Thread by @davidplazas

ICYMI
@MarshaBlackburn & @BillHagertyTN opted after all not to object to certification of President-elect @JoeBiden & VP-elect @KamalaHarris' victory. On Saturday, they made pronouncements about their role as objectors.
tennessean.com/story/news/pol… via @natalie_allison @Tennessean \

"Backburn, Hagerty and others changed their minds after the U.S. Capitol went into lockdown on Wednesday as supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building, demanding that Congress reject the results of the election." They condemned the violence, but not the POTUS. \

So, while it appears the attempted swayed them, Tennessee citizens are entitled to know their explanation for why they shifted.

I received more than three dozen letters in the last 12 hours condemning the for helping stoke this fire. They'll be posted in a little while. \

For the senators who withdrew their objections, it was like a child who expresses remorse for playing with matches after they set fire to the house. Meanwhile, the "faithful" objectors were more than willing to watch it burn down. Sad day for our nation. \

Our Tennessee Voices newsletter went out this morning & focused on this. Here's what I wrote: "I am still shocked that Jan. 6, a constitutionally prescribed day of ceremony to affirm the peaceful transfer of power in the USA, ended in chaos, bloodshed and insurrection." \

"Congress had only one task: to count and affirm the Electoral College vote. We knew Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty had (originally) planned to object to the count, based on vague claims of voter fraud and irregularities propagated by President Donald Trump." \

"They, and hundreds of other Republican members of Congress, did so to appease Trump, who has refused to concede the election and accept his defeat." \

"Earlier on Wednesday, he incited several pro-Trump protesters gathered in Washington, D.C., to besiege the Capitol building, endangering the lives of members of Congress and law enforcement, and threatening democracy in America." \

" @Twitter even suspended Trump's account because of his reckless tweeting." \

" @kenpaulson1 , the former editor-in-chief of USA TODAY and the director of the @FreeSpeechMTSU at @MTSUNews, wrote a guest column on the difference between free speech and what occurred on Capitol Hill." \

"'Anyone prosecuted for breaking through gates or entering the building won’t be charged for their speech or message," he wrote. "They’ll be prosecuted for their illegal actions, none of which are protected by the Bill of Rights.'"
tennessean.com/story/opinion/… \