On Sunday, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and at the age of 25 became the youngest member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a position formerly held by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Although Cawthorn directly opposes the progressive policies championed by Ocasio-Cortez, he admits being inspired by her run for Congress two years ago which set an example for young people in their 20s to become politically involved.

Cawthorn believes as a Republican you can love God, love guns and hate greenhouse gases. That’s the kind of inspiration that Gen Z conservatives need to hear from and follow to Congress.

In a recent interview, Cawthorn also stated that his election was really a referendum on the establishment, and that he feels his constituents are empowering him to challenge the traditional power structures in Washington. He hopes to help motivate other young patriots break the mold, too.

Before becoming the youngest person in Congress, Cawthorn had to overcome a life-altering obstacle. In 2014, he was a passenger in an SUV returning from a spring break trip in Florida when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a concrete barrier. The injuries left him partially paralyzed, and in a wheelchair.

He believes that the accident, however, may have better prepared him to deal with the opposition he expects to encounter as a conservative legislator.

“I’m glad my backbone is reinforced with bi-titanium, because they’re going to try to bend me and break me a lot,” he said.

The first arrows from liberal Democrats and a complicit hostile media will likely come at midweek when Cawthorn and at least 140 other Republican House members are expected to object to the formal ratification of the presidential election. The vote against certification would delay confirmation of Joe Biden’s reported victory by the media.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Wednesday’s vote certification “a vote of conscience” and “the most consequential I have ever cast.”

In the Senate, Josh Hawley of Missouri has also declared that he’ll object to certifying the electoral votes in Pennsylvania and perhaps in other states as well.

Hawley said in a statement that at the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. He also criticized the way Facebook and Twitter handled content related to the election, viewing it as an effort to help Biden.

He said he hopes to force a debate on election integrity issues and to represent Americans who don’t currently have faith in the electoral system. When asked what he could accomplish, Hawley said that by forcing the issue, you can accomplish actually putting people on record.

Democrats like Sen. Dick Durbin said Hawley’s challenge shouldn’t be taken seriously.

His remark smacks of political hypocrisy.

In 2005 Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, objected to George Bush’s 2004 electoral votes in Ohio and was the only senator in 2005 to vote to reject Ohio’s electoral votes. In that instance, Durbin praised Boxer’s move “because it gives members an opportunity once again on a bipartisan basis to look at a challenge that we face not just in the last election in one state but in many states.”

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is another hypocrite. Last week, he called Hawley’s challenge a reckless stunt, grossly irresponsible and charged him with attempting to undermine our democratic process by fueling Trump’s lies about voter fraud. But in 2005, Van Hollen said in a news release that he was particularly concerned about the lack of a verifiable paper record in connection with electronic voting systems.

Fifteen years ago, the lack of a verifiable paper record and electronic voting were issues Democrats wanted investigated but now they shouldn’t be taken seriously?

After swearing under oath to defend the constitution, congressmen like Rep. Hawthorn and Sen. Hawley are bravely exercising their right and standing for election integrity on behalf of their constituents.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com