The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Tag: january 6 commission
Why Arizona Democrats Are Learning To Despise Kyrsten Sinema

Why Arizona Democrats Are Learning To Despise Kyrsten Sinema

Reprinted with permission from DailyKos

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has committed two political sins this year that have decimated her standing with Arizona's Democratic voters. One—a vote against including a $15 minimum-wage hike in Democrats' pandemic relief package—left the indelible image of Sinema flashing her thumbs down on the Senate floor, punctuated by a sickly ironic curtsy as she denied several million Americans the chance to lift themselves out of poverty. Sinema was one of eight senators who caucus with Democrats to vote against inclusion of the minimum wage increase the pandemic bill.

In the Civiqs tracking poll, Sinema started out the minimum wage battle earlier this year with a 60-plus favorability among Arizona Democrats until around mid-February, when she began making known her intention to vote against its inclusion in the American Rescue Plan. By the time the Arizona senator came out the other side of that vote, her favorables among the state's Democratic voters had been cut nearly in half to about 33 percent.

But the less infamous point of ignominy that tanked Sinema's approvals among her state's Democratic voters was a function of her absence rather than her presence. After calling a vote for a bipartisan commission to investigate January 6 "critical," Sinema decided to just skip it anyway. The May 28 vote on the bipartisan commission, which had already cleared the House, failed in the Senate 54 - 35. The Senate vote required 60 "yeas" to beat a GOP filibuster and would have failed even if Sinema had decided to show up.

But to add insult to injury, a Sinema spokesperson offered that the Senator "would've voted yes" if she had been there.

Not surprisingly, that response failed to quell the controversy. The following week, Sinema gave it another unconvincing try while standing side-by-side with Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas after touring migrant facilities in Tucson.

"I had a personal family matter," Sinema offered curtly, without elaborating further.

In the same press conference, Sinema re-upped her defense of the Senate filibuster rule, saying it "protects the democracy of our nation," despite the fact that the 60-vote threshold had just doomed a commission she declared "critical" and would have otherwise cleared the upper chamber with a simple majority.

In Civiqs tracking, Sinema emerged from the January 6 commission flap with a disastrous 18% favorability rating among Democrats. Her favorables with Republicans, however, ticked up nearly 10 points while also gaining a handful of points with independents, virtually offsetting her drop among Democratic voters.

The long and the short of it is, Democratic voters appear to have concluded that Sinema doesn't share their values, presently leaving her with a catastrophic 17 percent favorable to 65 percent unfavorable rating among them, according to Civiqs tracking.

Sinema may ultimately earn some good will among Arizona Democrats if both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrats-only jobs bill manage to reach President Joe Biden's desk. But depending on how those bills land with the public, Sinema's clear objections to several of the bill's most popular provisions might also chafe Democratic voters. Not only has Sinema opposed the popular prescription drug pricing provision, she is also reportedly lobbying against certain corporate and individual tax rate increases Democrats hope to use to fund their $3.5 trillion budget bill.

The New York Times writes Sinema "has privately told Senate Democratic colleagues that she is averse to the corporate and individual tax rate increases that both the House and Senate tax-writing committees had planned to use to help pay for the measure." At the same time, Sinema is holding high-dollar fundraisers with business groups that oppose having to pay those taxes, according to the Times. It's worth noting here that, for months, poll after poll has shown the idea of raising taxes on the nation's wealthiest corporations and individuals to fund Biden's jobs bills to be extremely popular. Simply put, it's what the American people want and it makes the investments even more popular than they already are.

At this point, Sinema's polling deficits with Democrats may be too dismal to overcome in a 2024 Democratic primary, no matter what she does. But so far, that doesn't appear to be keeping her up at night, either.

Capitol Police Officers Blast GOP Leaders For Opposing Jan. 6 Commission

Capitol Police Officers Blast GOP Leaders For Opposing Jan. 6 Commission


Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

On Wednesday, anonymous members of the United States Capitol Police, in a letter addressed to members of Congress, said they felt "profound disappointment" in the decisions by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to oppose an investigation into the January 6 attack.

