Brett Kavanaugh (1965- ) is a US judge and Bush Republican. On July 9th 2018 President Trump named him to serve on the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. He could be confirmed by the Senate as early as October.
Sheltered White Man: That he would be the 108th White man on the court (out of 114) is totally not racist. Only wise Latinas can be racist.
If he is confirmed it will be a dream come true for Republicans: at long last they will have enough hard-right judges on the court to overturn Roe v Wade (1973), the decision that allows abortion (killing of the unborn). It is why most of the court is, like Kavanaugh, Catholic.
The Federalist Society recommends him. They too want to overturn Roe v Wade. For the past 30 years they have been pushing originalism, the idea that the Constitution should be read according to the “original intent” of those who wrote it. That is a nice way of saying the US should be by and for rich White straight Christian cis men, a way to turn back the clock to at least 1950. Make America Great Again!
Kavanaugh will also likely provide the fifth vote needed to end affirmative action.
Presidential power: Of more immediate concern to President Trump is the Russiagate scandal, which could easily reach the Supreme Court. These words by Kavanaugh in 2009 are likely what got him the nomination:
“I believe that the President should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office. … the indictment and trial of a sitting President, moreover, would cripple the federal government.”
after all:
“If the president does something dastardly, the impeachment process is available.”
In 1998 he helped write the Ken Starr report, in particular the part that says a president can be impeached for obstruction of justice or lying under oath. But:
From 2001 to 2006 he worked for President Bush and saw how hard it is to be president. He was a staff secretary, handling every piece of paper that reached the president. It gave him a deep understanding of how government agencies work.
From 2006 to 2018 he was a judge on the DC District court, considered the second most powerful court in the land. Many of its cases concern government agencies.
Net neutrality: Kavanaugh is not a fan. He thinks that companies that provide Internet service should be allowed to block or slow down or speed up any website they want – in the name of “free speech”! The free speech of the companies, that is. If you do not like it, you can always change Internet providers, which for most people would mean moving to another city or state. Abortion under Kavanaugh could wind up like that too: you might have to go to another state.
Global warming: Bending over backwards for big business means he undermines the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do anything about global warming.
Kavanaugh would likely be on the court till the 2040s.
– Abagond, 2018.
Update (September 19th): Senate Republicans are trying to ram through Kavanaugh’s confirmation before the midterm elections in November. They refuse to examine his well-documented time at the Bush II White House. He has been found to lie under oath. And now a woman, Christine Blasey Ford, a professor from California, has come forward accusing him of attempted rape back in high school. She is willing to speak in public before the Senate, but only after an FBI investigation. She has received death threats.
Update (September 24th): A second woman has come forward, Deborah Ramirez, who says he put his penis in her face freshman year at Yale (1983-84).
Update (September 28th): On the 26th a third woman came out against Kavanaugh: Julie Swetnick, accusing him of taking part in gang rapes. On the 27th Blasey Ford spoke before the Senate and Kavanaugh defended himself – see my post on the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing.
Update (September 28th, 22:16 GMT): Trump has ordered the FBI to reopen its background check on Kavanaugh!!!
Three Republican Senators are still on the fence (Flake, Murkowski, and Collins). They all want him to reopen the investigation. Trump needs at least two of them to get Kavanaugh through the Senate. Two red-state Democrats (Manchin and Heitkamp) are also on the fence.
The Senate will delay its vote on Kavanaugh for up to a week to allow for the investigation.
The FBI will at least look into the Blasey Ford accusation. It is unclear if they will look into the Ramirez and Swetnick ones.
Update (October 1st): The FBI does seem to be investigating the Blasey Ford and Ramirez accusations, but not (yet?) the Swetnick one, by far the worst of the three.
Update (October 3rd): As far as can be known from news reports, the FBI has only interviewed Ramirez and four of Kavanaugh’s friends who drank beer with him on July 1st 1982: Mark Judge, Timmy, Squi, and one other. That get-together at Timmy’s house, marked on Kavanaugh’s calendar from that year, more or less fits Blasey Ford’s account. The FBI has not yet interviewed Kavanaugh, Blasey Ford, Swetnick, or any of the 20 witnesses provided by Ramirez. They have reportedly been turning away people who have come forward to them. One report says that they have been told (by Trump) to do as little as possible.
Update (October 4th): The FBI completed their investigation yesterday. They spoke to only nine witnesses. It seems that they pretty much just talked to Ramirez and some of Kavanaugh’s friends and then called it a day.
