New Plan by GOP Populists: get the constituents to believe the Jan 6 insurrection was not of consequence
The majority of Americans are well aware of how unhinged and inadmissible the Jan 6th attack was for this country. Although, with habitual conjecture, the now broken party of Republicans and Populists are doing their best to make sure many Americans interpret the insurrection as plausible.
Now, the same populists, who seem to be so opportunely unthreatened by this malicious mob, want to cut down the prospects of a Jan 6 commission. Despite concrete and propitious negotiations between various Republicans regarding this aforementioned commission, Populist leaders (McCarthy, Grassley, Johnson, etc.) are predictably attempting to make sure the commission never happens. Expectedly, these Populists—who seem to be quite concerned about what the commission might reveal—are making sure to create more turmoil within a party that can’t afford more.
Several Senate Republicans on Monday evening expressed worries about how the commission will be formed, whether it should have a broader scope and if it might hinder the work of congressional committees that are already probing the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol. With the use of the filibuster power, the Senate GOP can demand changes or bottle up the legislation altogether.
“They’re going to have to broaden the inquiry in order to get 60 votes,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “There’s more things wrong in this country than just [what] happened on January 6th.” (Everett, Levine, Zanona, Politico, 5/17/21).
Grassley’s comment is predictable and loathsome. I have a hard time thinking about that day, but I do recall the screams of these maniacs. To have a mob scaling the Capitol walls, breaking windows to launch themselves into the building; then shrieking Speaker Pelosi’s name, so that they could find her and inflict physical harm, is more than problematic. It’s malfeasant and the mob needs to be investigated closely, so we can ensure it will never happen again in this country.
McCarthy on Tuesday said the bill “ignores the political violence that has struck American cities, a Republican Congressional baseball practice, and, most recently, the deadly attack on Capitol Police on April 2, 2021. The presence of this political violence in American society cannot be tolerated and it cannot be overlooked.”
McCarthy’s announcement comes less than a week after the House GOP voted to dump Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from its leadership team over her criticisms of Trump, whom Cheney voted to impeach over his role in the Jan. 6 violence.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as national security leaders outside of Congress, however, have for months called for an independent commission modeled after the one formed in the wake of 9/11 to evaluate one of the worst security lapses in U.S. history.
A mob of people chanting death threats to former Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other officials overwhelmed Capitol Police and invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6. The crowd was determined to stop the Electoral College count and had been fueled by Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen from him. (Beitsch, Marcos, and Wong, The Hill, 5/18/21).
I’m not sure what kind of country these populists want us to live in. On one hand, they condemn peaceful protestors; use tear gas to disperse a crowd of these protestors. But now they can infer that an angry mob storming the U.S. Capitol to halt the electoral college counting is lawful. Really?
Why not just come out and officially denounce democracy? In other words, why pretend to go along with our democratic processes? Just say you want to be the new representation of political rule in America: authoritarians.
At this juncture, we have to think about the populist constituents and the fact we are about five months removed from the malfeasance. Many of these constituents have pronounced the mob as lawful; they justify the mob’s motive that ruinous day; and they proudly promulgate their extraordinary justification:
Because Pelosi or other lawmakers weren’t harmed, they were just utilizing their right to protest.
Some of these constituents are so audacious, that they compare the Jan 6th mob to ANTIFA. However, wasn’t it Trump and these populists who said it was ANTIFA who caused the violence that day?
McCarthy’s comments undermined a deal brokered by the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), after efforts by top party leaders made little progress in recent months. Katko is one of just 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his incitement of the Jan. 6 mob.
The bill is certain to pass, but there is a real question over how much GOP support it will muster with McCarthy’s move, which many will see as a sign of Trump’s opposition.
House GOP leaders urged their members to vote against the bill on Tuesday, a turnaround from the day before when Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office said that it wasn’t whipping for or against the legislation. (Beitsch, Marcos, and Wong, The Hill, 5/18/21).
The underlying motive from McCarthy and the others is to continue this strategy to embroil the current Republican party in disorder and abnormality. Remember, this was the way Trump governed the last four years. They are so used to it; they don’t know any better. Instead of recognizing that the attack on the Capitol was the equivalent of 9/11, they want to erase it from the minds of this frenzied Republican base.
The commission would include 10 members with expertise in law enforcement and national security backgrounds, with each party appointing five. The commission’s members would be limited to people who are not currently serving in government roles and would be expected to issue a final report by year’s end. (Beitsch, Marcos, and Wong, The Hill, 5/18/21).
The insurrection presented a very ominous representation of our country’s future; a future that can be very much dictated by a party’s leader demanding that his supporters take over our foundational democracy. The mob portrayed a ghastly image for the global community to view. It also hindered the future development of what America’s youth are witnessing as they continue to understand the roots of our democracy. What they saw that day revealed that democracy is incredibly fragile when debauched leadership can’t even accept its significance.
If the populists are allowed to disrupt our quintessential practices of democracy, then we are in trouble. Anybody serving in the U.S. government should have been horrified about what occurred that day. There should be no question about a commission. Here’s hoping the Republicans who did negotiate the votes can still find a way to honor their commitment…
Works Cited:
1. Beitsch, Rebecca. Marcos, Cristina. Wong, Scott. “GOP splits open over Jan 6 commission vote. May 18, 2021. The Hill. https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/554201-gop-splits-open-over-jan-6-commission-vote?rl=1. Accessed May 19, 2021.
2. Everett, Burgess. Levine, Marianne. Zanona, Melanie. “Republicans not sold on bipartisan Jan 6 commission.” May 17, 2021. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/17/republicans-bipartisan-jan-6-commission-489149. Accessed May 19, 2021.
