Josh Hawley: Elected By Proxy, Canceled By Proxy

When Simon & Schuster canceled their scheduled publication of US Senator Josh Hawley’s upcoming book “The Tyranny of Big Tech”, the Missouri Senator cried ‘cancel culture’! In the aftermath of the protest that turned violent on Capitol Hill, Simon & Schuster released a statement the same day, saying, ”We cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.” Josh Hawley fired back on Twitter at what he referred to as “the woke mob” at Simon & Schuster, declaring their decision was “a direct assault on the First Amendment” and it “couldn’t be more Orwellian.”

What essentially happened here? Hawley was canceled by proxy. Although he arguably played no role in what happened on Capitol Hill on January 6, his intentions to object to the Electoral College results certifying Joe Biden’s win over President Trump, and more importantly Hawley’s association with Trump, was used to paint him as a key figure in what the Left refers to as an act of sedition. Guilt by association.

I find it ironic that the Senator’s political career could come skidding to a halt in the same fashion that his time in the US Senate started. You see, in my opinion, Josh Hawley was ELECTED by proxy as well.

During his senatorial campaign in 2017-18 (launched less than a year after becoming Missouri Attorney General), Hawley was criticized by his fellow Republicans for his lackadaisical approach to the campaign, sluggish fundraising numbers, and even called out by US Rep. Ann Wagner for failing to appear at a primary debate event.

By July of 2018, the State GOP took matters into their own hands and authorized the party to begin spending fundraiser monies on Hawley’s campaign before the conclusion of the state primary, in which 10 other Republicans were vying for the seat. The party had previously authorized this action only two other times in 12 years. President Trump had already endorsed Hawley in the election at this point, and the state GOP was just responding in kind. Grassroots opinions be damned, the establishment had already made their choice, and their “Golden Boy” was it.

Hawley didn’t even make it to a Lincoln Days campaigning dinner event in his own hometown of Columbia, despite his campaign knowing ahead of time that campaign staffers wouldn’t be allowed to speak on his behalf. That’s when then Lt. Governor Mike Parson, a keynote speaker at the event, used up some of his speech time stumping in Hawley’s stead.

But amazingly, it worked for Hawley. Most conservative voters in Missouri were won over with nothing more than President Trump’s endorsement. Some didn’t even know there were other Republican candidates in the primary. Trump endorsed Hawley and that was all they needed to know. Score one for populism.

Josh Hawley mailed it in for political gain. Now his detractors are doing the same. What goes around comes around, I guess.

 

Image: Hawley campaign ad, YouTube