McConnell, McCarthy, and Trump’s Worst Nightmare. It Only Gets Worse From Here

I don’t know about you, but I was blown away last night by the January 6th committee hearing. I actually saw it twice, since Teri closed last night, so I DVR’d it for her. What blew me away was the incredible amount of new, previously undisclosed information that Liz Cheney disclosed in her opening statement, and the almost surgical way that she tied it together into a fishing net, with Trump wriggling inside it. From where I’m sitting, they should win an Emmy for Best Documentary.

And I’m not the only one. Chris Hayes of MSNBC, who has covered politics for 15 years, said that he was dumbfounded by the amount of information that was laid out. He said that after this, a single show of his wouldn’t be enough to do justice to the deluge of information, and its import. Daniel Goldman, Trump impeachment counsel, normally a very cautious and somber individual said that right now, Trump should be dreaming of handcuffs.

Anybody who grows up playing a contact sport like hockey learns by the time he’s 8 years old that his first game of the year will be his healthiest game of the year. You are going to get dinged in that game, not enough to bench you, but you’re not at top speed. And guaranteed that the next stick or puck that comes along is going to hit the exact same spot. Playing hurt is a part of your vocation.

Trump, McConnell, and McCarthy were the healthiest they’re ever going to be at 8:01 EDT last night. And then Liz Cheney opened her mouth, and they took the first puck to an unguarded spot. And it went on and on. For almost every single point Thompson and Cheney made, they immediately backed it up with video of a former Trump staffer laying waste to a a 2 year long GOP talking point. Everybody from Trump’s Attorney General to his chief pollster, from his fraud detective to his data wonk told him that there was no evidence of massive voter fraud. Barr went so far as to call it Bullthit. The fact that so many people told him he lost fair and square provides solid evidence of criminal intent. 

But the kill shot last night was the testimony of the British documentary film director who was embedded with the Proud Boys. The GOP has spent 18 months characterizing the Capitol riot as a rally gone wrong. That the rioters misunderstood Trump’s words when they charged the Capitol. But his evidence showed that a bloc of 200-250 Proud Boys left the Ellipse at 10:30, an hour and a half before Trump even started speaking, to scope out the Capitol. They circled the building, looking for weak spots, and settled on the Peace Circle to make their charge, knowing it would be the first thing the rally supporters would see, and spur them to action. The mob reaction may have been spontaneous, but the initial assault to incite them was meticulously planned.

But here’s the McGuffin. What we saw last night was nothing more than a grand sweeping overview of what is to come. They provided just enough new information and testimony to prove their bona fides. But the next 5-6 hearings over the next 2+ weeks will delve, as promised, into each individual aspect of the widespread conspiracy, and Trump’s specific role in it.

This will be the knife in the gut for Trump, McConnell, McCarthy and the GOP. You thought that last night was loaded? You ain’t seen nothing yet. The committee will break the conspiracy down into 5-6 parts, each specializing on one specific aspect of the conspiracy, and it will be rich with both live as well as taped testimony by multiple Trump and WH staffers who were present in the West Wing on January 6th. They will have about 2 hours per hearing to fill the gaps, and fill in the timeline.

The problem with these shitheels is that the J6 committee has talked to everybody! Ivanka basically called her own father a liar last night, when she said she accepted Barr’s explanations. There is a high level West Wing staffer out there who changed legal teams in order to set up a public appearance in front of the committee. WH Counsel Pat Cipollone is in negotiations for his testimony, and it appears that Mike Pence may appear as well.

It didn’t have to be this way. McConnell and McCarthy had a chance to appoint a non partisan commission, similar to the 9/11 commission. No serving members of congress permitted, an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, with an independent Chair to break ties. The GOP side would be allowed to call witnesses, and would hold equal veto power over subpoenas. And most importantly, the commission would have to submit its final report to congress by December 31st, 2021.

But there was one simple problem there. McConnell and McCarthy couldn’t put pressure on an independent commission. So they torpedoed the independent commission, forcing Speaker Pelosi to instead name a bipartisan committee, and then tried to torpedo that by refusing to let GOP House members serve in good faith, wanting to smear the committee as a Democratic witch hunt!

It failed miserably. Pelosi managed to convince GOP incumbents Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney to serve on the committee, and made Liz Cheney the Vice Chair. And both of them have come across as nothing but straight shooters since day one. The GOP is having serious problems trying to make the Democratic witch hunt! charge stick.

Trump and the GOP have no choice. They crafted this bed of nails, and now they’re going to have to lie down. Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele raised an interesting point on MSNBC last night. Steele is still a member of the GOP, and he calls himself and other moderate Republicans remaining in the party Motel 6 Republicans, you know, like in We’ll leave the light on for ya!. And he has been tracking polling on a segment of the non Trump base that wants accountability for what has happened in the GOP. This leads directly to Olivia Troye’s new group, Republicans for Accountability. And the polling shows that the moderate GOP base is now up to 25% who want responsibility and accountability for what has happened to the party. Certainly not a majority, but enough to change the outcome of the 2022 midterms.

Don’t sell these J6 committee hearings short. Monday and Thursdays’ hearings will be on from 7-9 AM my time, but I’m going to DVR them, and watch when I get up. I hope you do the same. And when you watch them, don’t waste your time even considering the FUX News Trombies out there. Instead, think of that 25% of persuadable Republicans out there, and what will they think? The way it’s being timed, I have a feeling that the Capitol Insurrection may be on more peoples’ minds in November than anybody realizes right now. Don’t touch that dial.