LibertyVoter.Org

By Cody Fenwick

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska came out swinging against President Donald Trump in an interview with Anchorage Daily News published Friday. She said he should resign his office and expressed doubts about her place in the Republican Party.

“I want him to resign,” she said. “I want him out. He has caused enough damage.”

She continued: “He doesn’t want to stay there. He only wants to stay there for the title. He only wants to stay there for his ego. He needs to get out. He needs to do the good thing, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing a good thing.”

Democrats are currently formulating articles of impeachment against the president for inciting a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol while Congress was counting Electoral College votes on Wednesday. They may bring them up for a vote as soon as Monday.

Murkowski laid the blame for the riot, which led to the deaths of five people, including one member of the Capitol Police, on Trump.

“I will attribute it to the president, who said, even after his vice president told him that morning, ‘I do not have the constitutional authority to do what you have asked me to do. I cannot do it. I have to protect and uphold the Constitution,’” she told the paper. “Even after the vice president told President Trump that, he still told his supporters to fight. How are they supposed to take that? It’s an order from the president. And so that’s what they did. They came up and they fought and people were harmed, and injured and died.”

One feature of the interview that drew a lot of attention was Murkowski’s suggestion that she might no longer feel comfortable in the Republican Party.

“I will tell you, if the Republican Party has become nothing more than the party of Trump, I sincerely question whether this is the party for me,” she said.

But it didn’t really sound like she’s on the path to becoming a Democrat or caucusing with the party. She expressed dismay that Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won their Senate races in Georgia this week, which will flip control to the Democrats once they’re brought into Congress.

She blamed Trump for the Republican losses, saying they were “very, very, very unfortunate,”

She also said that while she expects to disagree with the incoming Biden administration a lot, “I would like …read more

Source: ALTERNET

By The New Civil Rights Movement

House Democrats are moving forward with plans to impeach President Donald Trump, and will begin the official process Monday, NBC News reports. Several Democratic Members of Congress have circulated different sets of Articles of Impeachment but as of Friday afternoon the draft that appears to be supported by leadership consists of just one article: “Incitement of Insurrection.”

The four-page article, which is to be presented before the full House on Monday, says Trump “will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confirmed, “Congress will now be introducing articles of impeachment on Monday.”

CNN’s Manu Raju has posted the full text, which was drafted by Reps. David Cicilline, Ted Lieu, and Jamie Raskin.

Five hours ago Congressman Lieu said there were already 130 co-sponsors.

…read more

Source: ALTERNET

By The Conversation

by Ako Ufodike, York University, Canada

On Jan. 6, millions of people around the world witnessed a modern-era insurrection as it unfolded in the United States. Supporters of Donald Trump, the outgoing president, raided the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of the November 2020 presidential election results.

The insurrection was the worst incidence of election-related violence in the U.S. since 1920, and the first time the Capitol has been attacked by its own citizens.

Former president George W. Bush, the last Republican president prior to Trump, condemned the event, stating: “This is how election results are disputed in a banana republic — not our democratic republic.”

Another Republican, Wisconsin congressman Mike Gallagher, a Trump loyalist, agreed:

What exactly are banana republics?

They typically force changes in government via coup or assassination in order to seize power. They often have populist leaders or strongmen who take power by force or refuse to relinquish it. Banana republics are therefore politically unstable, with unreliable transfers of power and frequent assassinations.

Successful coups result in a change of government, while assassinations, obviously, result in a change in leader, which may or may not be sufficient to cause the incumbent government to fail.

So has America become a banana republic?

Term applied to Honduras

The term was coined by American author O. Henry in his short story The Admiral to describe Honduras. At the time, the Central American country had faced one coup in 1827, six years after the country’s independence from Spain. Five more ensued in subsequent years; four were successful and one failed.

Honduran President José Santos Guardiola was assassinated in 1862, the only Honduran leader to meet that fate.

Now let’s compare the Honduran experience to America’s often violent relationship with the office of the president. There have been several assassination attempts against sitting U.S. presidents; four of them were successful.

Excluding the recent events on Capitol Hill, the state of Oklahoma has also experienced one event that could qualify as a coup when the Ku Klux Klan effectively overthrew the governor in the 1920s. But that event has largely been erased from America’s historical memory.

It could be argued the United States has just survived its …read more

Source: ALTERNET

By The New Civil Rights Movement

Thursday night in a surprising video President Donald Trump came as close to conceding the election as he ever has, announcing he would focus on an orderly transition of power. Part of the process in American democracy is for the outgoing president to show support for the incoming administration – and for democracy – by gracefully attending the presidential inauguration.

Perhaps the greatest recent history example is Hillary Clinton. She attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, although was under no requirement or expectation to do so – she had lost the election to Trump, was not ever elected president, and had not been part of the Obama administration for four years.

Honor is lost on Trump, who tweeted Friday morning he would not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration.

And while few expected him to do so, especially after inciting a deadly violent insurrection just two days ago, Trump, rightfully, is being blasted and mocked.

U.S. Congressman:

Washington Post reporter:

Top voting rights expert:

Historian:

:

CNN commentator:

CNN White House Correspondent:More:

…read more

Source: ALTERNET

By Meaghan Ellis

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) is still angry about his Republican colleague Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) recent political stunt in support of President Donald Trump’s dangerous coup to challenge the Electoral College certification despite the U.S. Capitol breach that led to the deaths of five people.

On Friday, Jan.8, Sasse appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition” with host Steve Inskeep where he discussed the disturbing series of events that unfolded this week. The Republican lawmaker lambasted Hawley for his attempt to invalidate the outcome of the election on behalf of a disgraced president.

Sasse did not hold back when it came to sharing his brutally honest opinion of the Missouri senator. “Senator Hawley was doing something that was really dumbass, and I have been clear about that in public and in private since long before he announced he was going to do this” Sasse said.

Although Hawley claims to have been on the right side of history, Sasse argues that his actions were nothing more than “a stunt” and a “terrible idea.” He also condemned the senator for repeatedly lying to the American public.

He added, “This was a stunt, it was a terrible, terrible idea, and you don’t lie to the American people, and that’s been going on. The American people have been lied to, chiefly by Donald Trump, and lies have consequences.”

Sasse’s latest remarks come just days after his remarks on the Senate floor just hours after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. At the time, Sasse made his sentiments quite clear. Now, he has become the first Republican senator to confirm that he will consider articles of impeachment to remove Trump from office.

“The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move, because as I told you, I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office,” Sasse said during a “CBS This Morning” interview.Lawmakers are currently working to determine the next course of action as Inauguration Day approaches. …read more

Source: ALTERNET