Nothing But Political Theater

I have a friend who was asked if he has watched any of the Congressional Select Hearing about January 6th.

I thought his response was spot on.

" I watched five minutes. I don't spend my time watching things that are not fair and balanced."

I was very critical of the actions of the rioters who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

I stated that Trump had erred in calling his supporters to Washington, D.C. to rally. He should have foreseen that things could spin out of control.

However, I also stated that most of what transpired that day was solely related to the herd mentality of crowds. Most who participated in going into the Capitol were following the herd rather than consciously participating in a riot much less an insurrection.

In fact, videos show that a number of the "rioters" were waved into the building by Capitol Hill police as if they were visitors right off a tour bus.

My suspicion was that there were instigators in the crowd that lit the fuse and the rest transpired organically. 

For example, look at this surveillance video from the Capitol of the first people to breach the building by breaking the windows. They are all dressed alike in black. This is a video you will not see at the hearing or  thousands of additional hours of video on the events of that day that are counter to the narrative you will hear. Why?

Source: https://twitter.com/RickyBeBack/status/1534572036093120513

I still have seen little on who these people were. Were they Antifa? Government informants? The Proud Boys? Something clearly does not add up.

You can read the blog post I wrote the night of January 6 here.

It is fully within the authority of Congress to investigate what happened, who was responsible and consider what could have been done to prevent it from occurring.

However, any hearings that Congress conducts should have both parties represented and the appointees should be made by the leaders of each delegation. Any evidence presented should also not be one-sided. There should be ample opportunity to hear both side of every issue. Rebuttal evidence and testimony should be part of the proceeding.

None of this is a part of the January 6th hearing.

The hearing seems to have as its purpose nothing more than 1) deflect from the current news that is highly damaging to Joe Biden and the Democrats and 2) damage Donald Trump in something that resembles Impeachment #3 in order to attempt to keep him from the Presidency in 2024.

It has nothing to do in looking for truth or justice. That was imminently clear before the hearings even began.

What would be wrong with a fair and balanced hearing where the totality of the evidence could be heard and assessed?

What would be wrong with having some Republicans who supported President Trump participate and be allowed to offer additional evidence or cross examine witnesses?

What bothers me further about all of this how the January 6th riot is being examined but nothing is allowed to be said or investigated about what transpired with the Black Lives Matter riots of the summer of 2020.

For example, the government alleged that the incursion into the Capitol building caused $1.5 million in damages. The BLM riots caused over $1 billion in damages according to estimates. 

Source: https://www.westernjournal.com/blms-mostly-peaceful-riots-cost-1000x-damage-jan-6-capitol-unrest/

The damages did not stop there. Small businesses destroyed. Lives lost. Police cast as villains rather than heroes.

BLM’s riots devastated small businesses, victimized innocent bystanders and sparked an intense incline in violence against police.

Though the Jan. 6 uprising is inexcusable, the left appears determined to emphasize the damage incurred at the Capitol while neglecting the violence that plagued American streets for months last year.

If we can call out the inexcusable actions of January 6th how is it that nobody seems to be concerned about the riots and anarchy we saw in the summer of 2000?

That seemed to the point of Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio's comments last week when he asked why the BLM riots were not being investigated in the same way that January 6th was. Del Rio seems to have crossed the line when he referred to January 6th as a "dust up".

That ended with Del Rio being fined $100,000.

Del Rio now clearly understands which city he is living in.

He is not in Jacksonville, FL where he used to be head coach of the Jaguars. 

For that matter, consider the media attention given to the January 6th hearings compared to the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

I have yet to see any evidence that there was one rioter at the Capitol that had any firearm with them.

I would think it would be pretty difficult to conduct an insurrection without a weapon.

However, a person arrested outside of Kavanaugh's house, Nicholas Roske, had flown from California to Washington with the specific intent to murder the justice.

Roske confessed to police that he intended to kill Kavanaugh because he was angry about the surprise leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that suggested a reversal of Roe v. Wade, and because he “believed that the Justice he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws,” according to an FBI affidavit.

Roske appears to have had more weapons in his possession than all of the January 6th rioters combined.

“An inventory search of the seized suitcase and backpack revealed a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a Glock 17 with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crow bar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items,” according to the criminal complaint. The padded boots would have helped Roske enter and move through the Kavanaugh home quietly.

I don't want to think about the upheaval and foment that would be caused in this country if such an act did take place.

However, The New York Times buried the Kavanaugh story on page A20 while it gave prominent billing to the "Attack on Democracy" and the January 6th hearing on its front page last Thursday.

How could the attempted assassination of a Supreme Court justice not also be considered an act of insurrection and an attack on democracy?

The same was true of all of the Sunday mainstream media news shows on CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC

Source: https://regionalmedia.live/kavanaugh-assassination-attempt-ignored-by-sunday-shows/

From my perspective, the Democrats are doing themselves and the nation a disservice by not even attempting to put on a "fair and balanced" hearing on January 6th.

If there is damning evidence on Donald Trump or anyone else let's have it presented consistent with the standards of American jurisprudence and hear from both sides.

The fact they are not willing to do so speaks volumes. That attitude also means many simply don't want to be bothered watching political theater than something that might inform and persuade.

In fact, a recent Rasmussen survey found that 39% of voters say they will not watch any of the hearings, 22% say they will watch some of the hearings and only 14% of voters say they will watch most of the hearings.

Interestingly, since the hearings began, the percentage of voters who say they are concerned about the Capitol Riot investigation has dropped by 2 points.

Compare that level of concern by voters with other issues.

Source: https://twitter.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/1536727472015818757

Many are undoubtedly asking what ever happened to the even-handed administration of justice in this country?

I also find it interesting that the biggest argument that the Democrats and others are making against Trump is that he should have just accepted the "results" of the election and moved on. They argue that if he had, the events of January 6th would not have occurred.

Of course, the same people that say this seem to forget that they were still pushing the narrative that Russia had hacked the election results or colluded with Trump to steal the 2016 election through most of Trump's four years.

In addition, if it is important to move on, what point is served in a hearing about January 6th now? It is over and done with. The FBI has investigated and hundreds have been apprehended and jailed. Some have now been held in solitary confinement without bail for 18 months while awaiting a trial. Doesn't the Constitution say something about the right to a speedy trial?

The voters have much bigger concerns on their minds. In fact, election integrity is a much bigger concern than the January 6th investigation if you look at the survey above.

Why do they get political theater rather than a fair and balanced view of the facts?

Why is there more interest in this political theater than anyone looking at policies that would result in solutions to the issues (inflation, election integrity, violent crime, gas prices, etc)  that are on the top of that list of voter concerns?

Results in a special election for a U.S. House seat yesterday suggests that voters believe Democrats are not focused on the right issues.

An 84% Hispanic dominated congressional district near the Rio Grande that had elected Democrats for over 100 consecutive years flipped to the Republicans.

Source: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/14/texas-special-election-tx-34-mayra-flores-dan-sanchez/

This district voted for Obama by over 40 points in 2008.

The GOP candidate, Maya Flores, won by 7 points in 2021.

The political reality is that the voters reign supreme in our system.

The lesson---Politicians who play games and participate in political theater will eventually pay the price.