“Thank you for your service.” Most Americans use the phrase when they see a member of the military at the airport or in the supermarket. We should also now use it whenever we see Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.
Not only did their presence on the Jan. 6 committee, which delivered historic criminal referrals of a former president this week and releases its final report today, create a truly bipartisan panel. They also demonstrated a sense of integrity and self-sacrifice — both Republican House members surrendered their seats and likely any hope they might have had of ever seeking higher office — rarely seen in politics.
They remain limited-government, pro-life, pro-military conservatives. They also happen to oppose insurrection against the U.S. government. Their commitment to that principle has left them without a party.
The Republican Party officially censured both Cheney and Kinzinger for serving on this committee. But the record shows that, unlike so many other GOP leaders — notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — they actually upheld their vows to the Constitution.
A brief history of the committee’s formation serves to illustrate the point. The initial idea — and the wisest one — was to create a nonpartisan panel modeled after the 9/11 Commission. McCarthy authorized Rep. John Katko of New York (a Republican who voted to impeach Trump) to negotiate how the commission would be organized and operate. In May 2021, Katko announced an agreement that got everything that McCarthy wanted.