Cruz, Texas Republicans face backlash after violence
‘Stop stoking division. Stop spreading hatred’ as critics cast blame
WASHINGTON — Moments before a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was on the Senate floor warning that “democracy is in crisis” as he objected to counting Arizona’s Electoral College votes.
Both the House and Senate were evacuated as protesters forced their way into both chambers, breaking windows along the way. Tear gaswas deployed and at least one person was shot by law enforcement inside the Capitol.
She later died.
In his speech to the Senate, Cruz had urged his colleagues on “both sides” to calm down as he argued for delaying the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win, calling for an “emergency audit” of the results based on debunked allegations of widespread voter fraud.
Now many are blaming Cruz and the other Republicans — including 10 other senators and a dozen congressman from Texas who supported Cruz’s effort — for escalating the post-election strife that preceded Wednesday’s eruption.
“This is what you’ve gotten, guys,” U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, RUtah, yelled as the mayhem unfolded in the Senate chamber, the New York Times reported. In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday night, Romney said
“Texans should hold Sen. Ted Cruz accountable for this fiasco.” Mayor Sylvester Turner
those objecting “will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack on our democracy.”
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, tweeted that Cruz “should resign from the United States Senate immediately.” Castro’s call was echoed by other Democrats, including the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, Gilberto Hinojosa.
“Texans should hold Sen. Ted Cruz accountable for this fiasco,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
“This is the inevitable result of the rhetoric of Ted Cruz, Jim Jordan, Hawley, Blackburn, Rubio and the rest of these anti-American Republicans,” tweeted Walter Shaub, a former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics.
Cruz’s campaign, meanwhile, sent text messages to supporters in an effort to raise money off of his “fight to reject electors from key states unless there is an emergency audit” as the riots raged in the Capitol. A staffer for Cruz said the messages were pre-planned and “in no way shape or form would he ever have approved this to go out right now.”
“It is your self serving attempt at sedition that has helped to inspire these terrorists and their attempted coup,” Beto O’Rourke, who ran against Cruz in 2018, tweeted at the senator.
Cruz responded: “Stop stoking division. Stop spreading hatred. Stop using malicious rhetoric (such as false& reckless charges of “sedition”). Stop showing contempt for the half of the country that disagrees with you. Violence is wrong. We can do better. We are one Nation. #EPluribusUnum”
Cruz and other Republicans, sheltering as the riots raged in the Capitol, urged the mobs to leave on Twitter.
“Those storming the Capitol need to stop NOW,” Cruz tweeted. “The Constitution protects peaceful protest, but violence — from Left or Right — is ALWAYS wrong. And those engaged in violence are hurting the cause they say they support.”
Trump eventually urged his supporters to give up, as well, via a recorded video message in which he again falsely claimed the election was stolen and said “we love you, you’re very special.”
The riots came after Trump and some of his high-profile supporters urged those at a rally outside the White House earlier Wednesday tomove to the Capitol as Congress began to count the Electoral College votes. “I’ll be with you,” Trump told his supporters outside the White House.
U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat, said the blame for what happened later lies with Trump.
“This is the president’s doing,” Green said. “I think that the president has to be our focus.”
In his speech to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, Cruz addressed Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who had pushed back against his call for an “emergency audit” of the election. Hemade the case he was working to build confidence in the results, which he said he was not seeking to toss out.
“What does it say to the nearly half of the country that believes this election was rigged ifwe vote not to even to consider the claims of illegality and fraud in this election?” Cruz said.
In recent weeks, Trump’s attorneys have failed to prove voter fraud allegations as they lost dozens of lawsuits aimed at overturning the Nov. 3 election. On Wednesday, Cruz had called for a deeper review of some of the same claims from those cases.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, noted as much as he pushed back on Cruz’s effort, saying American democracy “would enter a death spiral” if Congress were to toss out the election results.
“Nothing before us proves illegality anywhere near the massive scale, the massive scale, that would’ve tipped the entire election,” McConnell said. “Nor can public doubt alone justify a radical break when the doubt itself was incited without any evidence.”
While several Republican senators said they would drop their objections, Cruz let his stand, and more than eight hours later, the Senate voted it down 93-6.
Congress was on track to certify Biden’s win overnight.