Posted on 10/05/2018 5:38:59 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday evening that she opposed Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, becoming the only Republican senator to come out against President Trump's nominee.
"I will be a no tomorrow," Murkowski said in a speech on the Senate floor after describing how she had come to lean against voting to confirm Trump's second nominee to the high court in a final vote on Saturday.
But Murkowski said that in the final tally she would ask that her vote be recorded as "present," saying she was doing it as a courtesy to Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is slated to attend his daughter's wedding back home on Saturday.
"I do this because a friend, a colleague of ours is in Montana this evening and ... he's going to be walking his daughter down the aisle and he won't be present to vote," Murkowski said. "I have extended this as a courtesy to my friend. It will not change the outcome of the vote."
Murkowski, who voted against ending debate on Kavanaugh earlier in the day Friday, said during her speech on the Senate floor that she "was leaning toward supporting Judge Kavanaugh in his nomination."
"But we know that in our role of advice and consent, it is not just the record itself. There is more that is attached to it," she added, mentioning "matters of temperament" and "demeanor."
Murkowski announced her decision hours after it became clear that Kavanaugh had enough votes to be confirmed.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced during her own speech on the Senate floor earlier Friday that she would back his nomination ahead of a final vote set for Saturday afternoon.
Collins's support gave Republicans the necessary 50 votes to allow Vice President Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote if necessary. Collins was soon joined by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who said he would vote for Kavanaugh, giving him the support of 51 senators.
Murkowski said Friday night that she agreed with many of Collins's comments defending Kavanaugh, saying she didn't think he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade or represented a threat to protections for people with preexisting conditions.
But she indicated that her confidence in his nomination was not high enough to bring herself to voting for him, given controversy swirling around allegations of sexual assault leveled against the nominee.
The Alaska senator acknowledged that it appeared that Kavanaugh would be seated on the Supreme Court "without my vote."
Murkowski pointed to Kavanaugh's combative testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, saying "that appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable."
She called the bitter nomination process for Kavanaugh "horrible" and "gut-wrenching," saying it had left "good people ... needlessly hurt."
On Lou Dobbs they reported that Mitch could hold the vote open all night if necessary in order for Daines to fly back...so they may have to pull him off the dance floor and do just that.
I think the Majority Leader's Gulf Stream V would work out just fine. A nice west to east tail wind would get him to DC in about 2 hours.
My only concern, based on the ruthlessness of the Left, is that while Daines is out partying, Murkowski and Manchin dishonor themselves and vote “no” and we get snookered on the vote. I just no longer trust anyone on the Left.
When and where did you read/hear this?
I think Feinstein threatened her family with an untimely accident.
Collins will be the only New Englander voting for confirmation.
“The idea is to elect Kav by two votes so he won’t be the firat Justice approved by just one vote since 1881! The media would love to run that story.”
You know what they call Judges confirmed by one vote?
Justice.
“Dainese will not be absent...Trump Jr said so”
I will not bet on it, but I’m guessing this deal was struck after Trump Jr. made that announcement. This indicates that Daines was willing to make every reasonable effort to accommodate the schedule of the vote AND be at his daughter’s wedding. It also means that someone (Trump?) was prepared to front the expense of a private jet so Daines could be at both important events.
Either way, by God’s grace and sovereign will, I anticipate Kavanaugh’s nomination will be confirmed tomorrow.
“Lisa Murkowski Should ‘Pair No’ with Steve Daines’s ‘Paired Yes’”
I think it is better she votes “present”. My reason is if the worst case scenario happens in which Vice President Pence must break a tie, it is better to do it than to give some possibility for the Dems to challenge the vote’s credibility later. A paired vote, if it ended with a 50-49 tally would not require Pence to vote. And if he did not do so, the actual vote could be challenged later as illegal. And you can be sure the Dems would have no problem arguing this with a straight face no matter how unreasonable it is.
Personally, I’m glad to see the tiniest hint of civility and humanity return to the process with this gesture. I’m cynical enough to realize that Murkowski is probably only doing this because it cushions the negative optics of her vote, but it does solve a legitimate logistics concern.
There is absolutely no way she will break this deal. Someone would have to be holding a gun to her head. So, don’t let it worry you. The deal is done. Any tomfoolery or terroristic acts done to stop what is now in motion is only going to backfire a thousand times worse than the Democrat antics have already done.
I’ll be praying for sure. But I do not expect to lose any sleep over this, unlike our senators.
Here’s a thought. Trump can make the daughter’s wedding truly memorable. Fly the entire wedding party to Washington DC, put them up at the Trump Hotel, provide the ballroom, and be a guest after the vote. And have Justice Kavanaugh preside along with their clergyman for the ceremony.
Liberal heads would explode, Trump nation would bust their buttons in rejoicing - major blast!
“Are you Batman? Yes I am.”
It’s another one of those political moves that I just don’t get.
Murkowski says “Blah Blah Blah”.
Whatever Lisa. Go sit in the corner for the next four years.
I see......
tie.
What’s that all about???
Plus Montana is 2 time zones ahead of Washington DC. Vote senator and catch a flight back. Maybe Mitch can let him vote first and he can head out ASAP. No excuses for him.
No...screw that; Daines is a stinking pile of excrement, selfish, arrogant, and should be fined and punished ! I hope that KARMA/the Trump Curse bites him and his family in the arse and soon!
Giving the vote to anybody without property was a mistake. They have no skin in the game.
A present vote is much better than a no vote!
It means her vote will not be counted on the Dem tally.
Supposedly it was on TWITTER ,last night and then posted all over this site. It was a damn SCAM!
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