Once again, the senior Senator from Kentucky Mitch McConnell is trying to block bipartisan legislation that will actually work. This, of course is nothing new from our long time Senator and it certainly won’t be the last time he pulls such a maneuver.  This blocking measure might be one of the most extreme yet.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Jan. 6th Commission bill on a vote of 252-175, an overwhelming majority. The bill would put in place an independent commission which would investigate and report to Congress what all happened. To me, that sounds like a measure that everyone should be able to get behind and support, but no, our Senator and top Republican will not. Seriously, how does one oppose a commission and probe into a deadly attack that is bipartisan in nature; five appointed by Democrats, five appointed by Republicans, subpoena power that has to be bipartisan, and can’t be current government officials. Again, that sounds fairly solid to me. 

McConnell has stated over and over that the Commission isn’t needed because there are already various investigations ongoing surrounding the Capitol riots on Jan. 6th, and that it would be another burden added both to Congress and law enforcement. That argument, I can’t agree with. After 9/11, surely there were many investigations that were ongoing, but Congress still found a way to get together and made a workable bipartisan commission for the good of this country. Even then, the attacks on 9/11 were much larger in scale and much more complicated. It almost brings me to believe that McConnell just doesn’t want a thorough investigation and would like to sweep this under the rug and focus on future elections. 

Due to the old relic of rules in the United States Senate, and the current 50-50 divided party composition, for the foreseeable future, the Jan 6th. Commission is dead on arrival. But Senate Democrats should not give up at that point. Chuck Schumer, along with the rest of the caucus should immediately bring up debate on the commission bill and get every person on record who filibusters the piece of bipartisan legislation. The people have the right to know if their Senator is standing up for them and standing up for common sense. 

Mitch McConnell has done enough damage during his Senate career; from blocking voter expansion bills to just pure obstructionism due to the letter next to any particular person’s name. The time of Mitch McConnell being the sole reason we can’t achieve meaningful progress must end, his power must be stripped and his relevance must be depleted. Here’s my call to you; make your voice heard, call and email all of the offices of Mitch McConnell and let them know that you’re a concerned citizen wondering why he’s blocking bipartisan measures that will finally let us know what happened on Jan. 6th. .