GOP Sen. Toomey Says Trump Can’t Be The GOP Nominee In 2024 Because He Cost Republicans Senate And White House

Posted on March 6, 2021 by LifeZette

Retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) spoke out on Friday to say that former President Donald Trump should not be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

It should be noted that Toomey was one of the Republican senators who voted to impeach Trump in his second impeachment trial last month.

Neil Cavuto Questions Toomey

Toomey made his latest comments on this while appearing on Fox News Channel’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”

“I know you’re leaving the Senate,” host Neil Cavuto said. “You got into a storm of controversy with your own state GOP because you voted to convict the president in the impeachment trial in the Senate.”

“Do you look back at that and have any regrets and the wrath you have received for that vote and the criticism of the president and others?” he asked.

Toomey Responds

“I did what I thought was right,” Toomey replied.

“Over time what Republicans will do is we’ll acknowledge and recognize, as most already do, that there were some tremendous accomplishments by the Trump administration during those four years, but in my view, the behavior of the president after the election, culminating on January 6, was completely unacceptable,” he added. “And I think I did the right thing.”

“Do you believe he should run and deserves to run for president if he wants to? Would you support him if he were your nomination?” Cavuto questioned.

“I don’t think he can be the nominee,” Toomey responded. “Look what happened. He won the election in 2016, and then we lost the House.”

“And then he cost us the White House, which was a very winnable race,” he added. “And then he cost us control of the Senate by what he did in Georgia. I think with that kind of track record. It’s not likely that he’ll be the nominee.”

“If he were, would you support him?” Cavuto asked, to which Toomey replied, “I don’t see that happening.”

Jim Jordan Endorses Trump

This comes days after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) officially endorsed Trump, should he run again in 2024.

“[H]e’s the leader of the conservative movement,” Jordan said of Trump. “He’s the leader of the America first movement, and he is the leader of the Republican Party.”

“And I hope, and you know, I hope — like I said yesterday, I hope on January 20, 2025 he’s, once again, will be the leader of our country,” he added. “I hope he runs, but he’s definitely the leader of our party.”

“We need to stay together, and the vast, vast, vast majority of our party supports President Trump as our leader,” Jordan said.

Full Story: Jim Jordan Defies Left To Say ‘I Hope On January 20, 2025’ Trump Is The President Again

This piece was written by James Samson on March 6, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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NRCC Chair Warns Trump Against Backing Primary Challenges

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Rusty Weiss

National Republican Congressional Committee Chair (NRCC) Tom Emmer warned former President Trump against backing primary challenges to Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach him.

Emmer made the comments in an interview with Politico.

“He can do whatever he wants,” said the Minnesota Republican. “But I would tell him that it’s probably better for us that we keep these people and we make sure that we have a majority that can be sustained going forward.”

On Trump weighing into the primaries, Emmer said, “That’s not gonna be helpful.”

Still, Emmer opined that it would be wise for the party to embrace some of Trump’s policies because they brought Republicans “a lot of new voters” and were “hugely popular.”

NEWS: @NRCC Chair @RepTomEmmer told @POLITICOLive this morning that TRUMP should NOT weigh into primaries against members who voted to impeach him.

“That’s not gonna be helpful,” he said.

He plans to talk to Trump about not challenging the rank & file.

STORY SOON…

— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) March 3, 2021

Trump Will Support Primary Challenges to Pro-Impeachment Republicans

President Trump last week announced that he was planning to form a super PAC, a sure sign he intends to help shape the future of the Republican party heading into 2022 and 2024.

Seven out of the 10 Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of impeaching Trump are already facing primary challenges for their congressional seats.

Adam Kinzinger (IL), one of those seven being primaried and who voted in favor of impeachment, formed a new PAC of his own, claiming he is fighting to “take back” the party from Trump.

Adam is a patriot who fought for America from Northwest Florida.

We will always appreciate & honor his service.

