Posted on 02/01/2020 8:34:45 AM PST by Kaslin
Throughout the impeachment trial, all eyes have been on four senators – Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) – who are considered "toss-up" voters. It's hard to gauge exactly how they plan to vote, especially when those votes are along party lines. On Friday night, Collins, Murkowski and Alexander all voted along with their Republican colleagues to block new witnesses, something the House Impeachment Managers have pushed from the start.
According to Alexander, the House impeachment team proved President Donald Trump withheld more than $300 million in military aid to Ukraine as a means of forcing Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, for corruption. Alexander believes Trump's actions were "inappropriate," but they certainly aren't impeachable, USA Today reported.
“I think it was a mistake ... I think he shouldn't have done it,” Alexander explained. “abuse of power is such a vague term. It doesn't mean anything.”
Even though Alexander said the House Democrats proved that correlation between the investigation and the military aid being withheld, he believes President Trump deserves to be acquitted. He took an issue with the articles of impeachment that came from the House simply because it was a partisan effort, something that draws a stark contrast to the impeachments of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
"I was reminded during the arguments of how the founders, James Madison particularly, felt there should never ever be a wholly partisan impeachment,” Alexander told USA Today.
In his mind, Trump's conduct didn't meet the high crimes and misdemeanors clause to remove him from office.
“We're pretty accustomed in our everyday life to being able to distinguish between things that are inappropriate and things that deserve capital punishment,” the Tennessee senator explained. “When you don't give capital punishment to somebody who left the scene of an accident, you disapprove of what they did. You may penalize them in the next election, but you don't throw them out of office, and tell the American people they can't vote for him in the election that's already underway.”
The three things that sealed Alexander's decision: the articles of impeachment being partisan; the bar for impeachment being lowered; and how close we are to the 2020 election.
Coming to the decision is something Alexander said was "gradual" and happened over the course of the arguments throughout the week. He tried to look at the evidence and be impartial, just like a judge or juror is supposed to be. And he knows his vote – the deciding vote in whether or not to call for additional witnesses – will go down in history.
"I hope what they'll remember is I listened to carefully, insisted that we heard the case, and did what I thought was right," he explained.
Although he received numerous calls and emails from those on both sides of the aisle, he said he never heard from the White House or felt pressured by members of his party.
"He knows better than to try to tell me how to vote," Alexander said of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, someone he's known for 50 years.
At the end of the day, the Tennessee senator said he looked at the evidence as an impartial juror and came to his decision.
"There wasn't any way I could, you know, maneuver my way through that, so the only way I could do it was just listen and make decisions," he said. "And what I decided was, you did it. You shouldn't have done it. But under the Constitution, the people should decide when the President does something that's simply inappropriate. That's for the voters.
If he withheld the money that means Ukraine didn’t get it
If there was quid pro Joe that means Biden was investigated
Meanwhile has Slo Joe ever presented any evidence in his conspiracy theory thar the Ukrainian prosecutor was corrupt?
“He did it, he shouldn’t have done it”
What an idiot! Looking into corruption of the prior VP is something you shouldn’t do? What garbage!
The only “take” is that this is a total fake a total sham they were looking to impeach this president for the crime of winning the election and is a pitiful excuse for a Congress that it even went this far
The wrong people are being impeached the ones who’ve done substantial harm to this country the ones that haven’t put millions of people back to work and that don’t have Americans as the top priority
I thought Collins voted for witnesses.
Lamar is a fool!
EVERYONE knew that President Trump withheld aid until investigations were done.....except the Ukranians.
Uh, no Lamar. They proved nothing. Their witnesses testifed on the record in the house that they were not direct witnesses to this. And, Lamar, the aid was not "withheld" since it was delivered.
Thank God we will be rid of your shilling self-serving RINO ways. Tennessee is winning under Trump and you are bitter.
Thanks for your good vote Senator Alexander, now go away, and enjoy your retirement.
Alexander is just walking the tightrope. He announces that he has bought into the dems charges, but doesn’t think they are really impeachable. A true example of a spineless worm.
No he didn’t. He wanted to to be a media whore and be on both sides. It an utter ridiculous factually erroneous position.
He should LOOK at the evidence. Hearsay, rumor and guessing are NOT evidence.
Well, once you start down the road of investigating corruption in DC you have no idea where it will end, but probably nowhere good. /s/
Greatest deliberative body in the world. What a joke.
Alexander is a retiring GOP Senator from a red state. There is no “tightrope to walk.” He’s taking a cheap shot at POTUS and the 60 million people that elected him on his way out the door.
Murkoskie did not. So Dems only got Romney and Collins
Collins at least has the excuse she is running for re-election in a blue state. Romney has none
I think he makes a good point about the distinction between a political sin and a crime.
I can buy the Democrat argument Trump shouldn’t have done it and yet reject their conclusion it requires tossing him out of office.
The President is a flawed, fallible human being like the rest of us are. He will screw up sometimes and seeking the political equivalent of the death penalty for his offense is inappropriate and out of bounds.
This impeachment was born in sin and it deserves to die in sin. I’m looking for the acquittal of the President in the coming week.
Lamar ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer is he.
I think he makes a good point about the distinction between a political sin and a crime.
I can buy the Democrat argument Trump shouldn’t have done it and yet reject their conclusion it requires tossing him out of office.
The President is a flawed, fallible human being like the rest of us are. He will screw up sometimes and seeking the political equivalent of the death penalty for his offense is inappropriate and out of bounds.
This impeachment was born in sin and it deserves to die in sin. I’m looking forward to the acquittal of the President in the coming week.
Ah, he voted as he was told to and that’s good enough for now.
He can go away again.
... “When you don’t give capital punishment to somebody who left the scene of an accident, ...
If that was a dig by him at Ted Kennedy, at least he got that one right :)
If it was improper to look into corruption because Biden was a candidate it was improper for Obama to investigate Trump starting in 2015.
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