“Thou shalt not steal” as a political slogan may look familiar to the House Republicans in office in spring 1985.
Back then, GOP lawmakers used the biblical injunction to protest a move by majority House Democrats to seat one of their own from Indiana in the chamber, even though state authorities declared his Republican rival the winner. Republicans lost that battle but won the long war, as the episode’s partisan overtones contributed significantly to GOP determination to win the House majority, which they finally did nearly a decade later.
The “thou shalt not steal” line is now making a comeback in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. Republicans are employing it against Democratic Rep. Cynthia Axne in reference to a fight involving the neighboring 2nd Congressional District. There, first-term Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks was declared the winner by six votes out of over 394,000 cast. But Democratic rival Rita Hart is contesting that outcome with the House Administration Committee, hoping the Democrat-dominated panel will buy her argument that 22 legitimate ballots went uncounted and would have made her the winner.
The ad, produced by the National Republican Congressional Committee, has a female voice-over saying, “Thou shalt not steal. A simple commandment. A rule to live by, but Cindy Axne and Nancy Pelosi are working to steal an election here in Iowa, a Pelosi power play backed by Axne to overturn the will of Iowa’s voters. So, call Cindy Axne. Tell her, ‘Thou shalt not steal our trust.’”
The Iowa Canvassing Board ratified the result following a recanvassing and recount, but Hart decided to forgo challenging the election in Iowa’s courts and instead appealed to the House. However, Miller-Meeks was sworn in and seated on Jan. 3 with the rest of Congress and started representing the 2nd Congressional District.
The NRCC’s radio ad highlights the Eighth Commandment and gives a hint as to how the GOP plans to go on the offense as the House Administration Committee reviews the election contest.
For those who remember how House Republicans fought Democrats in 1985 following a disputed 1984 Indiana House race in the 8th Congressional District that became known as the “Bloody Eighth,” that was exactly how Republicans reacted when the Democratic majority refused to seat the certified Republican winner. Republican lawmakers walked on to the floor with “Thou shalt not steal” buttons against the wishes of then-Speaker Tip O’Neill, a Massachusetts Democrat.
“I had the ‘Thou shall not steal’ button. We all did,” Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican and House member from 1981-97 and from the Senate on until retiring in January, told the Washington Examiner.
“Tip [O’Neill] said I couldn’t wear it, but during my speech, I took it off, and I said, ‘I will come up and give it to you, Mr. Speaker. But you have torn the blanket comity so badly here that we didn’t have to do it this way.’ And we raised that in our panel. I think they did regret it, but they won.”
Republicans marched off the floor in protest during the House vote that ultimately seated the Democrat in the contested Indiana race. Republicans today believe there is an opportunity to be had to fire up their base for the 2022 midterm elections if the Democratic majority votes to remove Miller-Meeks from her seat.
Despite more than a handful of House Democrats and editorial sections of newspapers that spoke out against Hart’s petition to the House Administration Committee, Axne has remained relatively under the radar on the issue and has not released any statements about the race since December when she said: “It is critical that every Iowan’s voice is heard in this election, and to that end, Rita Hart has constitutional and legal grounds to pursue that goal at the federal level.”
Axne added, “I support a transparent process that ensures every properly cast vote in this contest is counted. It is the only way to give Iowa voters full faith and confidence in the outcome of this historically close election.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Axne’s office for a response to the radio ad.
