Hanna becomes first GOP congressman to say he's voting for Clinton
On Tuesday, Rep. Richard Hanna, R-New York announced he would be putting his country before his party and casting his vote for Hillary Clinton.
"While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton," Hanna wrote in an op-ed on Syracuse.com. "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. I trust she can lead."
Hanna readily acknowledged that his decision might not make him many friends among his colleagues.
"All Republicans may not like the direction, but they can live to win or lose another day with a real candidate," he wrote.
The move makes Hanna the first Republican congressman to say publicly that he'll vote against the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Hanna, however, has little to lose politically, since he is not running for re-election.
The New York congressman has long said he would never support Trump, though, since he finds him "profoundly offensive and narcissistic but as much as anything, a world-class panderer, anything but a leader."
He even suggested that Trump was the "embodiment of at least a short list of the seven deadly sins" and is "deeply flawed in endless ways."
What appears to have pushed Hanna to support Clinton, though, was Trump's treatment of the Muslim family of a fallen U.S. soldier. The soldier's father had spoken out against Trump at the Democratic convention last week.
"In his latest foray of insults, Mr. Trump has attacked the parents of a slain U.S. soldier," Hanna wrote. "Where do we draw the line?" He continued, "For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country."