Over to you Mitch - defending five Senate seats. You chickenshit craven gutless wonder
The fact one Senator holds that much power over the “greatest deliberative body on earth” is pure insanity. Yet Kentucky y’all keep re-electing Mitch (and what’s his name) is now our problem.
…last week I published this article which essentially argued why House Democrats should walk away from House GOP-QANON and the GOP-QANON Congressional leadership
This bill establishes in the legislative branch the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex.
The commission must;
1) conduct an investigation of the relevant facts and circumstances relating to the attack on the Capitol;
2) identify, review, and evaluate the causes of and the lessons learned from this attack; and
3) submit specified reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations to improve the detection, prevention, preparedness for, and response to targeted violence and domestic terrorism and improve the security posture of the U.S. Capitol Complex.
The bill gives the commission specified powers, including the authority to hold hearings, receive evidence, and issue subpoenas. The bill also provides for the composition of the commission and the appointment of staff, and it requires the commission to hold public hearings and meetings to the extent that it is appropriate. The commission must also release public versions of its reports…
Roll Call Vote No 154 - HR 3233 -JAN 6th Commission
In the end 35 House-GOP members voted with the House Democrats, meaning while Kevin-QANON-McCarthy was whipping “nay” votes 35 members basically voted with their conscious and voted “yea” for HR 3233.
What BOLO in 2022-MidTerms
What I would pay attention to are the Senators who will likely vote “nay” -whereas their House members vote “yea” —this will likely set the stage for some GOP-QANON Senators having to explain their indefensible votes. For example voting to acquit Trump (for both of his impeachments) and continuing to push “Trump’s Big Lie”.. it’s likely the Jan6th Commission will be DOA in the Senate.
However the 2022 midterms will be here sooner than we know. The GOP-QANON Senators should pay a hefty price for their complicity and enabling Trump’s unabating attacks to our Democracy. Furthermore I can’t wait for DNC to use McCarthy’s own February 2020 tweet in future ads. Kevin QANON McCarthy’s arrogant “in your face” tweet fully encapsulates the current state of play within the GOP-QANON party.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) his GOP-QANON challenger Mark Brnovich1
Sen/Rev. Raphael Warnock2 has a GOP-QANON-Trump challenger Latham Saddler
Sen Richard Burr (R-NC) - the NC Dems currently have FIVE named candidates (hence the upcoming primary) whereas the NC-GOP-QANON have three named candidates, two former House of Rep members and the ding-dolt former Governor McCrory3
Sen. Chuck Grassley (nearly 42 years in the Senate) there are plenty of rumors that (current)@RepCindyAxne but again those are rumors
I would also keep an eye on the thirty-five Republican House Members who voted for the Commission and insofar as essentially told Kevin QANON McCarthy to “go kick rocks” —it would be myopic and unfair to lump the 35 Republicans in with the GOP-QANONs or the freedom caucus, which I liken to QANON-Lite. These 35nHouse Republicans genuinely put our Country before the GOP-QANON party and their personal/political agenda(s) …Meaning none of us should be surprised if the Trump-QANON-GOP decided to target these seats via a primary. After all, we all know that loyalty is a one-way street and Trump’s obsession with loyalty . And I’m pretty sure Trump’s enemies list is longer
Whispers; Trump is already screaming breathlessly into the abyss because his social media bullhorn/battering ram has been taken away. Think about that for a moment. Nearly all social media platforms were compelled to suspend or semi-indefinitely lock his accounts. Because each social media giant had both valid and growing concerns that the (former) president of the United States was that much of a “clear and present danger” to all Americans - that they voluntarily pulled Trump’s access. And it’s not a first American issue, SCOTUS has long held language An extraordinary event, to say the least.
Congress …shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or , l the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances
Grim Reaper’s Legislative Graveyard..
Senators from their State suddenly “feel concern over the duplicative commission” or some other milquetoast excuse of “we have other investigations”…keep in mind these Senators know the truth. They know the purpose and limitations of a “Congressional Commission”…so the sudden pivot to “fiscal responsibility” and “the commission would interfere with other Federal Criminal Investigation” is poppycock and they know it.
