Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) openly admitted that she and her Republican colleagues were “all afraid” of “retaliation” from President Donald Trump as she criticized what she called “unlawful” executive overreach and sweeping federal cuts.

276 points
*

“We are all afraid”, says one of the literally only people on the planet with the power to actually do something about it.

Seriously. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, YOU FUCKING CHODE.

This whole ordeal can be stopped by about half a dozen Republicans any time they want.

Threaten to leave the party, go independent, and caucus with Democrats to appoint a new House and Senate speaker. It would take, what, 3? Maybe 4 Republicans in each chamber to flip control of Congress. You don’t even have to hold your nose and vote with Democrats on actual funding bills or anything. Just vote with Dems on curtailing Trump’s actions and impeaching the fucking bastard. Even if you can’t get him removed from office because the rest of your party are spineless cowards, you could at least pass bills to do things like reverse these stupid tariffs and actually reclaim power that was granted to you by the Constitution in the first fucking place.

This woman, Rand Paul, and Susan Collins have all spoken up. All they need to do is find one more Republican willing to say “We are willing to caucus with Democrats to elect a new Senate majority leader unless our demands to curtail these damaging Trump tariffs, reclaim Congressional powers, and reverse these destructive policies are met.” That’s it. Same in the house. 3 Republicans in the house willing to stand up and caucus with Democrats to get shit back under control.

But if all you’re going to do is complain about being “afraid” when you’re simultaneously rubber-stamping his entire agenda, then have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up, because you voted for this. And if the rest of us are going to have to suffer because of your cowardice, then we’re going to at least get some entertainment out of it along the way once the leopard starts eating your face.

I have absolutely zero pity for some of the most overpaid, well-protected, resourceful people on the planet when they’re the ones complaining about being afraid. Fuck you. What about the rest of us? You seem to have been perfectly OK with it when it was just the brown people and poors being effected.

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71 points

“We are all afraid!”, …but we don’t want to lose our privilidge by opposing him.

Fuck you cowardly cunt.

As noted, a small group could end this.

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-1 points

Naw, she is no coward. She is a pro-abortion Republican that voted against Trump. Rather than be her ally you act like a little bitch.

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7 points

How come this is the first time we’re hearing from her, then?

Bernie Sanders has been out on the trail since January, circling the country telling everyone that Trump is a dangerous criminal. Where was Murkowski at? Not there, that’s for sure. Not running her own version of the same. She backed and approved every single Trump cabinet appointee except for Hegseth.

Forgive me if I’m not impressed.

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37 points

It’s interesting you mention why Republicans are so unwilling to consolidate votes, yet the only time in history where they did consolidate votes was to prevent Hunter S Thompson from becoming sheriff of Aspen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Aspen

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17 points

The Christian nationalists would absolutely crucify them, it’s career suicide and they know it.

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33 points

So what? It’s better for the country.

I’m thinking they are more fearful of their friends and family being murdered.

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29 points

Lol, the Republicans never cared about what’s best for the country

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18 points

In a just world, they should feel that capitulating to Trump’s agenda would be actual suicide.

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8 points

Sadly, it might actually be heading in the exact opposite direction. If they don’t capitulate to him, it may soon be more dangerous than just losing their career.

I hate this timeline

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3 points
*

Are they so unskilled they couldn’t just go get another job? (I’m not asking you to defend them - just pointing out the absurdity)

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3 points

Probably not one as cushy, and where they are favored if they just fall in line

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1 point
Deleted by creator
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2 points

Of all the people we needed to be brave, it had to be the fucking Republicans. We are truly and utterly fucked.

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-5 points

We need to be sending “CHODE” T-Shirts to all these people afraid of Trump. Your idea, so get on it 😘

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122 points

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.


You took an oath. Being afraid isn’t an excuse.

We expect 19 year old soldiers to run into fire and destruction to honor their oaths. We expect no less from our elected representatives.

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37 points

Yeah and if they haven’t noticed - creeping fascism only gets worse the longer you let it linger. Time to bite the bullet and do something, it’s not going to go away on its own and we’re all going to be in more danger (including GOP senators) the longer it goes on.

