Tom Cotton wrote me back after I called him a degenerate faggot traitor.
January 14, 2021
Rabbi Isaac Sheckleburg
123 Ding Street
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Dear Isaac:
Thank you for contacting me about Congress’s recent certification of the 2020 Electoral College results. It’s good to hear from you, as always.
Many Arkansans have raised concerns about irregularities in November’s presidential election. I share many of those concerns. Several states rushed through changes to their election laws. These changes included sending unsolicited mail-in ballots, relaxing standards for voting by mail, and removing electoral safeguards, such as signature-matching or postal-marking requirements. That’s why I have introduced legislation to create an electoral commission to examine the 2020 election and propose reforms to restore confidence in the security and integrity of our future elections.
Nonetheless, our Founding Fathers entrusted the electoral process chiefly to individual states—not Congress. They entrusted presidential elections to the people, by way of the Electoral College—not Congress. They entrusted the adjudication of electoral disputes to the courts—not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting the certified electoral votes submitted by the states. Congress carried out this duty on January 6.
Unfortunately, some elected representatives misunderstood these constitutional principles and gave many Americans false hopes about what could or should happen when Congress gathered to count the electoral votes. Objecting to the certified electoral votes submitted by the states would not have given the president a second term. But those objections would have overstepped Congress’s constitutional authority, creating a dangerous precedent by which the majority party in Congress could de facto decide presidential elections. This precedent would effectively render the Electoral College obsolete, reducing Arkansans’ voice in future presidential elections.
I’m thankful for our many accomplishments over the past four years, but Congress couldn’t give the president a second term by invalidating the results of the election. And the attempt to do so would have only emboldened those Democrats who want to further erode the esteemed traditions of our constitutional republic.
I’m honored to serve as your senator. You, your family, and our state will remain on my mind and close to my heart in my duties. Always feel free to call my office at (202) 224-2353, or visit www.cotton.senate.gov for further information.
Sincerely,
Tom Cotton
United States Senator