Senate Republicans used the filibuster to block the January 6 Commission. Thus handing Biden, Schumer, Pelosi, and Liz Cheney a huge in-your-face loss. 

Senate Republicans just blocked a bill that would have created an independent and bipartisan to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that left five people dead and about 140 officers injured.

By a vote of 54 to 35, the Senate failed to advance the commission. At least 10 GOP senators were needed to reach the necessary 60 votes to pass the key procedural vote.

The House-passed legislation aimed to create a 10-person panel to figure out what happened, including the law enforcement’s “preparedness and response” and then report recommendations in order “to prevent future acts of targeted violence and domestic terrorism.”

First of all, this whole January 6 Commission deal was a bad idea. Why? Because it wasn’t going to look into the issues of WHY the Capitol Police were unprepared. There would be zero investigation of why Capitol Police politely opened several of the doors to the U.S. Capitol and waved people on in. Furthermore, there would be no investigation into whichever police officer shot Ashli Babbitt. Not only that, but the January 6 Commission was also set up to completely ignore the violence and riots that have taken place around the country. As Liz Cheney put it in her patronizing op-ed, ‘those riots were different and shut up about them because reasons.’

Chuck Schumer really wanted this commission to happen. 

“I am sorry if an independent commission to study an attack on our democracy isn’t a Republican ad-makers idea of a good time. This is too important,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Schumer asked Republicans in a speech on Friday, moments before the vote: “What are you afraid of, the truth? Are you afraid that Donald Trump’s Big Lie will be dispelled?”

“The Department of Justice is deep into a massive criminal investigation,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered. “I do not believe the additional, extraneous ‘commission’ that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing. Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed to.”

Mitch McConnell is absolutely correct. Currently there are multiple investigations into what took place that day. An extra outside commission that absolutely would’ve been as partisan as it comes would solve nothing and lend to more divisiveness in this country. Think I’m wrong?

Reporters such as George Will, and WaPo’s Carol Leonnig are comparing January 6 to 9/11.

3K people died and Americans had to decide between being cooked to death and leaping 90 stories on Jan 6th, Carol?

Was the BLM/Antifa attack on the White House last May where 60 Secret Service members were injured another “9/11 moment”

GTFO of here with this Dem propaganda.

— Bonk (@BonkPolitics) May 28, 2021

Exactly. Is a commission planned for that? Will BLM/Antifa be investigated and held accountable? Nope. AOC is probably running post haste to another Pause Pod therapy session.

I’ll note that the comparisons of January 6 to 9/11 is a huge slap in your face to the families of the TTHREE THOUSAND killed by terrorists that day. The United States shut down for days and weeks after 9/11. On January 6, as Debra Burlingame points out, Congress RESUMED their session that NIGHT. 

It is deeply offensive and sad that the brutal and harrowing memories of the worst terrorist attack in American history are being deployed by political partisans. They are using 9/11 not as an example of what the American people endured and overcame together, but explicitly to divide, to stoke hatred and to further a political agenda aimed at stigmatizing the other party and marginalizing ordinary Americans from participating in the political process. That is the real threat to democracy.

It is incredibly offensive to compare the two. There is ZERO comparison. Period.

What is notable about this is the Republican’s successful use of the filibuster. Something the Democrats have been wanting to ditch for months now, even though they’ve used it quite successfully over the last few years.

Has anyone pointed out that this was the first Republican filibuster since 2014. Every filibuster from 2015 until today was by the Democrats.

— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) May 28, 2021

Today, the filibuster worked in Republican favor. The final count was 54-35.

So, only THIRTY FIVE Senators (six of whom are Republican RINOS) were in favor of ending the filibuster. Tells me that Schumer’s power isn’t as great as he says it is.

Filibusters are GREAT for Democrats, but now that the Senate Minority Republicans used it successfully, the Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi (who doesn’t care about certified elections), are in full whine mode. 

“Democrats worked across the aisle, agreeing to everything that Republicans asked for. We did this in the interest of achieving a bipartisan Commission. In not taking yes for an answer, Republicans clearly put their election concerns above the security of the Congress and country,” she said, adding later that Democrats will “proceed to find the truth.”

Want some cheese with that whine Nancy? And make no mistake about it, the Democrats do NOT want the truth. They would’ve used this January 6 Commission as another political vendetta against Republicans, against Trump, and against any Americans who disagree with them.

Schumer couldn’t whip the votes to put an end to the Republican filibuster.

Two Senate Democrats SKIPPED the vote on the January 6 Commission. IF this was the end of the world and they actually cared about this, then Schumer would have made sure everyone was there. But he didn't.

How telling.

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 28, 2021

Schumer got handed a big loss on this, and it’s delicious.

https://twitter.com/storm_paglia/status/1398316871288512514

Changing the rules won’t help the Democrat cause.

The Republican filibuster effectively put a halt to the January 6 Commission, and that’s a very good thing for all of us.

Feature Photo Credit: Chuck Schumer trying to block Justice Barrett nomination via Flickr, cropped and modified