It was not the FBI which wanted to limit the investigation but President Trump.
Despite all that, Flake and Collins, two of the Republican fence-sitters, found the FBI report “very thorough”.
The Senate is set to vote on Kavanaugh on Saturday, two days from now.
Update (October 5th): Flake, Collins, and Manchin have all said they will vote for Kavanaugh. Barring any 11th-hour conversions, that is enough to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. The official vote takes place tomorrow.
Update (October 6th): Brett Kavanaugh is now on the Supreme Court.
It was the narrowest Supreme Court confirmation vote in over a hundred years.
The vote was 50 to 48. All but one Democrat (Manchin) voted against Kavanaugh, all but two Republicans (Murkowski, Daines) voted for him. Murkowski voted neither yes or no but “present”. Daines of Montana was not even present – he was at his daughter’s wedding.
Update (October 10th): Christine Blasey Ford is still in hiding. She is still getting death threats.
See also:
- Brett Kavanaugh is now on the Supreme Court
- His accusers
- posts on Supreme Court justices:
- Anthony Kennedy – who Kavanaugh would replace
- Neil Gorsuch – Trump’s first nomination
- Antonin Scalia – Kavavanaugh is a fan
- Sonia Sotomayor – wise Latina
- Sheltered White Men
- Wise Latinas
- originalism
- Federalist Society
- net neutrality
- global warming
- affirmative action
- Donald Trump
- President Bush – a post written in the Bush era!
“I believe that the President should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office. … the indictment and trial of a sitting President, moreover, would cripple the federal government.”
– actually an indictment at this moment would let the federal government move forward with two strong legs and flying feet!
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“Abortion under Kavanaugh could wind up like that too: you might have to go to another state.”
It already is like that in some places. It’s just going to get worse.
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Anyone will be better then thst lying “H”!
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Considering Andrew Napolitano was critical, I think that “more conservative” scale may not be correct, depending on how you score it. Rand Paul and Mike Lee consider themselves more right wing, from a smaller government scale, then a George Bush type… I’ve seen the scale judged more on a grid with 4 quadrants. Honestly I don’t know a lot about Kavanaugh, but he doesn’t seem to be the most “conservative” on the list. I will say he seems like a decent family man, and has had “liberal” professors , and fellow classmates throughout his life who have come out in support of him.. Some people actually worry he is too close to Washington to not be a swamp creature; no matter his political and social views. Either way, people on both sides are being too quick to support or oppose him in my view. The far left made picket signs on the fly and added his name to them. The pro-trump people, who are just average folks, but are sick of the protests, react to that by blindly supporting him! I’m glad you actually broke it down from your point of view! Bravo!
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Anyone who doesn’t think net neutrality is essential is a dumb sumbeach who shouldn’t be allowed to walk a dog let alone sit on the Supreme Courtb and be allowed to decide reproductive rights for half the country.
I hate conservatives. There, I said it. They are just dumb and never understand anything until it affects them and then they’re all “woe is me.”
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@thatdeborahgirl
They are just dumb and never understand anything until it affects them and then they’re all “woe is me.”
Or it is the “well if the liberals had” or “But Obama” etc. None I run into own anything when it affects them.
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This man is a sexual predator. He fits right in with Trump’s evil cabal of white supremacist and other ghouls and demons.
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lol maybe law & order: svu will do an episode (not) based on this
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This is what you get when you elect a sleazeball like Trump.
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Update: Senate Republicans are trying to ram through Kavanaugh’s confirmation before the midterm elections in November. They refuse to examine his well-documented time at the Bush II White House. He has been found to lie under oath. And now a woman, Christine Blasey Ford, a professor from California, has come forward accusing him of attempted rape back in high school. She is willing to speak in public before the Senate, but only after an FBI investigation. She has received death threats.
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As much as I would love to say “no way” I am just going to sadly smh, because this nightmare is all too real.
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Not surprised Christine Blasey Ford has received death threats. I am sure some of Trumps goons have tried to threaten her into silence. Trump and his supporters are truly a cult of deplorable monsters.
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@abagond
“ccusing him of attempted rape back in high school”
Isn’t statute of limitations on claims applicable here? I mean, she even has a literally another body with all her cells completely renewed every seven-or-something years.
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There’s no statute of limitations for felony sexual assault in Maryland.
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“she even has a literally another body with all her cells completely renewed every seven-or-something years.”
And yet her memory of the attempted rape (and the emotional and mental trauma thus inflicted on her) remain intact.
