Jennifer Meyer, an Anchorage mom and professor, says she won’t forgive Sen. Lisa Murkowski for voting against witnesses Friday in the impeachment trial of President Trump.
“I’m a disappointed recovering supporter of Lisa Murkowski,” proclaims Meyer, a Democrat who says she voted for Murkowski several times. “I won’t make the same mistake.”
As a moderate, Murkowski has enjoyed support from Alaska’s right and left. But that also means, on high-profile votes as partisan as this one, she’s sure to disappoint a lot of her base no matter how she votes. That’s how it goes when you’re a moderate in a polarized era. And this time, it’s the left’s turn to be angry.
Meyer used to admire Murkowski for her support for rural health care and education. But she says she doesn’t like the direction Murkowski has gone since Trump became president.
“In the last three years, there’s nothing I can (point to and) say, ‘Well, I’m proud she’s my senator,” Meyer said. “I can’t say that anymore. And that’s disappointing.”
Meyer doesn’t accept Murkowski’s explanation that the impeachment process is too partisan to be repaired in the Senate with the admission of new evidence.
“It seems to me if you were trying to get to the facts and make the process less partisan, you would want to see witnesses and documents,” Meyer said. “So I’m not quite sure why she wants to make the process less fair by having less facts.”
Robin Phillips, on the other hand, says she’s ready for the country to put impeachment in the rearview mirror.
“We have already brought this so far and so long,” said Phillips, president of the Midnight Sun Republican Women. “It’s the only thing that news is talking about and there’s so much other, more important things in the world that we need to focus on.”
Phillips said she was rooting for Murkowski to reject the call for witnesses, though she respects the senator’s process.
“Lisa tends to really think about things. She puts a lot of time and knowledge behind her decisions,” Phillips said.
The impeachment trial resumes Monday and is likely to end Wednesday.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
