Last updated on May 29th, 2021 at 08:32 pm
Following the events of January 6th, Republicans signaled a willingness to understand how the insurrection happened. Terrified of Trump, though, most of them have changed their minds on that matter.
Mitch McConnell understands that a commission will be very bad politically for Republicans. So he is urging them to vote against the bill. And that Republican resistance has driven some Democrats nut, specifically Montana’s Jon Tester.
Tester told Politico on Thursday, “We’ve got to get to the bottom of this sh*t. Jesus. It’s a nonpartisan investigation of what happened. And if it’s because they’re afraid of Trump then they need to get out of office. It’s bullsh*t. You make tough decisions in this office or you shouldn’t be here.”
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The comments were echoed by West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin. Machin released a statement today that read:
“There is no excuse for any Republican to vote against this commission since Democrats have agreed to everything they asked for. Mitch McConnell has made this his political position thinking it will help his 2022 elections. They do not believe the truth will set you free, so they continue to live in fear.”
My statement on the January 6th Commission: pic.twitter.com/ZfNhQfKzmh
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) May 27, 2021
McConnell is far from chastened by the criticism. He told reporters, “They would to continue to litigate the former president into the future. We think the American people going forward, and in the fall of 2022, ought to focus on what this administration is doing to the country and what the clear choice is that we have made to oppose most of these initiatives. I think this is a purely political exercise that adds nothing to the sum total of information.”
The Democrats may not get 10 Republican votes for the bill. They will come close, though. It will be interesting to see how many GOP lawmakers are willing to oppose McConnell.
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
