I desperately hope we get these checks but since Hawley's name is trending along Sanders' this seems like a good time to do a thread on who he is and why I think he should worry us https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1337165697416372229
At 40 years old, Josh Hawley is the youngest US Senator, coming out of Missouri
He is the son of a banker, received a private prep school education, got his Bachelor's from Stanford and graduated from Yale Law.
He is the son of a banker, received a private prep school education, got his Bachelor's from Stanford and graduated from Yale Law.
He provided legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty where he worked on the Supreme Court cases of Hosanna Tabor v. EEOC and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/10-553
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/10-553
You might remember the Hobby Lobby decision. The Court ruled that for-profit entities could deny their employee's health insurance that provides contraception on the basis of religious freedom
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2013/13-354
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2013/13-354
Before his senate career he was briefly Missouri's AG where he joined in a lawsuit against the ACA.
A notable thing was the Greitens scandal which I won't go into here. Long story short, his office did a half hearted investigation and failed to indict. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article220601805.html
A notable thing was the Greitens scandal which I won't go into here. Long story short, his office did a half hearted investigation and failed to indict. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article220601805.html
Before the stimulus checks, the thing Hawley was most well known for was taking on Big Tech. He's introduced multiple pieces of legislation meant to limit the powers of tech companies. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/recode/2019/10/29/20932064/senator-josh-hawley-tech-facebook-google-mark-zuckerberg-missouri
I'll be honest, I don't entirely understand his motives here. He regularly pisses off tech billionaires AND the free speech advocates of the right (even though he has a Parler account and thinks citizens should be able to say whatever on social media!).
One reason could be that legislation like this tends to garner bipartisan support and makes for easy wins, bolstering his record.
He's known for other things too though. Like repeatedly engaging in rhetoric dripping with anti-semitic dogwhistles https://archive.thinkprogress.org/hawley-anti-semitic-trope-bacaf74d8892/
He once said that human trafficking was a result of the sexual revolution promoting premarital sex and contraceptive use https://apnews.com/article/ba96a6673b104cfeb7a610e4287e3850
He's aggressively anti-abortion and has said that he won't vote to confirm any Supreme Court nominee who hadn't already stated they would overturn Roe v. Wade https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-hawley-lays-down-new-antiabortion-marker-for-supreme-court-nominees/2020/07/26/52ed360a-cf73-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html%3foutputType=amp
He introduced the "David Dorn Back the Blue" act which allocates $15 billion to raise cop salaries https://www.hawley.senate.gov/senator-hawley-introduces-david-dorn-back-blue-act-allocate-15b-raise-police-salaries-hire-more
He's anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigration and all of the usual things you would expect from a conservative politician.
Obviously, for me, the most concerning thing is his aggressively misogynist positions
Obviously, for me, the most concerning thing is his aggressively misogynist positions
And now he's fighting for working families.
We need these checks and I'm praying he and Bernie get them passed.
But open your eyes to this
We need these checks and I'm praying he and Bernie get them passed.
But open your eyes to this
Hawley doesn't care if the checks come through or not. What's important to him is that it appears that he's the person standing up for the working class.
He's using the populist rhetoric that propelled Trump but the difference is he's not a dumbass
He's using the populist rhetoric that propelled Trump but the difference is he's not a dumbass
He's a career politician, he knows what he's doing and he's effective.
The pushback I get on this idea is that he doesn't have the charisma of Trump to pull it off.
I disagree. Watch the video from the senate floor yesterday and tell me what energy it conveys.
The pushback I get on this idea is that he doesn't have the charisma of Trump to pull it off.
I disagree. Watch the video from the senate floor yesterday and tell me what energy it conveys.
Especially, juxtaposed to an aging, masked Sanders. I'll just say it, he looked and sounded commanding.
So we have people suffering in material ways and someone has stepped up to the plate to address those material needs.
Let me tell you the thing that scares me the most:
So we have people suffering in material ways and someone has stepped up to the plate to address those material needs.
Let me tell you the thing that scares me the most:
Liberals aren't going to have a problem with him.
He isn't rude or grotesque. He doesn't send mean tweets. He isn't orange.
He's bipartisan! He's young! He fights for the working class!
He isn't rude or grotesque. He doesn't send mean tweets. He isn't orange.
He's bipartisan! He's young! He fights for the working class!
This man *is* going to run for president.
In the interim, there isn't a party who is going to address the material needs of the people or even pretend they care about them.
In the interim, there isn't a party who is going to address the material needs of the people or even pretend they care about them.
How do you plan to fight against the man who says he's going to give you a job and put food on your table and keep a roof over your head? Even when you know he wants to enact Christian dominion and forcibly breed women.
Josh Hawley is a problem and one that needs to be addressed with urgency.