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15 points

I’ve said this before, but being an elected politician should be treated as a position of service, not of status and excess. If you want the office for the right reasons then having some downsides to taking the power should be no big deal.

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10 points

Democracies are only as functional as their courts. I think the US court system has been failing its people in a lot of ways, for some time now.

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3 points

Yea it’s almost like a particular party has a think tank which invaded prestigious law schools, and strated grooming lawyers right out of highschool to become judges for republicans. Just like everything else in this country today, they removed the merit, installed nepostism, and control the narrative.

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11 points

I took that oath at 18.

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3 points

Reading these headlines me think and feel that military service should be a prereq for US Congressional/presidential office.

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6 points

Substitute “military service” with “minimum wage customer service,” and you’re onto something.

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11 points

Republicans take a second oath:

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good.”

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2 points

**“I believe in the sacredness and dignity of the individual. / I believe that all men derive the right to freedom equally from God. / I pledge to resist aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth.” ** also this one, its german translation is broadcast in german public deutschlandradio every sunday at noon followed by the ringing sound of berlins freedom bell

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1 point

Amen.

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99 points

She’s 67 years old. She’s been in the Senate for over 20 years. She can decide to retire after her current term and they can’t use the threat of a primary against her. It’s her choice to cower in fear and empower the destruction of our democracy. Because she is watching that happen. In the end she’s just another pathetic boomer willing to bow to trump to cling to power.

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24 points

they can’t use the threat of a primary against her

She lost the 2010 primary during the height of the Tea Party movement, ran a campaign to have people vote for her as a write in candidate, and won as a write in.

In the end, the problem is that her vote doesn’t actually matter this cycle, at least not by itself. In order to flex any muscle she’d need to actually persuade some colleagues to stand up to Trump. At this point she’s more of a Republican Fetterman than a Republican Sinema/Manchin.

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4 points

Yeah, I’m aware she’s an outlier in that she beat back the crazies once before, but 2010 is not 2024. In 2010 Trump wasn’t a factor. The cult was forming, but there was no messiah yet. If tomorrow trump singled her out for hate like he did Liz Cheney she’d get wrecked instantly, and she knows it.

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2 points

Alaska is just weird, and I wouldn’t attribute too much in national electoral trends to that specific state. It now has an instant runoff general election after a top-4 jungle primary, which makes the craziest candidates less viable. Sarah Palin is very much a Trumpist, but couldn’t win a statewide election in 2022 (enough Republicans in the state hate her that they voted for Begich first, then flipped to the Democrat or didn’t vote once Begich dropped out in the instant runoff).

It’d be hard to properly analyze a hypothetical about Murkowski running for reelection amidst a Trump attack campaign and an endorsement of a more Trumpist opponent, but I wouldn’t discount her chances even in that environment. Especially if she does succeed in forming a mini caucus with other Republican Senators that fight to preserve legislative power to check the Presidency.

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5 points

67 year old politicians aspire to cling to power for 20 more years

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98 points

“We are all afraid,” Murkowski told the crowd on Monday.

Pausing, she added: “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

  • This, right here, is the most open and honest admission of what the US is today, by the ruling party elite: A dictatorship. An authoritarian state.
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49 points

Do the fucking job you were elected to do, coward.

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24 points
*

They are doing the jobs they were paid to do, by corporate America.

Being ineffectual corporate-whores who capitulate to capital is the core requirement of every politicians job description in the 21st Century. Though, it turns out corruption is incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. Who would have thought?

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50 points

Fucking cowards.

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4 points

On one hand, sure. She’s a coward. She’s one of the most privileged people in the US, but she’s afraid. She’s not doing her job because she’s afraid, and that’s just allowing the fascists to win.

On the other hand, at least she’s admitting it. That’s a small step in the right direction. You can’t fix the problem until you acknowledge it exists. Being scared of MAGA is rational, and it would be good if more politicians admitted that they were acting out of fear, not because they believed in what these assholes are doing.

So, if she’s scared, maybe she needs support. The US goes on and on about how the 2nd amendment is about keeping the people free from a tyrannical government. So, be like the Black Panthers. They were probably also scared. They were in a lot of danger, much more so than women or non-straight people today. But, they tried to make the other side scared too.

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