The U.S. Capitol Police said on its Twitter account that the letter was not an official statement from the organization.

CNN reported that it had confirmed with the Capitol Police officer who wrote the letter that it represents the views of 40-50 officers.

"The brave men and women of the USCP were subjected to hours and hours of physical trauma which has led to months of mental anguish," the members wrote.

Addressing McCarthy and McConnell, the Capitol Police write that it is "inconceivable" that "some of the Members we protected" would "downplay the events of January 6th."

Noting that each indictment connected to the insurrection is a constant reminder of the trauma of the day of the attack, the letter says it "is unconscionable to even think anyone could suggest we need to move forward and get over it."

The signees of the letter, which is on official Capitol Police letterhead, note that they are anonymous "because as U.S. Capitol Police Officers we are expected to remain neutral and do our jobs with honor and integrity."

"It's unfortunate that our 'bosses' (Congress) are not held to the same standard."

The letter was sent to the media and to chiefs of staff of House members of both parties.

To: Members of Congress
From: Members of the United States Capitol Police
Subject: January 6th Commission
We members of the United States Capitol Police write this letter to express our profound disappointment with the recent comments from both chambers' minority leaders expressing no need for a January 6th commission. The brave men and women of the USCP were subjected to hours and hours of physical trauma which has led to months of mental anguish. If you look around the Capitol building, you still have doors that are broken, windows still smashed and in some cases missing. Officers are forced to go to work with the daily reminder of what happened that dreadful day.
On Jan 6th where some officers served their last day in a US Capitol Police uniform, and not by choice, we would hope that the Members whom we took an oath to protect, would at the very minimum, support an investigation to get to the bottom of EVERYONE responsible and hold them 100 percent accountable no matter the title or position they hold or held.
It is inconceivable that some of the Members we protect, would downplay the events of January 6th. Member safety was dependent upon the heroic actions of USCP. It is a privileged assumption for Members to have the point of view that "It wasn't that bad". That privilege exists because the brave men and women of the USCP protected you, the Members.
Lastly, with each passing week, a new revelation about Jan 6th reveals itself. A new indictment comes to light, another newsreel of USCP officers being assaulted is released, or some breaking news regarding "somebody's" involvement. With these constant reminders, it is unconscionable to even think anyone could suggest, we need to move forward and get over it. Unfortunately this letter comes to you anonymously because as US Capitol Police Officers, we are expected to remain neutral and do our jobs with honor and integrity. It's unfortunate that our "bosses" (Congress) are not held to the same standard that we, the USCP are.

Proud Members of the United States Capitol Police




Former President Trump recognizing Rep. Steve Scalise, center, at the White House with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, right.

GOP Leadership Betrays Bipartisan Deal On 1/6 Commission

Reprinted with permission from Alternet


EDITOR'S UPDATE: On Wednesday evening the House passed a bipartisan bill to establish an independent commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol insurrection, as 35 Republicans defied their party leadership and former president Donald Trump to support the commission.

.The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces an uncertain fate as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his opposition on Wednesday.

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he will not be supporting the bipartisan deal for a commission to study the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And not only that, but the No. 2 Republican in the House, Rep. Steve Scalise, revealed that he'll be whipping Republican votes against the legislation.

It was a disappointing but predictable development for those hoping to have bipartisan consensus on the plan to analyze the monumental challenge to American democracy. With the right wing increasingly downplaying the events of January 6 and former President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, or even defending them, it was clear Republican leadership had little interest left in seeking accountability. While legislation for the commission is almost certain to pass the House because of the Democrats' majority, it faces a less certain future in the Senate, where it will need 60 votes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday he is undecided on the legislation.

In turning his back on the commission, McCarthy was essentially throwing one of his own under the bus. Indeed, this is exactly the sentiment New York Republican Rep. John Katko reportedly expressed to a colleague about the development, according to a recent report in The Hill.

"Katko feels like he's been thrown under the bus," the person said. "I think he feels frustrated he was given a direction to go in and had the rug pulled out from under him."

