Sen. Lisa Murkowski, aghast at Donald Trump’s candidacy and the direction of her party, won’t rule out bolting from the GOP.

The veteran Alaska Republican, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial amid the aftermath of January 6, 2021, is done with the former president and said she “absolutely” would not vote for him.

“I wish that as Republicans, we had … a nominee that I could get behind,” Murkowski told CNN. “I certainly can’t get behind Donald Trump.”

The party’s shift toward Trump has caused Murkowski to consider her future within the GOP. In the interview, she would not say if she would remain a Republican.

Asked if she would become an independent, Murkowski said: “Oh, I think I’m very independent minded.” And she added: “I just regret that our party is seemingly becoming a party of Donald Trump.”

  • RedFox
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    3 months ago

    I don’t disagree, but in my lifetime, we’ve been in much better shape in the past and still been unwilling to break away from the status quo.

    Now that the situation is much more dire, it’s even more frustrating that we lacked the will or desires that could potentially have lessened the chances of this outcome.

    I try convincing the less diehard devotees to switch and they’re still hung up on the aspects of the other party they disagree with.

    • TheDoozer@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      You know when you’re sick and pretty much bed-ridden, and you think “if only I wasn’t sick, I would be working out today and doing such-and-such,” but then as soon as you feel okay again you don’t actually do it or think about it until you physically can’t again?

      I feel like it’s like that. That doesn’t mean you should work out while you’re sick. It just means that we need to remember when we’re well.

      (To be clear, what I’m saying is I get it and you’re right, but regardless we can’t reasonably do it right now. But once we put fascism down, or if it wanes enough to make a reasonable go of it, we absolutely should remember and fix the voting system).

      • RedFox
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        3 months ago

        Pretty good analogy. You’re not wrong, I’m still mad about it. We’ll be our undoing. Feels like Rome…

        • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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          3 months ago

          https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/southern-states-pushing-forward-with

          https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/retaliation-texas-ag-paxton-demands

          https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/republicans-issue-new-government

          https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/west-virginia-bill-would-mandate

          https://newrepublic.com/article/178576/republicans-reveal-end-game-fight-trans-kids

          And, in advance of your reply, please don’t bother telling me the yellow liquid that smells like piss running down my leg is rain. Conversion therapy kills. Getting proper treatment saved my life, and they explicitly want to take that away from me. Address this rather than trying to explain it away, or just don’t waste both of our time. I’m sure you have more productive things to do than deny what I can plainly see.

          • RedFox
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            3 months ago

            WTF. I don’t know where to start.

            I don’t understand what’s happening in the plains states. It’s like a tornado sucked out all their humanity. I hadnt seen that yet.

            You lost me with piss… 🤷

            I actually have a lot of empathy for people who are shit on. I don’t hate you or think you should have to feel that way.

            • ieatpillowtags@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              The piss comment is a reference to an American idiom. I guess they missed that one in your training.

            • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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              3 months ago

              A reference to the phrase, “don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” ie, I can see what is happening in front of me. And they’d implement this shit on a federal level if they could; there were 40 such provisions they tried to get into the recent budget bills. The Twitter caucus has decided that I am an abomination, that my existence as myself makes me a pedophile, and that pedophiles deserve to be killed. The rest of the party is generally apathetic towards this, and will let them run the show on such matters if they are in an unassailable position. I thought John McCain was someone who I could have voted for in 2008, but he was the last Republican who was even remotely there; even the Republicans who managed the absolute minimum bar of recognizing a coup attempt when it tried to hang them, went along with the program the vast, vast majority of the time, right up until the doors were being hammered on by an angry mob.

              • RedFox
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                3 months ago

                I actually mentioned Bush/McCain because they were no where near as bad as now. Voting R wasn’t as scary then.

                Can do it now, now it’s a coup, like you said.

                • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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                  3 months ago

                  So yeah, given this, in what sense is it realistic or reasonable to not vote for the person with the better chance of beating them, IE, the democrat. I don’t love that I have to bet my life, and the lives of lots of others, on a keynesian beauty contest, but I’m not going to be dumb and throw the contest just because I don’t like it. Why would you want to persuade people to do that?

    • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      That is frustrating, but also peanuts compared to what’s on the table today. We are facing a very real risk of losing our democracy to christofascism, and if we let that happen, the 3rd parties and everyone else who isn’t a christofascist is fucked.

      Vote according to the reality of our situation; don’t let an unachievable ideal enable the greater evil.

      • RedFox
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        3 months ago

        This is just my opinion, but I do not believe those people most of us associate with chrisofascism are Christian at all.

        Again, just my opinion, none of these politicians or people screaming about their faith no anything about Christianity. Or are not at all followers of it.

        • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          As is the case with almost every ‘christian’. It’s never been about the religion - that’s just a tool to sell hateful policies.

          • RedFox
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            3 months ago

            I usually call it plain old bigotry, but I think some just legitimately don’t know it.

            I have met people who had good hearts, but stupid beliefs. I think some are sheltered and do t have perspective.

            Then there’s cake lady. AKA, bigot. Exactly what you said.