Ross: GOP attempting to rewrite history on January 6 Capitol riot
May 20, 2021, 6:39 AM | Updated: 10:44 am
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber on January 06, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The House of Representatives to set up a commission to investigate the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Thirty-five Republicans joined the Democrats in voting yes.
But the bill needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, and now that Mitch McConnell is advising Republican members to vote against it, that鈥檒l be tough.
Many Republicans think it鈥檚 just a setup to go after Donald Trump yet again, but some of them are also invoking the 鈥渢ourist鈥� argument 鈥� that in some of the videos you see demonstrators calmly walking through the halls of the Capitol, between the ropes, just like tourists would.
They鈥檙e saying it wasn鈥檛 an 鈥渁ttack,鈥� but more like a somewhat unorthodox “building tour.” That seems a little like Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to a “Summer of Love,” but they鈥檙e entitled to their opinion.
It鈥檚 just that it would be nice to be clear on what the rules are.
These are some of the same politicians who go nuts over the confusing rules on masks, so they should at least be clear on what constitutes a 鈥渢our鈥� of the Capitol.
I think they should lay out the rules for these 鈥渢ours鈥� 鈥� and in particular, for tours that take place on the date of an electoral college vote. Because that鈥檚 the kind of tour we鈥檙e talking about here. This was not a tour on some random day — this was what we might call a targeted tour.
Unfortunately, the Capitol Police were not made aware that tours like this are OK.
So, I think those members of Congress who buy into the tour scenario should spell it out with the following:
鈥淚t is ordained by Congress that henceforth on January 6 following a Presidential election, the losing candidate shall invite his followers to a rally, and send them to the Capitol on self-guided tours as the electoral votes are being counted; the Capitol police shall guide them to the House or Senate chambers, and assist them in locating any members of Congress who might be hiding, as well as provide construction materials for the erection of guillotines or gallows on the Capitol grounds.”
鈥淯pon conclusion of the tour, the surviving members of the Senate shall complete the electoral vote count.鈥�
Simple as that 鈥� and now we鈥檙e all on the same page.
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