Mike Murphy on MSNBC: GOP Senator told me if it was a secret vote 30 of us would convict Trump

[BeyondGeography]

I think they’ll fold but getting their gutlessness on the record could give us the Senate in 2020.

[underpants]

1. Watching in the lunch room. Bad sound.

Thanks.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Profiles in Courage, Republican style.

They know he broke the law, but are too cowardly to do their job openly to protect the Constitution.

[Goodheart]

3. Which leads to the question:

Can McConnell constitutionally call for a secret vote? I don't see why not.

[berni_mccoy]

6. I suspect if they had unanimous consent to do it...

[TwilightZone]

4. I don't buy it.

Until or unless Republican voter support of Trump craters, I don't think GOP Senators would vote for conviction, even in secret. Too much chance of word getting out and dooming their campaigns.

Their political lives *always* take precedence.

[safeinOhio]

5. Too late for a primary?

Only 2 running.

[Dawson Leery]

7. Conservatives are self-preserving cowards.

[dweller]

11. yep, they'll chew your leg off

to get out of a
trap

✌🏼

[Awsi Dooger]

8. Yet those 30 will instead speak out in his defense

That's the reality of the matter. It's the reason that comparisons to the Watergate era are not valid.

These guys know they'll be primaried and they'll be out of a job. It won't end there. They would be targeted and attacked once out of office. That is the reality of the social media era and the Republican party. Nobility has to be weighed in relation to impact on their lives and therefore the lives of their family members.

Somehow the situational influence is never considered around here

[TwilightZone]

9. They probably won't speak out.

They'll sit in the shadows and say nothing, as is usually the case with the GOP Senators and Trump. Most of them never say a word.

I agree on the situation. Unless Trump's support among GOP voters crashes and burns, they're not going to vote to convict and end their political careers. That's their priority, over all. Not happening while GOP support is in the 80s.

[BeyondGeography]

12. The last thing they want to do is make that vote

Trump, bless his heart, has cornered them on that one.

[TwilightZone]

13. Not for many of them.

If GOP voter support of Trump remains high, their constituents will, in general, want them to vote to acquit. Voting to acquit is therefore no problem politically, especially for red-state Senators.

If GOP voter support of Trump remains 85-90%, GOP Senators in, say, Wyoming or Oklahoma, have no reason to vote to convict. Their supporters want them to acquit, and their careers are priority one.

Only if GOP voter support of Trump drops does it become a problem for them politically.

[spanone]

10. Profiles in Cowardice.

[Roland99]

14. Cowards. But I'd take it.