As the January 6 Committee — officially known as the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol — began its first day of hearings Tuesday, it two token (and nominal) Republican members were on full display. Representatives Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) played the moment for all it was worth with Kinzinger crying and Cheney warning that unless the committee gets to the bottom of Jan 6, it could happen again every four years.
Kinzinger and Cheney were invited to join the “Darkest Day in History” Committee when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) withdrew his three remaining nominees in response to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejecting Representatives Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) because they have been vocal supporters of President Trump. Kinzinger and Cheney are both nominal Republicans who have been vocal critics of Trump. Both voted to impeach Trump in the second of two impeachment trials that have been described as kangaroo courts.
Kinzinger and Cheney make for perfect token Republicans whose job it is to give the committee a veneer of bipartisanship. And lest anyone doubt their commitment, they took center stage on day one of the committees hearings, literally weeping and wailing. To be fair and accurate, it was Kinzinger who wept and Cheney who wailed.
Kinzinger — demonstrating his hatred of all things Trump — choked back tears and appeared to have difficulty composing himself as he addressed Capitol Police officers during the hearing. “I never expected today to be quite as emotional for me as it has been,” he said, adding, “I think it’s important to tell you right now though, you guys may — like, individually — feel a little broken. You guys all talk about the effects you have to deal with and, you know, you talk about the impact of that day, but you guys won — you guys held.”
That is just embarrassing. Because it reads like a tweet from an overly emotional 14-year-old girl who is, like trying really, like hard, you know, to comfort her bestie after a breakup.
Kinzinger was not alone in emoting all over the place with exaggerative language. Because Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) told the Capitol Police officers who were there, “You saved the day. You saved the Constitution.” Wow. The hyperbole is strong in that one.
But perhaps the most hyperbolic moment in the day’s hearings is when — apparently eager to remind everyone that she hates President Trump — Cheney referred to the events of January 6 as “a cancer on our constitutional republic” and warned that it could be repeated every four years. “If those responsible are not held accountable and if Congress does not act responsibly, this will remain a cancer on our constitutional republic, undermining the peaceful transfer of power at the heart of our democratic system,” Cheney bemoaned, adding, “We will face the threat of more violence in the months to come and another January 6 every four years.”
Cheney also said that the committee needs to “know what happened every minute of that day in the White House” including “every phone call, every conversation, every meeting leading up to, during, and after the attack.”
First, does Cheney really expect anyone with two brain cells to rub together to believe that a January 6 event could happen every four years? 535 people have been arrested. Nearly 500 of them have been charged with crimes that could imprison them for 20 years. No one wants to go through that. Lesson learned — learned the hard way, but learned nonetheless.
Second, Cheney seems to want to make sure everyone notices that she just oozes with hatred for Trump. But, isn’t it going a little far to imply that Trump was coordinating the “insurrection” from the White House? Furthermore, what a boondoggle and tremendous waste of time and money to even try to account for “every minute of that day in the White House” including “every phone call, every conversation, every meeting leading up to, during, and after the attack.”
Hyperbole and emotionalism are not a great starting point for an investigation, but they are perfect for the beginning of another witch-hunt. And since that is all Democrats and Never-Trump Republicans have had for the past four and a half years, it appears they are sticking to it.
As this writer said in a previous article:
This writer does not claim to have a crystal ball, but I will predict the outcome of this committee’s “investigation.” When all is said and done, the report — which will number hundreds of pages — will be able to be summarized in three words: “Orange Man Bad!”
Judging from the first day of the hearings, Cheney could write the report herself while Kinzinger grabs himself a tissue.