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@Open Minded Observer
Thanks for the hint, that explains a lot. I’ve also read a defamation law.
Yet, I cannot see the logic behind the lack of statute limitations for felony sexual assault, for, if I’m not mistaken, a rape used to be classified under old Anglo-Saxon legal system as a property rights violation, but that was centuries ago.
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https://www.livescience.com/33179-does-human-body-replace-cells-seven-years.html
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Update: A second woman has come forward, Deborah Ramirez, who says he put his penis in her face freshman year at Yale (1983-84).
More:
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A possible third one
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/24/brett-kavanaugh-avenatti-third-accuser-emerge-48-hours/1416699002/
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@ Sharina
Wow. Thanks. Another day, another accuser.
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he’s toast, it would be a joke to have the constitution potentially altered by this person
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The Supreme Court would lose credibility if Kavanaugh is confirmed without a proper FBI investigation into the claims being made.
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Is there a way to impeach/fire a Supreme Court justice?
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Yet more accusations:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/26/brett-kavanaugh-questioned-alleged-physical-sexual-assault/1437715002/
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@ Herneith
It is possible but hard to do as congress would have to remove him.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/12/can-a-supreme-court-justice-be-forcibly-removed-from-the-bench-a-quick-civics-lesson/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6afbe102ccfe
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V8driver and Origin
I agree, but sadly the best tactic and the one being used is to make these women look as if they lack credibility. I will post the link if I can find it again but they want to tie them to people they consider “democrat extremist”.
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well team red has to show some type of effort
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DARVO
DARVO refers to a reaction perpetrators of wrong doing, particularly sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior. DARVO stands for “Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.
The perpetrator or offender may Deny the behavior, Attack the individual doing the confronting, and Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender such that the perpetrator assumes the victim role and turns the true victim — or the whistle blower — into an alleged offender. This occurs, for instance, when an actually guilty perpetrator assumes the role of “falsely accused” and attacks the accuser’s credibility and blames the accuser of being the perpetrator of a false accusation.”
https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html
Culture Definition
Culture can be generally defined as an interrelated set of values, tools, and practices that is shared among a group of people who possess a common social identity. More simply, culture is the sum total of our worldviews or of our ways of living. Cultural world-views affect a range of psychological processes, including perceptual, cognitive, personality, and social processes, but are thought to most strongly influence social psychological processes.
https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/cultural-psychology/culture/
In light of the frequency or prevalence of the accusation of rape, attempted rape or even “grabbing a woman by her p*ssy”, seems to be an enclosed cultural habit that has reached an endemic level amongst white Amerikan men. (eg: Trump, Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Al Franken Roy Moore and a host of other reprobates and miscreants).
Even further, the women of Yale University published an open letter which read in relevant part: “We are coming forward as women of Yale because we have a shared experience of the environment that shaped not only Judge Kavanaugh’s life and career, but our own,” the letter reads. “We are committed to supporting all women who have faced sexual assault, not only at Yale, but across the country.”
https://www.bustle.com/p/women-from-yale-supported-christine-blasey-ford-deborah-ramirez-in-a-searing-open-letter-12025510
2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed.”
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Kavanaugh is a sniveling and crying miscreant.
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He’s a weirdo who keeps calendars, how bizarre.
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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-hearing-teenager.html
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i guess he doesn’t have any clean time either.
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My own post on the hearing:
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https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-allegations-yearbook-male-bonding.html
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Update: On the 26th a third woman came out against Kavanaugh: Julie Swetnick, accusing him of taking part in gang rapes. On the 27th Blasey Ford spoke before the Senate and Kavanaugh defended himself – see my post on the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing.
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Pumpkin did a wonderful post on this whole thing: “Brett Kavanaugh Is the Rule, Not the Exception”
https://blacknotwhitedippedinchocolate.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/brett-kavanaugh-is-the-rule-not-the-exception/
Excerpt:
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Update: Trump has ordered the FBI to reopen its background check on Kavanaugh!!!
Three Republican Senators are still on the fence (Flake, Murkowski, and Collins). They all want him to reopen the investigation. Trump needs at least two of them to get Kavanaugh through the Senate. Two red-state Democrats (Manchin and Heitkamp) are also on the fence.
The Senate will delay its vote on Kavanaugh for up to a week to allow for the investigation.
The FBI will at least look into the Blasey Ford accusation. It is unclear if they will look into the Ramirez and Swetnick ones.