Now, he wants to target my America First politics, referencing me by name.

My response:

Fucking bring it.

Adam needs PACs to win elections.

I don’t. https://t.co/TE9TPt6QJv

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 11, 2021

In a statement last month, Trump savaged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying he is “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack” and indicating he was willing to wage war against the establishment GOP.

“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm,” he added.

While McConnell did not vote in favor of impeachment, he certainly placed blame on the former President for a riot at the Capitol in January.

NRCC finance chair: Republicans who voted for Trump impeachment will still receive funding for reelection campaigns https://t.co/gp0LsSsCLP pic.twitter.com/LHzGDIFkXO

— The Hill (@thehill) February 12, 2021

How Can They Win Back the House?

Emmer needs to find a way to back Trump, not the other way around.

The NRCC last month released a list of 47 “vulnerable Democrats” they plan to target in 2022 in an effort to take back the House.

The memo reminds voters that Republicans are “just five seats short of a majority” following some unexpected successes in the 2020 election.

But how do they think those unexpected successes came about? It wasn’t because Trump supporters stayed away from the polls.

You do NOT want to be one of these 47 @HouseDemocrats

Check out our newly released list detailing offensive pick-up opportunities for the 2022 cycle >>>https://t.co/dFAvhIqse9

— NRCC (@NRCC) February 10, 2021

A newly released poll indicates a majority – nearly 50 percent – of Trump voters would follow the former President to a new party and abandon the GOP.

And while he has shied away from announcing a new party, Trump would certainly hold some weight when it comes to his supporters voting in favor of primary challenges.

Other polls have shown a vast majority of GOP voters want to see Trump play a big role in the future of the party and a supermajority of them want their legislators to be more like Trump and less like establishment politicians.

Emmer told Politico he expects to have a conversation with Trump “at some point” about how to move forward.

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Kinzinger Rips Trump For CPAC Speech – Says Former President ‘Just Needed His Monthly Dose Of Adoration’

Posted on March 3, 2021 by LifeZette

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) went on CNN on Tuesday to blast Donald Trump for the CPAC speech he gave this past weekend, claiming that he was “really bored” during it because it was like many of the others the former president had previously given.

Kinzinger Attacks Trump

“I think that that was the first time we had heard Donald Trump speak,” Kinzinger stated. “It would be shocking, you know, all that stuff … but it was the same exact — I mean … he could have given that speech in September, and with the exception of having talked about impeachment, it would have been the same speech he gave this time. He had no new ideas.”

“I mean, to me, it looked like somebody that just needed his monthly dose of adoration in front of a crowd. So, I really was bored,” he added.

“Honestly, I watched it because I knew he was going to call my name out, and I wanted to be able to know how to respond and what was said,” Kinzinger said.

“But it was a hard speech to get through because I was just like, you know, looking at my phone a lot, as you can tell by the number of the tweets I had,” he concluded.

Trump Called Out Kinzinger In His Speech

Kinzinger was one of the Republicans who Trump attacked by name in his speech, with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) being mentioned as well. Kinzinger has been trying to fire back at Trump ever since, appearing on “Morning Joe” on Monday to respond as well.

“I think, you know, what you could see at that speech yesterday was recycling old talking points,” Kinzinger said, according to The Hill.

“You know, just stream of consciousness and I think it’s obvious there is no vision from Donald Trump there’s no desire to paint a vision,” he said. “All he really desires is to stand in front of a crowd and be adored and he got that in ample amounts yesterday.”

“This president has done nothing but reflect people’s darkness back to them, reflect their fears back to them,” Kinzinger added.

“It was sad, but I’m still hopeful that, you know, 45 percent of people at this Trump rally didn’t want Donald Trump again, and I think there’s a growing number of people out there that see he’s a has-been,” he concluded.

