In a scorching column for Cleveland.com, editorial board member Ted Diadiun claims Republicans will come to regret blocking the Democrat’s attempt to create a bipartisan commission tasked with investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.
According to the columnist, the Capitol insurrection that followed Donald Trump’s speech at a “Stop the Steal” rally was “a national embarrassment, a dark day in the country’s history,” that sickened him but admitted he was on the fence about a commission to investigate the events of that day — but now he has changed his mind.
“I’ve changed my opinion on the Democrat-led effort to establish an independent bipartisan commission to investigate and report on what happened that day. And I’m beyond disgusted with the Senate’s refusal Friday to allow that to happen,” he wrote. “I initially assumed it was simply another political gambit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to keep the events fresh in people’s minds as we move toward the 2022 midterm elections that could change the balance of power in both houses of Congress. And I’m probably right. Pelosi doesn’t do anything that’s not steeped in a striving for partisan advantage.”
What changed his mind, he admitted, is that there are people who have taken to downplaying the riot — including a GOP lawmaker who attempted to paint the insurrectionists as “tourists” — and that a commission is needed to set the record straight.
According to Diadiun, the very fact that Republicans have attempted to quash the investigation will haunt them when the 2022 midterms roll aorund — and that Democrats will hang it around their necks.
“The measure needed 10 Republican votes to reach the 60 required to overcome a filibuster and advance the bill. It got six – including Ohio’s Rob Portman, who called the assault ‘an attack on democracy itself,'” he reported. “But here we are again, with Republicans painting themselves into an electoral corner by resisting something the bulk of the country wants (a YouGov/The Economist survey released Thursday showed 56% of Americans either somewhat or strongly approving the commission. Only 29 percent opposed it). Democrats will pin that resistance to every Republican candidate all the way through to the 2022 midterms and beyond.”
He then warned, “The political price of this decision would have been high no matter which way the Republicans had gone. But it will be higher now that they have failed to do the right thing.”
You can read the whole piece here.