Westerman keeps his options open
He affirms Electoral College results but notes Congress can still challenge
After calling for Americans to come together and accept Monday’s Electoral College results, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman got a grilling from a Little Rock talk radio host who quoted the U.S. Constitution and cautioned him not to abandon President Donald Trump.
Westerman, a Hot Springs Republican, now is holding out the possibility that the President-elect Joe Biden can still be challenged.
Doc Washburn, a KARNFM radio personality, wants state legislatures to overturn already-certified vote returns and replace Democratic electors with Republicans, submitting alternate slates for Congress to consider when the votes are formally tallied Jan. 6.
On Monday afternoon, while electors were still assembling, Westerman appeared on “The Doc Washburn Show” and portrayed President-elect Joe Biden as unstoppable.
“I think the process, constitutionally, has ended with the casting of these votes. I’m not saying I like that or approve of it. I just think that that’s where we’re at,” the third-term congressman said.
It’s too late, Westerman told Washburn, to come up with alternate slates.
The electors have already been selected and the governors have already submitted the paperwork, he noted.
“Once those electoral votes go in those envelopes and are mailed, there’s not really anything else in the Constitution that allows that to be changed,” he said.
Westerman had already backed a lawsuit by Texas challenging the election returns in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
But the U. S. Supreme Court declined Friday to hear the case, ruling that “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”
That rejection, in Westerman’s view, “closed the books on challenges to the 2020 election results,” he told his constituents on Twitter that evening.
Although the electoral votes are formally counted Jan. 6, Westerman portrayed Monday’s proceedings as the true finish line, telling his Twitter followers Friday: “The casting of electoral votes will end a hotly contested election, and we should come together as Americans to work together for the future of our country.”
Three days later, during his appearance on “The Doc Washburn Show,” Westerman acknowledged that his stance had upset some people.
“I think I’ve rubbed a lot of people’s cat the wrong way the last few days,” he said, but added that he viewed accepting the results as “the right thing to do.”
“I don’t do this stuff willy-nilly. I try to do my homework and understand where things are going,” Westerman said. “At some point, we’ve got to look at what the rules are, and where we’re at, and put that behind us and go forward and do the best we can.”
While Westerman was appearing on Little Rock radio, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was surveying members of the state congressional delegation, asking whether they would respect the Electoral College’s decision or reserve the right to challenge the votes when they are formally tallied.
Rather than portraying the election as a settled matter, Westerman indicated he was keeping his options open.
“If courts find substantial evidence of election fraud in the next few weeks or if there are issues such as faithless electors, then members of congress have an option to contest the results,” he told the Democrat-Gazette in a written statement late Monday. “But as a general rule I don’t speculate on what I’ll do until I have all the information.”
On Tuesday, Washburn said Westerman’s newspaper and radio statements had been inconsistent.
“I’m glad he’s saying it, but that certainly is a different tune he’s singing than what he said on Facebook and Twitter and my show yesterday,” Washburn said.
Westerman declined to be interviewed by the Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday. But, in a written statement, he said he has been consistent.
“There are no discrepancies between my statements,” he said.
“I’ve always said I would abide by the election process outlined by the Constitution, and part of that is accepting the electors’ decision,” he said. “That said, I refuse to speculate on what will happen in the next few weeks. That’s why I mentioned that members of Congress reserve the constitutional right to challenge electors if necessary, and I think we would all do well to be cautious not to make sweeping statements about future events when we may not have all the facts.”