My Oath
By Sen. John Thune
January 6 was a horrifying day. Violent protesters stormed the Capitol, attacking law enforcement and endangering everyone working inside, from senators’ staffers to maintenance workers. Peaceful protest is a hallmark of our country. The right of assembly is a sacred American right. What happened at the Capitol was not a peaceful protest. It was violent, unlawful, and fundamentally un-American.
Thanks to the heroic efforts of Capitol Police officers, who put their lives on the line to protect us, and thanks to law enforcement officers from across the Capitol region, the Capitol was secured. Undeterred, members and staff returned to the building to carry out the business of the day. We followed the law, counted the votes, and certified the election.
The oath I swear as senator for South Dakota is not to any one person, but to the U.S. Constitution:
I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment make clear that the Senate’s role in presidential elections is limited to counting the electoral ballots certified by the states. The applicable federal law, enacted in 1887, further clarifies the limited role of Congress. It provides that Congress must accept all electoral ballots that are lawfully certified by the submitting state so long as there are not competing submissions. Otherwise, Congress has no authority to overturn the results of this or any other presidential election.
As is the case with any election, Americans should not tolerate a single fraudulent vote. I believe any credible accusation, now or in the future, should be investigated, and those who have violated our nation’s trust should be held to account, period. I will also support relevant efforts to examine and strengthen the integrity of our federal elections.
As a senator, my guideposts are the Constitution and the rule of law, and I have striven to perform the duties they require of me. Under our constitutional system, in which I have tremendous faith, the results of this election could not be undone by Congress.
I will continue to fight every day for conservative principles. During my time in Congress, I have worked with multiple presidential administrations. There have been areas where I have agreed and areas where I have disagreed with presidents of both parties. No matter what, you can be sure that whatever the circumstance, I will strive to uphold my oath of office and I will always stand up for South Dakotans.
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While no one condones the violence that day, how dare he insinuate that everyone there was violent. 99.9% of those in DC were peacefully protesting a stolen election and advocating for future honest elections. How dare he ignore that. I am ashamed now that i ever voted for him….never again.
Prove it? You can’t.
“Stolen election”?
You had 60 court cases in which to prove that ridiculous assertion… and you couldn’t do it. Just stop with the lies.
Your press release actually furthers doubt in the election outcome. Once again, you don’t accept responsibility and the truth, and history will place you most definitely on the side of Trump enablers.
Ooooh, Trump enablers. I doubt if you care if the election was stolen.
It is not enough to believe a person is upholding the oath.
Actions (especially votes), after deliberation with your conscience, must demonstrate you have upheld your oath.
Opposing a valid count of the votes was not putting America or South Dakota (who voted for Trump, John) first.
Not fighting like the dickens in the Senate – to the extent that gentlemanly behavior might allow – to ensure an accurate vote has opened a huge political attack surface for 2022.
Not being conservative with 5G, not being conservative regarding the Bill of Rights, and not being conservative with spending in DC has led me to greatly anticipate your opponent in the 2022 primary.
Senator Thune, unfortunately, has not earned my vote.
Senator:
You have become part of the problem. I believe the GOP has a schism coming. There are those like you who are part of the establishment and “fight” for conservative principles until it actually matters and those who are part of the GOP base that is tired of being lied to and receiving lip service to “conservative” principles. You won’t miss my vote, but it is gone.
Have some of you thought about what might happen if you actually succeeded in overturning the election… that you lost?
That’s right, it would be over. The American experiment would end.
You have to be able to prove it. You can’t just claim the election is stolen. You have to prove it in court like anyone else. And you couldn’t.
You just want Thune to do your dirty, illegitimate work for you.
You people never stopped overturning Trump’s election which wasn’t stolen, yet you whine like a crybaby if a lot of people don’t think the outcome this time was all aboveboard. What a hypocrite.
The American experiment will end with what the devil Democrats want to do, but if you can’t see that you are dumber than a box of rocks.
You may have to explain to it what a box of rocks is.
RNC raised 200 million dollars on defense of presidency issue.
Did not deliver .. much at all.
Audit?
Audits are fun.
If the Dems actually won the Presidential election why are they afraid of transparency in the suspect areas of the key swing states? We’re frogs in the kettle that’s being heated and many Republicans are saying “Don’t jump out of the kettle; that’s not who we are”.
Like other criminals, Democrats like to work in the dark.
