Some Republicans have expressed frustration with their party over the sensation of GOP senators who voted during his second indictment to convict former President Donald Trump.
Last weekend, seven Republican senators joined all Democrats in convicting the former president of inciting an uprising against the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. They were Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mitt Romney of Utah, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Every senator has since defended their decision, declaring that their vote was constitutional and based on significant evidence, but the setback of the break with the Republican Party was severe.
Five of the seven lawmakers – all but Collins and Romney – have since faced local disapproval, or formal reprimands, from IDP groups in the states they represent. Republican officials condemned the IDP senators by declaring that the decision to convict was not representative of the party.
Other Republicans, however, have since criticized the party for participating in the “cancel culture” and for being intolerant of differing opinions.
Republican Senator John Thune, who voted to acquit Trump, defended his colleagues who sided with Democrats and warned the party against excluding dissenting votes.
“There has been a strong case. People can come to different conclusions. If we are going to criticize the media and the left for the cancellation of culture, we can not do it ourselves,” said Thune, Republican no. 2, said. said Associated Press.
Similarly, Quin Hillyer, a former leader of the Louisiana Young Republicans who commented on the Washington Examiner, criticized the party for discouraging opposing views.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for me to see that both sides of politics these days act as if no difference of opinion is allowed; to act as if someone who immediately strays on any topic has to be shouted down, or canceled or criticized in this case be, “Hillyer said. told Fox 8 News.
He added: ‘If we start making every voice a litmus test,’ we’re going to get practically nowhere, but ‘B’ we’re going down to the line of extremist societies where you purify, after purification. , after cleaning and not only nothing is done but it becomes very dangerous and becomes very unstable. “
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In Utah, Republican Senator Mike Lee, who voted to acquit Trump, issued a statement saying Romney’s decision to plead guilty was “no cause for concern”.
“The fact that Senator Romney and I sometimes disagree (either with each other, or with most Republicans in the Senate, or both) is not startling,” Lee said. “On the contrary, it shows that none of us blindly deviate from anyone. We each do our own homework and then, after consulting with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with each other, we come to our own conclusions.”
The Republican Party in Utah reflected the statement, saying the senators’ choice to plead guilty was “diversity of thought.”
Adam Kinzinger, a member of the Illinois GOP, who was convicted of voting to accuse Trump in the House of Representatives, took to Twitter to punish the party’s decision to punish dissenting votes by giving it a ‘censorship madness. “
‘Good party, good # sensurefrenzy !! “he sarcastically tweeted on Saturday.
Newsweek reached out to representatives of each of the seven senators who voted to convict Trump, but did not hear in time for publication.