Right-wing Domestic Terrorism

[LFC]

Moscow Mitch makes his opposition to the investigation into the Jan. 6 Republican Insurrection official. He's parroting McCarthy but like the other Republicans he doesn't want a thorough, public investigation into his party's fascism and support for terrorists. What a shock.

“I’ve made the decision to oppose the House Democrats’ slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January the 6th,” he said.

He gave essentially the same reasons for his opposition that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) did Tuesday: there are already ongoing prosecutions and congressional investigations, and the commission should include a larger scope to encompass various other acts of political violence that are unrelated to Jan. 6.

GOP leadership quickly fell in line.

“I am concerned that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are going to make this absolutely as partisan as they can. That’s by their design,” GOP conference chair Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) told reporters. “And I don’t think there’s anything to be served by that.”

Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the minority whip, told reporters that the commission is not something that they’ve “assessed or whipped yet,” but said that there’s “skepticism about what’s happening in the House right now and whether what comes out will be a proposal that’s fair.”

[goldenvalley]

Trump and his loyalists are absolutely convinced that the protests of the summer were exactly the same thing as what happened on 1/6. Right wing media devotees saw nothing but flames, smoke, and looters night after night. That smoke was probably mostly tear gas. Nothing on earth, not a commission to study them with a conclusion that the two situations were not the same will ever change their minds.

[LFC]

Right-wing domestic terrorism in Redding, CA. I hate bullies. Maybe Melania Trump can have a talk with him.

But the tensions in Redding go back months — to at least August, when, at a board of supervisors meeting, Zapata raged at COVID-19 restrictions, saying that “right now, we’re being peaceful, and you better be happy that we’re good citizens, that we’re peaceful citizens. But it’s not going to be peaceful much longer.”

Zapata said he wasn’t making a threat, but then added: “Good citizens are going to turn to real concerned and revolutionary citizens real soon.”

That rant was featured in the opening minutes of “Red, White and Blueprint,” a red-blooded documentary series for which Zapata serves as a producer. He also acknowledged fundraising and selling merch for his work: “These documentaries are not cheap to produce,” he told the Times.

Pinkney, who also goes by Nathan Blaze, has skewered the documentary project relentlessly.

“We’re going to do what we got to do,” he said in one video, seemingly mocking the gritty start of Zapata’s work. “We’re going to strap up our dang ol’ boots, ride our horses across an empty field in slow motion.”

Off-screen, Shasta County’s politics have seen a mounting series of confrontations: At a Black Lives Matter rally last year, the “Cottonwood militia,” of which Zapata is a member, showed up armed. “Several came across the street, getting in our face,” activist Keito Obadiah told the Times.

Then, in December, Zapata made another comment — he now says it was totally not a threat — directed at people who informed authorities of businesses violating COVID-19 health orders.

“We know where you live. We know who your family is. We know your dog’s name,” he said.

The following month, in January, two county supervisors — the two who are not the targets of the right-wing recall effort — opened the doors to the county chambers for an in-person meeting audience, earning them a censure from the board for violating the board’s decision to keep the meeting online-only.

The three supervisors who voted for that censure are now the subject of the recall effort.

“Their agenda is, ‘If you don’t agree with us then we have to get rid of you,” one of the targeted supervisors, Leonard Moty, told the Times. “I am concerned for individuals in our community.”

On Sunday, Pinkney released another of his “Red, White and Boomhauer” parodies — this time, focused on “How to threaten people and get away with it.”

[LFC]

This is what happens when you no longer have shame. Republicans are openly admitting that they don't want the Jan. 6 Republican Insurrection investigated because it won't play well for 2022.

Senate Republicans are candidly admitting their political calculus in opposing a January 6 commission: they don’t want it to encroach on the 2022 midterms, during which they worry it would be “weaponized politically.”

In other words, they don’t want voters reminded of the attack their leader and party provoked as they mull over their ballots.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the Senate minority whip, told reporters that he didn’t want the probe “weaponized politically and drug into next year.”

“A lot of our members, and I think this is true of a lot of House Republicans, want to be moving forward and not looking backward,” he said. “Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 elections I think is a day lost on being able to draw a contrast between us and the Democrats’ very radical left-wing agenda.”