This piece was written by James Samson on March 3, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Kinzinger Rips Trump For CPAC Speech – Says Former President ‘Just Needed His Monthly Dose Of Adoration’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Jim Jordan Defies Left To Say ‘I Hope On January 20, 2025’ Trump Is The President Again

Posted on March 2, 2021 by LifeZette

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) went on Fox News on Monday to fully endorse former President Donald Trump, should he decide to run again in 2024.

Jordan Endorses Potential Trump Run In 2024

“[H]e’s the leader of the conservative movement,” Jordan said of Trump. “He’s the leader of the America first movement, and he is the leader of the Republican Party.”

“We need to stay together, and the vast, vast, vast majority of our party supports President Trump as our leader,” Jordan said.

Jordan Thinks Trump Would Have Won Re-Election Under Normal Circumstances

Jordan went on to say that he believes Trump would have won re-election, had things been done as they normally are.

“I mean, look, the left knew that under existing rules, they couldn’t beat President Trump,” he explained.

“So in the run-up to the election, they had to change the law but they couldn’t because they — and they couldn’t do it in a constitutional fashion because in the key swing states, they didn’t control the legislature,” Jordan continued. “So they had to go around it with Democrat partisan secretary of states, with local Democrat partisan judges.”

“In some cases, you had the partisan supreme — state supreme courts in these states just change the law, go around the state legislature unconstitutionally, and that was the point we made when we objected on January 6,” Jordan added.

“That’s the point the president was making yesterday,” he said. “These state legislatures are going to have to get control of their election law and put in place the changes that President Trump talked about in his speech yesterday.”

Jordan Says Democrats Are ‘Scared’ Of Trump

This comes a month after Jordan ripped Democrats for their second impeachment effort, saying that they are “scared” of Trump.

“Democrats are going to these lengths because they are obsessed with canceling President Trump,” Jordan continued. “They’re scared of him.”

“They know he works [for] the American people, and not the Washington Swamp,” he added. “Unlike most politicians, President Trump did what he said he’d do. Hopefully, one day, he’ll get to do it again.”

Full Story: Jim Jordan Claims Democrats Are ‘Scared’ Of Trump

This piece was written by James Samson on March 2, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Jim Jordan Defies Left To Say ‘I Hope On January 20, 2025’ Trump Is The President Again appeared first on The Political Insider.

Liz Cheney Faces New Calls To Step Down After Latest Bizarre Anti-Trump Attack

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Becky Noble

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) is facing a new round of calls for her to step down as the Chair of the House Republican Caucus after her public claim that former President Trump should have no role in the future of the country.

Cheney is the third highest ranking House GOP member.

Cheney, who has been frequently outspoken about her opposition to Donald Trump, was part of a House Republican leadership briefing on Wednesday with reporters. During the briefing, Cheney and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) were both asked about Trump’s upcoming speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

Reporters asked if Trump should “have a prominent speaking role” at the conference. McCarthy replied matter-of-factly, “Yes he should.”

Cheney disagreed.

“That’s up to CPAC. I’ve been clear about my views of President Trump and the extent to which, following Jan. 6., I don’t believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country.”

There was an awkward few seconds as reporters laughed and McCarthy replied, “On that high note, thank you very much.”

Q: Do you believe former President Trump should speaking at CPAC?@GOPLeader: "Yes he should."@RepLizCheney: "That's up to CPAC….I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country."

McCarthy: "On that high note, thank you very much." pic.twitter.com/ZOkTUbpQCP

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 24, 2021

Not Cheney’s First Run-In With The Party She Leads

Liz Cheney’s first dust up with her fellow Republicans came back in January, after she was one of ten Republicans to vote for impeachment in the House.

At the time, Rep. Matt Rosedale (R-MT) stated that, “Rep. Cheney did not consult with the rest of our conference before supporting impeachment. She failed to abide by the spirit of the Conference rules and is ignoring the preferences of Republican voters. I’m calling on her to step down as Conference Chair.”

At the time, even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had some concerns about Cheney’s impeachment vote.

