The special select committee to investigate Trump's 1/6 violent failed coup passed the House yesterday 222-190. Pelosi's proposal punishes the Republicans for killing the non-partisan commission she had negotiated with them, which provided for a 50-50 split of members. The plan that passed yesterday creates at 13-member panel-- 8 appointed by Pelosi and 5 appointed by McCarthy. Pelosi is likely to pick a Republican as one of her 8, probably Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger. She will also pick a chairman, likey to be one of her elderly cronies like Bennie Thompson, rather than a vigorous and media-savvy firebrand like Mondaire Jones, Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin, Cori Bush, Ted Lieu or Joe Neguse, all capable Judiciary Committee stars. The committee will have subpoena power to investigate "the facts, circumstances and causes relating to the Jan. 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack."
In her letter to House members yesterday before the vote, Pelosi wrote that "We have the duty, to the Constitution and the country, to find the truth of the January 6th insurrection and to ensure that such an assault on our democracy cannot happen again. It is clear that January 6th was not simply an attack on a building, but an attack on our very democracy.
McCarthy may decide to not put any Republicans on the committee or put forward disrupters like Gym Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Ronny Jackson, Lauren Boebert, Louie Gohmert, Devin Nunes, Andy Biggs, Barry Moore and Paul Gosar. Or maybe Andrew Clyde, the crackpot from Georgia who claimed the insurrectionists were just well-behaved tourists.
John Katko (R-NY) who was a cosponsor of the original commission, voted no yesterday, claiming Pelosi had come up with a plan that is a "turbocharged partisan exercise." 35 Republican had voted in favor of the commission, which McConnell filibustered to death in the Senate. Today just 2 Republicans voted for the investigation, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. Cheney noted yesterday that "Since January 6th, the courage of my party’s leaders has faded. But the threat to our Republic has not. On an almost daily basis, Donald Trump repeats the same statements that provoked violence before. His attacks on our Constitution are accelerating. Our responsibility is to confront these threats, not appease and deflect." Kinzinger's statement was just as strong: "With the number of conspiracy theories being perpetuated by media outlets and spreading wildly online, we have to push back with the facts and ensure what happened on January 6th never happens again. We have to put the partisan political divisions aside and put the interests of our country and our democracy at the forefront. And as I said before, we cannot let fear stop us from doing what is right." Last night, McCarthy threatened both of them that if they accept an appointment from Pelosi, they will be kicked off their other committees. Kinzinger's response to McCarthy: Who gives a shit!
Bryan Osorio, the mayor of Delano, is running to represent the Central Valley district Republican David Valadao won from a status quo-type New Dem. Osorio, on the other hand, is a strong progressive and is expected to wipe the floor with Valadao next year. Yesterday right after the vote, he told me that "Valadao was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on the grounds of seeking accountability for the capital attack. Yet, he voted no for the commission because it was another 'hyper-partisan' ploy by Nancy Pelosi-- an overused talking point by Republicans. Once again, Valadao, a self-proclaimed bi-partisan legislator, votes with the party that continues to defend the January 6th insurrectionists."
On of the candidates endorsed by Blue America in the last cycle, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (D-GA) didn't have to ponder too hard in making a decision to vote for the select committee. "On January 6th the Confederate Battle Flag was flown in the U.S. Capitol for the first time ever," she told me yesterday evening. "As a Black woman from the South I know exactly what message the domestic terrorists were trying to send to me and the 2.47 million voters who turned Georgia blue. Instead of learning the truth about that tragic day, Republicans have instead decided to perpetuate the Big Lie of the former president. I applaud Speaker Pelosi for creating the Select Committee to reveal the truth about that tragic day and ensure we never have another attack on our democracy."
TRAGIC UPDATE: Pelosi's Dull Committee
Pelosi appointed Benny Thompson chair, so obviously with no interest in modern media strategy, and a mostly turgid cast of characters as members, who will be utterly unable to rivet the country: Zoe Lofgren, Adam Schiff, Pete Aguilar, Stephanie Murphy, Jamie Raskin and Elaine Luria, as well as Liz Cheney, who might-- along with Raskin and Schiff-- make people tune in for the hearings. It's a very conservative bunch, Raskin being the only progressive Pelosi appointed.