Democrats tried to create a bipartisan committee through official congressional legislation, but Republicans stopped them. Democrats then went at it by themselves, creating a select committee with the House leadership powers, yet still decided to invite Republicans onto the commission as an act of good faith. All Republicans needed to do was act like adults who believe fascist coups are bad business, instead of a bunch of clowns whose only goal is to disrupt the proceedings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, however, could not pass this basic "adults or clowns?" test. He picked clowns, including Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who has a pair of the biggest shoes and some of the thickest greasepaint in the highly competitive field of authoritarian buffoons of the GOP. Picking the QAnon shaman would have been a more subtle effort at sabotage, but "subtle" isn't exactly a popular aesthetic in Republican circles today. And so Pelosi did what any sensible person who wants a real investigation instead of a conspiracy theory circus would have done: She said no thank you to Jordan and Jim Banks, R-Ind., who honks his nose less loudly than Jordan but is no less a far-right saboteur.
In turn, McCarthy, proving once more he is not adult enough to handle the responsibilities Pelosi entrusted to him, threw a tantrum and declared that he and the Republicans are going to have their own investigation, where they can unpack the clown car full of all the "antifa did it!" and "beating cops is peaceful protest" lies that they want.
"There are people who want to derail and thwart an investigation and there are people who want to conduct an investigation," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., made clear to the New York Times. "That's the fault line here."
Here's the thing: Everyone knows Raskin is telling the truth. Democrats know it. Republicans know it. The journalists covering this know it. And yet, because the slow decline of our democracy is like a horror movie where the scantily clad young woman is ignoring audience pleas not to go down that dark hallway, the mainstream media is framing this as a "both sides" problem or worse, as somehow the fault of Democrats for wanting adults to act like adults when investigating such a serious matter as an attempted coup.
"Pelosi Bars Trump Loyalists From Jan. 6 Inquiry, Prompting a G.O.P. Boycott," reads the New York Times headline. The text describes the dispute as a "partisan brawl" that illustrates "how poisonous relations have become between the two parties," sidestepping how this is singularly the fault of Republicans for choosing Trump over democracy itself.
"Bipartisan House probe of Jan. 6 insurrection falls apart after Pelosi blocks two GOP members," declared the Washington Post headline. "Both parties have attacked the other as insincere and uninterested in conducting a fair-minded examination of the attack," without noting that only one side, the Republicans, are lying about this.
The media's coverage of McCarthy's stunt so far has been an extreme example of what the bloggers at Lawyers, Guns, and Money deemed "Murc's law": "the widespread assumption that only Democrats have any agency or causal influence over American politics." In this case, the assumption is that it's somehow Pelosi's fault that McCarthy and his fellow Republicans are singularly focused on covering up for Trump and his crimes. These men are adults who think they're entitled to run the government, and yet they apparently can't be held responsible for their rejection of truth, the law, or the integrity of the electoral system they've sworn to uphold. Nah, it's somehow Pelosi's fault for not somehow massaging these fascist cover-up artists into better people.
A corollary assumption, though one that does not yet have a cute nickname, is that "bipartisanship" should be a goal above all others, one that all other values should be sacrificed to, including values like integrity, decency, and a belief that public servants should serve the public. Again, only Democrats are expected to sacrifice core values for "bipartisanship." Republicans can do what they want, burn any bridge, even continue to back the man who attempted a coup, but any failure of "bipartisanship" is laid at the feet of Democrats.
CNN's Chris Cillizza coughed up a particularly gross example:
The attitude, common in the Beltway press, is obnoxious enough when Democrats are being chastised for putting their campaign promises on infrastructure spending ahead of letting the GOP sabotage them in the name of "bipartisanship." But now the media fetish for bipartisanship is being weaponized by Republicans to justify, and this cannot be stated firmly enough, covering up for an attempted fascist overthrow of the U.S. government. And because they want the man who instigated it to have another bite at the apple, no less.
As Crooked Media editor-in-chief Brian Beutler pointed out on Twitter, the problem is that the media treats Republican "dirty dealing as a constant," as if it's the weather and not the actions of autonomous actors. They, therefore, end up acting like the only people whose actions deserve scrutiny are Democrats. The result is Democrats get blamed for things completely out of their control, such as McCarthy's choice to favor Trump over democracy.
The result, he added, is that the media is ignoring "one of the most incredible stories in U.S. history," which is that "an organized mob of the president's supporters attacked the Capitol and his party is trying to cover up the connections between the two." It's certainly a more interesting story than "Democratic leader fails to make Republicans act better," and yet, here we are.
Adam Serwer of the Atlantic diagnosed the problem by tweeting, "'The committee on the insurrection needs both pro and anti insurrection members, for balance is an expression of how uncomfortable mainstream objective journalists are in the current environment and how badly they want to get back to the pre-Trump equilibrium."
