West Wing
It’s been a long time since I’ve quoted The West Wing, a television series now more than twenty years old. That show got a lot of us through the grimy end of the Clinton administration and on into the Bush years. It was about the Administration of Democratic President Josiah Bartlet, and gave America a lot of insights into how the White House works. Veterans of both Democratic and Republican Administrations added their expertise to the plots, and Aaron Sorkin (and later Lawrence O’Donnell) wrote fast paced and interesting scripts.
In one episode (Season 3, Episode 3) the White House is faced with a scandal. The White House counsel advises that a special prosecutor be appointed to do a long and unbiased investigation, one that would tie the Administration up for months or even years. CJ Craig, the Press Secretary, proposes an alternative plan to Chief of Staff Leo McGarry – one that would give the White House something to fight against.
“Leo, we need to be investigated by someone who wants to kill us just to watch us die. We need someone perceived by the American people to be irresponsible, untrustworthy, partisan, ambitious and thirsty for the limelight. Am I crazy, or is this not a job for the U.S. House of Representatives?” (YouTube).
The words echo through the years – and are still relevant today.
Insurrection Commission
Up front I need to be clear about this. I think the “right” thing to do, is for the Congress of the United States to establish a bipartisan commission that can investigate the Insurrection of January 6th and the events that led to it. It is important for us to know what and why this happened, not just for historic purposes, but because the threat is still here. But it has become clear that the current Republican Party is unwilling to do anything that would bring the actions of the 45th President into question. They are too afraid, of him, and of the large faction of their Party that continues to support him.
From Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s standpoint, the last thing he wants is a non-partisan investigation of what happened on January 6th. He doesn’t want the focus of the nation on the lies of the 2020 campaign. He wants to “move on” to focus on the failures he perceives in the Biden Administration – trying to tie Biden to the “far left – Communists” of the Democratic Party. (By the way, there are no Communists among us Democrats, though we do have some socialists. But they are a very, very long way from Communists).
Win-Win
Being against the Commission is a “win-win” solution for McConnell. By preventing the Senate passage through the filibuster, he shows the Republican base that he is protecting the former President. If, by some radical change of heart in West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Democrats actually force the Commission through by breaking the filibuster – then McConnell can claim that they “broke the rules” to get what they wanted. He can then claim the Commission is illegitimate, and downplay their conclusions.
But Joe Manchin is unlikely to vote to override a filibuster on this issue, and the Senate will likely fail to agree to the Commission. That good idea will die. That doesn’t mean there won’t be investigations of the Insurrection. But, as CJ Craig said to Leo McGarry, it will be the job of the Democratic controlled House of Representatives.
2022
And that’s exactly what McConnell hopes. He wants the same body that impeached the former President twice, and that led the Russia investigation as well, to handle the job. In his dreams, he hopes that Adam Schiff would be the committee chairman. While Schiff would be the most competent member of the House to lead that investigation, he won’t be the one. Schiff lead the Russia investigation and was the House Manager for impeachment. He is too “hot” to use.
But that really doesn’t matter to McConnell. He will demonize whoever leads the investigation in the House, claiming she or he is completely biased. And, of course, there will be the stalwart supporters of the former President as the Republican members of the Committee, probably led by Ohio’s Jim Jordan. They will disrupt every hearing, and leak targeted information to bring the investigation to a standstill.
The Republicans have a problem in 2022. Donald Trump is not on the ticket. Joe Biden’s Administration is competent, and will proclaim their success with the COVID vaccine and recovery. And, one way or another, there will be an infrastructure bill, and there might well by voter protections. McConnell needs a “foil” to change the subject.
That’s not all bad for Democrats either. The House can investigate the Insurrection and display for all to see any involvement of both former and current Republican leaders. It can be a legitimate version of the Benghazi Investigation(s) that was used to demonize Hillary Clinton. And it can go right through the 2022 campaign.
Am I crazy, or is that a job for the U.S. House of Representatives?