Let’s stop beating around the bush and speak frankly…
…the vast majority of the \GOP-QANON Senators are chickenshit and they are terrified of Trump. A more cynical take is the GOP-QANON Senators are banking on the electorate’s; short attention span, inability to understand the difference between a “commission” versus numerous criminal investigation(s). They think effusively praising Trump is the panacea and ensure they won’t be primaried. There’s a possibility that there might be a few GOP Senators who will be Profiles in Courage, but certainly not 10.
With that said, I would (once again) urge you to read the article from last week. Commonsense dictates you can not negotiate with crazy. You can not and should not ever negotiate with Domestic Terrorist Sympathizers. Yes to be clear I’m saying a vast majority of Congressional Republicans in the House (sans the 36 who voted for HR3233) and the Republican Senators. In late April I took a bit of heat for publishing this article, where I explained the Party of Lincoln & Reagan is dead4
What can Speaker Pelosi do?
There are a few options left for Speaker Pelosi and the Congressional Democrats. First you need to understand the differences between a “Commission” versus a “Select Committee” because these are two very distinct bodies. Furthermore the Speaker of the House is vested with the power to; Appoint the chairperson(s) and members of standing House committees and select and special committees
Generally speaking a Commission;
…tends to be nonpartisan, meaning the members of a commission are typically some lawmakers, eternal subject matter experts and various advocacy groups that specialize in a specific area of public policy. Typically a Commission is established to “provide independent advice” and/or “investigate a particular issue or event” —thereafterthe commission typically makes recommendations for changes in public policy - this is colloquially known as the “Commission Report”
This report, (the assumption here is both chambers of congress green light a commission) which is typically defined as a multimember independent entity that
(1) is established by Congress,
(2) exists temporarily,
(3) serves in an advisory capacity,
(4) is appointed in part or whole by Members of Congress, and
(5) reports to Congress.
The aforementioned five characteristics actually and substantially differentiate a congressional commission versus a presidential commission. Given an executive branch commission, or other bodies may have the word “commission” in their title -many can and often conflate an Executive Branch Commission versus a Legislative Branch Commission.
Select Subcommittee or Congressional Committee
One recent example of what the Speaker of the House has the power of sanctioning as it relates to the formation of a “select subcommittee” -for example in 2020 the Speaker Pelosi announced
Much of the guardrails for a Congressional Committee (to include Select SubCommittees) are already defined pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §4301l (last updated in 2016) but “Congressional Commissions” —to date I’m unable to find any statutory definition of a “congressional commission” because these are almost always temporary and it requires passage of a bill. That Bill typically includes; the scope, commission power (such as subpoena power), appropriations, staffing, reports, recommendations. The Commission is created and chartered in an “advisory role” therefore, generally are not granted administrative authority. Moreover they also tend to lack the power for implementation their findings/recommendations. That’s an important distinction.
The added benefit of an Congressional Commission is, they tend to take the partisan fights out of the equation. With respect to the proposed Jan6th Commission one could argue that the Commission is the better route, merely because of the independent nature. Meaning since Congress itself was attacked by Trump loyalists—its hard to investigate if your also a witness, victim or otherwise have an unintended “conflict of interest” —after all victims don’t investigate their own crimes. Yes that’s an overly simple explanation to a very complex and oddly nuanced matter.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), published this Report on January 22, 2021 - note this was post the deadly January 6th insurrection…but the data CRS put into a table helps visualize the arch of how polarized Washington DC has become…
CRS Report -Congressional Commissions Overview & Considerations for Congress January 22, 2021
…one thing you might not know is the CRS is an independent body but they do a lot of research and reports for members of Congress in advance of proposing new legislation. Which is why the January 22, 2021 date is significant in the aforementioned report. But as the data shows “congressional commissions” require bipartisanship. As you’ll note the more polarized the Congress that’s reflected in the lower number of bipartisan commission votes…
Kevin QANON McCarthy
This is the never ending problem with Kevin QANON-McCarthy, on February 22, 2021 he sent Speaker Pelosi the following letter, which included the three conditions/demands— to gain his support for the Jan6th Commission.