Katko is the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. He was, it seems, given an impossible task: to negotiate a deal with Democrats on a commission that McCarthy and most the GOP caucus was bound to end up opposing.

McCarthy was initially outraged by the events of January 6, pinning the blame on Trump even as he opposed impeachment. But Republican voters have clearly signaled they don't want Trump held accountable, and they're unconcerned with the insurrection, so McCarthy has dutifully abandoned any interest in the commission.

In a statement released by Scalise, the House GOP leadership offered a series of excuses for their opposition to the commission, trying to put the blame on Democrats and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the objections were frivolous.

The first three bullet points here are all basically the same point: that the commission only focuses on the events of January 6. That is, of course, the whole point of the legislation. The idea that the 2017 baseball shooting is suddenly among McCarthy's concerns strains credulity, and it has no credible link to January 6 attack. But if it did, nothing would prevent the commission from studying the link. (And if McCarthy had thought the event itself was worthy of study, he could have proposed that back in 2017.)

The point that the report is "due to late" is hard to parse even on its own terms.

The last two points just refer to other investigations of the events, such as in the DOJ and congressional committees, which serve different purposes from an independent commission. Notably, they're run ultimately by Democrats, while the commission is intended to be bipartisan.

Ultimately, the GOP's talking points against the commission just amount to an admission they don't want a commission at all. It's clear there was no reasonable agreement that would satisfy them, unless perhaps it was so watered down as to be pointless. And of course, they use the delay imposed by the negotiations they insisted upon as another reason to oppose the commission.

So why go through all this song and dance? McCarthy perhaps concluded that it would look too cynical to just oppose a commission outright, or mayube he genuinely wanted a commission at the start and changed his mind.

But the attempt to blame Democrats for the failure is falling flat. The arguments against the commission are laughable. And without a doubt, some House Republicans will vote for the commission, just as some voted for impeachment, giving it a seal of bipartisanship even if McCarthy is opposed. It's hard to imagine how the House minority leader's reputation comes out improved after all this.

Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern blasted McCarthy for abandoning the agreement after all the negotiation:

And according to Punchbowl News, many Republicans aren't impressed with McCarthy's excuses, either.

"Sure, there are some Republicans who can toe the line and say that they will oppose it because it doesn't allow for an investigation into all political violence," it reported. "But many in the party are finding that excuse incredibly lame."

Rep. Liz Cheney speaking with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the background.

Cheney: McCarthy Should Testify About Jan. 6, Under Subpoena If Necessary

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

One thing we know about Cheneys is that they get revenge. If House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy somehow forgot that, he is perhaps remembering about now, with the release of a clip of a new ABC News interview with Rep. Liz Cheney.

Cheney was just stripped of her leadership role in the House Republican conference for the unpardonable sin of telling the truth about Donald Trump, Jan. 6, and the 2020 elections, and calling on the Republican Party to respect election results going forward. She was replaced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is less conservative but more loyal to Trump, while McCarthy distinguished himself for his lack of leadership, ditching Cheney and clinging to Trump just months after he said Trump did bear responsibility for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Now, Congress is moving to create a bipartisan January 6 commission, and Cheney absolutely thinks McCarthy is going to need to testify—perhaps under subpoena. Check out her spectacular deadpan here as she twists the knife:

Jon Karl: Now the speaker, along with at least one Republican—key Republican—announced an agreement on a commission to look into what happened on January 6. Should Kevin McCarthy be willing to speak—testify before that commission? After all, he is one of the few people that we know of that was actually talking to Donald Trump while the attack was taking place.
Cheney: He absolutely should, and I wouldn't be surprised if he were subpoenaed. I think that he very clearly, and said publicly, that he's got information about the president's state of mind that day. The elements of that commission are exactly as they should be. I'm very glad they rejected Leader McCarthy's suggestions that somehow we should dilute the commission. It's really important that it be focused just on January 6 and the events leading up to it.
Karl: So you would welcome a subpoena for Kevin McCarthy to testify to that committee?
Cheney: I would anticipate that, you know—I would hope he doesn't require a subpoena, but I wouldn't be surprised if he were subpoenaed.