Peters rips into Senate hearing aimed at undermining U.S. democracy

Sen. Ron Johnson, fresh off his unexpected admission that Joe Biden won the election and is president-elect, went ahead with his previously planned hearing on supposed election irregularities. At the outset, Johnson claimed it was important because so many people don’t believe the election results are legitimate—as if he hadn’t played an active role in undermining confidence in the results. 

Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee and a senator representing Michigan, one of the states whose results have come under specific attack, wasn’t having it. He opened with a strong condemnation of the entire hearing. 

“The president and many of his supporters are, unfortunately, continuing their efforts to undermine the will of the people, disenfranchise voters, and sow the seeds of mistrust and discontent to further their partisan desire for power. Whether intended or not, this hearing gives a platform to conspiracy theories and lies and it’s a destructive exercise that has no place in the U.S. Senate,” Peters said, highlighting Biden’s 306 electoral votes, his historic popular vote total, and the growing, if reluctant, recognition among Republican lawmakers that Biden did win.

Yet still the hearing is happening. “And despite the title of today’s hearing, there were no widespread election irregularities that affected the final outcome. These claims are false. And giving them more oxygen is a grave threat to the future of our democracy. Now, I understand the chairman’s desire to ensure our elections run smoothly, and I agree that we need to restore faith and trust in our election process. But I’m concerned that today’s hearing will do more harm than good by confusing a few anecdotes about human error with the insidious claims the president has aired,” Peters said. “Mistakes do happen in elections, but there is a difference between a clerk making an error that gets caught and corrected during routine audits, and calling the entire election fraudulent or stolen when there is no evidence just because you do not like the outcome. Amplifying these obviously false narratives about fraud or irregularities corrodes public trust, it threatens national security, and it weakens our democracy and our standing around the world.”

Peters issued a strong warning: “Democracy and a free society are not guaranteed. We have seen democracies around the world crumble because of similar words and actions.”

Johnson, doing his part to keep undermining the legitimacy of the election he now admits has a clear winner, responded by insisting that this was “legitimate congressional oversight.” Oversight he’s never been interested in conducting into Russian election interference, or voter suppression. But now that Donald Trump lost in a landslide? It’s time to make a big fuss. Good for Peters for setting the tone at the outset.