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Tag: james lankford
Sen. Marco Rubio

‘I Haven’t Even Read It’: GOP Senators Clueless On Jan 6 Commission Bill They Oppose

This week the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill by a vote of 252-175 to establish a commission on the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building. Rep. John Katko of New York, a conservative Republican, played a key role in crafting the bill, which was approved by all House Democrats and 35 Republicans.

But the bill now faces an uphill climb in the U.S. Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has come out against it. And journalist Haley Byrd Wilt, in The Dispatch, reports that most Senate Republicans appear to be joining McConnell in that opposition.

Because of the rules of the filibuster, the bill will need at least 60 "yes" votes. Democrats have a majority in the Senate, but it's a narrow one. The bill needs ten or more Republican votes to become law.

Abolishing the filibuster would make it easier to get the bill through the Senate. But while Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the Senate's most conservative Democrat, is in favor of a January 6 commission, he is opposed to ending the filibuster.

As Wilt explains: "Most Senate Republicans are opposed to the House's proposed independent commission to look into the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the events leading up to it. They're just not exactly sure why."

She argued that nearly all of the arguments Republicans brought up in opposition to the committee are based on misperceptions about what the legislation actually entails:

The legislation the Senate will soon consider was negotiated by the top Democrat and top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. It's miles apart from Pelosi's first proposal. It follows closely in the footsteps of the 9/11 commission. Members would be limited to those who are not currently serving in government. The panel would be evenly divided and Democrats wouldn't be able to do much of anything without Republican support. The GOP appointees would have equal say in where the probe goes and who gets subpoenaed. These were the two main demands from Republicans, and Democrats agreed to them. It also has a December 31, 2021 deadline for a final report—ensuring it wouldn't drop in the thick of the 2022 midterm elections.
Rep. Don Bacon, one of the 35 House Republicans who bucked GOP leadership to support the commission, summarized it like this: He voted for the bill, he said, because Democrats "basically gave us what we wanted."

Ironically, some of the Republicans say they just want congressional committees to take the lead in investigating the events — even though those committees are much more unilaterally controlled by Democrats than the commission would be.

But mostly, based on the comments to The Dispatch, the Republicans in opposition just seem uninformed and uninterested in the details.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R_FL) told The Dispatch, "If you're going to turn a commission into a political partisan weapon — you know, use it to subpoena people to embarrass them, use it to want to make allegations that might prove useful in the 2022 elections — you're actually contributing to the problem. My general feeling is that if we can have a serious examination of the events leading up to, occurring, and in the aftermath of that day, we should do it."

Rubio also admitted of the legislation: "I haven't even read it," even though, as Wilt explained, it has been available since Friday, it could be easily outlined within minutes by a staffer, and has been the subject of debate for months.

Others didn't seem to get the point or the details of the legislation, either, even though previously many Republicans had endorsed the idea of the commission. The truth seems to be just that they don't want the evens to be a focus of public attention because they make the Republican Party look by. They're not interested in addressing the danger posed to American democracy.

Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma told The Dispatch he won't support a bill if its purpose is to "just to go after President Trump." And Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota told The Dispatch that he hasn't ruled out the possibility of voting for the bill, but he didn't sound enthusiastic about it either.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins told The Dispatch she plans to discuss the details of the bill with Democrats but said, "The concept of a commission is a good one and would help answer some unanswered questions as well as give us some lessons learned."

According to Wilt, "There's not much that could change the minds of most GOP senators [about the bill]…. Democrats would need to win over at least 10 Senate Republicans to pass the commission into law. With unified opposition from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and Trump threatening 'consequences' for those who break with the party line, that's looking unlikely."

Video montage during Trump's impeachment trial

Some Republicans ‘Shaken’ By Horrific Riot Video — But Others Don’t Much Care

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

For those who found Tuesday's videos of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump-incited insurrectionists disturbing or difficult to watch, many seem to be saying Wednesday's videos were even more difficult to watch.

The videos, never before seen security camera footage of the assault on the building and on hundreds of Capitol Police officers, show just how close the domestic terrorists came to coming in contact with the Vice President and the Speaker of the House – the second and third elected officials in line to the presidency – and Senate lawmakers.

