Lamar Alexander: Reconsider emergency declaration or risk GOP rebellion

[struggle4progress]

By Bob Fredericks
February 28, 2019

Tennessee GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander told President Trump on Thursday that he should reconsider his decision to declare a national emergency at the southern border or face a possible Republican rebellion.

Alexander, who is retiring, refused to say whether he would join three other Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — in voting against the declaration ...

https://nypost.com/2019/02/28/lamar-alexander-to-trump-reconsider-emergency-declaration-or-risk-gop-rebellion/

[Firestorm49]

1. Collins? Ya, right!

[msongs]

2. isn't he a lame duck? safe for him say then eh nt

[struggle4progress]

3. GOP opposition to emergency declaration grows

By Erica Werner and
John Wagner February 28 at 4:23 PM

GOP opposition to President Trump’s emergency declaration at the border grew in the Senate Thursday, even as Trump warned that fellow Republicans who vote to overturn it are putting themselves “at great jeopardy” politically.

Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined two Democrats in introducing a disapproval resolution identical to one that passed the House earlier this week. Collins and Murkowski had already announced plans to support a disapproval resolution when it comes to a vote in the Senate, which is expected sometime in the next two weeks.

Another Republican senator, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, delivered a floor speech proposing how Trump could get the money he wants to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall without use of a national emergency. Alexander said that his suggestion, which involves transferring larger sums from a Pentagon account that can be accessed without a national emergency declaration, “avoids the constitutional crisis of separation of powers” ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-republicans-who-cross-him-on-national-emergency-are-at-great-jeopardy/2019/02/28/07d3d334-3b6a-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html?utm_term=.02a8317f8148

[struggle4progress]

4. Republicans descend into thuggery

By Jennifer Rubin
Opinion writer
February 27 at 9:45 AM

Republicans in two dramatic ways demonstrated Tuesday the degree to which they have descended into a party of bullying, brute force and contempt for the rule of law ...

Yup, a mere 13 Republican House members could muster the courage to vote for the resolution repealing Trump’s blatantly unconstitutional power grab. The final vote was 245 to 182 (all Democrats supported the measure). In other words, 182 Republican members, including the majority leader and the rest of the GOP leadership, supported the usurpation of the power of the purse and a raid on military construction funds to mollify Trump. I suppose 13 is better than zero, but when less than 7 percent of House Republicans can defend a rudimentary constitutional principle, the party is in grave danger of losing its legitimacy.

The voices of conscience and principle are too few on the GOP side of the aisle. While the rebuke of a president of this magnitude is impressive and unparalleled, voters should conclude that all but the 13 have abandoned their oaths in favor of subservience to a zealous authoritarian who is willing to do just about anything to please his base and satisfy his ego, no matter what the facts.

Don’t expect much better from the Senate, where the resolution now goes. So far, a mere three Senate Republicans have stepped forward to support the resolution, despite the caterwauling by many others just weeks ago warning Trump not to set a terrible precedent that might one day be wielded by a Democratic president ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/27/republicans-become-party-thugocracy/?utm_term=.8cb40de78edc

[RockRaven]

5. It's put up or shut up time Lamar...

We will see how you vote.