More than 3,000 law school alumni and students have signed a petition calling for the disbarment of Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) over what it says were their “efforts to undermine the peaceful transition of power after a free and fair election.”

Hawley and Cruz led efforts in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to stop the counting of electoral votes certifying the victory of Democrat Joe Biden over President Trump in the November election.

Critics are accusing the senators of using rhetoric that helped inflame a pro-Trump mob that engaged in acts of insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as the vote-counting was underway. Both have rejected the accusations.

But alumni and students of the law schools that the men attended — Cruz is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Hawley of Yale Law School — and others have signed a petition in recent days urging the Texas, Missouri and Washington bars to “immediately begin disbarment proceedings” against the two senators.

Now and then through the years we Texans have sent our share of buffoons, grifters, lightweights, crooks, ignoramuses and ego-obsessed asses to Washington as representatives of the people. W. Lee “Pass the Biscuits, Pappy” O’Daniel comes to mind. So does Martin Dies, Jr., chairman of the witch-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee. So does Louie Gohmert.

In the wake of last week’s Capitol insurrection, add to this ignominious list the state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz and the 16 Republican House members who voted in favor of discredited objections to certifying the presidential election results in one or more swing states. The Seditious Sixteen voted to short-circuit democracy even after a Trump mob rampaged through the Capitol, even after blood was shed in the halls of that august building.

Also add to this list Ken Paxton. Like a tongue-flapping pup hopping into the bed of his master’s pickup on a jaunt to town, our indictment-burdened, ethics-allergic attorney general headed to Washington last week for no reason other than to stand adoringly alongside President Donald Trump and echo his unhinged calls for insurrection. We called for Paxton to resign months agobecause of his own legal problems, including a bloodless insurrection of sorts in Paxton’s own office, staged by whistleblowers in his senior staff alleging corruption. That’s not to mention the outlandish lawsuit he filed in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the will of millions of American voters. After his servile pilgrimage to Washington, there’s no question regarding what he ought to do now.....

Here are the 16 Texans in the House who voted to flout democracy: Jodey Arrington of Lubbock; Brian Babin of Woodville; Michael Burgess of Pilot Point; John Carter of Round Rock; Michael Cloud of Victoria; Pat Fallon of Sherman; Louie Gohmert of Tyler; Lance Gooden of Terrell; Ronny Jackson of Amarillo; Troy Nehls of Richmond; August Pfluger of San Angelo; Pete Sessions of Waco; Beth Van Duyne of Irving; Randy Weber of Friendswood; Roger Williams of Austin; and Ron Wright of Arlington.

Now and then through the years we Texans have sent our share of buffoons, grifters, lightweights, crooks, ignoramuses and ego-obsessed asses to Washington as representatives of the people. W. Lee “Pass the Biscuits, Pappy” O’Daniel comes to mind. So does Martin Dies, Jr., chairman of the witch-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee. So does Louie Gohmert.

In the wake of last week’s Capitol insurrection, add to this ignominious list the state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz and the 16 Republican House members who voted in favor of discredited objections to certifying the presidential election results in one or more swing states. The Seditious Sixteen voted to short-circuit democracy even after a Trump mob rampaged through the Capitol, even after blood was shed in the halls of that august building.

Also add to this list Ken Paxton. Like a tongue-flapping pup hopping into the bed of his master’s pickup on a jaunt to town, our indictment-burdened, ethics-allergic attorney general headed to Washington last week for no reason other than to stand adoringly alongside President Donald Trump and echo his unhinged calls for insurrection. We called for Paxton to resign months agobecause of his own legal problems, including a bloodless insurrection of sorts in Paxton’s own office, staged by whistleblowers in his senior staff alleging corruption. That’s not to mention the outlandish lawsuit he filed in the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the will of millions of American voters. After his servile pilgrimage to Washington, there’s no question regarding what he ought to do now.....

Here are the 16 Texans in the House who voted to flout democracy: Jodey Arrington of Lubbock; Brian Babin of Woodville; Michael Burgess of Pilot Point; John Carter of Round Rock; Michael Cloud of Victoria; Pat Fallon of Sherman; Louie Gohmert of Tyler; Lance Gooden of Terrell; Ronny Jackson of Amarillo; Troy Nehls of Richmond; August Pfluger of San Angelo; Pete Sessions of Waco; Beth Van Duyne of Irving; Randy Weber of Friendswood; Roger Williams of Austin; and Ron Wright of Arlington.