The ranking member of the "Jan. 6" Select Committee is Jim Banks of Indiana.  With Rep. Banks are Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, and Troy Nehls of Texas.

Rep. Jordan, possibly the most stalwart conservative in the House, views this Pelosi partisan political performance as Trump Impeachment 3.0.  Rep. Jordan is, arguably, only partly accurate in this regard.  A New York Times attack on GOP House members, a few weeks after the January 6 incident at the Capitol, suggests something even more sinister.

In alleging "Republican Ties to Extremist Groups," it is more likely than not that the Times expects that the speaker will use the "Jan. 6" committee as an inquisition panel, falsely, to tar as "extremists who should be expelled from Congress" any Republican unwilling to Cheney.  (This is to suggest that "Cheney" become a neologistic verb meaning "to grovel for approval from totalitarian-minded Democrats.)

It will be of some interest, this writer believes, to see the seating arrangements for this House Un-Woke Activities Committee, or HUWAC, a sad successor to the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) of the mid-20th century.  Will Liz Cheney be placed on the GOP side of the "Jan. 6" panel or the Democrat side?  Or will she be seated at a place all her own, apart from Republicans and Democrats?

My late father, Sol Zukerman, as wise as his name suggests, had pithy sayings for just about any situation. I think of the one I remember best, in anticipation of the workings of HUWAC: "No good will come of this."  Certainly no good will come of this if Pelosi's puppets, including Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren of California, and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, are permitted by the Select Committee chair Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, to monopolize the hearings for partisan, indeed inquisitorial, effect.  (This is to suggest to the five Republicans on the panel that they quit in protest if the proceedings indeed represent an inquisition — or, perhaps, to be more pertinent, a leftist show trial.)

Politico, as Democrat-biased a website as they come, posted a curious article, July 20, by Nicholas Wu and Olivia Beavers, called "Democrats begrudgingly accept [Kevin] McCarthy picks for Jan. 6."  The clear implication is that Speaker Pelosi should have wielded her "technical veto" power to make sure that all Republicans on the committee would Cheney.  Talk about undermining our democratic institutions.  What would be the next step — a Biden executive order banning any opposition party from Congress?

Who is Politico to accord Pelosi the power to name the Republicans, as well as her party puppets, to the committee?  It is bad enough that she stepped on the toes of House GOP leader McCarthy to name Liz Cheney to the select committee.  But wait — Pelosi's action should be seen as proof positive that Cheney is not really a Republican any longer.

Republicans Banks, Jordan, Davis, Armstrong, and Nehls have their work cut out for them.  Not only do they face eight totalitarian-leaning House members, but they also face the might of the Deep State and a near monolithic media as well.  This is to wish them Godspeed.

One additional thought for the Patriotic Five.  Please use your common sense and decline invitations to appear on the leftist Sunday morning TV panels that end up tearing into GOP guests with a "Have you stopped beating your wife?" mindset.  Stick to Tucker Carlson and any other reliable, fair, and honest media personality.  You will certainly be denounced by The New York Times and The Washington Post.  Wear the expected derision from these anti–First Amendment quarters as medals of which to be proud — and make the American people proud of you, as well.  In short, think MAGA!

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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