There is likely no Senator in the United States with a worse ratio of “accomplishment” to “ambition” than Josh Hawley. There is also likely no senator more aligned with the MAGA movement. When one considers that Hawley must beat out Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham for that title, it’s rather sobering.

Thus, it was wonderful to see that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch used it’s 4th of July commemoration editorial to blast Hawley and everything the MAGAs stand for as “un-American.”

Someone deserves a Pulitzer for this:

“On America’s birthday, the word ‘patriotism’ gets waved around like a rhetorical flag, but what does it really mean? Some Americans express love of country by paying homage to the nation’s military might, others to its traditions of freedom and compassion, still others to the enduring genius of America’s founding documents. It’s much easier to define what patriotism isn’t. On this Independence Day, Americans of all political stripes should be able to agree that elections must be accessible and fair, that the legitimacy of those elections must be respected regardless of the outcome — and that violence is never an acceptable response from citizens who don’t like a particular election result.

Exactly. Amazing that it needs to be said.

Yet those fundamental principles, which are as good a definition of patriotism as any, are currently being challenged by large swaths of Americans and their political leaders. A majority of Republicans still claim to believe the corrosive lie that Joe Biden is an illegitimate president. One poll indicates close to 4 in 10 Republicans consider violence to be an acceptable tool to address perceived failures by the nation’s leaders. Patriots of conscience, regardless of party, should forcefully reject this inherently un-American mindset,

“Jan. 6 was among the darkest moments in the nation’s history, not merely because of a rogue president’s unheard-of refusal to accept his electoral defeat, nor his incitement of his followers to assault the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn that defeat. The more lasting danger is the contempt for electoral democracy that the episode has exposed on America’s political right,”

It was exposed by the 147 Republican members of Congress (led by Missouri’s own Sen. Josh Hawley) who, having just witnessed firsthand the violence that Trump’s big vote-fraud lie had visited upon the seat of government, further promoted that lie, voting to overturn a valid election based on nothing but their supporters’ disdain for the outcome. It was exposed in most congressional Republicans’ failure to hold Trump accountable for what was arguably the most impeachable thing any sitting president has ever done. It was exposed in the GOP’s refusal to allow a full investigation of the siege, for fear it would reflect badly on their party.

“For months, this contempt for electoral democracy has been exposed in the more than a dozen Republican-controlled state legislatures that have passed laws designed to make voting more difficult for minorities, urban dwellers, the poor and others they fear will vote for Democrats,. Of course, the purveyors of this poison claim they are themselves acting out of a patriotic urge to protect the sanctity of the vote. This is the biggest lie of all. 

“On this of all days, Americans should remember there is just one legitimate means of change in a democracy: free and fair elections. Protecting that institution is patriotic. Undermining it isn’t — ever,”

There is nothing left to say but, “Thank You.” The message was not only perfect, but it was delivered in the perfect place. “Patriorism” can be a scary thing in the wrong hands. Josh Hawley and the MAGAs at the Capitol call themselves “patriots.” But we’ve always heard that when fascism comes to America it will be carrying a flag and a Bible. Nice of the Post-Dispatch to remind us about real patriotism.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LeftScoop.news. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.