VoteVets, a progressive political action committee, just gave Republican Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri a blistering new nickname in response to his opposing a piece of legislation against violence on minority groups exacerbated by the pandemic.
The veterans' group—whose mission is to increase Democratic veteran congressional candidates—released a new ad in which they dubbed the Senator "Hate Crime Hawley."
You can watch the ad below.
WARNING: includes violent footage of anti-Asian attacks
On Thursday, Biden signed the pandemic-related Hate Crimes Act into law after the House of Representatives passed the legislation by a 364-62 vote—with all those opposing the bill being Republican members.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Democratic Representative Grace Meng of New York, came as a result of Atlanta's spa shootings that killed eight people—six of whom were Asian women—and left one injured on March 16.
Last month, the bicameral resolution passed the Senate by a vote of 94-1—with Senator Hawley being the lone vote against the bill.
"Hate Crime Hawley" ... spot on.— P Walnutz (@P Walnutz) 1621519460
#HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley #HateCrimeHawley
— PattyBluebird (@pattybluebird99) May 21, 2021
@HawleyMO literally serves no purpose other than being the one congressman you know will always vote no on everything. Missouri and the country deserve so much better than this useless, racist, seditious POS. #HateCrimeHawleyhttps://youtu.be/I3-3i9fUtwo— Meidas Maryjane\ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc99\u2696\u262e (@Meidas Maryjane\ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc99\u2696\u262e) 1621603503
Hard to believe what a terrible thing Hawley really is! And it's really bad for America that he's a senator. He doesn't deserve to be in that position!
— VinnytheC (@VincentCannatel) May 21, 2021
So Senator Hawley (Q, Missouri) earned a new nickname,\n\n#HateCrimeHawley for being the sole senator to vote against the anti-Asian hate crime bill ....\n\nfits like a snug prison jumpsuit— DocBass (@DocBass) 1621601572
#hatecrimehawley is a stain on our countryhttps://twitter.com/votevets/status/1395731273725976589\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd39\ud835\udd63\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd59\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd5c\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd58 \ud835\udd4d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd58\ud835\udd56 (@\ud835\udd39\ud835\udd63\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd59\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd5c\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd58 \ud835\udd4d\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd5f\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd58\ud835\udd56) 1621603410
Hawley was notorious for leading the charge to obstruct the certification of the electoral college vote in support of former President Donald Trump's baseless conspiracy theory of a stolen election.
The VoteVets video noted the Senator's first political ad in 2016 was a "xenophobic attack on Asians."
The narrator continued to mention Hawley's role model was Trump, whose hateful rhetoric initiated the "crime wave" of anti-Asian attacks which nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic.
I have to applaud the folks over at @votevets for their latest video pointing out how Missouri Senator Josh Hawley was the only 1 to vote against the recent hate crime bill. Even better is their new nickname for him: #HateCrimeHawley Check it out here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-3i9fUtwo\u00a0\u2026— Hirsute_Pursuit (@Hirsute_Pursuit) 1621607117
Hate Crime Hawley masturbates to images of Asian Americans getting attacked.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3-3i9fUtwo\u00a0\u2026— Huron Drugs (@Huron Drugs) 1621605542
Hawley is a disgrace in all he does "for the people". \n\n#hatecrimehawley #removehawley #GOPTraitors https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1395731273725976589\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/jFXQiFRazT— WaPoTato2 (@WaPoTato2) 1621609698
Activists and police have said the rise of attacks against AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) was due to Trump's repeated comments blaming China and dropping phrases like, "Chinese Virus" and "Kung-Flu" to refer to the viral pathogen responsible for the global health crisis.
A study conducted in March 2020 by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 149% in 16 of America's largest cities.
When signing the bill—which marked the first time a large gathering was held without the requirement of masks inside the White House since the Biden Administration took office—our President told gathered lawmakers:
"Silence is complicity and we cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act. That's what you've done. And I can't thank you enough. I'm proud today."
VoteVets.org is a nonprofit organization founded in 2006.
It is comprised mostly of United States Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Who was the only Senator to vote against the Covid-19 Asian Hate Crime bill?\n\nThat\u2019s right!\nYou guessed it!\n\nIt was that miserable racist POS scumbag traitor Josh Hawley!\n\nPlease support @votevets, the brave patriots who made the devastatingly accurate hashtag.\n\n#HateCrimeHawley— The USA Singers (@The USA Singers) 1621611359
Veteran tested...\n\nVeteran approved...\n\n#HateCrimeHawley \n\nPass it on!https://twitter.com/votevets/status/1395731273725976589\u00a0\u2026— The Humane Conservative (@The Humane Conservative) 1621619165
#HateCrimeHawley = @HawleyMO \nThank you for your service: @votevetshttps://twitter.com/votevets/status/1395731273725976589\u00a0\u2026— Little Girls Don't Stay Little Forever (@Little Girls Don't Stay Little Forever) 1621603638
The group is often described as "closely aligned with Congressional Democrats" and endeavors to increase the number of Democratic veterans in Congress.
The spot concluded with the narrator saying, "'Hate Crime Hawley'—it's right on brand."