[LFC]

WTF? Even their attorneys are nuts. Hyperbole much?

Albert Watkins, the attorney representing infamous "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley, doubled down on his claim that MAGA rioters were "f*cking retarded" during a trainwreck CNN interview.

At the start of the interview, CNN host John Berman informed him that the Special Olympics considers calling someone "retarded" to be a form of hate speech -- but Watkins said that the descriptor in this case was actually an act of compassion intended to draw attention to the plight of his client and other MAGA rioters, whom he said suffered from developmental disabilities.

"I'm doing that which is necessary to put absolutely in the spotlight the fact that our nation is running a gulag!" he said.

Watkins then accused the United States government of "in effect taking people with vulnerabilities, with special needs, with sensitivities that put them in a category of being outside of what medical science may say is the bell curve of normalcy."

Watkins also said his client was being held in inhumane conditions.

"We're putting them in solitary confinement!" he said. "You ask any doctor the way to treat people who are vulnerable is not to put them in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day!"

Berman told Watkins that he could have made that point about solitary confinement without using bigoted slurs.

"Vulgar, hurtful language, I don't think, is a good way," he said.

"The good news is, I don't work for you," a defiant Watkins shot back.

[LFC]

The House passed the bill to set up the Jan 6 Insurrection Commission. Apparently it's news that a whole 35 Republicans voted to stand up against a direct attack on America. Sad.

A minor Republican jailbreak Wednesday afternoon catapulted the January 6 commission bill to a landslide passage, delivering an embarrassing blow to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

In all, 35 House Republicans joined all of the Democrats. McCarthy announced his opposition to the bill on Tuesday.

The vote came after an emotional — and at times odd — floor debate over the bill, with bill co-author Rep. John Katko (R-NY) oftentimes dispersing speaking time to fellow Republicans who then bashed his proposal.

It ended on a powerful note, with Katko delivering remarks punctuated by his smacking of the lectern.

“I ask you to set aside politics just this once,” he said banging on the wood with every word, “just this once — I beg you — and pass this bill.”

“These people every day are willing to lay down their lives for us,” he said, emphasizing the last word. “They deserve better and we’re gonna deliver this.”

Chant-like, he spelled out the litany of names of the officers who died as a result of the insurrection.

“We are doing this not for us and not for politics — we’re doing it for them,” he finished, the chamber breaking into applause.

Of course Moscow Mitch is making sure the commission goes nowhere. If that's the case then Democrats in both the House and Senate need to create their own investigative panels modeled after the one the Republicans set up to "investigate" Hillary Clinton. That means they get minority representation, no power to subpoena, and basically get to watch what happens.

[LFC]

CNN has a list of the 35 Republicans who voted for America.

[LFC]

Moron McCarthy and Moscow Mitch are caught up in their own lies (paywalled), not that the MAGAts care as long as they protect Dear Leader.

When impeachment was on the table, the House minority leader was all about putting together a Jan. 6 commission in lieu of a trial.

As journalist David Freedlander pointed out this morning, McCarthy and other Republicans in leadership were hellbent on opposing impeachment (the second one) for a number of reasons, including that a bipartisan commission had not reviewed the events surrounding and during the insurrection.

David Freedlander
@freedlander

Worth remembering that in January, Republican lawmakers--including Kevin McCarthy--argued against impeaching Trump because a bipartisan investigative commission on the events of 1/6 would be more appropriate

I checked the tapes. During a House floor speech on Jan. 13, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) argued that impeaching former President Trump in such a “short time frame would be a mistake,” but offered that Trump was not “free from fault.”

“The President bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding,” McCarthy said, before diving into why impeachment was the wrong move for the moment.

“These facts deserve congressional action — which is why I think a fact-finding commission and a censure resolution would be prudent,” he said.

Oh, how long ago that now seems.

[LFC]

Heather Cox Richardson on the GOP fight to cover up the Jan. 6 Republican Insurrection. This is what one Democratic Representative had to say to most of his Republican colleagues.

Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH) spoke for those of us who are gobsmacked that anyone could say we do not need to investigate the most profound attack on our democracy in our history. He thanked the Republicans supporting the creation of the independent commission and then turned on the rest. “Benghazi. You guys chased the former secretary of state all over the country, spent millions of dollars. We have people scaling the Capitol, hitting the Capitol police with lead pipes across the head, and we can’t get bipartisanship. What else has to happen in this country? Cops: this is a slap in the face to every rank-and-file cop in the United States. If we’re going to take on China, if we’re going to rebuild the country, if we’re going to reverse climate change, we need two political parties in this country that are both living in reality—and you ain’t one of them.”

And then there's this on their hypocrisy and their latest refusal to protect America. They did the same when it came to Russian interference in our elections.

All of this matters because the January 6 insurrection was an attack on our democracy, and the Republican Party has concluded that they do not want us to know what happened. A number of Republicans have said they believe that “Antifa” was behind the riot; if they really thought that were the case, wouldn’t they want an investigation?

The only logical conclusion is that they are afraid of what an investigation will uncover. And, in fact, that’s precisely what Republican senators are saying: they do not want an investigation to color the 2020 election. Today Senate Republican whip John Thune (R-SD) said that the findings of any investigation “could be weaponized politically and drug into next year” (although the bipartisan agreement requires the investigation to be over by the end of 2021). After years of weaponizing investigations—Benghazi, Secretary of State Clinton’s emails, Hunter Biden—the Republicans are facing an investigation, based in reality, that likely will reflect badly on them. They want no part of it.

[Deleted]

But...but... we need to finish the Benghazi investigation first. Then comes Hunter the hunted. Election fraud. That's going to take up a whole lot of time. After that if anyone's still interested, maybe then. So wait your turn.

[LFC]

McCarthy said he'd testify before the committee that he did everything he could to kill.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) affirmed Thursday that he would testify before a January 6 commission — after doing all he could to make sure one never happens.

“Sure,” he said flippantly when asked if he’d hypothetically testify, quickly moving on to the next question.

While he cut off reporters’ questions fairly quickly, he did do some minor spin on Wednesday’s embarrassing floor vote. Despite his stated opposition and last-minute whipping against a bipartisan bill to set up the January 6 commission, 35 Republicans voted for it. For context in this hyper-partisan time, that’s more than three times the number who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for catalyzing that same attack.

“I thought it would probably be higher,” McCarthy said of the defectors.

He went on to bash the “Pelosi commission,” an attempt to rebrand it away from its true nature — a deal made by House Homeland Security committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and ranking member John Katko (R-NY), the latter of whom McCarthy reportedly deputized to conduct the negotiations in the first place. McCarthy went public with his opposition to the bill on Tuesday, leaving Katko out to dry.

Meanwhile America's dumbest Senator is going to get to the bottom of things himself!

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Wednesday railed against a bill for a bipartisan commission intended to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, suggesting he was at work on his own investigation into the events which he claimed had involved peaceful protests and a few “agitators.”

“I’m doing my own investigation to really accurately recreate what happened on January 6th but Nancy Pelosi’s commission is not going to dig into this in any bipartisan fashion,” Johnson said during a Fox News interview. “She gets to pick all of the staff members. This is a joke and should be voted down.”

Johnson told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that in the aftermath of the riot he had “talked to people that were there,” who seemed to agree that the attack, which left five people dead, had been peaceful.

[goldenvalley]

I don't know that the Senator from Wisconsin is dumb in this. He's playing to the crowd that heard from evil libs that the summer protests were peaceful but for some bad actors who just want to loot and to create general mayhem. His audience is thinking, yeah the libs said it so we can too! See how they like a taste of their own BS!

[Deleted]

May 20, 2021 19:55:35 GMT LFC said:

Meanwhile America's dumbest Senator is going to get to the bottom of things himself!

Sen. Tubby Tupperware from AL contests that claim vehemently.

[AnBr]

May 20, 2021 19:55:35 GMT LFC said:

Meanwhile America's dumbest Senator is going to get to the bottom of things himself!

Lots of competition for that title. *cough*Imhoff(R-Snowball), Corbin, Cornyn, Grassley, etc.*cough*

[LFC]

May 21, 2021 2:14:21 GMT AnBr said:

May 20, 2021 19:55:35 GMT LFC said:

Meanwhile America's dumbest Senator is going to get to the bottom of things himself!

