Richard Burr

Republicans And Veterans: Total Hypocrisy And Disgrace!

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The Republican Party loves to wave the flag and talk about “patriotism”, but they are regularly against veterans receiving health care for their sacrifices since September 11.

They just, out of spite, worked yesterday against aid to soldiers exposed to toxic pits and other dangers in war zones, including in Afghanistan and Iraq after September 11.

It is shocking to see even so called “better” Republicans, such as Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse joining with outgoing Senators, such as Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, Richard Burr, Roy Blunt, and Richard Shelby, and all of the usual obnoxious Senators (including Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Rick Scott, and others) to vote against veterans’ health aid!

Only 8 Republican Senators supported the legislation yesterday, including Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito, Marco Rubio, Jerry Moran, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, and two others!

17 Republicans Join 50 Democrats In First Senate Vote On Physical Infrastructure Legislation

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In a surprising development, 17 Republican Senators joined the 50 Democratic Senators to vote for a version of the Physical Infrastructure legislation, a promising sign of bipartisanship.

The 17 Republicans who voted in favor include:

Roy Blunt Missouri
Richard Burr North Carolina
Shelley Moore Capito West Virginia
Bill Cassidy Louisiana
Susan Collins Maine
Kevin Cramer North Dakota
Mike Crapo Idaho
Lindsey Graham South Carolina
Chuck Grassley Iowa
John Hoeven North Dakota
Mitch McConnell Kentucky
Lisa Murkowski Alaska
Rob Portman Ohio
James Risch Idaho
Mitt Romney Utah
Thom Tillis North Carolina
Todd Young Indiana

This list includes moderates Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney, but also leading figures in the party, including Lindsey Graham, Chuck Grassley, Mitch McConnell, and Rob Portman. It also includes both Republican Senators from North Carolina, North Dakota, and Idaho, an unlikely scenario!

And yet, Donald Trump has condemned this move in the Senate, and particularly attacked Mitt Romney, terming him a RINO (Republican In Name Only), and it is all jealousy that he was unable to accomplish any infrastructure legislation during his Presidency, despite saying it was an important goal!

It is good to see that Republicans are ignoring Donald Trump on this matter, and hopefully, the party will wrest its freedom from the danger that Donald Trump represents!

Possible Infrastructure Deal With Enough Republican Senators, But Will It Be Acceptable To Democrats?

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A possible compromise infrastructure deal is in the works, as eleven Republican Senators seem to be on board.

This includes the following Senators:

Richard Burr of North Carolina
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Jerry Moran of Kansas
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Rob Portman of Ohio
Mitt Romney of Utah
Mike Rounds of South Dakota
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Todd Young of Indiana

Some of this group also seem willing to work on a voting rights bill, along with Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Dan Sullivan of Alasks.

While this is encouraging, the question is whether all Democrats will be willing to work on compromise legislation on both bills, and that seems a quandary without easy solution.

The 35 House Republicans Who Supported Creation Of A January 6 Insurrection Commission, But Will Senate Republicans Follow?

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The number of House Republicans who supported the impeachment of Donald Trump in January, after the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, was ten members.

The number of House Republicans who voted last week to support the creation of a January 6 Insurrection Commission is 35 members, which is one sixth of the Republican House membership, with 175 Republicans voting against the bill.

They come from 23 states, including 4 from New York; and 2 each from Florida, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Nebraska, Utah, and Arkansas.

The other states are California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oregon, Indiana, South Carolina, West Virginia, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Idaho.

The big question is whether 10 Republican Senators would go along with the creation of the January 6 Commission, and one would think the 7 Senators who voted to convict Trump in February 2021 (Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Pat Toomey, Richard Burr, and Bill Cassidy) would do so, but already it seems unlikely that will happen!

It is believed that up to 15 Republican Senators “might’ support the creation of the Commission, but no certainty, when it should be supported by all who want the unvarnished truth!

In any case, there will be a House Commission formed by Nancy Pelosi, and the Republicans will nnly harm their own reputations, and their political futures, by working to deny a full investigation, with their full participation.

Covering up or denying reality will not play well, and will only doom the Republican Party future!

A Salute To The Ten House Members and 7 Senators Who Supported Impeachment And Conviction Of Donald Trump!

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It takes courage and principle for a political figure to speak up for truth and transparency.

It is much easier to go “with the crowd”, to stay silent and conform, but a total of 17 Republicans, 10 in the House of Representatives, and 7 in the Unites States Senate, stand out for their convictions and commitment to the truth.

They deserve credit, as they have been pilloried for disloyalty to Donald Trump, and have been censured by their state Republican party organizations.

In the long run of history, they will be remembered, as members of Congress who opposed the majority, and suffered mightily at the time, but look strong and determined in retrospect.

When these 17 Republicans leave Congress and when their earthly journey comes to a end, their stand on Donald Trump’s impeachment will be part of their eventual obituary.

And if not to have principles and conscience, what is the whole point of public service?

Here is the list of reputable Republicans in Congress:

US House of Representatives

Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Tom Rice of South Carolina
Dan Newhouse of Washington
Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
Fred Upton of Michigan
Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
Peter Meijer of Michigan
John Katko of New York
David Valadao of California

The US Senate

Richard Burr of North Carolina
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Mitt Romney of Utah
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

With Donald Trump Appearing At CPAC, Republican Party Is In Process Of Suicidal Behavior

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The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), occurring this coming weekend, is a situation of the Republican Party being in the process of suicidal behavior, by permitting Donald Trump to appear and rile his right wing base!

