Red Wall Cracking: Republican Senator Collins: "President Made A Big Mistake"

[PoliTalker]

“I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins told Bangor Daily News. “It’s completely inappropriate.”

Who are (and were) the GOP holdouts on Lindsey Graham’s anti-impeachment bill?

" ... the original list of eight holdouts and hesitant senators was a conspicuous one. And they might be worth watching when it comes to whether Trump’s firewall against removal in the Senate starts to show cracks.

Here’s what we can say about them:

One was Romney, which perhaps isn’t surprising.
Two were the GOP senators facing reelection in blue states: Collins and Cory Gardner of Colorado.
The list included three of the four GOP senators who are retiring: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Johnny Isakson of Georgia (the last of whom is expected to resign at the end of the year and may not be around to vote in an impeachment trial).
The other two were Murkowski, an occasional holdout in situations like these, and Rob Portman (Ohio), whose place on this list might be the most interesting.

Apart from Romney, many of these members have talked about impeachment in similar terms. They have raised concerns about Trump’s actions, while also tossing in some comments about how it’s too early to impeach or critiques of the Democrats’ process.

“It’s inappropriate for the president to be talking with foreign governments about investigating his political opponents, but impeachment would be a mistake,” Alexander said earlier this

month. He added that the 2020 election would be better at deciding. Alexander has also declined to comment further, noting that he would be a juror in a Senate impeachment trial.

Collins has offered similar comments about being a juror, but she was even more critical of Trump’s request for China to investigate the Bidens.

“I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins told Bangor Daily News. “It’s completely inappropriate.”

...

Isakson, notably, has encouraged the Senate to investigate these matters.

“I don’t know whether he crossed the lines or not, but I know we’ve got the weight in the intelligence committees to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “They have the subpoena power to do it, and they have the authority to do it.”

Gardner has raised perhaps the most process complaints of the eight, calling the impeachment inquiry a “partisan exercise,” but he too has perhaps cracked the door to the idea that Trump did something wrong.

“We are going to get into an investigation of this. I know you want me to say things before the investigation occurs,” he said recently. “This is about impeachment of the president of the United States.”

Of the eight, Murkowski’s comments might be the most biting. After acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney last week admitted military aid was held up of because Ukraine hadn’t investigated a conspiracy theory that Trump favors (Mulvaney later recanted), Murkowski offered a sharp comment.

“Yes, absolutely it’s a concern,” she said. “You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative. Period.”

The third retiree, Enzi, has basically only said one word about all of this — “No” — when asked if he had a comment.

Which brings us to Portman. There was a time when Trump actually hailed Portman’s comments about all of this. But two weeks ago, Portman bucked.

“The president should not have raised the Biden issue on that call, period. It’s not appropriate for a president to engage a foreign government in an investigation of a political opponent,” Portman said. He also raised concerns about Trump’s praise for a former Ukrainian prosecutor general and said that “it may have been inappropriate” for Trump to involve Attorney General William P. Barr in the matter. But he added: “I don’t view it as an impeachable offense.”

Portman seems like as good a barometer as any for where this is going. The retirees might have more political leeway, and the vulnerable senators have reason to keep their powder dry. Few have been as upfront about their reservations as Portman, though, and this is a guy who apparently played a significant role in getting Trump to eventually release that military aid to Ukraine, after weeks of holding it up."

[Earl]

“I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins told Bangor Daily News. “It’s completely inappropriate.”

Who are (and were) the GOP holdouts on Lindsey Graham’s anti-impeachment bill?

" ... the original list of eight holdouts and hesitant senators was a conspicuous one. And they might be worth watching when it comes to whether Trump’s firewall against removal in the Senate starts to show cracks.

Here’s what we can say about them:

One was Romney, which perhaps isn’t surprising.
Two were the GOP senators facing reelection in blue states: Collins and Cory Gardner of Colorado.
The list included three of the four GOP senators who are retiring: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Johnny Isakson of Georgia (the last of whom is expected to resign at the end of the year and may not be around to vote in an impeachment trial).
The other two were Murkowski, an occasional holdout in situations like these, and Rob Portman (Ohio), whose place on this list might be the most interesting.

Apart from Romney, many of these members have talked about impeachment in similar terms. They have raised concerns about Trump’s actions, while also tossing in some comments about how it’s too early to impeach or critiques of the Democrats’ process.

“It’s inappropriate for the president to be talking with foreign governments about investigating his political opponents, but impeachment would be a mistake,” Alexander said earlier this

month. He added that the 2020 election would be better at deciding. Alexander has also declined to comment further, noting that he would be a juror in a Senate impeachment trial.

Collins has offered similar comments about being a juror, but she was even more critical of Trump’s request for China to investigate the Bidens.

“I thought the president made a big mistake by asking China to get involved in investigating a political opponent,” Collins told Bangor Daily News. “It’s completely inappropriate.”

...

Isakson, notably, has encouraged the Senate to investigate these matters.

