TheBlaze’s Chris Enloe noted this weekend that while Democrats are rebuking Republicans for planning Wednesday to oppose the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory due to fraud concerns, Democrats themselves have a robust history of doing that very thing.
And a damning, resurfaced video underscores what’s already on the public record.
OK for thee — but not for the GOP?
The video is a compilation of clips from congressional sessions following the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, both won by Republican George W. Bush — and in the clips Democrats launched protests against Bush’s electoral votes.
In January 2001, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas spoke about the “millions of Americans who have been disenfranchised by Florida’s inaccurate vote count” — a statement that drew jeers in the chamber.
Image source: Rumble video screenshot
In January 2005, Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio told a joint session of Congress that “the objection today is raised because there [were] irregularities across this country with regard to voting, and we as a Congress have an obligation to step up to the plate and correct them.”
Also during the 2005 session, Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan said, “We’re here because not a single election official in Ohio has given us any explanation for the massive and widespread irregularity in the state, no explanation for the machines … that recorded [then-Democratic presidential nominee John] Kerry votes for Bush.”
That wasn’t all. The Washington Post reported that during the January 2001 session, words such as “fraud” and “disenfranchisement” were heard above Republicans calling for “regular order.”
More from the paper:
The Democratic protest was led by Black Caucus members who share the feeling among black leaders that votes in the largely African American precincts overwhelmingly carried by [then-Democratic presidential nominee Al] Gore were not counted because of faulty voting machines, illicit challenges to black voters and other factors.
“It’s a sad day in America,” Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said as he turned toward Gore. “The chair thanks the gentleman from Illinois, but . . . ” Gore replied.
At the end of their protest, about a dozen members of the Black Caucus walked out of the House chamber as the roll call of the states continued.
The Post added that then-House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) urged the Black Caucus members not to raise objections because Gore didn’t support such a move, but caucus members argued in a news conference that they had to challenge Bush’s election.
“There comes a time you have to take your destiny into your own hands, no matter what is being said by whom,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said at the time, the paper reported.