Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo
At the Capitol on January 6, 2021
As expected, Senate Republicans used the power of the filibuster to block consideration of the bill to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The vote was 54-35 in favor, with six Republicans joining Democrats in support. In the real world, that’s a healthy majority. But in the U.S. Senate, it’s not enough to overcome a filibuster.
And if Republican senators, who were menaced right along with Democrats by the invasion, won’t display some bipartisanship on this one, we can forget bipartisan support for voting rights or infrastructure spending. The Republican offer to spend almost a trillion dollars on infrastructure, ostensibly meeting Biden more than halfway, is bogus. Most of this is money diverted from funds previously appropriated, such as relief for the states and unemployment compensation.
This latest Republican blockage comes on the heels of a high-profile speech by former House Speaker Paul Ryan, warning, “If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or on second-rate imitations, then we’re not going anywhere.” He added that voters would “not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago.”
This is the latest manifestation of center-right Republicans trying to push back against Trump and Trumpism. The problem, however, is that most Republicans in Congress are precisely the kind of yes-men and flatterers whom Ryan is warning against. And it remains to be seen whether Trump voters are having second thoughts.
One thing should be clear from these events—are you listening, Joe Manchin? After the bipartisan footsie ends, anything worthwhile that passes Congress will have to be Democrats-only.