I respect your point of view on this Senator Thune, but do you really think that President Trump was afforded a fair election and due process?
John Thune is, and for a long-time, has been a leader for our Republican Party and for South Dakota. As we have come to expect, he did his job, upheld the Constitution and served as a leader.
For those who support ignoring our Constitution, denigrating America, and engaging in insurrection, we’ll see how your Benedict Arnold Club fairs at the ballot box.
He may be a leader of your Republican Party for South Dakota, but like many in the GOP establishment he has abandoned the base people who have put him into power.
Gee then that would be similar to how Tom Daschle lost his seat, at some point.
You are exactly right. Senator Daschle was untouchable until he became perceived to be a creature of Washington. As I recall, there was a big thing about his DC home that pointed out he was more concerned with Washington than he was SD. He was out of touch.
Senator Thune has been in office too long, and he needs to be replaced with someone who is a Conservative who will stand up and fight for the country. He was not there to support the good President Trump was doing, but he’ll be there to concede to the Democrats.
I may not agree with absolutely everything which goes down in DC with Senator Thune’s name on but I’m not involved in those discussions knowing 99% we will agree on. Many politicians wake up every morning and look for every angle bettering themselves and their pocketbook. Senator Thune is not one of them and actually he wakes up every day trying to do everything he can to help America be better and stop anything he considers a negative from happening. You may wonder how I know this. He actually told this to me and I trust John Thune and take him for his word.
Well, if HE told you, then it MUST be true!
Eh Dugger U truly don’t have a clue of what is happening in America today.
If I were you you I’d start watching ropin and bull riding videos……
Maybe watching ropin’ and bull riding videos is what you do down on the ranch, but I prefer to observe what is happening in America. I, as many other people do, believe when someone goes to DC they eventually become part of the problem. I have not seen our Senator doing anything other than a vote to defend conservative principals. And even then we cannot depend on his conservative vote.
My observation of the Senator is he tolerated President Trump rather than supported him. The people who support President Trump do so with enthusiasm. At least President Trump fights.
Problem is, he’s not always fighting for the right thing or fighting when he doesn’t have to.
We know there were problems with the election, Thune knows it, as do many dems. No court actuslly investigated the claims, they just refused to hear the case.
My problem with his column is that it is a personsl affront to the many patriotic Americans who attended the PEACEFUL rally to support President Trump but mainly advocating only for honest and free elections. In the America for the last 200 plus years that is a fundamental right. Thune implies that the less than 0.1% who caused problems were representative of the entire rally, and that is not true. And he knows this.
It’s pretty obvious he’s talking about protesters who stormed the Capitol since he mentioned “violent protesters” in the first line of the column. But maybe reading comprehension isn’t one of your skills.
My reading comprehedion is just fine, thank you. Nowhere does he mention the hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors, leaving the impression that the whole rally was violent.
Typical Trumpy looking for something to whine about. Thune is being mean to me. Hurt my feelings. Toughen up buttercup.
This coming from someone who obviously belongs to the party of the social justice warrior pajama boys who get participation trophies…..loser!
If Herseth or Brendan run in ’22 it would be a very divided GOP and they might be able to squeak one out if the gop doesn’t pull it together.
Maybe Thune shoukd address this now. Demonstrate that he understands our concerns, state support for the peaceful protestors in DC. Tell us how he intends to fight for fair and honest elections. The ball is in his corner. Convince us of his conservative principles by actions, not words or empty letters.
I believe there was election fraud, irregularities, and insufficient controls related to the massive increase in mail in balloting.
Can I prove it or is it provable in court? No.
Why is it not provable? Donald Trump and Ronna McDaniels assured us they had invested in the infrastructure, boots on the ground, protocols, procedures, and prepared to file injunctions in real time to protect and preserve evidence and stop shenanigans from happening. I trusted them.
Reality? They had nada, zilch and it was so bad it was a week before their arguments even made sense. Unfortunately, by then the bad ballots were mixed in with the good ones and nothing was provable.
For those of you who think Trump is a god and does no wrong (similar to him), you will act like him and think it was someone else’s fault, whine and cry.
In the meantime, you will pop all the air out of investigating what happened and demanding changes for the next election. You are just tools of the Democrats.
P.S. if the Democrats in Georgia had written the script on how we can screw up the election, Trump played it picture perfect. Deny the candidates their best argument to Trump supporters (they are needed in the Senate to protect my legacy) by pretending you were still going to be President AND discourage your supporters elections matter and to vote because your officials are corrupt. And just for good measure, criticize a Governor of your party whose supporters might now just stay home.
