Steve Daines: Well, Mitch, it looks I won't be able to vote tomorrow afterall. I want to leave early to go to a party.
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."
I will donate to a Palin campaign NOW
Steve Daines: Well, Mitch, it looks I won't be able to vote tomorrow afterall. I want to leave early to go to a party.
Really good question. I wonder what the Senate rules are when the vote is 49 to 48?
Daines definitely needs to be there tomorrow as does Vice President Pence ought to be on hand to break a tie.
After all the twists and turns in this fiasco, I won’t be satisfied until the final confirmation votes are recorded.
If only . . .
By my count, Heitkamp, McCaskill, and Donneley should be pickups. I think one of FL, NJ, WV, or MT will be a pickup as well.
I think McSalley will pull it out in AZ. Heller is the most vulnerable Republican senator.
Well, he would not have had this conflict if not for flake and the dumbles...vote would have been last week.
Run Sarah Run!
She is such a waste. How did she get elected? Liberals stuffing the ballot boxes in Anchorage?
Voting present does not get counted as a no
That means if no one defects the dems have 49. With Murkowski voting present then they will never reached 50.
My brother was a trigger-puller in the 1960’s. He said they were told if they fell asleep while on duty - especially in the face of the enemy - they (U.S. soldiers) could be shot.
Yes we were and those who said it got VERY obnoxious, snide, and nasty, here, last night.
Her statement about it being a courtesy to her friend made zero sense...what did that even mean?
I hate to think about it, but we may need to help Collins if she runs again.
It isn’t, really.
Well, I doubt this photo is from today. She had a blue/green suit on for her floor speech.
Feinstein looks like the playground bully.
In Maine, Collins is as good as you’re going to get.
I listened to the first few minutes of Murk’s speech before having to leave. Is it just me or did she just say nothing of substance for the first several minutes? The manner of speech gave me the impression that she has a room temperature IQ. Is she putting style over substance as the reason for her decision? What a mess.
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