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I agree Pence, Cheney, and Kinzinger are "Profiles in Courage" in standing up for the Constitution under excruciating pressure at a most critical time. Although I don't trust them one bit beyond that, in this divided nation we must work with opponents on common ground as much as possible. Although Cheney would probably be a horrendous President, she is far more preferable to any Trumpist authoritarian.
I Would Have Laid My Body Across the Road Before I Would Have Let a Vice President Overturn the Election.
- Former Judge Michael J. Luttig
Testimony to Jan 6 committee 6/16/21
Next two Jan 6 Committee hearings:
Tuesday 6/21 1:00 EST
Thursday 6/23 1:00 EST
LanDroid wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:29 pmAlthough Cheney would probably be a horrendous President, she is far more preferable to any Trumpist authoritarian.
Just out of curiosity, why do you think Cheney would be a horrendous president? I don’t know a lot about her besides the work she’s doing on the Jan. 6 committee.
Liz Cheney is a neo con. Her Presidency would mean a return of the likes of G.W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and so on. Remember the "Unitary Executive" theory of a strong Presidency that overwhelms other branches. "We make history while you can only observe." Remember weaponizing intelligence services - first trashing them for not acknowledging the obvious presence of WMD in Iraq, forcing them to provide the scantiest of evidence of WMD to justify the invasion, then trashing them again for major intel failures when none was found. VP Dick Cheney even set up his own intel collection service to manage that information. Her Presidency would also mean a return to aggressive imperialist foreign policy featuring preemptive long term wars against dictators. She will accelerate the domestic culture wars. Etc. etc.
But again, the courageous Liz Cheney is preferable to any Trump authoritarian. If Trumpists get back into power we may never have another free election or a transfer of power outside of their control.
Mike Pence did not do what any sane, even semi-reasonable person would have known could not be done, so on that score I agree with geo that the bar has lowered. But I appreciate his coolness and resolve on Jan. 6. He didn't let himself be whisked away by the Secret Service, instead staying in the basement trying to do the job his President should have been doing. Most important was his determination to finish his Constitutional duty that day, rather than allowing a delay. Who knows what mischief would have ensued in that event.
What do we make of Pence's absence from the hearings? According to Politico, his team hasn't shown interest in his participation, but also Thompson never issued him a formal invitation. No doubt the shrewd Pence has his political future in mind and so doesn't want to inflame unnecessarily the MAGA crowd. He can benefit from moderate Republicans hearing nice things about him, without having to broadcast his own heroism. Ultimately, he fails in his duty, in my opinion, because he has said nothing about the larger issue at stake, which Michael Luttig captured so forcefully.
I think the Committee is also fine with Pence's absence. He might downplay the seriousness of the day and the level of his conflict with Trump.
I was about to summarize the Jan 6 committee hearings of 6/21, but decided against that. If you are not somehow / someway watching all of these hearings, you are missing out on a critical part of American history. This is difficult to compare to the Watergate hearings as they will not result in the resignation of a President and may not result in any accountability at all for former President Trump, but nevertheless it deserves your undivided attention for the following reasons just in the last session.
The riveting testimony from Arizona House of Representatives Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and Deputy COO at Secretary of State Gabe Sterling. All were GOP stalwarts.
There were horrific attacks on the above people extending down all the way to precinct level election workers across the nation like Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman of Fulton County, GA. These courageous individuals stand in contrast to the astonishing cowardice of degenerate celebrities like Rudy Giuliani, Lin Wood, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, and many others.
Perhaps we need a poll on whether Trump will be charged. I think the manner in which the facts have been brought out will make it difficult for Garland not to act. I would vote he will be charged, and he is richly deserving.
If he is charged, there will be civil unrest, maybe even civil war. But holding off would be worse for the country.
Another amazing hearing focusing on White House efforts to control the Department of Justice. I won't summarize all of it, here's an article that hits the highlights. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/january-6- ... takeaways/
One powerful moment was in describing the final decision whether or not to replace AG Rosen with a lower level employee Jeffrey Clark who basically would do whatever Trump wanted. There was a meeting in the Oval Office to make this decision. Trump was told that if he put Clarke in charge of the DOJ, so many people would resign that "Clark would be head of a graveyard." That's what finally clicked and Trump decided not to make that change. That's how close we came... WOW...
All of these Trump admin. officials were MIA in the second impeachment hearings. I admire their resolve, but they under reacted when it came to actually removing our great threat.
The committee scheduled a surprise hearing for 1 pm EST today 6/28. Should be interesting as this is presenting new evidence and they previously were not scheduled to meet until July. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/27/jan-6-c ... dence.html
Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and a witness to many critical events and conversations, is expected to testify publicly on Tuesday before the select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack, according to two sources familiar with the matter.