Josh Hawley is the very personification of the elite privilege that GOP voters profess to despise. The son of a banker, he attended Stanford and Yale Law School, then clerked for Chief Justice Roberts. He made his name litigating for Hobby Lobby, got elected Missouri Attorney General, filed a legal challenge to Obamacare, and was elected to the Senate in 2018. He is, by all accounts, dying to be president.
The quickest way from Point A to Point B, in his view, was to suck up to Trump and the base. Hence, his unwavering support for the man on golf cart, and the now infamous clenched fist for the benefit of the rioters.
The riot and its aftermath have been a mixed bag for Hawley. On the one hand, he lost his book deal and some of his wealthy patrons, and his colleagues are treating him with disgust and contempt. On the other hand, he probably thinks he cemented his relationship with the trusty base and burnished his outsider credentials–assets he will most assuredly need in 2024.
The problem for Hawley is that he is a lawyer trying to position himself as the logical spokesman for guys like the one with the fur and the Viking hat. Those people don’t represent enough money and votes to win a primary. Furthermore, unlike Trump, Hawley doesn’t appear to have the background and skill set of a street populist, so anti-democratic politics won’t work for him, either. He’s stuck in the middle–inspiring confidence neither from the establishment nor the conspiracy theorists and street thugs.
The bottom line is that lawyers don’t make good fascist leaders. Hawley has lost any connection with the GOP establishment, and replaced it with a temporary advantage that will prove to be fool’s gold.
Tom Cotton, who did not make the same mistake, will be watching with great satisfaction.