{"id":1511355,"date":"2022-06-11T22:06:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T02:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1511355"},"modified":"2022-06-11T22:06:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-12T02:06:31","slug":"w-james-antle-iii-the-january-6th-hearings-real-goal-stop-trump-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/w-james-antle-iii-the-january-6th-hearings-real-goal-stop-trump-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"W. James Antle III: The January 6th Hearings Real Goal: Stop Trump 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fw-james-antle-iii-the-january-6th-hearings-real-goal-stop-trump-2024%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1511355&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><span>Whatever information comes out of the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/live-blog\/-january-6-hearings-live-updates-rcna32135\"><span> Jan. 6 hearings<\/span><\/a><span>, the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/07\/us\/politics\/jan-6-hearings-watch-tv-channel.html\"><span> fact-finding<\/span><\/a><span> is secondary to the political impact. The public event is designed to prevent the country\u2019s current intractable problems from rehabilitating former President Donald Trump and to force other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/05\/the-gop-foreign-policy-civil-war-is-real\/\">Republicans<\/a> to either be seen as siding with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2021\/04\/yes-mainstream-media-helped-fuel-the-latest-capitol-attack\/\">violent fringe<\/a> or distancing themselves from<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/one-year-on-republicans-still-dont-consider-biden-the-rightful-winner-506702\/\"><span> 2020 election views<\/span><\/a><span> that are<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/11\/01\/1050291610\/most-americans-trust-elections-are-fair-but-sharp-divides-exist-a-new-poll-finds\"><span> widely held<\/span><\/a><span> by the party\u2019s rank-and-file.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>You can either side with the people who attacked the Capitol to prevent, or at least disrupt, the certification of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/06\/gun-sales-down-may-2022\/\">President Joe Biden<\/a>\u2019s election. Or you must distance yourself from Republicans who are suspicious of the fact that Trump led in several battleground states when they went to bed on election night and then woke up to a Biden lead, in a race defined by COVID protocols, mail-in voting, and ballot harvesting. While Biden\u2019s raw<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/2020-national-popular-vote-tracker\"><span> national popular vote edge<\/span><\/a><span> was solid, the constitutionally relevant Electoral College came down to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tribelaw\/status\/1339300875253264389?lang=en\"><span> 43,000 votes<\/span><\/a><span> in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/12\/02\/940689086\/narrow-wins-in-these-key-states-powered-biden-to-the-presidency\"><span> three states<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Still, the images of Jan. 6 were a national disgrace even if you believe some of the \u201cinsurrection\u201d talk is a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/january-s-capitol-riot-wasn-t-9-11-here-s-ncna1275344\"><span> bit overwrought<\/span><\/a><span> and the plans by some in Trump\u2019s orbit to bridge the vote gap through various fraud claims \u2014 with the full encouragement of the 45th president himself \u2014 were constitutionally dubious. And the apparent<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/06\/08\/politics\/man-arrested-near-brett-kavanaugh-home\/index.html\"><span> plot of murder<\/span><\/a><span> Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is stark reminder that political violence of any kind cannot be tolerated.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Some Democrats hope to take the next step beyond making voters believe Trump is too reckless and dangerous to return to the White House in 2024 and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/national-security\/588489-democrats-quietly-explore-barring-trump-from-office-over-jan-6\/\"><span> remove their option<\/span><\/a><span> to do so. The hope is that Trump can be implicated in the riot to the degree that a 14th Amendment provision designed to bar former Confederate leaders from public office can<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2021-01-11\/trump-2024-president-may-be-ineligible-after-u-s-capitol-riot\"><span> similarly disqualify him<\/span><\/a><span>. These dreams did not die with the failure of Trump\u2019s second impeachment to result in a Senate conviction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This has been tried against other down-ballot Republicans with varying degrees of involvement in the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has been<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/coloradonewsline.com\/2022\/02\/03\/lauren-boebert-versus-14th-amendment\/\"><span> targeted<\/span><\/a><span> for possible removal from the ballot in this manner. So have Arizona Reps.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/lawsuits-arizona-phoenix-constitutions-paul-gosar-fefc259cdb6cbf7cc9369c5f2f939c61\"><span> Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs<\/span><\/a><span>. