Republicans should force Democrats into an “old-fashioned” talk-yourself-out filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act for election integrity, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley says.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE America Act, would require citizenship to register and photo ID to vote.

Despite claims to the contrary by Democrats and many in the media, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon says she has already found “tens of thousands of noncitizens on the voter rolls” – and blue states have blocked her from even looking there.

In some swing states, tens of thousands of votes can change the outcome of an election, even one for president.

Polls show over 80% of all Americans overall support voter ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register – and over 70% support the SAVE Act itself. Moreover, 95% of Republicans support voter ID.

Yet, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune claims he doesn’t have the votes to pass the bill as the House already has.

“We should put them to it”

“I believe there are 51 votes for it,” Hawley tells The Heartlander in an exclusive interview Thursday. “I believe there are 51 co-sponsors on it. So, I think it would pass. And we only need 50, because the vice president can break a tie. So, I believe there are the votes to pass this.

“I have no doubt that the Democrats want to filibuster it. But let’s remember what filibuster means. It means talking to prevent a vote. And I would just say under the rules of the Senate, if they wanna talk, they can do that, but they’re gonna run out of time.

“I think we should put them to it. And my advice to our leadership is: Put. Them. To it. Make them hold the floor. The old segregationists did this. They held the floor for three, four weeks at a time, but guess what: They eventually ran out of the ability to talk, and we passed the Civil Rights Act – that was Republican legislation, by the way.

“So, we’ve seen this movie before. They will fail and we will win. But you have to actually put them to it. And I think that’s what we should do. We should take a vote on this thing.”

Speaking of movies, Hawley invokes a legendary Jimmy Stewart film about a Senate filibuster to illustrate the options open to Leader Thune.

“It’s certainly time to say to the Democrats, if you’re going to filibuster, if you’re just going to block a vote on this, you need to go and hold the floor to do it. You shouldn’t be able to sit back in your office or to sit at home and drink your Diet Coke and say, ‘You know what, good luck to you, America. We don’t care that illegals are voting in your election. We don’t care what you want. We’re just going to sit here and do nothing.’ 

“They shouldn’t be allowed to do that. They should have to go old-fashioned, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington style, and hold that floor. If they want to talk and read the dictionary on the floor of the United States Senate, let the world see what they’re doing. 

“And I tell you what’ll happen: Sooner or later, they will run out of speakers and stamina and we’ll vote. And when we vote, it’ll pass. So my view is, it’s time to pass this thing.

“We know it works” in Missouri

“We already do it in Missouri. In Missouri, we have voter ID. Our voters put it into our Constitution. It works. We know it works because we do it every single election. And if it’s good enough for us, it’s good enough for the country.”

Indeed, when asked what if anything he’s hearing about the SAVE Act from his constituents in the Show-Me-State, Hawley argues Missouri is a model for the nation.

“Oh, Missourians overwhelmingly support it because we have it. I mean, we have the SAVE Act in Missouri. Every time a Democrat says ‘this is crazy, radical legislation,’ I say, really? We’ve done it in Missouri for years. Our own voters voted on it on a ballot referendum. It was an initiative that we passed ourselves.

“We require a voter ID in the state of Missouri. We have very limited mail-in balloting, as you know. And if you get a mail-in ballot – I frequently have to vote by mail-in ballot because Congress is in session – you’ve got to go have a notary, show your ID to the notary.

“My point is, we have all kinds of voter integrity measures in our state, and they work. We should do that nationwide.”

If the Senate can’t pass a bill that has nearly three-quarters support among Americans overall, do we truly have representative government anymore?

“Yeah, if you can’t even get a meaningful vote on it. It’s a good question,” Hawley replies. “I just think it comes down to the fact that, number one, the Democrats are totally obstructionist. It really shows you: this is something with overwhelming support and they don’t want it.

“And it begs the question: why? And I think we know the answer to that question. The answer is, they want illegals to vote in our elections. They don’t want voter integrity measures. They want people who have no business voting, who are not even here legally, to be able to vote. And most Americans, like 90%, don’t want that. And so, you know what? I think majority rules should prevail here, and I hope the Senate will actually get to work here and vote on this thing.”

Missourians “benefiting big-time from immigration enforcement”

Hawley also maintains Missourians support immigration enforcement – though one wouldn’t know it, judging from Kansas City news media and Democrat city leaders on both sides of the state line with Kansas. City officials in both Kansas City and Wyandotte County/Kansas City Kansas have taken steps to ban ICE facilities – and a Kansas City Star story this week seems intended to raise alarm that some 76 local law enforcement agencies in the two states are cooperating with ICE to arrest illegal immigrants.

But Hawley argues his Missouri constituents are all the safer for it.

“Well, I think Missourians are benefiting big time from immigration enforcement. 

“The proof of that is that border crossings are down 92% since before Trump was president; 92%. The number of illegals released into the United States in the last nine months is 0; zero. A few months ago, we were talking about 4,000 or 5,000 people crossing the border illegally every day. For nine months, it’s been zero. 

“And what’s the effect? Crime is at its lowest level in our state and around the country in 120 years. Its lowest level. Drugs crossing the border have fallen – fentanyl alone by more than 56%. 

“I mean, this is good news for Missouri families and schools and communities everywhere. And that’s because the border is closed. I think Missourians support that. And I think we need to get ICE funded again so that we can start getting illegals who are committing these crimes out of the country and make sure that the border stays secure.”