The irony of this is that the most effective thing the press could do to get that pre-Trump equilibrium back is to hold Republicans accountable for covering up for Trump. Pretending the fascists aren't fascist or that they would somehow be less fascist if the Democrats were nicer to them only helps the Trumpists get more power and helps keep Trump at the center of GOP politics. If there's any hope of the Republicans leaving Trump in the past, it goes through making it hard for them to keep hanging on. That starts with reporting the news honestly, instead of putting this Republican-coddling spin on events.
The reality is that Pelosi, by drawing the "no clowns" line in the sand for committee appointments, made the committee better. As Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman at the Washington Post wrote, "The less involved McCarthy is with this committee, the more likely it will be to undertake a genuine and comprehensive accounting."
Odds are that, for all the caterwauling about "bipartisanship," the press will end up giving more favorable coverage to the findings of the official Democratic-run committee than whatever joke of a committee the Republicans throw together. Not, of course, because mainstream journalists want to take Democrats more seriously. Clearly, they are so desperate to take Republicans seriously they're always throwing them a handicap. It's just that the Democrats will produce something that can be reported on seriously. McCarthy's nose-honkers, on the other hand, are likely to churn out some Breitbart newsletter-style conspiracy theories about "antifa" that the press will gently decline to cover widely, ironically to protect the illusion that Republicans are serious people.
Not that Republicans care. Whatever they produce is going straight into the Fox News propaganda machine. It was what Republicans intended to hijack the real committee to do: Produce selectively edited clips of Jordan raving at witnesses to distribute in their propaganda channels. Now they just won't waste Democrats' time in doing it.
By blocking the sabotage trolls, Pelosi gave the committee a fighting chance at producing something genuinely interesting, newsworthy, and focused on the real causes that led to the insurrection. She gets abused by the press for acting as the only adult in the room, but someone has to do it. And the same press that's bagging her for not doing more to accommodate insurrection cover-up artists will benefit from her choice. They're now going to get to cover committee findings that are both stronger and more interesting than the kneecapped version a more "bipartisan" committee would have produced. They may actually get people to click and read their stories, instead of ignoring the weak sauce headlines a report that caters to snowflake-sensitive pro-insurrectionists would have produced. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.
More here:
- Proud Boys Leader Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Seditious ... - Department of Justice - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- DeSantis and Ramaswamy Call Proud Boys' Sentences 'Excessive ... - The New York Times - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Who Would Condemn a Community Rally Against the Proud Boys ... - Saratoga TODAY Newspaper - September 11th, 2023 [September 11th, 2023]
- Florida man connected to Proud Boys pleads guilty to assaulting police during Capitol riot - The Hill - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- Vancouver Proud Boy gets prison for Portland rally riot - The Columbian - July 23rd, 2023 [July 23rd, 2023]
- 'Active club' hate groups are growing in the U.S. and making ... - NPR - July 23rd, 2023 [July 23rd, 2023]
- Louisiana's education chief to address extremist Moms for Liberty ... - Louisana Illuminator - July 23rd, 2023 [July 23rd, 2023]
- East Naples 'Proud Boy' guilty in attack on Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol. - Naples Daily News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- KC Proud Boy jailed more than 2 years in Jan. 6 case to stay there after another delay - Yahoo News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Proud Boys and Oath Keepers: what is their future with top leaders jailed? - The Guardian US - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Latino faith leaders to gather for summit on Christian nationalism - The Washington Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Proud Boys on trial for Jan. 6 riot want to subpoena Donald Trump to ... - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Proud Boys member drafts subpoena to call Trump as a witness in Jan. 6 ... - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Proud Boys leaders facing Jan. 6 charges say they intend to subpoena ... - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Delilahs Gentlemens Club bartender gets probation for storming the Capitol with aspiring Proud Boys - The Philadelphia Inquirer - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Jan. 6 trial of Proud Boys leaders plagued by bickering between lawyers ... - February 13th, 2023 [February 13th, 2023]
- Proud Boys sedition trial shows group keying off Trump comments - February 13th, 2023 [February 13th, 2023]
- Four Takeaways From the Proud Boys Jan. 6 Sedition Trial So Far - February 12th, 2023 [February 12th, 2023]
- Enrique Tarrio - Wikipedia - February 5th, 2023 [February 5th, 2023]
- Former Proud Boy testifies in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy trial - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Proud Boys on defensive at sedition trial haunted by absent Trump - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Proud Boys expecting 'civil war' before Jan. 6, witness says - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- 'We were openly expecting a civil war' | Former Proud Boy testifies at seditious conspiracy trial - WUSA9.com - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Proud Boys | Leader, Founder, History, January 6 Attack, & Donald Trump ... - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Proud Boys attorney wants Trump's 'stand back and stand by' statement kept out of trial - WUSA9.com - January 4th, 2023 [January 4th, 2023]
- Feds Had Informants In Proud Boys And Oath Keepers For J6 - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- A Disputed Witness at the Proud Boys Sedition Trial: A Police Officer - The New York Times - December 12th, 2022 [December 12th, 2022]