The first effort to unseat Cheney failed. Ultimately, only 61 Republicans voted to oust her, 145 members voted against removal in a secret ballot. But that was not the end of her run-ins with other House Republicans.

Cheney and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have also had words.

Gaetz has accused Cheney of having an “America Last” vision for the country, and has even gone to Cheney’s home state of Wyoming to support those who want a change in who represents them in Wyoming’s only congressional seat.

At a rally in Cheyenne, Gaetz stated that, “There are basically two things that Liz Cheney has done in the United States Congress: frustrate the agenda of President Trump and sell out to the forever war machine.”

In response to Gaetz’s campaign swing through Wyoming, Cheney fired back on Twitter.

"Rep. Gaetz can leave his beauty bag at home. In Wyoming, the men don’t wear make-up.” – Liz Cheney

— Hoodlum (@NotHoodlum) January 24, 2021

As would be expected, Cheney has enjoyed the full support of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Cheney’s Latest Comments

Liz Cheney’s latest comments regarding former President Trump once again have Freedom Caucus members calling for her resignation in House leadership.

Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who is a Trump supporter, said that “she should step down.”

He went on to call her comments “outrageous” and “consistent with at least four other statements she’s made in the last few weeks,” and that he does not believe “she is able to carry out” her duties as Caucus Chair “any further.”

Biggs also commented that, “I also think she is absolutely devoid of any kind of political reading of what’s going on in the party,” he added. “If she any sense of shame, she would step down.”

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stated that Cheney has “forfeited her right to be the Chair of the Republican Caucus.”

Roy had been in agreement with Cheney that Trump “deserved universal condemnation for what was clearly impeachable conduct,” but that Cheney’s latest comments at the press briefing were “in complete opposition to where the majority of house Republicans stand” and “completely out of step with the Republican Conference.”

REP. CHIP ROY: "Yesterday, Liz [Cheney] forfeited her right to be chair of the Republican conference. You cannot stand up and make a statement that is so completely out of step with the Republican conference."

— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) February 25, 2021

Cheney Also Facing Backlash At Home

While Liz Cheney is hearing criticism in Washington from other Republicans, it is Wyoming Republicans she may want to pay attention to.

Since the first call for her resignation as Chair of the Republican Caucus, ten counties in Wyoming have voted to censure Cheney.

A partial statement from Sweetwater County states that Cheney had “betrayed the trust and failed to honor the will of the very large majority of motivated Wyoming voters who elected her.”

Cheney has already garnered a primary challenger for 2022 as well. Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard announced his candidacy on January 20.

Of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, seven, including Cheney have primary challengers for 2022.

Wyoming State Sen. Anthony Bouchard files primary challenge to House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney. https://t.co/7mM632abmG

— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) January 20, 2021

Cheney defended her impeachment vote by saying, “this is a vote of conscience. It’s one where there are different views in our conference.”

Republicans in 10 of 23 Wyoming counties have now censured Rep. Liz Cheney — and more could soon follow suit. https://t.co/b9opQqhYmz

— Casper Star-Tribune (@CSTribune) February 1, 2021

The post Liz Cheney Faces New Calls To Step Down After Latest Bizarre Anti-Trump Attack appeared first on The Political Insider.

Dem Rep. Raskin Warns That Trump ‘Remains A Clear And Present Danger To The American People’

Posted on February 23, 2021 by LifeZette

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) went on “The View” on Monday to attack Donald Trump, claiming that the former president “remains a clear and present danger to the American people” despite the fact that he is out of office and has been banned from social media.

Raskin Attacks Trump

“I believe in Donald Trump’s mind he absolutely is the future, and he’s going to try to maintain that kind of authoritarian relationship with people in the Republican Party,” Raskin said.

“I think we need to confront his criminality, his corruption, and his dangerousness every single day. As long as he’s still out there, he remains a clear and present danger to the American people,” he added.