Politico congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio says Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) "looked away" during the footage of Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges being crushed by the insurrectionists.

But a few Republicans were also emotionally affected.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told CNN's Manu Raju, "I don't see how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency" after the videos were shown in the Senate trial, if Senators don't vote to bar him from running for office. She also told him "that the evidence that was presented thus far is pretty damning."

Desiderio also says Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) "was incredibly shaken up after that last video of Officer Hodges being crushed. I and other reporters in the chamber observed Lankford appearing to get teary-eyed. Sen. [Steve] Daines (R-MT) was comforting him and was holding his arm."

And one unnamed GOP Senator confessed they hope all Americans watched today's videos.

But not all Republicans were affected.

"I've got nothing for you now," Senator John Cornyn told CNN's Raju, who says the Texas Republican is usually very "talkative."

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin appeared to be in total denial of Trump's complicity.

Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, a Trump die-hard, was untouched.


As was Senator Mike Braun of Indiana – Mike Pence's home state:

It's hard to convict, Braun added, "When you think the process is flawed in the first place."

The Senate voted 55-45 that the process was not flawed, that the Senate had jurisdiction to try the case. Senators are jurors, and swear an oath to deliver "impartial justice." As a juror, Braun does not get to decide whether or not the "process is flawed," because the Senate said it was not.

Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) called Tuesday's proceedings a waste of time.

"This is a complete waste of time," Scott said, per NBC News. "It's not doing anything to help American families, it's not helping people get jobs, it's not helping get the vaccine out … it's vindictive."

Republican Senators Grow Restless In McConnell’s Legislative ‘Graveyard’

Republican Senators Grow Restless In McConnell’s Legislative ‘Graveyard’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proudly refuses to even attempt to pass meaningful legislation. He calls himself the “Grim Reaper,” brags about turning the Senate into a “graveyard” for bills passed by the House, and is content to have the Senate do nothing except confirm Trump’s extremist judges and administration appointees.

But McConnell’s obstructionism is starting to wear thin even for some of his far-right Republican colleagues in the Senate, reported the New York Times.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told the Times he wants his Senate colleagues to get off their “ice-cold lazy butts” and do something. And when asked about the Senate’s legislative accomplishments last month, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) scoffed to the Times, “What legislation?”

The House has passed a number of pieces of high-profile legislation on issues such as gun safety, immigration, LGBTQ equality, health care, and violence against women.

All of these bills are languishing because the Senate will not hold a vote on them — and that’s all because of one man.

It is McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky who is up for reelection in 2020, who controls what, if any, legislation comes to the Senate floor. And so far, McConnell is wielding his power to prevent more than 100 pieces of House-passed legislation to even come up for a vote.

The Times notes that while Senate Republicans might not support the bills coming out of the Democratic-led House, many are still frustrated that they have no chance to hammer out compromise legislation, or to take action on issues like election security that should be bipartisan priorities.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) agreed in an interview with the Times that it’s harder these days to even “get common agreement on simple things.”

Complaints about McConnell’s obstructionist tactics come from both sides of the aisle.

“I want the opportunity to vote on legislation, especially good bipartisan legislation,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said to the Times. “And I’m not being given the opportunity to do that by the leader.”

McConnell has “effectively turned the United States Senate into a very expensive lunch club,” quipped Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT).

But despite heavy criticism, McConnell is still boasting about being the “Grim Reaper.” In response to the Times article, McConnell’s campaign tweeted, “I’m Mitch McConnell and I approve this message.”

While McConnell may be happy to obstruct any progress whatsoever, vulnerable Republicans who are facing tough reelection races in 2020 may be less happy.

“I don’t think their members who go home to campaign want to campaign on the Senate being a legislative graveyard,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the Times.

Since being sworn in at the beginning of January, the Democratic-led House of Representatives has helped end the Trump shutdown, racked up a slew of legislative victories, and started real investigations into the massive corruption of Trump and his administration.

