Rita Hart, an Iowa Democrat who lost a race for Congress in November by 6 votes, has filed “an official notice of contest” asking the House of Representatives to reject the results and order “a hand recount of every ballot,” NBC News reported on Tuesday, December 22, 2020, her campaign contending that “it has identified ‘at least 22 lawful ballots’ … left out of the count” that would make her the winner. Read story here.
GOP candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the certified winner, responded,
“Every vote has been counted under Iowa law, and recounted under Iowa law. The canvas of votes was approved unanimously by a bipartisan board, and certified by the state of Iowa. … Unfortunately, Rita Hart now wants Washington politicians to override the will of Iowa voters and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Iowa voters.”
Gee, where else have we seen that?
Hart is pursuing her claims through a constitutionally prescribed procedure, while various GOP representatives and senators scheme to throw out Biden’s electoral votes in Congress through the exact same procedure. At least Hart’s party isn’t sitting in the White House plotting a military coup.
I’m inclined to agree with Miller-Meeks that the election is over, she only needed to win by 1 vote, and it’s time to move on. Same with Biden, who unlike Miller-Meeks is a clear winner, and whose opponent — unlike Hart — doesn’t have an arguable case or evidence for his claims. But this is politics, and logic has nothing to do with it.
It comes down to the fact that Republicans don’t believe in democracy or playing by the rules. Winning isn’t everything to them, it’s the only thing. They want to play a “heads I win, tails you lose” game. Are you willing to play that game? I’m not. So, I guess if Republicans can contest Biden’s win in Congress, then there’s absolutely no reason why Hart can’t do the same. What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander, is what I learned as a kid.
Photo: Miller Meeks (left), Hart (right)