The same obsequious Trump-Davidiansutilization and weaponization of “congressional committees” vis-a-vis the Benghazi Committee. Which held dozens of hearings. Spent millions of tax payer funds. McCarthy openly bragged the “Benghazi committee” purpose was to dirty up Sec Clinton. To make the public believe she was untrustworthy. Kevin QANON McCarthy saw an opportunity inflict serious and substantial reputational damage to Sec Clinton. Their efforts to impugn her were successful, particularly in the Court of Public Opinion. At what cost?
To be clear the Benghazi Committee was political weapon, that Kevin QANON McCarthy and his brethren in the Freedom Caucus calibrated with precision. This wasn’t about an independent review or recommendations. Or lessons learned. Or best practices. Or improved State Department communiques. Often overlooked is it was the Congressional Republicans that slashed appropriations for Embassy Security in “hot zones” —on October 10, 2021, former former Rep Jason Chaffetz was “absolutely” happy and “pleased…we have to make choices and priorities…”…his decision to lead the effort to substantially reduce Embassy security appropriations…this is the kind of professional gas lighting that happens in DC.
Not to belabor this point, Chaffetz interview occurred nearly a full month after our Embassy was attacked. After our Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Embasdy I/O Sean Smith, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods were murdered by terrorist. The Benghazi Committee’s report indicated that drastic cuts to security, both physical and human, was a contributing factor in the attack. The Committee also found that the DOD didn’t liaise with the State Department and they failed to activate deployment of military forces;
“[N]o asset was ever ordered to respond to Benghazi and the decisions made — and not made — coupled with a lack of urgency in Washington D.C. delayed the response even, in some instances, with an ambassador missing…
Page 454 of Benghazi Final Report
…the FAST Platoon commander testified that during the course of three hours, he and his Marines changed in and out of their uniforms four times. Ham was not aware the FAST Platoon had been directed to change out of their uniforms until after the fact…”
Victims and Witnesses can’t investigate
It seems almost surreal to state, “a victim and/or witnesses” can’t investigate the crime perpetrated on them. This is basic, like milquetoast basic common sense, specifically conflict of interest, etc. The US Capitol Police force were also victims, and they can’t (although the USCP-OIG recently issued a preliminary report) thoroughly investigate because they are both witnesses and victims. The House and Senate are also in the same category—they are both witnesses and victims. Sure the FBI has a sprawling (sorry for yelling) CRIMINAL investigations but again that’s strictly in the criminal capacity.
The DOD can’t investigate because here again they are witnesses and eventually we will learn why it took the DOD two plus hours to respond to the Capitol… so for now all eyes are on Mitch (again)…
The Arizona 2022 mid-terms Senate Race is, one I would keep an eye on - to date there isn’t a clear or named or declared GOP-QANON candidate but the two names I consistently hear from strategists; Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Congressman Andy Biggs both of whom are on the far right of QANON - because the Cyber Ninja “audit” —which was largely sanctioned by the AZ GOP-QANON party and it’s turned into a cluster-fubar of unimaginable proportion
Because Sen/Rev Warnock was elected to fulfill the two years left on (former) Sen Johnny Isakson. The 2022-mid-term election is for the full six-year term. https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
-In mid April 2021 Latham Saddler, a University of Georgia graduate, he served as the Director of Intelligence Programs on the National Security Council for the Trump White House, and also served as a “White House fellow in the White House Office of Economic Initiatives” — I don’t have a dog in this hunt but Latham Saddler is a younger version of Trump. To be fair I’m appreciative of his service to our Country —on a public policy platform Saddler is a mini-Trump
The distain I have for McCrory is hard to enumerate. This jackhole was one of NC’s worst governors. His radical ultra conservative agenda caused hundreds of millions in tourism. Our rental income dropped >38% for two seasons. Some of our long-time renters told our management company they are boycotting NC because of the Governor & General Assembly’s draconian and anti-LGBTQ public policies assholes. Don’t even get me started on McCrory’s “coal ash and drinking water“ scandal. <— to this day I’m still shocked no one was indicted because McCrory & his aides lied under oath, repeatedly.
In February I published this article explaining how Donald Trump killed the Republican Party of Lincoln and Reagan, that the GOP is now fully the party of QANON-MAGA.