Meanwhile, McConnell admits he is content to sit around, collect his paycheck, and get nothing done.

Published with permission of The American Independent. 

This Week In Crazy: White Nationalist Radio Hosts A Black Wing-Nut

This Week In Crazy: White Nationalist Radio Hosts A Black Wing-Nut

Sharing private data is fine with a bro is from Ukraine, more mass shootings will make for better statistics on mass shootings, and the Defense Department ghosts citizens of America. No, this isn’t a Tinder date gone wrong. It’s This Week in Crazy!

5. Sen. James Lankford
Oklahomans are used to their share of tornadoes, but Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) is a real natural disaster. The Oklahoma Republican went on CNN to defend Paul Manafort’s bromance with former Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik. The Okie thought it was okay to use the bestie defense.

So, it’s okay to share the private data of American voters with Ukrainians, but not Russians? Got it, Sen. Lankford. Except for the fact that the person Paul Manafort shared this vital info with is a product of Russian military intelligence training

4. The Defense Department
With the U.S. Department of Defense looking at a dwindling workload, let’s hope those in charge don’t end up as English teachers…at least until they learn the definition of the word transparency.

It is customary for the Pentagon to release weekly strike reports. However, in the latest Defense Strike Summary Report, the department stated the report will be posted bi-weekly going forward.

According to the memo: “The continued degradation of ISIS leads to decreased kinetic activities against the terrorist organization.” Apparently, it was becoming too much work for one person to tally 483 strikes in one week. So, they’ll need a full two weeks to get it right.

The Pentagon announcement comes on the heels of Trump sharing his intention to pull troops from Syria…while increasing the number of bombs dropped on the way out. Yet, the latest Defense Strike Reports insists, “Our intent is to reduce the number of reports while maintaining transparency.” Fewer reports and more bombs? That sounds like the very definition of transparent.

3. Jesse Lee Peterson
So a black right-wing commentator walks into a white nationalist radio studio…

Waiting for the punchline? That’s it! The facts write the joke. Conservative host Jesse Lee Peterson channeled his inner Rachel Dolezal and flipped the script on his race. He joined a podcast hosted by a white supremacist and without a burning cross in sight stated, “Unless white people take over, it’s over for America.”

Don’t believe it? Hear it for yourself:

Jesse Lee’s white-hot envy runs deep. Not only did he adopt the name Jessee Lee, but he tweeted the Trump Administration congratulations on looking good.

So how do we end up with more Trumps? Well, Peterson theorizes that more white people need to get together, go crazy, and “have a truckload of white children.” At least Jesse Lee knows the truck is prime mating territory for the white folk.

2. Stephanos Bibas
Donald Trump has appointed 85 Federal Judges since taking office. One of those pawns is Stephanos Bibas. Trump’s hired goon is already trying to roll back progress on gun control in New Jersey. The Third Circuit Judge vehemently fought other judges on limiting single firearm magazines to ten rounds.

Judges Joseph Greenaway and Patty Schwartz had already agreed the limitation was constitutional. No guns were being taken away and this was a swift answer to an increase in mass shootings. While Bibas agreed that five other appeals courts had upheld the ruling, he still felt this law violated constitutional rights.

Grown-ups, er, Judges Greenaway and Schwartz used data to explain mass shootings have jumped 160 percent in a decade. Like a big Bibas, Trump’s judge tooted the NRA mayday whistle:“They’re coming to get our guns!”

With whistle still in mouth, the new judge stated that the huge increase in mass shootings was a “causal link” to assault rifles. His closing argument? No action should be taken until studies can analyze a “statistically significant number” of mass shootings — because 426 in 2018 isn’t enough.

1. Russell Vought
In a world where a reality star can become president, of course, a blogger can head up the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). I guess I missed the Want-Ad, but congrats to Red State alum Russel Vought!

via GIPHY

With government spending causing the whole government to shut down, who better to look over whatever finances are left? The guy clearly has everything it takes to be an effective member of the Trump Administration. He even spouts the rhetoric.

Right. Yet Senate Democrats just proposed the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act Wednesday. New administration member, same old crazy. ‘Til next week!