Read on Twitter
Undeterred, Josh Hawley officially launched his campaign to be Missouri's Attorney General for the 2016 elections.
He claims to have "fought Obama at the Supreme Court" even though, as discussed, he wasn't even admitted to SCOTUS when Hobby Lobby was argued.
17/
He claims to have "fought Obama at the Supreme Court" even though, as discussed, he wasn't even admitted to SCOTUS when Hobby Lobby was argued.
17/
But that lie sat in the rearview as he faced ethics complaints against him during his Attorney General race.
The group he founded the "Missouri Liberty Project"--he was using it to campaign before officially forming a campaign committee--a serious violation.
18/
The group he founded the "Missouri Liberty Project"--he was using it to campaign before officially forming a campaign committee--a serious violation.
18/
Within weeks of being sworn in as AG, Hawley went back on his campaign pledge to not climb political ladders to the next job, and began exploring his United States Senate run.
He hired out-of-state political consultants to run his AG office + help with his Senate campaign.
19/
He hired out-of-state political consultants to run his AG office + help with his Senate campaign.
19/
Those campaign consultants would ultimately run his 2018 US Senate campaign. The ethics issue he faced was conducting state business on private emails and texts.
(He continues to blur the lines between government + political while a US Senator).
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article239982518.html
20/
(He continues to blur the lines between government + political while a US Senator).
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article239982518.html
20/
Almost as immediately as deciding to ditch Jefferson City for DC, Hawley met with the Seminar Network in California--a group of donors, chaired by Charles Koch.
There, he laid out a plan to help the new Trump Administration--file lawsuits.
https://dailycaller.com/2017/01/30/attorney-general-has-an-interesting-plan-for-helping-trump-sue-the-government/
21/
There, he laid out a plan to help the new Trump Administration--file lawsuits.
https://dailycaller.com/2017/01/30/attorney-general-has-an-interesting-plan-for-helping-trump-sue-the-government/
21/
Hawley contended that the federal gov't moved too slowly--but that conservative AGs could speed up deregulation by filing suits themselves.
This plan is what we've seem come to fruition with the ACA suit + more recently the election suit against Pennsylvania.
22/
This plan is what we've seem come to fruition with the ACA suit + more recently the election suit against Pennsylvania.
22/
So it's no surprise then that Josh Hawley was one of the ringleaders in the lawsuit to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and strip care away from individual with pre-existing conditions.
23/ https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article218331330.html
23/ https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/article218331330.html
For his efforts, with fewer than 8 months on the job, Josh Hawley earned the support from the Koch Family who pledged $10M to his eventual Senate run (even prior to him announcing his official Senate bid).
24/
24/
But there was somewhat of a roadblock--or opportunity depending on how you view Eric Greitens.
Greitens was Missouri's Trumpian Governor who raped and sexually assaulted a woman. Hawley had to make a decision about how, as Missouri's AG, to handle the situation.
25/
Greitens was Missouri's Trumpian Governor who raped and sexually assaulted a woman. Hawley had to make a decision about how, as Missouri's AG, to handle the situation.
25/
Ultimately, Hawley decided to come down against Greitens. Few have discussed this point, but there's considerable evidence that Eric Greitens--a Navy SEAL and Rhodes Scholar--with a similar conservative populist bent was Hawley's most serious competition for higher office.
26/
26/
So Hawley investigated him, suggested that he resign from office, and although he thought Greitens committed impeachable offenses--he didn't want to "put Missouri through" such an ordeal.
27/
27/
Greitens was never convicted of any crime. Earlier this year after help from Pence's office he was reinstated in the US Navy.
Greitens is the pre-Trump. He's looking for a comeback. He is what happens when you don't hold corrupt politicians accountable for their crimes.
28/
Greitens is the pre-Trump. He's looking for a comeback. He is what happens when you don't hold corrupt politicians accountable for their crimes.
28/
But Hawley faced legal problems of his own as Attorney General.
State law required Hawley to live in Jefferson City as AG--but he never moved there. This would be the beginning of a long line of "where does he actually live" questions for Hawley.
29/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article184713783.html
State law required Hawley to live in Jefferson City as AG--but he never moved there. This would be the beginning of a long line of "where does he actually live" questions for Hawley.
29/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article184713783.html
And he'd start to turn those railing against him for breaking the law and for dismantling social programs as "elites" who just didn't understand an "everyman" like himself.
And in that, he began echoing Donald Trump.
30/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article204670599.html
And in that, he began echoing Donald Trump.
30/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article204670599.html
But, Hawley struggled.
It's unclear whether he knows what a flatbed truck is in 2020--but this sent a clear message to many in rural Missouri that Joshua Hawley is counterfeit.
31/
It's unclear whether he knows what a flatbed truck is in 2020--but this sent a clear message to many in rural Missouri that Joshua Hawley is counterfeit.
31/
Needing to convince rural Missourians of his credibility as a working man from a farming family, Hawley dropped images of his in-laws' ranch in New Mexico--knowing full well that many would assume he was in Missouri--and allowing them to believe the lie that benefited him.
32/
32/
Hawley rarely showed up for events when he ran for US Senate. And he rarely answered questions from the public--even of Republicans.
Long-time GOP operatives in the state were turned off by Hawley acting as the heir-apparent, entitled to the seat.
33/ https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/15/hawley-mccaskill-missouri-senate-585892
Long-time GOP operatives in the state were turned off by Hawley acting as the heir-apparent, entitled to the seat.
33/ https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/15/hawley-mccaskill-missouri-senate-585892
His arrogance was on display for all to see--by not showing up to events he should have--and by forcing his "righteousness" and "Christian principles" on others....like his assertion that the sexual revolution led to sex trafficking.
