Since the January 06 insurrection at the Capitol, many Republicans have either downplayed the severity of it, or denied that Trump supporters were even involved. Depending on who you talk to, the whole thing was either a picnic, a peaceful tour of the building, or Antifa and BLM orchestrated the violence to make Donald Trump look bad because he’s been America’s most successful president.
Sadly, some gullible people have bought into it. Never mind that for weeks leading up to election day and far beyond, Trump had complained nearly non-stop of a stolen election – which his supporters repeated ad infinitum – and that rioters were seen carrying Trump and neo-Confederate flags.
In what appears to be the first successful filibuster of Joe Biden’s presidency, Senate Republicans are stalling and delaying passage of legislation that would create a commission to investigate the insurrection. Even though it passed through the House earlier this month with many Republicans in support of it, some of them believe a commission would be used against them for political purposes, what Trump has allegedly referred to as a “Democrat trap.”
Mitch McConnell, who had previously said in a statement that he believed Trump had been responsible for inciting the mob, was initially open to the idea of an investigation into the events surrounding January 06. Now he opposes it, believing the panel’s investigative committee would not be partial despite a split among Republicans and Democrats.
“They’d like to continue to litigate the former president into the future,” McConnell said.
A handful of Republicans are expected to vote on the legislation. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski supports the legislation.
“Truth is hard stuff,” she said to reporters last Thursday. “But we’ve got a responsibility to it. We just can’t pretend nothing bad happened, or that people just got too excitable. Something bad happened and it’s important to lay that out.”
Joe Manchin, who is not ready to abandon the filibuster, blasted McConnell and other Republicans who refused to vote on a commission.
“There is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission, since Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for,” he said. “McConnell has made this his political position, thinking it will help his 2022 election. They do not believe the truth will set you free, so they continue to live in fear.”
“We had a mob overtake the Capitol, and we can’t get the Republicans to join us in making historic record of that event?” Dick Durbin, Senator of Illinois wanted to know. “That’s sad. That tells you what’s wrong with the Senate and what’s wrong with the filibuster.”
Sources: The Week, AP News.
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