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina was also a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/may\/25\/madison-cawthorn-appeals-court-insurrection-ruling\"><span> major focus<\/span><\/a><span> of these efforts, before Republican primary voters decided to<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/05\/17\/1099502290\/north-carolina-11th-congressional-district-results-madison-cawthorn\"><span> move on from him<\/span><\/a><span> themselves.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Attempts to use the 14th Amendment and a related<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2022\/03\/11\/opinion\/confederate-amnesty-act-must-not-insulate-jan-6-insurrectionists\/\"><span> 1872 federal law<\/span><\/a><span> to kick Trumpier Republicans off the ballot or out of office haven\u2019t<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/04\/us\/politics\/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-insurrectionist.html\"><span> fared especially well<\/span><\/a><span> in the courts, though there have been some favorable rulings. By and large, this looks like an extension of the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/blog\/fixgov\/2021\/01\/07\/invoke-the-25th-amendment-to-save-the-country-from-donald-trump\/\"><span> 25th Amendment fantasy<\/span><\/a><span> liberals and Never Trumpers engaged in, looking for a quick fix for the Orange Man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If supporters of Al Gore or Hillary Clinton who believed their candidates were the rightful winners of the 2000 and 2016 presidential elections, respectively, had rioted, would participants have been Confederate-style insurrectionists? If you<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/whoever-convinced-most-democrats-that-putin-hacked-the-election-tallies-is-doing-putins-bidding\"><span> believe<\/span><\/a><span>, as<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rasmussenreports.com\/public_content\/politics\/general_politics\/april_2022\/democrats_still_believe_russia_changed_2016_election\"><span> many Democrats do<\/span><\/a><span>, that Russia<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/today.yougov.com\/topics\/politics\/articles-reports\/2018\/03\/09\/russias-impact-election-seen-through-partisan-eyes\"><span> altered vote totals<\/span><\/a><span> and essentially installed Trump as president, that would appear to warrant a more forceful response than a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/\"><span> blog post<\/span><\/a><span> or sternly worded letter to the editor.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>The fact that nobody, or at least<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/john-eastman-jan-6-committee-159-documents\/\"><span> different people<\/span><\/a><span>, would be interested in applying these novel constitutional theories if the circumstances were different tells us what we need to know about the legal seriousness of this campaign. But from a practical standpoint, it also ignores the reason Jan. 6 happened in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/01\/the-january-6th-insurrection-was-a-national-wakeup-call-we-ignored\/\">first place<\/a>.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>A major factor in why Trump supporters breached the Capitol and revolted while supporters of Gore, Clinton or Stacey Abrams did not is that the most ardent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/05\/joe-bidens-2022-and-2024-campaign-strategy-a-war-on-maga\/\">MAGA<\/a> types believed Trump was a unique political figure who cared about marginalized people like themselves. You do not have to endorse this viewpoint to try to understand that it exists.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Having the bipartisan political establishment conspire to disenfranchise such people by employing obscure constitutional provisions in ways they have never been used before \u2014 the 25th Amendment, for instance, has mostly been invoked when a president has surgery, not as a backdoor impeachment mechanism \u2014 to remove their preferred candidates from office or the ballot will only further inflame their radicalization. This is, as surely as any bit of social media disinformation or misinformation, is what can lead an otherwise normal person to dress like an animal and defecate on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2019s desk.\u00a0<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><span>Just as Democrats felt about the GOP\u2019s endless Benghazi hearings, the more Jan. 6 investigations are deemed a political cudgel to be used to beat adversaries or push them out of public life, the less anyone will pay attention to whatever facts are uncovered.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p><em>Now a 1945 Contributing Editor,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/w-james-antle-iii\">W. James Antle III<\/a> is the\u00a0Washington Examiner\u2019s\u00a0politics editor. He was previously managing editor of the\u00a0Daily Caller, associate editor of the\u00a0American Spectator, and senior writer for the\u00a0American Conservative. He is the author of\u00a0Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped? You can follow home on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jimantle\">@Jimantle<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whatever information comes out of the Jan. 6 hearings, the fact-finding is secondary to the political impact. The public event is designed to prevent the country\u2019s current intractable problems from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1511355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1511355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1511355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1511355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1511355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}