Yesterday a pro-Hawley friend asked me: Why can't an official condemn the riots and question the integrity of the election?

It's a fine question and I want to give my answer.

Hawley claims that he's just doing his duty as Senator, representing his constituents who think the election was rigged. But that's not his duty bc there is no good evidence the election was rigged and there's been plenty of time to find that evidence. It has not materialized.

What has materialized is a lot of fever dream nonsense that it is Hawley's duty to reject as dangerous and false, regardless of whether Missourians have fallen for it. It's his duty to speak the truth.

Moreover, Hawley's argument yesterday was a complaint about the court's refusal to force Pennsylvania to follow its own laws. It's fine to say you disagree with the courts but that isn't reason to undermine the rule of law. Hawley knows this.

It's not a good reason to call for an audit on a normal day but after what happened on the capital earlier that day it was an outrage. It was an attempt to legitimize Trump's BS narrative that fed the frenzied attack. This election was not stolen. Their fury is not justified.

Some argue that only Trump is to blame for inciting yesterday's violence. While I agree that he is mostly to blame Hawley has been his enabler. Note the photos of him raising his fist to them in salute. He's trying to court their future votes.

So to answer the OP: his persistence in undermining public trust in our institutions at a moment of crisis and breakdown indicates to me that Josh Hawley is perfectly willing to put his ambitions over the common good. I think that's really bad.