By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
Members of both houses of Congress gathered Wednesday, Jan. 6, to count the Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden as the 46th commander in chief.
What has almost always been a matter of course became political theater when lawmakers led by Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri — and joined by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew and others — objected to the count from Arizona, forcing the bodies to separate to debate the objection.
Unbeknownst to them, an angry mob had gathered outside the Capitol.
As they began their debate in the Senate and House, a group numbering in the thousands marched from the scene of a rally led by President Donald Trump at which he repeated his false claims that the election was stolen and vowed “never to concede,” inciting the crowd to march to the Capitol.
The insurrectionists eventually overwhelmed security, smashing windows and storming the Capitol Rotunda, forcing members of Congress to hide beneath desks and eventually flee. Vice President Mike Pence, who had been the focus of increasingly heated vitriol from Trump, was evacuated for his own safety.
The shocking events came ahead of the final ratification by Congress of Biden’s Electoral College victory. It appeared to be the final step in certifying Biden as president, which was in question for weeks as ballots were counted and, in some cases, recounted. Trump refused to accept defeat and still claims the election was stolen. After the bodies reconvened later in the evening, some, including Van Drew, objected to the Pennsylvania tally, but it never was likely they would succeed. The Senate voted 93-6 against objections to Arizona’s vote certification and 92-7 against the objection to Pennsylvania’s vote.
The Senate term of former Sen. David Perdue — who lost in the Georgia runoff to Jon Ossoff — ended Jan. 3, leaving 99 voters.
In the House, 121 Republicans voted in favor of the Arizona objection, including Van Drew, and 303 voted against it. Early Thursday morning, the objection to Pennsylvania’s vote failed 282-138.
Atlantic County Democratic Party Chairman Michael Suleiman said he found it astounding that Van Drew continued with his objection.
“I always knew Jeff was a political opportunist and I always knew Jeff was an ambitious guy, but a small part of me thought ‘OK, you saw how some members of Congress kind of backtracked after that violence.’ Even (Georgia Republican Kelly) Loeffler, I was surprised, voted to accept the results. For this guy still not to do it is … what little respect I had for the guy just went out the window,” Suleiman said.
“I will give Jeff Van Drew credit. When he said ‘undying support’ he was not kidding and frankly I think the guy shouldn’t be in Congress.”
Atlantic County Republican Party Chairman Keith Davis backed Van Drew’s efforts in favor of election reform.
“I support his efforts and I’ve been consistent in being concerned about how our elections are run, not only nationally but here in the state of New Jersey,” he said, using the Third District Commission race between Andrew Parker and Thelma Witherspoon as an example.
“Our county clerk mailed out hundreds of ballots that were wrong, that didn’t include the race, and it led to a superior court judge determining that those voters were disenfranchised as a result of Ed McGettigan, the county clerk’s actions,” Davis said. “Yet the Democrats here locally say nothing and continue to nominate this man instead of standing up to him and saying ‘We need to have accurate and fair elections in Atlantic County.’
“So whether it is something happening in Georgia, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, something happening here in Atlantic County, I have been very strong in saying we need to have election reform in our country to make sure every vote is counted.”
He claimed Van Drew was not trying to overturn the election result as much as he was making a point that the system is flawed.
“I don’t think that votes that are questionable change the result, and that’s why President-elect Biden’s victory was affirmed. But the point that Congressman Van Drew is raising is a critically important one or it is going to happen again,” Davis said.
Van Drew did not return a call seeking comment.
Cape May County Democratic Party Chairman Brendan Sciarra said he felt Van Drew would have opted not to object to the vote count when Congress reconvened following the violence.
“I thought he would have had a change of mind. He’s always been his own person, a maverick, and I always thought that Jeff understood what’s right and wrong. I’m disappointed and I think people are really upset.”
In a letter from the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, former Second Congressional District candidate Amy Kennedy, who lost to Van Drew in the November election, wrote that “even after the disgusting spectacle we all watched in horror, Rep. Jeff Van Drew still joined a handful of radical conservatives and refused to accept the results of a free and fair election.
“Sadly, he has chosen to engage in more political theater instead of doing what he promised the people of South Jersey he would do — roll up his sleeves and get things done. What’s even worse is that he is choosing to throw his lot in with a fringe group who refuse to concede that Joe Biden is the president-elect even when Trump’s staunchest supporters like Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham acknowledge the process has run its course,” she added.
“Jeff Van Drew has chosen to fan the flames and support phony conspiracy theories that threaten to do permanent damage to our democracy and our country,” Kennedy wrote.