Today was day one of the hearings on January 6th, held by Nancy Pelosi’s partisan select committee. What transpired was a sideshow of fake crying and irrelevant, sometimes questionable testimony from Capitol Police officers who offered absolutely nothing of substance in regards to fixing the security issues that plagued the Capitol that day.
Of course, because we are dealing with an event strictly meant to cause an emotional reaction, not actually accomplish anything, the lies flowed freely.
To start, Bennie Thompson, who himself objected to the electoral college in 2004, claimed that seven people lost their lives.
Actually, if we are going to use the broad rubric that Thompson is using, thousands of people lost their lives for a variety of different reasons across the country. Regardless, only one was a direct result of something done at the Capitol that day. That would be Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by an unidentified police officer. No, Officer Brian Sicknick did not die of injuries he sustained in the line of duty. He died a day later of a stroke he suffered nearly 12 hours after the events of January 6th. That is not in dispute. Any connection to January 6th is purely speculative, and in no other situation do we blame the deaths of officers who die of natural causes on stress endured while on duty. That’s not how any of this works.
Thompson is also lumping in two officers who later committed suicide despite there being no direct evidence whatsoever that their decisions were based on January 6th. All the other deaths in the “seven” mentioned were of natural causes.
Then there was the claim that January 6th was the worst attack on the Capitol since 1812.
Further, the Capitol building has been bombed numerous times throughout its history, resulting in extensive damage. The idea that the meandering trespassers of January 6th represented a greater threat than literally being shot or blown up does not pass muster. It’s the kind of claim a hysteric makes without regard for the facts.
Of course, the witnesses also got in on the act.
A lot of things happened on January 6th. What did not happen is a hitman directly ordering people to attack the Capitol, in this case, Donald Trump. During his speech, Trump specifically asked people to peacefully protest. That some of the protesters didn’t is ultimately on them for choosing not to listen. We have agency in this country, and people are responsible for their own actions.
Besides, there’s precious little evidence there was any intent to carry out a real “hit” that day. Those that entered the Capitol had ample opportunity to cause bodily harm to people inside and they didn’t. That includes police officers who stood in the hallways telling crowds to stay back. That the officers did that is commendable, but the reality is that they could have been easily overrun. That they weren’t is evidence that the crowds were merely looking to cause a scene, and that’s exactly what happened.
Nothing worthwhile is going to come from this stunt. Pelosi is not going to allow a real investigation into the security lapses, which would be the only practical thing to do at this point. Instead, she’s going to trot out people to tell sob stories, ignoring that just because something is bad, that doesn’t make it worthy of this kind of reaction. If Democrats and Pelosi’s Republicans actually cared about what happened on January 6th, they wouldn’t be lining up officers to give their opinions. Instead, they’d be focusing on whatever systematic failures occurred that need to be corrected. That is, ostensibly, the point of a committee like this.
But we know that’s not the point. Rather, the point is to cut commercials for 2022. I believe this will backfire, though.