Donald Trump is one special guy that is for sure. I supported his policies with little reservation but he is confirmed for me is one extremely flawed human being.
Tom Thune will not get my vote.
Trump managed to pull the kooks out of the shadows. It’s time time to chase them and their conspiracy theories back where they belong.
This has not been the Republican Party but if we don’t push back soon, we will stay in the minority for a very long time. What some people just can’t get through their heads is the fact that the power lies in the number of votes you have. If you think Thune is too moderate then it’s up to someone to run against him. I’m thinking more and more that should happen to rebuke this far-right kook fringe.
At some point you have to call the bully out.
I don’t agree with this. Most of them are not kooks but know something is amiss, are mad about it, and, with the lack of sound media and source of facts, wonder who is on their side.
Trump isn’t a god and isn’t a perfect messenger, even if we agree with the message. But, unfortunately, some felt it necessary to ignore his failings in the hope it will move the ball forward which a study of history seldom, if ever works.
Neither is Thune a god or a perfect messenger but he too holds the same principles as Trump. The biggest difference is Thune knows he isn’t a god or the perfect messenger. It belies humility too often seen as weakness.
Thought: The greatest man who ever walked the earth was born in a stable, never bragged on himself, and allowed himself to be killed in the most ignominious means. Instead of his followers rising up to save him from Pilate, he asked them to stay with him in quiet as he finished his work.
Again, to be clear, I’m not asserting Thune is perfect or infallible but his personal and political life is certainly a better imitation of whom we are to follow than most in politics.
The kooks hate you Troy so quit trying to pander to them. The kooks I’m talking about stormed the Capitol, hate Congress to the point of violence and hate anyone who is different from them. They didn’t have a voice before Trump allowed them to come out from the shadows but they are infiltrating and corrupting the Republican Party. For every loudmouthed kook there are many more silent people that abhor their behavior. But if we don’t root this out we will turn us against ourselves and the democrats will expand their majority as we battle for the voice of our party. How can we ever claim any standing if we play nice with these kooks. It’s not time to sing Kumbaya in our party and we don’t do it with violence we do it with votes.
There were 300,000 plus in DC and less than 3,000 even went to the Capitol grounds, much less entered them. It isn’t ever fair to lump people in with the worst.
To some degree, your expression of frustration is not unlike the 297,000 in DC except they see the causes different. I suspect all would be better served by a little kumbaya. 🙂
Regarding being hated, I’m pretty immune to being hated or liked. I just say what I think and try to do what I think best.
Let’s go with 3,000 storming the Capitol. Can we agree they are kooks?
The other 297,000 who were expressing their frustration in a peaceful way? God Bless Them!
I’d say the percentage is pretty equal out in the country yet all I hear is excuses about why they did what they did. I feel like one of the 297,000 people associated with the 3,000 and I don’t want to be associated with them. Why can’t we say that? Why can’t we purge them from the Republican Party?
Why do we stay silent when a kook on our side says Pence should get death by firing squad? There’s no kumbaya for that!
I oppose all violence and condemn it. Those who breached security are criminals and deserve to be prosecuted. I don’t cAll them looks as I don’t think they deserve an insanity defense. They deserve jail.
Thune, “Blah, blah, blah. Yada yada yada”.
And then Johnson and Rounds responded, “Blah, blah, blah. Yada yada yada.”
“I just want to find 11,780 votes,” Trump told the Republican Secretary of State.
Tom Daschle should have tried pulling off that scheme… in 2004.
Just kidding, of course. I feel like I have to spell things out very clearly these days.
It is obvious that the rioters who overran the U.S. Capitol building could have easily killed several U.S. Representatives. They beat a Capitol policeman repeatedly outside the doors in plain view of cameras using flagpoles, wooden canes, and metal crutches. They killed another officer by bashing in his head with a brass fire extinguisher. They tried to murder a third by crushing him in between a big wooden door and a brick wall.These three police were not even on the rioters ‘radar’. So you tell me what would have happened if they had cornered Nancy Pelosi or Mike Pence or any one of many on their hit list? Obviously we would have many fatalities and even more blood on Donald Trump’s hands.
So please Senators Rounds and Thune and US Rep Johnson…explain to us back here in South Dakota why you would oppose the resignation.. removal. or impeachment of this treasonous POTUS?