JANUARY 6, 2021 will forever be etched in our history as the day in our history when the august chambers of the nation’s Capitol was attacked by die-hard fanatics of then President Donald Trump to stop the Constitutionally mandated electoral college vote count that would officially confirm President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory.
This fatal breach tragically happened because these Trump supporters believed the lies he maliciously and wrongfully fed to them that the election was stolen from him through massive and widespread cheating.
What happened that day was broadcast live for the world to see this brazen attack against the Constitution and the rule of law on video, as they happened. We would think this would compel ALL elected officials to not only denounce this and make those who participated in, as well as those who pushed, aided and abetted these insurrectionists accountable pursuant to the rule of law so that this attack to our democracy, democratic institutions and processes would never ever happen again.
We would think that elected officials who made their solemn oath to defend the Constitution would use all avenues and tools provided for by law to get to the bottom of this attack, regardless of political party, and conduct investigations that would reveal the truth.
We would expect a bipartisan support for the commission, just like how it was done after the 9/11 attack in 2001. The NPR explained that “the proposed commission was modeled on the one established to investigate the 9/11 terror attacks, with 10 commissioners — five Democrats and five Republicans — who would have subpoena powers. A Democratic chair and Republican vice chair would have had to approve all subpoenas with a final report due at the end of the year.”
What is more unfortunate and regretful than the January 6 attack was the Senate Republicans blocking a plan for an independent commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol riot.
This measure was already approved in the House last week, with a final vote of 252-175. There were 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in support of the plan.
However, the Republicans in the Senate, led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “were deeply skeptical of the commission in the days leading up to the vote.”
As the National Public Radio (NPR) reported: “McConnell had dismissed the proposal as a “purely political exercise,” given that two Senate committees are already looking into the events of Jan. 6. In remarks from the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell called into question how much more a commission would be able to unearth.”
Such narrative and skepticism echo the stand of former President Donald Trump, who has always labeled any investigation related to him as a witch-hunt. He called this effort to create the panel a “Democrat trap.”
The NPR reported that “had the commission moved forward, Trump likely would have been called to testify over his role in inciting the insurrection and his administration’s response to the attack”.
And so the final vote last Friday, May 28, was 54-35, “but Republicans withheld the votes necessary to bring the bill up for debate. Just six GOP senators joined with the Democrats, leaving the measure short of the 60 votes needed to proceed”, the NPR reported.
How could this happen in the United States, the bastion of democracy in the world? The answer, my dear fellow Filipinos in America is POLITICS. These Senate Republicans are all “bahag and buntot,” scared of how going against Trump would cost them their political survival, given the fanaticism of his base in the Republican Party. After all, Trump warned that those who would go against him would regret it for the rest of their lives.
An April poll from Reuters/Ipsos, among other similar studies, found that 60 percent of Republicans agreed that “the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump,” with 55 percent saying the result came from “illegal voting or election rigging.”
Remember when during the campaign, Trump bragged that he could shoot somebody on 5th Avenue and still win the election? That is so true to his fanatic base who accept what he says and what he does blindly. That is true for the Republicans who have no testicular fortitude to go against him, thereby blocking all efforts to make this president accountable just so they will not fall out of grace from his political endorsement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was quoted by the NPR report when he said after the vote: ”Out of fear of — or fealty to — Donald Trump, the Republican minority just prevented the American people from getting the full truth about Jan. 6.” He added: “Shame on the Republican Party for trying to sweep the horrors of that day under the rug because they’re afraid of Donald Trump.”
President Joe Biden supported the measure to create the commission but defers to Congress to get this done.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ruling out a presidential commission to study the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, WTOP reported. She laid out instead other options.
Citing the reporting of the Associated Press (AP):
“The first option, Pelosi said, is to give the Senate another chance to vote on the commission. Six Republicans voted with Democrats to move forward with the bill, and a seventh missed the vote but said he would have backed it. That means Democrats would only need support from three additional Republicans to reach the 60 votes needed for passage. The commission would be modeled after a highly respected panel that investigated the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The other options involve the House investigating the attack, meaning the probes would be inherently partisan. Pelosi suggested that she could appoint a new select committee to investigate the siege or give the responsibility to a single committee, like the House Homeland Security panel, which wrote the original bipartisan bill to create the commission. Alternately, Pelosi said committees could simply push ahead with the investigations that are already underway.”
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.
The Republicans are very quick to condemn the politicians from the other side of the aisle but are slow to act or deny the actions of their own members. They think the events of Jan. 6 do not constitute an insurrection. They are minimizing or denying the event ever existed. What about the people who died, or the Capitol police officers who were injured? What are they afraid of? Is it he support of the “fans” of the twice impeached former president that is more important to them than putting to justice the mastermind(s) of the insurrection. Wake up fellow Filipino Americans! I hope in the next election that we vote out of office these cowards!!