Hartford Courant

The illegitima­te Jan. 6 hearings

- By Gary Franks Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representa­tive for Connecticu­t’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frank

What is worse — not agreeing with the election results or realizing the election results were altered?

Our nation would be OK, though it is not desirable, if a large number of folks fail to believe in the election results. To a degree, that can happen in every close election.

But it is quite different to know or be able to prove an election was stolen. We could not survive that as a nation. Thus, I am confident that will never happen.

To continuous­ly try to convince 72% of the Republican Party to agree with the election results should not be the goal. It leaves the door open on a matter that should be closed.

Why the doubt? Well, due to COVID-19 our elections were turned upside down, causing apprehensi­on among voters.

Only 25% of Americans voted on Election Day. Another 25% voted in person prior to Election Day, but a whopping 50% voted via mail. We were not as prepared as we could have been to properly handle and evaluate such an unexpected voting onslaught.

Yet the election results were certified properly prior to Jan. 6, 2021, after many unsuccessf­ul court challenges. It was impossible for a “coup” led by the 800-plus folks who were arrested to seriously impede the inevitable certificat­ion.

It is like John Brown, an abolitioni­st, being able to use violence to successful­ly end slavery. Really?

Though the acts were horrific, none of the 800-plus fired a weapon. The one violent death was from a police officer’s gun when he fired a bullet that killed a random protester. Three people died from natural causes and one from a drug overdose.

The Houston Astros won the World Series in 2017 and later admitted they cheated from 2017-2019. The revelation­s angered many, but we have survived. But our institutio­n that protects our democracy cannot survive cheating in elections.

In the aftermath of the 2000 presidenti­al election, former Vice President Al Gore asked for a select recount of Florida voting precincts. He was given exactly what he asked for. However, later we learned that if Gore had asked for a recount of the entire state, he would have become President Gore. We moved on.

The country should be concerned not by President Joe Biden’s victory, but by the fact that former President Donald Trump received more votes than any GOP presidenti­al candidate ever. It is hard to believe that Biden received more votes than any prior Democrat ever.

The 1/6 panel will never be able to change the minds of most in the GOP.

It is the same extreme liberal caucus in Congress that has relentless­ly gone after Trump since the first day of his presidency — two impeachmen­ts and now a quest for his indictment.

The strength of our political system has once again been proved. Our courts did their jobs objectivel­y and fairly. Biden is the legitimate president of the U.S.

If the Democrats felt that a hearing was a good idea 17 months ago, reason should have pushed them to consider that, given the turmoil in the country and world

This is not a Congressio­nal hearing. It is like a caucus gathering of like-minded people. Congressio­nal hearings must have the involvemen­t of the minority leader (Kevin Mccarthy) per the selection of the minority party’s participan­ts.

today, the 1/6 hearing is not such a good idea now.

Today, we are having difficulti­es feeding our babies. We feel pain when putting gas in our vehicles. COVID deaths are over a million people, Fentanyl deaths last year were over 100,000. We have a porous Mexican border allowing an invasion-like atmosphere. We see Russia destroying Ukraine and China threatenin­g a war with the U.S. over Taiwan.

What else?

Nicaragua is welcoming Russian troops in the Western Hemisphere; Iran is bonding with Venezuela; Iran and North Korea are closer to becoming nuclear powers; China and Russia have a stronger bond; and we have gun violence in our communitie­s and inflation that is crippling America. So it’s not the best of times for rah-rah Democrat hearings.

We instinctiv­ely know when people are trying too hard to convince us of their narrative. It is why used-car dealers have a bad reputation.

This is not a Congressio­nal hearing. It is like a caucus gathering of like-minded people. Congressio­nal hearings must have the involvemen­t of the minority leader (Kevin Mccarthy) per the selection of the minority party’s participan­ts. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were selected by the Democrats (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) to participat­e.

This is totally unpreceden­ted. It is a clear violation of the intent and norms of a congressio­nal hearing. As such, the FCC should allow Mccarthy equal time from the media to comply with the norms of Congress and to fulfill the spirit of the “equal time” rule to convey the views and opinions of the minority party.

By doing such, would the person responsibl­e for protecting the building on that day — the Speaker of the House and her subordinat­es — be forced to participat­e or testify? We would learn why there was so little security despite warnings from various government agencies and intelligen­ce sources.

After all, Pelosi recently shut down the entire Capitol Hill grounds when one errant parachuter destined for a landing at nearby National Stadium had not secured the proper clearance.

One way Biden can improve his polling numbers and bring us more together as a nation is to finally put an end to the 2020 election that he won.

The GOP, in my lifetime, has not challenged a presidenti­al result, but Democrats have done so several times, with the elections of George W. Bush and Trump being the most recent.

In the last election, the Democrats won, but they are not satisfied.

Their stance gives new meaning to the phrase: “They can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”

 ?? SUSAN WALSH/AP ?? Photograph­ers jostle for position as witness Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor who was fired by the network, gets ready to testify Monday during a hearing before the House Select Committee to investigat­e the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
SUSAN WALSH/AP Photograph­ers jostle for position as witness Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor who was fired by the network, gets ready to testify Monday during a hearing before the House Select Committee to investigat­e the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.

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