Today’s profile in spinelessness goes to Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski who voted “yea” effectively casting the deciding vote for The Act [1], a bill she said repeatedly she didn’t support. A senator who raised his fist to an insurrectionist mob, Josh Hawley, can be counted on to sincerely express grave concerns about the serious damage a bill will do to working poor people in his state and then follow his conscience and vote to pass the bill, but Murkowski, it seemed (until today), still wanted to be seen as a person of independent judgment, integrity and good character. A sturdy spined, independent woman, like the senator from Maine, one of three Republicans who voted to kill the killer bill. Thank you, Susan Collins, 75% of our nation — and a legitimately frightened world — is grateful for your reality-affirming vote. As for Ms. Murkowski, read the transcript of her incredibly idiotic answer (and confession) to the accusation that she’d sold out the country for a deal that helps her state.
After she cast what amounts to the deciding vote (a vote any one of the remaining 50 Republicans could have made, of course, Lyin’ Ted, Lindsey, Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, Joni Ernst) in favor of a brutally unfair budget that punishes the poor and vulnerable to enrich the already obscenely rich, she was asked by NBC reporter Ryan Nobles what her response was to senator Rand Paul’s statement that she’d bailed out Alaska at the expense of the country:
“Oh my God… (then there was a long silence, and a long glare from Murkowski, then the reporter clarified that Paul had said that, repeated it, and asked for her response) …
“… my response is… I have an obligation to the people of the state of Alaska and I live up to that every single day. I fight for my state’s interests and I make sure that Alaskans are understood. I work hard to take care of the state that has more unique … situations … more unique people, and it’s just different. And so, when people suggest that federal dollars go to one of our fifty states in a quote “bail out”, I find that offensive. I advocated for my state’s interests, I will continue to do that and I make no excuses for doing that.
“Do I like this bill? No, because I tried to take care of my state but I know, I know that in many parts of the country there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill. I don’t like that. I don’t like… the fact… that we moved to an artificial deadline, an artificial time line to produce something to meet a deadline, rather than to actually try to produce the best bill for the country. But when I saw the direction it was going, you can either say ‘I don’t like it’ and not try to help my state, or you can roll up your sleeves… [and lick the Leader’s ‘ring’, as required, and get the best possible deal in exchange for my vote]”
“Do I like this bill? No, because I tried to take care of my state but I know, I know that in many parts of the country there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill. I don’t like that.”
“In many parts of the country there are Americans that are not going to be advantaged by this bill.”
And Lisa Murkowski doesn’t like that, not at all. Also, she didn’t like the artificial emergency and the pressure to pass the bill before the Fourth of July, didn’t like any of that at all. There hadn’t been time to fully debate the bill and make the best amendments to it, or even to read the final version in full. She didn’t like that. At the same time, when the moment came, she rightfully considered only the best quid pro quo she could get to make sure Alaskans, unique among the citizens of all fifty states, were not among those Americans who were “not going to be advantaged by this bill.”
”But when I saw the direction it was going, you can either say ‘I don’t like it’ and not try to help my state, or you can roll up your sleeves… [and obey the Leader’s will, as required]”
No, Lisa. You roll up your sleeves, vote “nay” and get back to work drafting a better bill if you believe millions of Americans will “not be advantaged by” a viciously cruel bill. All it would have taken to defeat “the direction it was going” was to say no to the naked quid pro quo (which you admitted to in your answer, fool) and vote to return the bill for further revision.
Imagine a person as dumb as a pile of shit. Ask it to respond to a critical comment about how it made a special deal that sold out the American people. I expect its answer would be something like “Oh my God … of course I made a special deal that sold out the American people, because I work for Alaska, which is unique, and not like the rest of those Americans who are, unfortunately, not going to be advantaged by this bill.”
Hard to ignore the smell of the thing as it gives its idiotic response.
It’s now time to call Congress members as this highly toxic shit sandwich heads back to the House and root for the dysfunction of the slim MAGA House majority and the political genius of one of Trump’s most loyal and delusional lackeys, MAGA Mike Johnson. I’ve got to write a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, waiting to respond at a time and place of his choosing, tomorrow, remind me.
[1] Chuck Schumer officially got the name of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, an abomination and obscenity by any name, changed, to The Act. Small, symbolic victory, I suppose.
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