The Republican Party in Congress is imploding right now, between backing white supremacy and Christian Evangelicalism, and undermining the responsible conservative base, including Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey, Richard Burr, and Bill Cassidy in the Senate!

And the horrific reaction of Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader, to Liz Cheney, who has the principles and courage to make clear that Donald Trump cannot be allowed to be the future of the party, is a sign of long term decline. Instead of following Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and eight other principled House conservatives, McCarthy is hitching his star to the crazed former President!

The Most BiPartisan Impeachment Trial In American History

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Donald Trump may have been able to avoid conviction in his second Impeachment Trial yesterday, but it was the most bipartisan impeachment trial in American history, nevertheless.

11 Republican House members moved to impeach Trump for his inciting of the January 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection, including Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as the most prominent, and 7 Senate Republicans (Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Pat Toomey, Bill Cassidy, Richard Burr) vote to convict Trump.

The vote of 57-43 to convict was ten votes short of the two thirds required, but if this was a piece of legislation, or an election, a percentage of 57-43 would be seen as a landslide!

Donald Trump has poisoned the Republican Party, and sadly, the state committees in the states where Republicans showed principle, have gone ahead and censured those courageous House and Senate members.

But in the long run of history those 11 House members and 7 Senators will stand tall, and the Republican Party is doomed for its allowing itself to become the party of Trump, and the effort to preserve democracy and the future, if any, of the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike and Reagan, must be waged for the security and safety of the nation in the future!

Donald Trump will go down in the long run as the worst President in American history, lower than James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, because he will be seen as a Fascist authoritarian who endangered the nation, and he will face prosecution as an ordinary citizens for many crimes, including the events of January 6, 2021!

Would Any Republican Senators Vote For Conviction Of Donald Trump In Impeachment Trial? It Is Possible Up To 23 Would Do So, Three More Than Needed To Remove Trump From Oval Office!

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As the likelihood of the impeachment of Donald Trump increases daily, the question arises whether any of the 53 Republican Senators would actually vote for his conviction and removal from the Presidency.

It has been reported that privately up to 30 Republican Senators would wish to do so, but are unwilling to risk their Senate seats to vote in public, where they need to be listed as to their vote on the matter.

Looking at the list of Republicans, it seems to this author and blogger that the following 23 might decide to convict Trump:

Richard Shelby of Alabama

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska

Marco Rubio of Florida

Johnny Isakson of Georgia

Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Joni Ernst of Iowa

Pat Roberts of Kansas

Rand Paul of Kentucky

John Kennedy of Louisiana

Susan Collins of Maine

Ben Sasse of Nebraska

Deb Fischer of Nebraska

Richard Burr of North Carolina

Rob Portman of Ohio

James Lankford of Oklahoma

Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

Tim Scott of South Carolina

John Thune of South Dakota

Lamar Alexander of Tennessee

Mike Lee of Utah

Mitt Romney of Utah

Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

Mike Enzi of Wyoming

All of these Senators, except four, do not face election until 2022, or 2024 in the case of Fischer and Romney, while Roberts, Enzi and Alexander are retiring in 2020, and Isakson is retiring early at the end of 2019 due to poor health . Only Collins, Ernst, Sasse and Capito face election in 2020, but possibly could be considered “yes” votes for conviction.

If all of these 23 GOP Senators voted to convict, added to 47 Democrats and Independents, it would mean the vote to convict would be 70-30, enough by three, allowing, in theory, three of the Senators facing election in 2020 to decide NOT to remove Trump.

Removal Of Dan Coats As Director Of National Intelligence A Warning Sign On Foreign Policy For America

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The decision of Donald Trump to remove Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence is a major blow to the intelligence community and a danger sign on foreign policy for America.

Coats handled his job in a professional manner, often contradicting Trump on many national security issues.

Coats knew that Russia had intervened to help Trump win the Presidential Election of 2016, and was continuing to interfere in the upcoming Presidential Election of 2020 to help Trump once again.

Coats knew that North Korea was playing Trump for a fool, and will not ever denuclearize.

Coats knew that the Iran Nuclear Deal was working, and that breaking the treaty, supported by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, along with China and Russia, was a mistake.

Coats knew that ISIS (ISIL) is still a threat to promote terrorism in the Middle East, despite it losing its territorial base.

Coats knew that Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman arranged the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist, at the embassy in Turkey last year, despite Trump refusing to accept that reality.

It is Coats and other intelligence officials and agencies who have been leading the fight against the dangers presented by Donald Trump.

And it is good to see some Republicans, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina making clear that proposed replacement, Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas, was totally unqualified to replace Coats.

The future security and safety of the United States is endangered every day Donald Trump remains as President of the United States!

Could North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr Be Thorn For Donald Trump And His Son?

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Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina may be a thorn for Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump, Jr., but who would have guessed that?

Burr is a soft spoken member of the Senate since 2005 and served in the House of Representatives for the ten years from 1995 to 2005.

Burr has been Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and has been engaged in investigation of the Trump scandals, and has worked well with Ranking Member Mark Warner, Senator from Virginia.

To decide to call Donald Trump Jr. back for further questioning after having done so in 2017 is causing an uproar from many Republicans who want to drop the issue and move on, and are willing to cover up for Trump.

But Burr is a traditional conservative, and his voting record offers no hope of an open mind on most issues, and yet, he could now cause grief for Donald Trump and his son, hard to explain, but still welcome.