Kevin McCarthy tries to shift blame for the January 6 insurrection to law enforcement

[Nevilledog]

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Fred Wellman
@FPWellman
Not the people promoting the lies. Not the people who paid for them to come to DC. Not him and his colleagues who egged it on or spoke at the rally.

No it's the National Guard and cops for not being ready to be brutally attacked.

I say this sincerely. Go fuck yourself, Kevin.

Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
Kevin McCarthy tries to shift blame for the January 6 insurrection from Trump and Republicans who promoted the big like -- such as himself -- to law enforcement
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[Under The Radar]

1. I'll second that motion. Go fuck yourself, Kevin.

[Vinca]

15. Let me third it. Fuck yourself, Kevin.

[The Magistrate]

2. Oh, How We Do Back The Blue, Ma'am....

Personally, I do fault the police here for refraining from the use of deadly force. A few dozen rounds at close range in the early stages could well have dispersed the mob.

[Nevilledog]

4. Only problem is that we don't know how many were actually armed with guns, my dear.

Could have resulted in a very bloody shoot out. Not that I'd cry for the insurrectionists, but it might have led to getting members of Congress, staffers, and law enforcement killed.

[Probatim]

5. Police think everyone is armed anyway - shoot first, ignore questions.

Besides, a few heads popping open would have sent 99% of them running/shitting their pants. It would have been over before it started.

[The Magistrate]

7. I Agree, Ma'am

There are arguments on both sides. But if ever a police use of deadly force were justified, it would be in holding off an insurgent mob assaulting the nation's Capitol, or at the very least exacting a good toll among the rebels before they made it through the breach.

I will add that I accord every government such a right of self-defense, though certainly there are some I would much prefer were defeated in such an endeavor.

[Hekate]

12. After all the country went thru during the summer of protests, where loud but nonviolent people...

…were violently attacked not just by police but by unidentifiable armed and uniformed ??? — even in Washington, DC — you would have thought that the 1/6 Insurrection would not have played out like it did. 1/6 was so heavily advertised, if I may use the term, that even we here at DU knew what was coming, and that it would be hostile and dangerous.

The Capitol Police were so outnumbered it was pathetic. I wonder if initially some were “blinded by the white” and didn’t believe it would get that bad — until it did. I wonder what their standing instructions are, exactly, for the use of force, especially deadly force. I wonder why they did not fire — or was it that their small numbers were just overwhelmed on all sides so quickly?

I, too, wonder why they did not fire.

[StarfishSaver]

16. That would not have worked

A few cops cannot stop a raging crowd by shooting at them with handguns. They would have been overtaken, had the guns taken, probably gotten shot with them, and then the crowd would have continued to storm, but armed with more weapons. Even if they could have gotten off a shot or two before being taken down, it wouldn't have stopped the mob.

The best the police could do in this situation is what they did - and did really well, thank God: Use their bodies to hold people back and slow them down as much as possible so that the people they were protecting could get to safety.

I thought the same thing you did at first and just couldn't understand why they didn't use their guns. But then I talked to some former colleagues in federal law enforcement who explained to me that the rank and file Capitol Police were terribly undermined by their superiors, but they did exactly the right thing that day. Drawing and trying to fire their weapons in that environment would have resulted in a disaster.

[Hekate]

17. Ahh. Thank you.

[The Magistrate]

18. That Is Possible

But far from certain.

And had worst come to worst, the spectacle would have ruined the people and party that contrived it. The matter would have been put down by soldiers, and the wave of arrests have been epic. Corpses concentrate the mind.

When someone puts on the uniform of the state, whether in military or a police role, death or maiming may be part of the job. Something a French officer said to his men at Verdun sticks in my mind:

"Here is post of honor which they want to attack. On the day they decide to, they will massacre you to the last man and it is your duty to die."

[StarfishSaver]

19. This has nothing to do with those officers being afraid to put down their lives

They showed they were willing to do that when they risked their lives valiantly that day.

This is about the fact that shooting into the crowd would have done no good and would in fact had left the Capitol unprotected and the marauders with more arms and ammunition. Shooting a few people in the crowd would not have stopped the rampage. It just would have gotten them killed or captured for no good reason.

You know I respect you immensely. But on this one, I've gotta go with the assessment of the experienced federal agents and officers whom I have known for decades and whose knowledge and expertise I have every reason to trust. And I doubt any reputable law enforcement person would agree with you that Capitol Police should have shot into the crowd with their service weapons that day or that doing so would have resulted in a better outcome than actually occurred.

[The Magistrate]

20. We Will Have To Agree To Disagree Here Then

It happens.

[MagickMuffin]

3. Kevin you are playing with fire

and you are going to burn yourself

badly

and I can't wait for the end results!

[Jim__]

6. McCarthy has so many questions. You'd think he'd want a committee to investigate.

Hard to take this clown seriously.

[uponit7771]

8. We need to take 1/6 and beat the f**k outtah MAGA with it

[Solly Mack]

9. His ilk always blame the victims.

[gratuitous]

10. So it wasn't Antifa and BLM?

Goodness, I'm really going to have to do some catching up.

[tanyev]

11. FBI Antifa/BLM tourists. Keep up!

[Zorro]

13. Call it for what it is

A Republican coverup.

[11 Bravo]

14. Does this mean the mob was NOT composed of peaceful tourists?

FFS, Kev, your damned lies are difficult to keep up with.