“He spent four years in office cozying up to every dictator and despot on earth, from Putin in Russia to Orbán in Hungary to Duterte in the Philippines, el-Sisi Egypt,” Raskin said. “You find a criminal in public office that was Donald Trump’s guy.”

“They’re going to be, you know, sending Jared Kushner out there on a globetrotting tour of every kleptocracy and autocracy on earth in order to collect the money they feel they deserve from having worked with all of these regimes,” he continued.

Raskin Doubles Down

“That money will be used to try to get Donald Trump to return to the White House,” Raskin said. “Of course, if he were to ever able to get back in, he would try to stay forever. He was already talking about a third term and how the Democrats owed him more terms and so on.”

“So I think he remains a very clear and viable threat to the American republic and obviously to the Republican Party. He is likely to destroy the republican party because of his authoritarianism and his determination to remain a cult leader,” he concluded.

.@RepRaskin to @TheView: “[Trump] remains a very clear and viable threat to the American republic, and obviously to the Republican party. He is likely to destroy the Republican party because of his authoritarianism and his determination to remain a cult leader.” pic.twitter.com/OiABDubMQd

— The View (@TheView) February 22, 2021

During the four years that Trump was in office, Raskin was one of the most fiercely anti-Trump people in Congress. That’s why it came as no surprise when he became the lead House impeachment manager during the Democratic Party’s latest attempt to impeach Trump.

This piece was written by James Samson on February 22, 2021. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

The post Dem Rep. Raskin Warns That Trump ‘Remains A Clear And Present Danger To The American People’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

McConnell Ally John Thune Claims Holding Republicans Responsible For Impeaching Trump Is ‘Cancel Culture’

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Rusty Weiss

Senator John Thune, who serves as the Senate GOP whip and is a deputy of Mitch McConnell, decried punishing Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump as a form of “cancel culture.”

Thune (R-SD), in an interview with the Associated Press, defended colleagues such as Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) who have been censured by county Republican parties for joining Democrats and voting to impeach or convict the former president.

“There was a strong case made,” he said referencing the presentation made by House impeachment managers, apparently unaware of charges they used doctored evidence.

“People could come to different conclusions,” added Thune. “If we’re going to criticize the media and the left for cancel culture, we can’t be doing that ourselves.”

Thune and McConnell both voted to acquit Trump.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Thune is criticizing Republican activists and party leaders for engaging in “cancel culture” by rushing to censure GOP senators who found former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection. https://t.co/ypuINjXW28

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 19, 2021

John Thune Thinks Censure Is The Same As Cancel Culture

As The Political Insider’s Becky Noble reported earlier this week, “nearly every Republican Senator who voted to convict” Trump “has either been censured by their Republican voters or faces censure in the near future.”

Thune went on to express his preference for those candidates who opposed Trump.

“At the grassroots level, there’s a lot of people who want to see Trump-like candidates,” he said. “But I think we’re going to be looking for candidates that are electable.”

That’s an odd thing to say considering one recent poll shows a vast majority of Republican voters want to see Trump play a big role in the future of the party and another shows Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) more exemplifies the party than Cheney.

Sen. Thune is criticizing Republican activists and party leaders for engaging in “cancel culture” by rushing to censure GOP senators who found fmr. President Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection. https://t.co/oeOvB2cP8z

— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 19, 2021

Speaking of Greene – Why did Thune support ‘cancel culture’ when it came to her?

In response to the House GOP choosing not to punish Greene for her controversial comments, Thune said, “I think we’ve got to be a party of ideas and policies and principles and get away from members dabbling in conspiracy theories.”

Doesn’t that seem to indicate he wanted Greene censured or stripped of her committee assignments – canceled – as Democrats eventually did?