34/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article197603534.html
34/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article197603534.html
In fact, he abandoned much of what a *typical* Missouri Republican successful (think Danforth, Bond, Blunt, Ashcroft, etc.) and instead chose to embrace the principles of Donald Trump.
Nothing made that more clear than his campaign literature. This is predominant photo.
35/
Nothing made that more clear than his campaign literature. This is predominant photo.
35/
And when it became obvious during the Kavanaugh hearings the kind of threat Josh Hawley posed as a United States Senator, his classmates from Yale Law School spoke out and drafted a letter to the citizens of Missouri.
36/ https://medium.com/@hawleyclassmates/a-letter-to-missourians-from-josh-hawleys-law-school-classmates-a83b1d3bc578
36/ https://medium.com/@hawleyclassmates/a-letter-to-missourians-from-josh-hawleys-law-school-classmates-a83b1d3bc578
In the letter, his former peers pointed out his hypocrisy in
railing against the coastal elite class of which he is a part.
They note that his dishonesty goes beyond simply the phony story he is telling about himself on the campaign trail--that he abandoned his principles.
37/
railing against the coastal elite class of which he is a part.
They note that his dishonesty goes beyond simply the phony story he is telling about himself on the campaign trail--that he abandoned his principles.
37/
They write that Josh Hawley should know how despicable Donald Trump is--and that perhaps he know he cannot speak out against him if he hopes to win election.
Sadly, we know now that Hawley does not find Trump reprehensible, but representative of future politicking.
38/
Sadly, we know now that Hawley does not find Trump reprehensible, but representative of future politicking.
38/
But despite the truth coming out, Josh Hawley climbed that political ladder that only two years ago he disavowed--and he went to Washington, D.C.
And during his first speech on the Senate floor he rails against elites + notes the loss of family and church in ppl's lives.
39/
And during his first speech on the Senate floor he rails against elites + notes the loss of family and church in ppl's lives.
39/
These are the same themes you see in his Lexington newspaper days--the same concerns he wrote about at Stanford--solutions he found in Teddy Roosevelt--and line up with his belief that scripture mandates that he as a Christian use politics to make a Christian kingdom real.
40/
40/
This is one reason why he makes statements about only appointing jurists on the Supreme Court who will overturn Roe v. Wade.
41/
41/
It's why he discusses "judicial imperialism" and "judicial activism" as if Justices like Coney Barrett haven't attempted to rewrite the law from the bench.
(Wrote a full thread on this here: https://twitter.com/LynzforCongress/status/1288702959757545473?s=20)
42/
(Wrote a full thread on this here: https://twitter.com/LynzforCongress/status/1288702959757545473?s=20)
42/
When speaking to Evangelicals--he turns up the religion and "earthly government' bit. When speaking to MAGA--he turns up the populism.
He always point the finger at "the elites" --the group into which he was born and from whom he wants respect.
43/ https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/josh-hawley-republican-populism-trump-biden-2024.html
He always point the finger at "the elites" --the group into which he was born and from whom he wants respect.
43/ https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/josh-hawley-republican-populism-trump-biden-2024.html
That's one of the reasons he's writing another book. So people know he's more than a talking head on Fox New or OANN.
And to begin his pre-campaign tour across America--similar to what he did with the Missouri Liberty Project, sans illegality.
44/ https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/sen-josh-hawley-writing-book-tyranny-big-tech-73654679
And to begin his pre-campaign tour across America--similar to what he did with the Missouri Liberty Project, sans illegality.
44/ https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/sen-josh-hawley-writing-book-tyranny-big-tech-73654679
Speaking of legal issues, Hawley has faced hard residency questions since taking office in the Senate.
He sold his Missouri home--and then used his father's address in Springfield on his voter registration--despite not living there.
45/ https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20190117/hawley-will-move-family-to-suburban-dc
He sold his Missouri home--and then used his father's address in Springfield on his voter registration--despite not living there.
45/ https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20190117/hawley-will-move-family-to-suburban-dc
In 2020 he faced more questions when he changed his voter reg to his sister's address, while owning a home in Virginia.
He + his extended family are building a vacation home at the Lake of the Ozarks which he'll use to pretend he lives in MO.
46/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article247260219.html
He + his extended family are building a vacation home at the Lake of the Ozarks which he'll use to pretend he lives in MO.
46/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article247260219.html
He also violated Senate rules when his office received an email to its official inbox + he took that correspondence to post on his personal Twitter.
You might remember his big fight to help Missourians by attacking the NBA.
I wrote about it here ( https://twitter.com/LynzforCongress/status/1282175926160314368?s=20)
47/
You might remember his big fight to help Missourians by attacking the NBA.
I wrote about it here ( https://twitter.com/LynzforCongress/status/1282175926160314368?s=20)
47/
He stages useless meaningless fights like this all the time. He does it for attention. He does it to put in fundraising emails. He does it to score segments on Fox and OANN.
He does it to increase his profile, while decreasing the legitimacy of the US Senate.
48/
He does it to increase his profile, while decreasing the legitimacy of the US Senate.
48/
Of course, when one of his plans falls carefully into place--like installing his former General Counsel to the Federal Elections Commission--to make sure he has protection across agencies.
Like Trump--the chaos masks the crime.
49/
Like Trump--the chaos masks the crime.
49/
Joshua Hawley violates the law. He lies as easily as breathing. And he has positioned himself as the much more effective heir to Trump.
This vote against the election is a test of his influence + leadership over the GOP.
He is an autocrat.
And we must defeat him.
50/50
This vote against the election is a test of his influence + leadership over the GOP.
He is an autocrat.
And we must defeat him.
50/50
