By Jason Hancock
Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards Inc. is demanding Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Roger Marshall of Kansas return donations its PAC has made to their campaigns, citing their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Hawley was the first senator to commit to objecting to the certification of electoral votes declaring Joe Biden the winner. Marshall was among a handful of senators who supported Hawley’s efforts.
The company is joining a chorus of Hawley critics — and many longtime supporters — who say Missouri’s junior senator bears some of the blame for a pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol last week, resulting in six deaths.
“Hallmark believes the peaceful transition of power is part of the bedrock of our democratic system, and we abhor violence of any kind,” the company’s spokeswoman, JiaoJiao Shen, said in an email to The Independent. “The recent actions of Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.”
The company’s PAC gave Hawley $3,000 and Marshall $5,000. The news of their demand was first reported by the newsletter Popular Information.
After weeks of President Trump proclaiming the election was stolen, and Hawley publicly questioning the outcome in at least one state, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to block the certification.
Hawley has faced withering criticism, and calls for his resignation, for stoking unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. His political mentor, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, called his support for Hawley the “worst mistake I ever made in my life,” and his largest donor called for Hawley to be censured by the U.S. Senate.
Hawley’s spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Hallmark’s announcement.
Several corporations have said publicly that the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week is forcing them to reconsider how they dole our political contributions.
Morgan Stanley, Marriott and Dow are all suspending PAC contributions to members of Congress who did not vote to certify the results of the Electoral College. Others, such as Goldman Sachs, are freezing all political donations.
Jason Hancock has been writing about Missouri since 2011, most recently as lead political reporter for The Kansas City Star. He has spent nearly two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, and has a track record of exposing government wrongdoing and holding elected officials accountable.
5 comments:
Appropriate term is 14th Amendment to be used. Use Trump campaign money to repair capitol building, buy equipment to protect the building and pay for the National Guard to be alerted and transported. Wait, some of his money to be used to pay overtime to police being called in to protect capitol in DC and all across the US. I hope the republicans are happy for this mess and realize they are the worse of the worse.
Can we have a pool where we guess the day and hour that Billy Long first tweets about impeachment when it's really on like it is this time?
I think he's aware that the shit has hit the fan due to Mitch and Liz Cheney deciding to wash their hands of the insurrectionists.
My guess Bubba Longs's first impeachment communique will be at 9am Wednesday. He's probably fixin to get all fed up at the moment!
"Another democrat impeachment?! Take cover in the following counties, get in a ditch, yada yada - War of The Worlds Part Duex!"
BILLY GONNA VOTE NO!
We now know that the main reason Hawley is in politics is for the money. Many knew before, but with new facts arriving daily it seems his big money donors are realizing too. Now disgraced as a Senator, and with his finances evaporating quickly, the most honorable thing Hawley could do is resign and allow Parsons to appoint a patriotic American conservative who wants to serve the people of the USA not a KING!
If he's ever constipated he needs to have the proctologist make sure he doesn't have a silver spoon embedded up his @$$ obstructing things!!
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