John Thune, No. 2 Senate Republican, to me on House GOP not punishing Marjorie Taylor Greene: “I think we’ve got to be a party of ideas and policies and principles and get away from members dabbling in conspiracy theories.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 4, 2021

Trump Hammers Mitch McConnell

Thune’s comments are the first made by a high-profile Republican after Trump ravaged Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as “a dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

“The Republican Party can never again be respected or strong with political ‘leaders’ like Sen. Mitch McConnell at its helm,” Trump said in a statement.

BREAKING: President Trump Releases Statement Slamming Mitch McConnell

Vows to back America First primary candidates pic.twitter.com/sBNsio5Xwz

— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) February 16, 2021

Thune’s response is incredibly hypocritical, considering he indicated just last week that he was open to censuring Trump should the impeachment conviction fail.

“I know there are a couple of resolutions out there … I’ve seen a couple of resolutions at least that I think could attract some support,” he said.

It’s okay to cancel Trump but not Liz Cheney? What a rube.

Engaging in a civil war with the former President is not going to end well for establishment Republicans. They’re practically canceling themselves right before our eyes.

The post McConnell Ally John Thune Claims Holding Republicans Responsible For Impeaching Trump Is ‘Cancel Culture’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Cartoon: Have your spine and eat it too

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Mark Fiore

Vimeo Video

According to Mitch McConnell and other Republicans in the Senate, the Democratic impeachment managers proved the case that Donald Trump incited his mob to attack the Capitol in an insurrection with the goal of stopping the peaceful transfer of power in the U.S. presidential election. But, thanks to an imagined phrase in the Constitution, you can’t convict someone in an impeachment once they have left office.

Whatever happened to the Republican Party’s strict textual reading of our nation’s founding document? Never mind, Senate Republicans only wanted a fig leaf — any fig leaf — to be able to let Trump off the hook for an attack on our democracy.

McConnell went the even more craven route than just spouting constitutional nonsense to justify an acquittal. His speech taking Trump to task for his naughty actions made his vote to acquit look even more outrageous. It’s pretty clear that outside of some outliers like Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney, the Republican Party is going all-in with an autocratic cult leader.

Enjoy the cartoon — and please help support my work by joining me on Patreon! (You’ll get patron-only goodies and know your contributions really do keep the cartoons coming.)

This week on The Brief: Elie Mystal, the impeachment vote, and potential for a third party

Posted on February 17, 2021 (Updated February 17, 2021) by Dorothy He

On this week’s episode of The Brief, hosts Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld talked all things post-impeachment and the potential for the rise of a third major party in American politics. This episode’s featured guest was Elie Mystal, legal expert and writer at The Nation.

Markos and Kerry opened the show by discussing Trump’s second impeachment trial and what the process has shown about his lasting influence on the Republican party. Markos noted that Trump has hurt the party substantially, as demonstrated by the most recent election cycle, when Democrats captured the trifecta of the U.S. House, Senate, and the presidency. Moreover, Trump is the only the third president in 100 years to lose reelection. Yet, Trump’s hold over a significant chunk of GOP voters remained clear from the way Republican leaders responded to his incitement of the insurrection. As Kerry added, “Mike Pence wouldn’t even stand up for himself and his family after it became clear that Trump had targeted him.”

Elie Mystal joined for the first half of the episode to weigh in on the impeachment trial and share his thoughts on its sudden end on Saturday. As Mystal described, the Republicans in the U.S. Senate bore responsibility for what happened on Jan. 6, and that made unifying in convicting Trump more difficult:

The Senate, I think, was cowardly in a way I think we expected them to be. They themselves were complicit in the insurrection. That, I think, was something that was lost during the House managers’ [line of questioning] … They were trying to convince Republicans to come onto their side, and by trying to convince Republicans, that means you can’t call them out for their complicity in the violence … Republicans did everything that Trump did—except try to kill Mike Pence.

Mystal cited the attack on the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ campaign bus in Texas, where Trump supporters almost ran the vehicle off the road, and how Trump expressed support for the people who committed that dangerous act. Trump had long been stoking this violence, he said, as well as Republican senators like Marco Rubio, who expressed support for attacks like these.

