Republicans were for the most part AWOL during Friday’s interrogation of Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker before the House Judiciary Committee, but at least one of them stood up for common decency and decorum.
Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona, had listened to hours of rude, grandstanding, partisan and deceitful questioning by Democrats in the committee for hours before she got the chance to talk, but she made the most of her time.
“I have to say I’m very disappointed in this hearing,” she began, speaking for anyone who expected the session to be held in a dignified manner.
As she noted, it was supposed to be an oversight hearing, but hardly any policies of the Department of Justice were being discussed — just one thing was important to the Democratic hyenas: Get Trump! And since Whitaker was appointed by Trump, that meant it was OK to insult him, hound him, bully him, you name it. In particular, ask him questions for show, and then refuse to let him answer because he is a despicable Deplorable who should be seen and not heard. I had watched in stunned silence for several hours, but then finally when Lesko spoke out, I had something to cheer for.
“It’s nothing but character assassination, harassment of our witness, and it’s really disappointing,” said Lesko, who was elected in 2018. “At first I was mad… I said [the hearing] is a joke. But now I’m just sad. … here we are with a blatant political show that doesn’t help anything. I imagine if American people are watching this right now, they’d be shaking their heads like ‘What are you doing there?’ We need to work together to get things done.”
She was so right, but the empty chairs on the GOP side of the chamber were typical of the abject surrender typical of Republicans. The Democrats were there with knives out to ambush Whitaker, and Republicans were out taking a stroll, eyes carefully averted from the bloodshed.
Despicable.
Frank Miele writes from Kalispell, Montana, at www.HeartlandDiaryUSA.com and is a columnist at Real Clear Politics. To see more of my columns about the Dishonest Media, the Deep Swamp, the failed presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and Trump’s war to restore American greatness, read my “Why We Needed Trump” trilogy. The books are available at Amazon in paperback or Kindle editions. Also please considering leaving a review in support of my conservative commentary on one or all of my book pages at Amazon! Thanks!
