The Real Reason Republicans Voted Against a January 6 Commission

A great many pixels lately have been spent in social media expounding on why Republicans in the House and Senate voted against a Commission to investigate the January 6 Commission. Surprisingly, many of them miss the mark.

Some note that minority leader McConnell directed his conference to vote against it. It’s true, he did, but it neglects to explain why McConnell was so anxious for them all to vote it down.

Some cite poll figures…

…inferring that voters’ opinions are influencing congressional GOP decisions. But Republicans in Congress couldn’t care less what their voters say so poll results like these have no effect on them whatsoever. For example, every one of them voted against the American Rescue Plan even though the majority of their voters wanted it.

So why did 175 House Republicans and 35 Senate Republicans (plus another 9 who didn’t even bother turning up) really vote against the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act?

Let’s look at how congressional Republicans have been dealing with the Capitol Insurrection since January 6.

Their first reaction was fear and alarm at what had happened to them. That didn’t last long. No doubt the shock of finding themselves telling the truth in public jolted them back to their habitual modus operandi of distortion and evasion. They immediately switched to blame-shifting by labelling it a BLM-Antifa attack.

This from the logic-challenged Marge Greene (Q-Georgia):

“If the #Jan6 organizers were Trump supporters, then why did they attack us while we were objecting to electoral college votes for Joe Biden? The attack RUINED our objection that we spent weeks preparing for, which devastated our efforts on behalf of Trump and his voters.”

All total nonsense as CNN reporter Chris Cillizza pointed out in his short, sharp rebuttal.

Normally that approach would work for Republicans but not this time. It collapsed in a heap when one after another of those arrested by DC Police and the FBI loudly and insistently identified themselves as Trump supporters. And as devoted Trump fans and proud insurgents, they were not about to let BLM or Antifa get any of the credit. They were adamant: it was their insurrection, carried out on the orders of their leader, Trump.

That necessitated yet another change in course for Republicans. Annoying but not usually difficult for them because seasoned liars become very adaptable.

However, this time they needed to counter the Democrats on their left and the Trump insurgents on their right. They dared not allow the insurrection to be called an insurrection because that would bring Amendment XIV into play. They also needed to mute the part Trump had played in order to diminish their own roles. The solution was obvious: they had to downplay the attack. Senator Ron Johnson (WI) insisted it was “a peaceful protest.” Rep Andrew Clyde (GA-09) minimized it even further.

“Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall, showed people in an orderly fashion in between the stanchions and ropes taking pictures. If you didn’t know the footage was from January 6, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.”

Within 24 hours of Clyde’s flippant description, photographs began to emerge of him recoiling in fear as insurgents smashed the glass on the doors to the chamber.

Rep Gosar claimed that video would “exonerate the many Americans who peacefully protested and never set foot in the Capitol.” Apparently he failed to see any of the video shown at the Senate trial following Trump’s second impeachment.

Appeals from Gladys Sicknick and Sandra Garza, the grieving mother and partner of murdered Officer Brian Sicknick, fell on deaf ears. This clip of Sandra Garza speaking with Chris Hayes appeared on Twitter today.

"One actually gently pushed me out the door as I was leaving," says
Sandra Garza, partner of fallen Capitol officer Sicknick, on meeting with GOP senators.

"[Brian] having been a Capitol police officer, and they would be that callous and dismissive—it's really unbelievable." pic.twitter.com/DbosLWDWKB

— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) June 10, 2021

When DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, critically injured in the attack and now suffering severe PTSD, called the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy refused to take the calls or answer his messages. Ignoring or hiding from these appeals is a drastic measure to take for anyone in elected office, even more so for those in leadership positions.

Another factor is the status of the Republican conferences in Congress. In the House, they’re just 5 seats away from the majority with great expectations of gaining enough seats in the 2022 midterms to reclaim it.

In the Senate, they’re the minority party in a 50-50 split. Because Manchin and Sinema have chosen to side with them in principle, they have all the power they need to quash major legislation but if they lost a couple of seats, that power would vanish in an instant.

So both Republican conferences are on a razor’s edge and they’re finding it mighty uncomfortable.

Then along comes the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act. If passed, this commission would be charged with investigating those who planned, organised, incited and abetted the insurrection.

That would include Mo Brooks who was one of the warm-up acts for Trump’s rally on the morning of Jan 6. It would include those who took parties of seditionists through the Capitol Complex in the days before Jan 6 so they could familiarise themselves with the layout of the building. It would include Ted Cruz who spoke at an earlier rally to whip the crowd into a fury over perceived grievances, then pointed them at DC. It would include those who met with militia gangs to plan tactics. It would also include all those who gave the seditionists comfort and those who weren’t directly involved but nevertheless covered up for others.

Put simply, a commission would devastate the Republican conferences in both the House and the Senate, dealing them multiple blows from which the party might never recover. According to this Guardian report, McConnell told his senators,

The commission that would have likely found Donald Trump and some Republicans responsible for the insurrection posed an existential threat to the GOP ahead of the midterms, he said, and would complicate efforts to regain the majority in Congress.

Either that’s an understatement by McConnell or the reporter chose to soften his words so as not to draw McConnell’s wrath or spook Republican supporters. The situation is far more dire than this paragraph describes.

Why did so many Republicans vote against the commission? Pure, unadulterated self-interest. They’re terrified of going to jail. Those involved in covering up for the worst of them might avoid jail but they’d be forever sullied by the stain of scandal. It would ruin them. And that would decimate the Republican Party.

They went too far this time and they know it. Listen to them; listen for the undertone of desperation. They know they have to keep a lid on it. Even if they babble nonsense, it doesn’t matter as long as it keeps a lid on it. If they can’t keep a lid on it, it will destroy them.

They are very close to losing it. Even without a congressional Jan 6 commission, they will be found out. The FBI and DoJ are investigating and they will track down the instigators. Justice is coming and when it does, America will emerge wiser and stronger, democracy will recover and Congress will return to being truly the people’s branch.