Regarding the Democrats’ strategy, Kerry wondered aloud about witness intimidation and if it might have occurred the night before the closing arguments were to be heard: “What happened in that negotiation that they ultimately decided not to call witnesses? Was it Democrats backing off? Was it witnesses drying up?”

The trio then discussed the aspect of freedom of speech in the impeachment case and the Brandenburg test, which Markos asked Mystal to explain. The test is one that helps “determine when inflammatory speech intending to advocate illegal action can be restricted,” or basically when free speech isn’t protected.

Lastly, Markos, Kerry, and Mystal discussed Joe Biden’s pick of Merrick Garland for attorney general; the hopes Mystal has for the work Garland will do as AG; and the fact that Trump can still be tried for a multitude of other crimes, especially at the state level in places like New York and Georgia. Ending on a positive note, Mystal said, “I don’t know if ultimate responsibility will come to Trump, but some of these people that have been enabling him for four years, especially people like Rudy Giuliani—one of the things that Trump has shown is is that while he may be Teflon, people around him ain’t.”

After their conversation with Mystal, Markos and Kerry talked about what has happened since Trump left office and how he continues to have a hold on the Republican Party. Kerry floated the idea of a third party becoming a prominent force in the coming years and noted that support for a third American political party is at an all-time high—as evidenced by the results of a recent Gallup poll. As she explains, the infrastructure exists for a third party to rise, led by someone like Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), a Republican who voted in favor of impeachment. A number of voters are changing their affiliation away from Republicans.

Kerry listed several reasons as to why she believes this:

1. The GOP’s image is plummeting.

2. There’s more support than ever for a third party.

3. Tens of thousands — a unique number of voters — are changing their affiliation away from being Republicans.

4. You have a bunch of former GOP officials who know both the governance side and the political side, the electoral side, of running a party.

Markos indicated that Trump represented a major turning point for the GOP. As he said, “How did Donald Trump get that many more votes? … And it’s one thing for him to win in 2016 when you don’t really know who he is, or you’re smitten by the fact that he’s a celebrity. But to see four years of Trump chaos and say, ‘Yeah, I want more of that.’ That’s what hurt me most on election night.”

Kerry agreed, saying, “The situation from the insurrection has really opened up a gaping wound in the Republican Party that cannot be fixed. They cannot paper over this.”

As Markos and Kerry closed out the discussion with an audience question, they came to agree that a third party is more likely to emerge from never-Trumpers, rather than die-hard Trump fans.

You can watch the full episode here:

YouTube Video

The Brief is now streaming on all podcast platforms near you!

Nearly Every Senator Who Voted To Convict Trump Faces Censure Or Has Been Censured

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Becky Noble

As of today, nearly every Republican Senator who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his impeachment conviction trial has either been censured by their Republican voters or faces censure in the near future.

On Saturday, the U.S. Senate voted to acquit Trump on the charge that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot. The 57-43 vote to convict failed to reach the two-thirds majority required in the upper chamber.

Joining all fifty Democrat Senators who voted to convict were seven GOP Senators:

Susan Collins of Maine
Mitt Romney of Utah
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

All have either been censured or are facing censure at home by at least one county Republican committee, save for Murkowski, who is up for re-election in 2022, so far.

The seven senators who went against the party line and voted to impeach Donald Trump are now facing very strong backlash and censure for their actions.https://t.co/ERS8SYq7Wq

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 14, 2021

Republicans Making Their Feelings Known

The seven Senators who voted to convict join several of their colleagues in the House who also are facing not just unhappy voters at home, but in some cases, already have primary challengers in 2022 for their votes to impeach.

One of the most high profile House members to face backlash which includes a primary challenger is Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY). Cheney was also called out by fellow Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) , who went to Wyoming to support constituents who want to replace her in Congress.

In the House, in addition to Cheney, South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice was also censured at home.

Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has not only taken heat at home from constituents for his vote to impeach, but several members of his own family have called him an ’embarrassment.’

Rep. Adam Kinzinger Received Scathing Letter From Family Members After Calling For Trump’s Removal https://t.co/bPSZEhszuO

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 16, 2021

Pro-Impeachment Senators All Facing Backlash

According to a report from Vox, the Republican Parties of Louisiana and North Carolina wasted no time in blasting Bill Cassidy and Richard Burr, respectively.

“The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana has unanimously voted to censure Senator Bill Cassidy for his vote cast earlier today to convict former President Donald J. Trump on the impeachment charge.”

Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty. pic.twitter.com/ute0xPc4BH

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) February 13, 2021

The feeling in North Carolina was essentially the same. In a statement issued by NCGOP Chair Michael Whatley, he stated that Burr’s vote was “shocking and disappointing.”

“North Carolina Republicans sent Senator Burr to the United States Senate to uphold the Constitution and his vote today to convict in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing.”

Chairman @WhatleyNCGOP statement on Senator Burr’s impeachment vote. #ncpol #ncsen https://t.co/NUxhDkmm5N

— NCGOP (@NCGOP) February 13, 2021

Burr and Senator Pat Toomey have already announced that neither would be seeking re-election, which perhaps might have given both the feeling of having a bit of wiggle room when it came to pleasing or displeasing constituents.

Washington County Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Dave Ball stated of Toomey that “As far as we’re concerned, his political career is over in this state, even if he were to try to run again. His legacy is tarnished beyond repair.”

Sasse was censured by his fellow Nebraska Republicans for what they cited as “dismissing the legitimate concerns of Nebraska’s Secretary of State, and a huge majority of Republican voters regarding allegations of fraud in November’s presidential election.”

In response, Sasse released a rather condescending video to Nebraska Republicans explaining to them what was “conservative” and what was not.

In Maine, censure resolutions are being considered.

In Utah, Republican voters are circulating a petition online calling to censure Mitt Romney, though that state GOP has defended ‘diversity of thought.’

IMPEACHMENT BACKLASH: The fallout continues for Republican senators who voted to convict Trump, with Sen. Bill Cassidy censured by Louisiana’s GOP as he stands by the move. @rachelvscott reports as Trump makes his first public appearance since acquittal. https://t.co/pMdBVRYfLh pic.twitter.com/ppYGcGvoie

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 16, 2021

Will Voters Hold Them Accountable At The Ballot?

There are several things that might make Senators taking heat for their conviction vote interesting.

Of these seven, only Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is up for re-election. Burr and Toomey are retiring, and Romney is in the middle of his first term.

The rest were all just re-elected.

Another interesting factor is two Senators who have not been censured by their own voters – the two Republicans who challenged the electoral college votes.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) were blamed by Democrat Senators for the riot and there were calls by many for both to resign or be expelled.

And in what might the most intriguing aspect of the “Gang of 7,” is that in the wake of Burr’s retirement announcement, there will be a vacancy in one of North Carolina’s Senate seats.

Former Representative Mark Walker has thrown his hat into the ring for 2022, but another name is floating around, that of Lara Trump.

The North Carolina native and wife of Eric Trump recently got a huge boost from Lindsey Graham, who described her as the “biggest winner of the impeachment trial.”

“The biggest winner I think of this whole impeachment trial is Lara Trump,” said Graham.@LaraLeaTrump can now be seen as a contender for the 2022 Senate race after @SenatorBurr voted to convict Trump in the #ImpeachmentTrial, said Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC. https://t.co/4gS2OqzNho

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) February 16, 2021

As Americans get more and more tired of sending people to Washington who do not reflect their wishes, the Gang of 7 and those like them may just be the last of a dying breed.

The post Nearly Every Senator Who Voted To Convict Trump Faces Censure Or Has Been Censured appeared first on The Political Insider.