powers the legislature provided me. If States fail to abide by the Constitution and follow their owns laws, it calls into question whether the votes in Texas, or any other State, are fairly represented.
And now, as a duly elected Member of Congress, the Constitution outlines my rights to speak and voice my constituents’ concerns with my vote. It is pivotal that we have free and fair elections in our representative democracy and, more importantly, that we trust in the results of those elections.
In no way is voicing an objection an attempt to overturn an election. And when this process is complete and all objections have been heard, I acknowledge that we will have a peaceful transfer of power on January 20.
Faith in our system must be restored and Americans must be confident that their vote matters, and only lawful votes will be counted. This is a sad day in our Nation’s history, but a solemn reminder that our country will not falter and will not fail. In God we trust.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn).
Mr. Cawthorn. Madam Speaker, as I said in my convention speech, I want a new generation of Americans to be radicals—to be radicals for freedom and for liberty, but not radicals for violence. I am bitterly disappointed by the protest that happened yesterday. The actions of a violent few were cowardly and pathetic, and I am not afraid to call it out.
The Republican Party is a party of limited government. It is the big tent party. It is not the party of destruction.
Madam Speaker, the oath I took just days ago demand that I speak out in defense not of one President or another, but in defense of a hallowed document that has safeguarded this Republic for over 200 years. The Constitution grants power solely to State legislatures to determine how elections are carried out. When other officials who are not vested with constitutional authority usurp their role and grind the Constitution under their heel, I must object.
□ 0200
Our Nation is a nation of resilience. In Valley Forge, George Washington prayed for a republic to be formed from the ashes of a monarchy. At Gettysburg, Americans gave their lives to defend a very simple idea, that the American democracy that had been earned with the blood of their forefathers would not perish due to internal division.
Then, on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American servicemen gave their lives to defend this Nation’s freedom from fascism.
What unites each and every generation of Americans is the idea that those who submit themselves to the authority of government ought to have a voice in that same government.
We are Americans here in this Chamber and in this country. But what does it really mean to be an American? It means believing in the rule of law. It means speaking up in defense of our founding principles and in defense of the Constitution.
Being an American means that you are proud of your country but that you never beat your chest. And being an American means that sometimes you must stand alone while others sit.
Now, obviously, I can’t stand, but trust me, if I could stand, I would stand in defense of our Constitution today.
Mr. Cartwright. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition.
The Speaker. The gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Cartwright. Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague Representative Dwight Evans, and I remind this Chamber that Pennsylvania is the cradle of American democracy.
We can’t claim to be the birthplace of American democracy. That would be a disservice to James Otis, Jr., who, in 1761, stood up in a Massachusetts courtroom and argued against the King’s writs of assistance.
But Pennsylvania is the cradle of democracy. It is where we hosted the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution.
It was Pennsylvanians who immediately went to battle to defend this idea of democracy. They went right after Bunker Hill to the Siege of Boston. American riflemen were instrumental at the transformational Battles of Trenton and Saratoga in victory. And it is Independence Hall where these documents got signed, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
You heard my colleagues. You heard Representative Houlahan talking about the privations at Valley Forge, all in support of creating democracy.
You heard Representative Brendan F. Boyle quoting John Adams, that democracy only dies by suicide.
You heard Representative Dean quoting John Lewis, our hero, who said: Democracy is not a state. It is an act.
You heard Representative Wild talking about this stunning assault on our democracy.
If it seems like we get a little prickly in Pennsylvania about assaulting democracy, you are right. We do. Pennsylvania is the cradle of democracy.
You heard how foolish and empty these challenges are. Representative Lamb said it: 31 cameras filming the place where the count was happening, resulting in thousands of hours of videotape—you can see it on YouTube—proving there was no fraud.
You heard Representatives Michael F. Doyle and Brendan F. Boyle talking about Act 77, how the Republicans in Pennsylvania were falling all over themselves to pass this law for mail-in voting because they thought it would help them.
You heard Representative Scanlon explaining why there were no allegations of fraud made in court because a lawyer going into court and lying to the court gets his or her ticket to practice law punched. They can be disbarred.
Politicians can say anything on cable TV, but they have to be darn careful when they are in court. So all these big TV talkers never alleged fraud in court.
Let me tell you about one court case. It was a case where they brought on their best legal talent. It was a case where they drew as a judge a staunch, principled, conservative Republican, Judge Matthew Brann. He called this case “strained legal arguments without merit” and “speculative accusations.” He called it “like Frankenstein’s monster,” a “haphazardly stitched together” case.
Judge Brann said he “has no authority to take away the right to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of citizens.”
On appeal Judge Bibas, a Trump appointee writing for the Third Circuit, agreed. He said: “Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”
So, we have judges—dozens and dozens of them, Federal judges, State judges, Democrats, Republicans—turning away these challenges. All they ever wanted was evidence.
Here is the number-one rule when you go to court: Don’t forget to bring the evidence with you.
This objection, in all seriousness, reflects the most profound disrespect to our American judiciary. We Pennsylvanians understand democracy. It was in Pennsylvania that our Founders signed the Constitution, and Article II makes it plain as day: We elect our President. We don’t have a king.
If you can undo a Presidential election simply by alleging that something was amiss, then we don’t have a democracy at all. We have something else entirely.
And if we vote to sustain this objection, we are not upholding our Constitution at all. We are doing something else entirely.
Let’s vote “no” on this objection.
Mr. Davidson of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this objection.
The Speaker. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Davidson of Ohio. Madam Speaker, every one of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. I swore that oath in uniform, and the first part of that oath is the same as what we swear here in Congress.
The last time we needed to defend our Constitution against a domestic