Lots of competition for that title. *cough*Imhoff(R-Snowball), Corbin, Cornyn, Grassley, etc.*cough*

And America's dumbest Representative just admitted he knows everybody thinks knows he's dumb ... and then said more dumb shit! Of course there's stiff competition for that title too with Lauren "GED Barbie" Bohbert, Marjorie "Jewish Space Lasers" Taylor Greene, Gym "Trump Not Responsible for Capitol Attack" Jordan, Devin "I Lost to a Fake Cow" Nunes, Paul "George Soros Orchestrated the Charlottesville Nazi Rally" Gosar, and on and on.

[AnBr]

If you are going to get into the House for dumbest, the competition is pretty deep.

[LFC]

Josh Marshall posted The Growing Specter of Violence (paywalled). They really are trying to destroy American democracy in a desperate bid to retain power and, of course, use it to beat on those dirty libs.

Political violence is always anathema to democracy. This is the case not least because what we think of as civic democracy requires high-trust environments over high-fear environments. The latter make civic life brittle and tenuous. But what is really lethal to democracy is less acts of terroristic, high profile violence (say an Oklahoma City bombing) but when violence and the threat of violence begin to seep into the ordinary process of governmental decision-making. And of late I’ve seen smatterings of examples of this from around the country. The numbers are very, very small – at least the ones I’ve seen. So I don’t know whether I’m simply seeing them more, or whether they are just the knock-on effects of the massive disruptions of COVID or something more persistent and grave.

On Wednesday Matt Shuham published this story about Shasta County, California where a local ‘militia’ is threatening violence if the country doesn’t draw down COVID safety protocols more quickly.

TPM Reader SK let me know about this story from Oregon. A local amusement park called Enchanted Forest was finally reopening as the pandemic recedes. But they received a series of threats about their policy of requiring masks for unvaccinated visitors. So in response they called off their reopening.

I have also received a number of reports – from whatever reason, many in California – of local registrars of voting getting threats of various sorts tied to ballot fraud or Big Lie conspiracy theories. Most of these are pretty vague and nebulous. One instance is in San Luis Obispo County in California where Republicans have been targeting the Asian-American County Clerk-Recorder, Tommy Gong, demanding audits and recounts of the results. One speaker at a recent public meeting accused Gong of belonging the Chinese Communist party and another letter writer said “We The People are coming for your corrupt head.” Partly in response the County has reverted back to the pre-2020 voting system.

Again, it’s a big country. Perhaps there’s less of a pattern here than I think. But my sense from reading various stories and emails from readers is that there’s a lot of insurrection type energy bubbling up at the local level that is perhaps not getting attention in the national news conversation because it’s so diffuse.

So if you’re seeing stuff in your locality, please let us know. Obviously, if there’s a militia threatening local government leaders we want to know about that. But I’m also interested in menacing Big Lie type activism. Often it’s in areas that that aren’t strongly conservative – more like conservative factions in generally moderate or liberal areas. I want to hear about any stories in which threats of violence or simple campaign of menacing public officials is insinuating itself into the process of governance.

Keep your eyes open and let me know what you see.

[LFC]

And here comes the excuse making and the foot dragging. Sen. Roy Blunt says it's too early to have a commission investigating the Jan. 6 Republican Insurrection.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) on Sunday quipped that it’s “too early” to create an independent commission to probe the deadly Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, following the House’s passage of the bill for the commission’s formation that now faces an uphill battle in the 50-50 Senate.

Asked about his confidence in Senate Republicans blocking the creation of the Jan. 6 commission during an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Blunt said he and other Senate Republicans think it’s “too early” to create the commission investigating the Capitol attack, arguing that commissions fail to meet expectations.

“Commissions often don’t work at all and when they do work, like the Simpson-Bowles commission, produced a good result, nothing happened as part of that result,” Blunt said.

Blunt said the formation of the commission that investigated 9/11 happened about 14 months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks as his rationale for arguing that it would take several months for a commission modeled after it to investigate the breaching of the Capitol.

Susan Collins continues to be the same old miserable puke she's always been as she desperately tries to sound reasonable. Given her track record of words over votes I don't believe a thing she says.

