Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger gave his farewell address as he ended his 6 term-career in “the people’s House.” It was a speech that got one (at least this one) all choked up. Not out of great emotion but more from feeling nauseous.
But first, a little pretext.
Kinzinger went to Congress as one of the golden boys of the Washington GOP establishment. He was one of their special “top guns,” as the National Republican Congressional Committee designated their favored candidates. Kinzinger was a middle-of-the-road Republican who paraded as a conservative – a designation only he and the left-wing media embraced. But he was not the worst of the so-called RINOs.
Along comes Donald Trump, and Republicans had to make a choice. Many – although never most – Republican voters went with Trump. Some, like me, were never supporters of Trump but saw his policies better than the Democrats. It was issued over personality – and ultimately a binary choice.
Other Republicans headed for the exit. Trump’s hatred trumped all other issues. Kinzinger fell into that camp. He voted to impeach. That seemed to get him a lot more interviews on CNN and MSNBC. But even that was not a deal-breaker for me. (In previous commentaries, I have opined that it was a tactical mistake for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to bounce Rep. Liz Cheney out of leadership. I would have let the voters of Wyoming decide her fate. I doubt she would be serving on Pelosi’s Committee if she was still in leadership – and neither would Kinzinger.)
Kinzinger sealed his fate when he agreed to accept House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation — along with Cheney — to serve as a shill on Pelosi’s one-sided kangaroo Select Committee supposedly holding “hearings” on the Capitol Hill riot. It was no longer about Trump, but an all-out attack on the Republican establishment … the Republican brand … and the conservative movement. For reasons that are not perfectly clear, Kinzinger chose to be the proverbial “useful idiot” for Pelosi and the left-wing Democrats.
It cost him his career in Congress – as well as it should have. He was no longer representing the voters who sent him to Congress. He lost the support of the local Republican establishment – as did Cheney.
Ironically, Kinzinger’s re-electability was never tested because it was the Illinois Democrats who forced Kirzinger out of office through redistricting – gerrymandering. He lost whatever slim chance he had for re-election.
In his last remarks from the house floor, Kinzinger gave the only speech he could. It was predictable. It was a self-praising speech with his head held high – a real chest-beater, back-slapper. He described himself in the noblest of terms – a brave man who stood up against the power of evil. He said it cost him not only his seat in Congress but also friends and family.
And then came the line borrowed from any number of Hollywood political movies. “But if I had to do it all over again, I would.” Jimmy Steward could not have said it better.
I did not see a noble person in that speech. I saw more of a whiner. Someone trying to grasp at some level of dignity in the face of a betrayal of the conservative voters who thought he represented their issues and their values.
Kinzinger leaves Congress with no friends on the GOP side – and I bet the Democrats will drop him since he can no longer serve their interests.
It was an ignominious end to a mediocre political career. Not sure what he will do in the future – although left-wing news platforms are always a good option for conservative Republican apostates. MSNBC and CNN have entire departments of false flag paid “contributors.”
To phrase from a famous speech applies to Kinzinger more than it die of the original author. The world will little note nor long remember what he said here.
So, there ‘tis.
