The Alaska Republican Party will reportedly weigh possible options to reprimand Senator Lisa Murkowski following her “nay” vote on the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock said the state’s GOP committee could take action ranging from a statement of reprimand, to pressuring her not to seek reelection, to encouraging other officials to seek a replacement.
According to Babcock, the state GOP has withdrawn support for Republicans who have sided with the Democrat Party in the past.
Murkowski was the only Republican senator to vote against confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. When the rest of her party – including Susan Collins and Jeff Flake – recognized the Democrat smear campaign for what it was, Murkowski crumbled to the pressure and surrendered.
The Alaska senator has been asked to hand over any information she may have that could help the party better understand her actions.
Good.
https://t.co/qsZvy0BNXw— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) October 9, 2018
Murkowski’s turncoat antics on Kavanaugh are just the latest in a long history of siding with the opposition party on key issues. She was a key vote to save and protect Obamacare against the repeal effort, making her as much a darling of the effort as the late Senator John McCain.
After signaling confidence in an FBI investigation (their seventh background check) into allegations of sexual abuse by Kavanaugh, Murkowski turned tail and voted no on a procedural vote to advance Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
She later voted present so Republican Senator Steve Daines could attend his daughter’s wedding and not alter the vote.
A viral image prior to the vote suggested Murkowski may have been the victim of some intimidation tactics at the hands of Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Murkowski votes no. Intimidation tactics Mrs. Feinstein? #QAnon pic.twitter.com/M4EnzGzzio
— Stephen Wilson (@GR8_2B_alive) October 5, 2018
President Trump has joined in the chorus of people who think Murkowski will be on the receiving end of political retribution for her actions.
President Donald Trump via phone on Traitor Lisa Murkowski voting no on Kavanaugh: “I think it will go down as a sad day for her because he’s going to become a great Supreme Court justice.”🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝Murkowski👊👊👊👊👊 pic.twitter.com/cGXNv544Nm
— Trump Luxembourg🇱🇺🇺🇸 (@BrebsomClaude) October 7, 2018
“I think she will never recover from this,” Trump said in an interview with the Washington Post. “I think the people from Alaska will never forgive her for what she did.”
Babcock meanwhile, set a plan in motion, saying Murkowski’s actions were concerning enough for him to seek answers.
“It’s significant enough that I’m going to convene the whole state central committee, which is about 80 grassroots volunteers around the state, and we’ll start drafting what our response should be,” he announced.
Threats from the Alaska GOP might not amount to much. Murkowski isn’t up for reelection until 2022, so she’ll avoid any controversy that will unfold during the 2018 midterms. Not to mention, she managed to win in 2010 as a write-in candidate after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller.
Perhaps this time she’ll simply remove any doubt and run as a Democrat.