Collins replied that she “strongly” supports the Jan. 6 commission’s creation, before trying to clarify the conditions that she believes are needed in order for her to green light the commission.

“I believe there are many unanswered questions about the attacks on the Capitol on January 6th. We need to figure out how we can enhance security, why we weren’t better prepared, and we want the Capitol to be an open, accessible symbol of our democracy,” Collins said. “So I support the creation of a non-partisan, bipartisan commission.”

Collins, who was one of the handful of Republicans that voted to convict Trump for inciting the mob behind the Capitol attack, added that there are two “resolvable” issues with the proposed legislation that passed the House last week.

“One has to do with staffing, and I think that both sides should either jointly appoint the staff or there should be equal numbers of staff appointed by the chairman and the vice chairman,” Collins said. “The second issue is, I see no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year. The commissioners have to be appointed within ten days. There’s plenty of time to complete the work.”

[LFC]

More right-wing domestic terrorism and Republican fascism. Anybody making threats needs to be arrested, jailed, refused bail, and tried in a court of law. They need to be crushed.

Another one of those sign of the times story. A bar owner in Troy, New York, Matt Baumgartner, reopens with a rule that patrons must show they’re vaccinated before entering the bar. He’s then inundated by calls, something threatening violence in response to his decision. “They’re all saying the same thing: that I’m a Nazi, that I’m anti-American.” Most of the calls seemed to be coming from Florida.

Then there’s Bill McCamley, former Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. He resigned his position recently and at first it wasn’t clear whether he’d resigned voluntarily or been forced out. Last week he revealed that he resigned because of a rising tide of threats to his and his family’s safety. He’s also chosen to move out of the state because of the volume of threats.

Just before the election last fall a New Mexico state senator, Jacob Candelaria, was forced to flee his home over death threats after being publicly critical of people gathering without masks at a political protest outside the state capitol.

[Deleted]

May 24, 2021 15:43:54 GMT LFC said:

Susan Collins continues to transform herself in to become the same older miserable putrid puke she's always been aspired to become

There! Punched it up for you.

[LFC]

The mother of Officer Sicknick who died due to the Jan. 6 Republican Insurrection has made a request to meet with every single Republican senator to pressure them into voting for an independent commission. (Paywalled.)

The mother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol police officer who died after the insurrection, is trying to pressure Senate Republicans to take the Jan. 6 commission bill seriously.

While the legislation that would establish a bipartisan commission to look into the insurrection passed in the House — with 35 Republicans bucking party leadership to approve the measure — only Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have signaled support for the bill.

As Politico was first to report, Gladys Sicknick has requested meetings with the offices of every single Republican senator, hoping to advocate for an independent review of the insurrection that turned deadly. Brian Sicknick died a day after responding to the violent attack after suffering from a stroke. When news of Sicknick’s cause of death was released in April — deemed “natural” causes by Washington’s chief medical examiner — some in conservatives pointed to that finding to downplay the severity of the mob attack. The determination also seriously inhibited federal prosecutors from bringing homicide charges in his death because he didn’t die of injuries.

But Gladys Sicknick’s involvement — coupled with recent support for the commission from the law enforcement community — ramps up the pressure on Senate Republicans. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. Police officer Michael Fanone, who was injured while responding to the attack, has reportedly been trying to meet with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who came out against the commission before the House vote. Additionally, an unverified and unsigned but widely circulated letter printed on Capitol Police letterhead last week went after Republicans for opposing the bipartisan review.

Gladys Sicknick gave Politico a powerful statement on her objectives, calling on GOPers who oppose the measure to “visit my son’s grave.”

Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day. I suggest that all Congressmen and Senators who are against this Bill visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward. … Putting politics aside, wouldn’t they want to know the truth of what happened on January 6? If not, they do not deserve to have the jobs they were elected to do.

While McConnell and McCarthy have publicly given a laundry list of bad faith reasons for opposing the commission, including the claim that it should also investigate the mostly peaceful racial justice protests last summer. But some are saying the real rationale out loud: It’s all about the midterms.

