If Rep. Richard Hanna’s name rings a bell, you probably know of the three-term congressman one of two ways. Either you’re a resident of upstate New York’s 22nd district, which he serves in the House of Representatives, or you recall his name from the few Republican dissenters who labeled Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi hearings as “witch hunts.” Hanna hasn’t always gotten along with his party’s hardliners, so his refusal to endorse presidential nominee Donald Trump comes as no surprise. What is surprising, however, is his recently announced intention to vote for Clinton.
In an interview with Syracuse.com, the soon-to-retire Hanna revealed the New York real estate mogul’s ongoing feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents of fallen Army Captain Humayun S. M. Khan proved too much:
“I saw that and felt incensed,” Hanna said in an interview. “I was stunned by the callousness of his comments.”
Hanna expanded his comments further in an op-ed, admitting he assumed others would “draw the line… when [Trump] alleged that U.S. Sen. John McCain was not a war hero because he was caught.” That, or at least after “the countless other insults he’s proudly lobbed from behind the Republican presidential podium.” Yet none of these things proved too much for Republicans sitting on the sidelines or Trump’s most ardent supporters.
Hence why, after emphasizing his disagreements with Clinton “on many issues,” the Republican congressman announced his intention to vote for the Democratic nominee in the general election. “I will be hopeful and resolute in my belief that being a good American who loves his country is far more important than parties or winning and losing,” he concluded, adding: “All Republicans may not like the direction, but they can live to win or lose another day with a real candidate.”
(Via Syracuse.com)