ELY – Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber, in a letter sent to a number of constituents, says that he now plans to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
That statement comes in the wake of a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General that sought to prevent four states won by Biden in the Nov. 3 election from casting their electoral college votes for the former Vice President.
Stauber said he accepts that court decision. “We raised our concerns, the court did not side with us, the matter is closed, and I accept the ruling,” stated Stauber in his Dec. 18 letter to an Ely constituent. Many other constituents received similar letters from Stauber after voicing concerns about his decision to join the Texas suit.
Stauber has been roundly criticized by many constituents in recent days after supporting the failed attempt to overturn Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes to 232 for Trump, but had the high court agreed to overturn the elections in the four states named in the suit, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, it would have left both Biden and Trump short of the 270 electoral votes necessary to become president. That would have thrown the decision to the U.S. House of Representatives, where each state would have received one vote, determined by which party controls the majority of seats in the state’s delegation. While Democrats control a majority of House seats overall, Republicans control the majority of state delegations, a fact which would likely have allowed President Trump to be reinstated for four more years.
Stauber’s letter to constituents appears to mislead regarding the potential significance of his action. “This is in no way an attempt to overturn the results of the election,” wrote Stauber. “This was done openly and publicly within the bounds of the judicial system because our goal is transparency and integrity, not to subvert results or disenfranchise legitimate votes.”
That claim, however, does not appear to be true. The Texas lawsuit backed by Stauber and 125 other GOP members of the House, asked the Supreme Court to invalidate every vote in the four states named in the filing, leaving the decision to legislatures controlled by Republicans in each case. At the time the case was filed, all four states had certified their election results. That means had the case been successful, it would have overturned the certified results of the election in those states.
The Timberjay sought comment from Rep. Stauber’s office regarding the misleading statements in his letter to constituents. The congressman’s office did not respond prior to press time.
While Rep. Stauber may consider the matter closed, it is apparent that not all of his constituents agree. The Timberjay has received a deluge of letters from constituents angry over Stauber’s decision to join the Texas lawsuit. Two of these letters are reproduced below.

———

Stauber’s post-election actions border on sedition

The election is over.  Congressman Stauber campaigned “on protecting our way of life.” Congressman Stauber actively supported the Texas lawsuit that would have eliminated the votes of millions of American voters.

The Texas suit may not be treasonable activity but it may come very close to sedition.  The first and highest tenant of our way of life is the republican form of democracy that was in danger of being trashed or compromised.  The actions of Stauber and other “Constitutional conservatives” and “law and order” conservatives fly in strong contrast to their previously held views. 

The actions of Stauber and other Republican conservatives have cast extreme doubt on the validity of our elections and the peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one election to the next.  Is there any hope that Congressman Stauber can make a public statement that revokes his signing and endorsing the highly questionable Texas lawsuit?  Once again, I fear for democracy that resulted in my letter a few months ago that decried the theft or destruction of campaign signs not supporting Republican office seekers. 

Dan Kearney, Side Lake

Stauber: Delusional or just a coward?

The House Republicans who joined in this pathetic charade of a lawsuit from Texas, intent on summarily overturning a valid election, a group which included our own Pete Stauber, proud veteran that he claims to be, can be put into one of two categories, and only two: either (1) they are just as delusional as Trump, or (2) they are just flat-out completely spineless. No matter how they try to spin it, there are no other possibilities. Either delusion or cowardice. No matter how long they manage to stay in Congress, their legacy is sealed - they are tainted for life, and history will not be kind to them.

Lynn Scott, Soudan