Adam Kinzinger has the ultimate insider’s view. A member of the House Select Committee who remains a staunch Republican, Kinzinger, says that the hearings are having an effect in wearing down Trump support but perhaps not the type that liberals hoped for. Kinzinger says that the hardcore Trumpers in Washington (as opposed to the countryside) are turning to the point that they hate him, even while remaining quiet. Meanwhile, Kinzinger believes that the hearing’s biggest impact will be to ensure that Trump will never be able to get enough votes to win a general election again.
All of the above sounds wonderful until one considers the fact that the Republicans have already “canceled” out a lot of votes with laws restricting the franchise, along with many other GOP anti-democratic policies.
Kinzinger appeared on ABC’s This Week to Explain the dynamic as he sees it.
Video of Adam Kinzinger on ABC’s This Week:
He chuckled while talking about his fellow Republicans in the House:
“On the House, I don’t know. Because I’ve been — every day, I cease to be amazed at how much they are willing to accept and not say anything.”
Kinzinger then got more serious:
“In terms of Republicans in general, you have kind of the bulk of Republican voters. This doesn’t appear to be having a ton of impact. Maybe people are shifting more towards a potential for a Ron DeSantis. Trumpism isn’t dying even though Trump is becoming irrelevant.”
Ron DeSantis is nothing but “Trumpism Done Competently” with perhaps slightly less Russian influence. “Trumpism,” whether it’s brought to you by Trump, DeSantis, or Nikki Haley, holds out the Russian government is the ideal. One party control, meaningless elections, meaningless legislative affairs, meaningless courts, and hardcore kleptocracy. That is Trumpism. It’s actually getting stronger as it tours six months of the year. One weekend it’s CPAC Cincinnati. Next, it’s TPUSA Tulsa. Politics as entertainment. Every weekend they play a new “gig.” Every weekend is another payday. Nothing is free, especially the vote.
Kinzinger moved on:
“I’m hearing a lot of anecdotal stuff around the edges of people who have been, you know, hardcore with Trump but now just can’t stand him. It’s enough to make a bit of difference within maybe a GOP primary. But I think on the bigger term, it’s denying anywhere near 50% of the American voters willing to basically go along with something like the coup on Jan. 6.”
No one on the left is actually worried about the majority of the public opposing Trumpism, or even just regular Republicans. Of course, Trump would lose in a general election, but only if we had a “real” general election. But the way the GOP is moving with limits on voting, liberals worry far more about whether we have legitimate elections than whether we’re the legitimate majority. Oh, and it is likely that a lot of those Washington “hardcore Trumpers” hated him long ago.
We don’t need a committee for that. But Kinzinger’s work is appreciated.
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