- Proud Boys memo reveals meticulous planning for street-level violence ... - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- F.B.I. Had Informants in Proud Boys, Court Papers Suggest - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Jeremy Bertino, Proud Boys member from North Carolina, pleads guilty to ... - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Ex Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy, agrees to ... - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy over Jan. 6 ... - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy - November 21st, 2022 [November 21st, 2022]
- Penn State refuses to cancel a speech by Proud Boys founder - NPR - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Proud Boys gather outside of Drag Queen Story Hour in Wheaton - BethesdaMagazine.com - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- 'Clear and present danger': Jan. 6 committee to describe lingering Trump threat - POLITICO - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- 7 Ways Roger Stone Was Connected to the January 6 Attack Mother Jones - Mother Jones - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Contompasis convicted in 2021 stabbing of two Proud Boys - Times Union - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Synthego Launches Engineered Cell Libraries to Validate Targets with Speed and Accelerate Drug Discovery - Brazosport Facts - August 2nd, 2022 [August 2nd, 2022]
- IDRx Launches with $122 Million Series A Financing to Treat Cancer with Purpose-Built Precision Combination Therapies - Business Wire - August 2nd, 2022 [August 2nd, 2022]
- Global Human Identification Market Report 2022: Massive Scope for Adoption of NGS and Capillary Electroph - Benzinga - August 2nd, 2022 [August 2nd, 2022]
- F2: France Preview, Predictions and How to Watch - Last Word On Motorsport - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- The Age of the Superyacht - The New Yorker - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- Proud Boys' trial delayed after defendants say Jan. 6 committee ... - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- New video shows Proud Boys ignored their own orders against violence ... - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Proud Boys disrupt Pride event at Wilmington library - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Proud Boys Showed Up To A Pride Month Library Event But Were Met With A ... - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Why Are the Proud Boys so Afraid of Drag Queens? - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Sarasota school board candidates must openly condemn the Proud Boys - Sarasota Herald-Tribune - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- NAACP calls for Jefferson County Commissioner Jacksons resignation after posing with Proud Boys - WDVM 25 - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Shane Lamond, MPD Lieutenant Under Investigation For Ties to Proud Boys, Accused of Time Theft Two Years Ago - Washington City Paper - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- DOJ Targets Proud Boys, Expanding Its Sedition Probe - June 18th, 2022 [June 18th, 2022]
- Stephen Colbert Is Thrilled to Roast the Proud Boys - Vanity Fair - June 18th, 2022 [June 18th, 2022]
- What We Learned About Trump, Pence, and the January 6th Mob - The New Yorker - June 18th, 2022 [June 18th, 2022]
- Aspiring Camden County Proud Boy sentenced to two weeks behind bars for role in Capitol riot - The Philadelphia Inquirer - June 18th, 2022 [June 18th, 2022]
- Proud Boys | ADL - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Former Proud Boys Leader Indicted in Jan. 6 Investigation - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Hostilities between Proud Boys and Oath Keepers emerge as a line of ... - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Who is Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio? - The US Sun - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Mayor Wu Announces Members of the Black Men & Boys Commission - Boston.gov - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- Proud Boys member pleads guilty for role in US Capitol attack - The Guardian - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- First Thing: Putin warns Ukraine allies against intervention - The Guardian - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Street cam videos show before-and-after Highland Square fights with Proud Boy, others - Akron Beacon Journal - April 29th, 2022 [April 29th, 2022]
- Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Charged With Conspiracy - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Noble: I'm proud of the boys' efforts - West Ham United F.C. - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Canadian report warns of extremist infiltration in military - ABC News - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Looking ahead to the Jan. 6 committee hearings - PBS NewsHour - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Former Proud Boy Talks about January 6, Antifa and Why the Organization Won't Last Much Longer - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - April 25th, 2022 [April 25th, 2022]
- Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were in touch before US Capitol attack, texts reveal - The Guardian - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- SC inmate accused of threatening to assassinate Pres. Biden, VP Harris - WSAV-TV - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Former Proud Boys member extradited to U.S. pleads to misdemeanor after assaulting Palestinian man - CBC.ca - April 22nd, 2022 [April 22nd, 2022]
- Capitol attack panel expects to hear how militia groups coordinated plans before insurrection - The Guardian - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- What is Anonymous? How the infamous hacktivist group went from 4chan trolling to launching cyberattacks on Russia - CNBC - March 29th, 2022 [March 29th, 2022]
- Leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers met the day before the Capitol Riot. A documentary film crew was present. - Business Insider Africa - March 15th, 2022 [March 15th, 2022]
- No, the Proud Boys aren't going to Ukraine: how a small troll went viral - Crikey - February 28th, 2022 [February 28th, 2022]
- Whose sovereignty is really being fought for? What happens when First Nations People are dragged into extremist protests - The Conversation AU - February 7th, 2022 [February 7th, 2022]
- Republicans to field more than 100 far-right candidates this year - The Guardian - February 5th, 2022 [February 5th, 2022]
- Bookman: Trump continues to threaten violence against those who stand for rule of law - ncpolicywatch.com - February 5th, 2022 [February 5th, 2022]
- Portland Police Used a Proud Boy Meme in Their Training Materials. The Feds Want Answers - Rolling Stone - January 28th, 2022 [January 28th, 2022]