Every Friday night we look forward to a PBS NewsHour special segment with David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, who recently replaced retiring Mark Shields. Judy Woodruff hosts this segment, which contrasts a moderate liberal and a moderate conservative against one another. At least that used to be the case. But we notice that the Republican party has moved far away to the right, leaving Brook sounding more like a conservative Democrat than a typical conservative. That is where most Republicans across the nation find themselves as CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper sussed out with shapeshifter Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).
Sunday morning, Brooks had to fact-check Collins continuously. She typically started out sounding like a liberal Republican then shapeshifts into a conservative Republican as she voted. On State of the Union, the Maine senator started out criticizing how the January 6’s Select Committee was organized. Then, the host played a clip of one of the injured Capitol Policemen’s testimony. In it, he called out the cowardly legislators who had not supported the police after January 6.
Collins claimed she backed a “9/11-style Commission” versus the January 6 Select Committee. Immediately, she started heaping blame upon House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Collins said she thought an outside commission would have had “far more credibility:”
‘I fought very hard to have an independent, bipartisan, non-partisan outside commission to look at all of the events of that day and I’m very disappointed that it was not approved.’
‘I think it would have had far more credibility than Speaker Pelosi’s partisan committee that she has set up, but we should have had a 9/11 style commission to fully look at what happened.’
Tapper caught Collins in her lie and held her feet to the facts. He noted that it was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) who killed off the commission:
“Yeah, uh, Mitch McConnell opposed it and that’s why it didn’t happen. There are two Republicans on the committee, [Rep. Liz] Cheney (R-WY) and [Rep. Adam] Kinzinger (R-IL). Do you have faith in them?’
Collins replied that she respected both Represenatives Cheney and Kinzinger, but did not believe Pelosi should have chosen them:
‘I respect both of them but I do not think it was right for the speaker to decide which Republicans should be on the committee — normally you have a select committee. the minority leader and the speaker get to pick the members.’
Tapper had to correct her:
“Yeah, I mean, just — the reason she did that is because at least two of the members McCarthy picked to be on the committee are election liars. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is possibly a material witness. He spoke with Trump that day.’
Collins acknowledged Tapper’s reference to Jordan, then moved away from him:
‘There were many communications with President Trump that day. Look, as you know, I believe that he — that while the rioters are primarily responsible for what happened, there’s no doubt in my mind that President Trump helped instigate and motivate the rioters and that’s one reason I voted to impeach him. The hallmark of our democracy is the peaceful transfer of power, and for anyone, the rioters, the president, anyone to try to interfere with the electoral college count is completely unacceptable.’
“I do not think it was right for the Speaker to decide which Republicans should be on the committee,” says GOP Sen. Susan Collins on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to reject two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks for the Jan. 6 select committee. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/qNS4N2Ep2C
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 1, 2021
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