[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DESECRATING DEMOCRACY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I never thought I would live to see the 
day when a commentator entrusted by a major broadcast network with the 
ability to reach millions of listeners would use his influence to 
incite voter fraud, but I'm afraid this week we passed that unfortunate 
milestone.
  On Friday, January 15, MSNBC commentator Ed Schultz told his 
nationally syndicated radio audience, I tell you what, if I lived in 
Massachusetts I'd try to vote 10 times. I don't know if they'd let me 
or not, but I'd try to. Yeah, that's right. I'd cheat to keep these 
bastards out. I would.
  Now, this could be dismissed as an unfortunate verbal excess brought 
on by the passion of the moment, except for the fact that when given 
the opportunity to retract the statement, Mr. Schultz embellished it in 
a way that makes it crystal clear that his words were deliberate and 
calculated. He said, I misspoke on Friday. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I 
meant to say, if I could vote 20 times, that's what I'd do.
  Later he said, Let me be very clear, I'm not advocating voter fraud, 
I'm just telling you what I would do. Now, Mr. Speaker, exactly how 
does one not advocate voter fraud when three times on national 
broadcasts you say that's what you would do?
  Mr. Speaker, this can only be interpreted as an incitement to commit 
voter fraud in a pivotal election in the course of our Nation. As such, 
it strikes at the very foundation of democratic traditions and our 
constitutional institutions. In every election, win, lose or draw, it 
is of utmost importance that the vote be fair, that it be accurate, and 
that it have the confidence of every citizen, both those in the 
majority as well as those in the minority. If we cannot trust the 
sanctity of the vote, we destroy the legitimacy of that vote--and with 
it the legitimacy of that government.
  All of our governing institutions and all of their acts rest about a 
single foundation--fair and free elections which guarantee that those 
who exercise authority under our Constitution do so deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed. It is this principle that Mr. 
Schultz has sought to desecrate and demean. His statements excusing 
voter fraud weaken the single most important mechanism of our democracy 
and undermine our form of government. His words deserve--indeed, they 
demand--the contempt and condemnation of every American. And they 
deserve immediate action by those who have accorded him his broadcast 
platforms and whose silence and inaction thus far can only be described 
as a disgrace.

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