I posted the following as a comment to another diary, and it was suggested that idea deserves its own diary for discussion. So here it is. I am admittedly opinionated in many cases. That comes with having observed over a 50+ year period how Washington politics works. But in this case, I find this Select Committee a fascinating moment, with the possibility of it becoming a real inflection point. I have no clue how this will turn out. it might be a dud or it might be one of the most important developments in the past 5 years. So I offer this for discussion:
In observing the wrangling about the Select Committee membership, the Cheney thing is the most interesting piece during this gestational period. The conventional wisdom is that she has already ruined her political career. I am not so sure about that. If this committee is managed/scripted/directed/orchestrated effectively, it will become a focus of media attention, and capture the attention of the public in ways that the impeachment hearings did not accomplish. That is a big “if” because Dems have historically not been very good at getting messages in front of the public. But this has a real chance.
And if Cheney becomes the only “principled voice on the right,” that actually gives her an opportunity to supersede McCarthy. I mean, who even knows who Kevin McCarthy is? Outside of the half million political junkies in this country, McCarthy is a nobody.
I can easily imagine Cheney asking some of the hard questions that Dems are afraid or unwilling to ask. And she should be given great latitude to represent her side, even if some of her inquiries are unwelcome by Dems. “Bipartisanship” does not mean equal numbers. It means a fair opportunity for legitimate points of view to be aired and challenged. I think there is a real possibility that Cheney could become the de facto leader of whatever remains of a “principled Republican Party.”
McCarthy had better think long and hard before he makes any more moves to sabotage this committee.