Congressional Record/Volume 167/Issue 4/House/Counting Electoral Votes/Pennsylvania Objection Debate/Cawthorn Speech
Mr. Cawthorn. Madam Speaker, as I said in my convention speech, I want a new generation of Americans to be radicals—to be radicals for freedom and for liberty, but not radicals for violence. I am bitterly disappointed by the protest that happened yesterday. The actions of a violent few were cowardly and pathetic, and I am not afraid to call it out.
The Republican Party is a party of limited government. It is the big tent party. It is not the party of destruction.
Madam Speaker, the oath I took just days ago demand that I speak out in defense not of one President or another, but in defense of a hallowed document that has safeguarded this Republic for over 200 years. The Constitution grants power solely to State legislatures to determine how elections are carried out. When other officials who are not vested with constitutional authority usurp their role and grind the Constitution under their heel, I must object.
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Our Nation is a nation of resilience. In Valley Forge, George Washington prayed for a republic to be formed from the ashes of a monarchy. At Gettysburg, Americans gave their lives to defend a very simple idea, that the American democracy that had been earned with the blood of their forefathers would not perish due to internal division.
Then, on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American servicemen gave their lives to defend this Nation’s freedom from fascism.
What unites each and every generation of Americans is the idea that those who submit themselves to the authority of government ought to have a voice in that same government.
We are Americans here in this Chamber and in this country. But what does it really mean to be an American? It means believing in the rule of law. It means speaking up in defense of our founding principles and in defense of the Constitution.
Being an American means that you are proud of your country but that you never beat your chest. And being an American means that sometimes you must stand alone while others sit.
Now, obviously, I can’t stand, but trust me, if I could stand, I would stand in defense of our Constitution today.