[LFC]

MAGAts in Costa Mesa protested the mayor's home over COVID restrictions last summer. OK, that's pretty stupid but wait, there's more! She's now a county supervisor and they're planning on protesting her at her home again over restrictions that don't even exist. Gawd, these angry, arrogant, ignorant, and blindingly stupid people piss me off.

Much has changed. The animosity has not.

Earlier this month, protesters descended on the home of Dr. Clayton Chau, the county’s health officer (his predecessor resigned last year after being doxxed and personally threatened). And now, a post is circulating on Facebook and Telegram with Foley’s picture, calling on people to “protest OC board member” and characterizing the Thursday evening event as a “house visit.” It has her home address at the bottom.

“Who knows who’s gonna show up at my house,” Foley said. “It’s a little concerning that it could be something more than people expressing their political views.”

[snip]

Foley mentioned that the last county meeting had drawn 700 people, many of whom were mad about the same things she expects people to protest at her home: mandated “vaccine passports” and requirements that children get the COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. Neither of which the county is doing.

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." --George Carlin

(I'd add "danger" to that quote.)

[goldenvalley]

May 27, 2021 14:25:02 GMT LFC said:

MAGAts in Costa Mesa protested the mayor's home over COVID restrictions last summer. OK, that's pretty stupid but wait, there's more! She's now a county supervisor and they're planning on protesting her at her home again over restrictions that don't even exist. Gawd, these angry, arrogant, ignorant, and blindingly stupid people piss me off.

Much has changed. The animosity has not.

Earlier this month, protesters descended on the home of Dr. Clayton Chau, the county’s health officer (his predecessor resigned last year after being doxxed and personally threatened). And now, a post is circulating on Facebook and Telegram with Foley’s picture, calling on people to “protest OC board member” and characterizing the Thursday evening event as a “house visit.” It has her home address at the bottom.

“Who knows who’s gonna show up at my house,” Foley said. “It’s a little concerning that it could be something more than people expressing their political views.”

[snip]

Foley mentioned that the last county meeting had drawn 700 people, many of whom were mad about the same things she expects people to protest at her home: mandated “vaccine passports” and requirements that children get the COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. Neither of which the county is doing.

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." --George Carlin

(I'd add "danger" to that quote.)

If this sort of crap keeps up no one will run for elected office who isn't in it for some sort of grift.  Is this the result of some sort of plan?  I don't know.  I sort of wish it were because then we know what to look for.  If this is the result of stupid people acting en masse as a mindless blob, then we are even more doomed than we are in the first scenario.

[Bact PhD]

A "not-Like" Like. Unfortunately, I find myself concurring with this grim assessment.

[LFC]

Manchin and Sinema are reduced to begging enough Republicans to vote for a Jan. 6 commission. Sad. BTW how's that dug in position on the filibuster workin' for you two? About like everybody said it would?

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on Thursday took aim at Republican senators’ argument for opposing the House-passed Jan. 6 commission bill, a rationale that puts partisan gains over accountability for the deadly Capitol insurrection that former President Trump incited.

Manchin and fellow moderate Sen. Kristen Sinema (D-AZ) implored Republicans on Tuesday to back the commission in hopes of gaining the support of the 10 Republicans needed for the bill’s passage. The two are, conveniently, also the main roadblocks to Senate Democrats’ efforts to abolish the filibuster; the 60-vote threshold that stands as a substantial hindrance to President Biden’s legislative agenda.

On Thursday, Manchin doubled down in his pleas to GOPers, dismissing Republican’s flimsy argument that supporting the commission would taint the party’s messaging and therefore its chances of winning races during next year’s midterm elections.

After issuing his statement, Manchin denied to reporters that his statement was “fiery,” but rather “honest.”

“I’m hoping we have enough good Republican friends that look at it from the standpoint and want to get the truth out,” Manchin said. “Democrats have basically given everything they asked for any impediment they would have been there and there’s no reason not to now, unless you just don’t want to hear the truth.”

While the statement is an aggressive call to his GOP colleagues, it’s a lot of talk for Manchin, who also said he remains opposed to breaking the filibuster and lowering the 60-vote threshold to get the bill passed through the Senate.

“I’m not ready to destroy our government,” Manchin said. “I think they will come together, you have to have faith that there’s 10 good people.”