“I don’t know whether he crossed the lines or not, but I know we’ve got the weight in the intelligence committees to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “They have the subpoena power to do it, and they have the authority to do it.”

Gardner has raised perhaps the most process complaints of the eight, calling the impeachment inquiry a “partisan exercise,” but he too has perhaps cracked the door to the idea that Trump did something wrong.

“We are going to get into an investigation of this. I know you want me to say things before the investigation occurs,” he said recently. “This is about impeachment of the president of the United States.”

Of the eight, Murkowski’s comments might be the most biting. After acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney last week admitted military aid was held up of because Ukraine hadn’t investigated a conspiracy theory that Trump favors (Mulvaney later recanted), Murkowski offered a sharp comment.

“Yes, absolutely it’s a concern,” she said. “You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative. Period.”

The third retiree, Enzi, has basically only said one word about all of this — “No” — when asked if he had a comment.

Which brings us to Portman. There was a time when Trump actually hailed Portman’s comments about all of this. But two weeks ago, Portman bucked.

“The president should not have raised the Biden issue on that call, period. It’s not appropriate for a president to engage a foreign government in an investigation of a political opponent,” Portman said. He also raised concerns about Trump’s praise for a former Ukrainian prosecutor general and said that “it may have been inappropriate” for Trump to involve Attorney General William P. Barr in the matter. But he added: “I don’t view it as an impeachable offense.”

Portman seems like as good a barometer as any for where this is going. The retirees might have more political leeway, and the vulnerable senators have reason to keep their powder dry. Few have been as upfront about their reservations as Portman, though, and this is a guy who apparently played a significant role in getting Trump to eventually release that military aid to Ukraine, after weeks of holding it up."

The Senate requires 68 votes, Snowflake.

They are not there.

[Truth Detector]

Red Wall Cracking: Republican Senator Collins: "President Made A Big Mistake"

Susan Collins was never a part of the Republican Party. She is a RINO. The red wall resides in the Senate where Democrats will NEVER see the 20 votes they need.

[Truth Detector]

The Senate requires 68 votes, Snowflake.

They are not there.

Correct!

[Getin the ring]

"red wall cracking"

[CFM]

Susan Collins was never a part of the Republican Party. She is a RINO. The red wall resides in the Senate where Democrats will NEVER see the 20 votes they need.

If Susan Collins thought she could win as a Democrat, she would have already changed parties and called herself what she is.

[Cypress]

Lamar Alexander: “It’s inappropriate for the president to be talking with foreign governments about investigating his political opponents, but impeachment would be a mistake.”

Lamar Alexander wanted Bill Clinton to resign from the presidency for lying about a bj with a consenting 24 year old woman.

[CFM]

Lamar Alexander wanted Bill Clinton to resign from the presidency for lying.

I fixed it for you.

If you claim Clinton's impeachment was about a blowjob, to say this farce is about anything other than you lefties still being mad about getting your asses kicked, you're a hypocrite.

[Getin the ring]

Lamar Alexander wanted Bill Clinton to resign from the presidency for lying about a bj with a consenting 24 year old woman.

she was actually 22 and just months out of college, and lucky for him she wasn't my daughter, I'd be cellmates with Hinckley

that being said I, like many republicans and democrats alike thought Bill Clinton was a lousy human being as evidenced by this, but it wasn't reason to impeach the president

[PoliTalker]

Hello Cypress,

Lamar Alexander wanted Bill Clinton to resign from the presidency for lying about a bj with a consenting 24 year old woman.

He's retiring; so he is free to vote his conscious now.

[Cypress]

she was actually 22 and just months out of college, and lucky for him she wasn't my daughter, I'd be cellmates with Hinckley

that being said I, like many republicans and democrats alike thought Bill Clinton was a lousy human being as evidenced by this, but it wasn't reason to impeach the president

I doubt you actually have a daughter or kids.

A 22 or 24 year old woman can have sex with whomever she likes, and its none of your damn business.

[Truth Detector]

If Susan Collins thought she could win as a Democrat, she would have already changed parties and called herself what she is.

True that!

[Truth Detector]

Lamar Alexander wanted Bill Clinton to resign from the presidency for lying about a bj with a consenting 24 year old woman.

He was correct; it wasn't about the BJ. It was about lying under oath and obstruction you assclown.

[Truth Detector]

she was actually 22 and just months out of college, and lucky for him she wasn't my daughter, I'd be cellmates with Hinckley

that being said I, like many republicans and democrats alike thought Bill Clinton was a lousy human being as evidenced by this, but it wasn't reason to impeach the president

I felt otherwise; BillyBob Clinton showed incredible poor judgment and should have been impeached for the admitted obstruction and lies under oath.

[Truth Detector]

I doubt you actually have a daughter or kids.

A 22 or 24 year old woman can have sex with whomever she likes, and its none of your damn business.

Yet you hypocritical morons on the left felt Trump should not be elected because of Stormy Daniels???? STFU you insufferable moron.