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And those on the fence democrats are why it is so hard for me to vote blue.
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Update: The FBI does seem to be investigating the Blasey Ford and Ramirez accusations, but not (yet?) the Swetnick one, by far the worst of the three.
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The transcript of the Brett Kavanaugh Senate interview revealed that a letter was submitted to Grassley by another woman who said she was motivated to write to him about her experience after Blasey Ford spoke up. It’s on page 13 of the transcript found below and it explicitly [literally] alleges rape:
Click to access 09.26.18%20BMK%20Interview%20Transcript%20(Redacted).pdf
It’s true that anyone can send an anonymous letter, but there are eerie similarities to the allegations of serial gang raping by Kavanaugh and friends that is alleged by Michael Avenatti’s client. The transcript is dated 9/26 which is, coincidentally, the same day Michael Avenatti identified his client as Julie Swetnick on twitter.
Kavanaugh, when asked if he had any questions responded:
It’s a pretty insistent denial but one wonders why, despite being apparently outraged by slanderous accusations, Kavanaugh has often seemed resistant to allowing an FBI investigation to clear his name. I knew that if I were innocent and probably never even met these people I would’ve expected an investigation to clear my name and would have submitted to it.
So think it’s suspicious that the women who have publicly revealed themselves (Ford, Swetnick, Ramirez) have all been willing to speak to the FBI while Kavanaugh seems to want to avoid an independent investigation into the claims. Why would the White House, besides setting a time limit, also want to limit the scope to certain accusations if they were confident that all the sexual assault claims against Kavanaugh were hogwash?
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@ Origin
I do not believe Kavanaugh’s denials because a) he does not call for an FBI investigation; b) he lies even about little things; and c) he kept dodging questions. These are not the actions of an innocent man. It is astounding how grown people believe him.
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“It is astounding how grown people believe him (Kavanaugh).” – Abagond
Sadly, I believe that the people who you refer to as “grown people” are actually children in terms of their collective behaviour. In my experience children either place themselves in a corner or shy away from the truth altogether, especially when they are confronted with inconvenient truths or when their contradictions are fully exposed.
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I got an email from Move On.Com, and I think it’s funny Kavanaugh is being referred to as KavaHellNaugh.
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I would bet my last yuan on him getting away with it.
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The only shred of truth to Kavanaugh’s denials is that he probably can’t remember all of the times he raped girls and women (or attempted to rape them). Kavanaugh and his gang were binge drinkers. They were likely drunk when they made the majority of their moves on unsuspecting girls and women. They used alcohol as a way to lower their already low inhibitions to committing acts of violence against girls and women.
Moreover, in their worldview rape and attempted rape are no big deal. They view all females as prey (or property). It is a big part of their grooming as future leaders in a patriarchal society. Of course, males at all levels of patriarchal society share that same ethos. A minority of males act on those beliefs, a majority of males (and patriarchal females) condone and shield the violent actors.
The final reason Kavanaugh, et. al. can’t “remember” all of their acts of aggression is that those acts were not commited against them, but by them. The Shona people of Zimbabwe have a proverb that states:
Meaning: A person who harms another person often forgets about their actions, but the person who was harmed always remembers the actions and how it feels to be harmed.
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Update: As far as can be known from news reports, the FBI has only interviewed Ramirez and four of Kavanaugh’s friends who drank beer with him on July 1st 1982: Mark Judge, Timmy, Squi, and one other. That get-together at Timmy’s house, marked on Kavanaugh’s calendar from that year, more or less fits Blasey Ford’s account. The FBI has not yet interviewed Kavanaugh, Blasey Ford, Swetnick, or any of the 20 witnesses provided by Ramirez. They have reportedly been turning away people who have come forward to them. One report says that they have been told (by Trump) to do as little as possible.
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@ Afrofem
I would guess that there are dozens of women who have been victimized by Kavanaugh and Judge. Why stop at three? Three is just the number of those brave enough to come forward (so far).
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Kavanaugh views on the fourth amendment are troubling. He was a strong supporter of the Patriot Act. He sides with the State in surveillance.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/404751-brett-kavanaughs-views-in-privacy-and-the-fourth-amendment-should-make%3famp
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*He is
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@ Abagond
“I would guess that there are dozens of women who have been victimized by Kavanaugh and Judge. Why stop at three? “
I agree. There are likely many women with a Kavanaugh story.
To the Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, Kavanaugh’s confirmation is a done deal and has been from the beginning.
I think Kavanaugh’s appointment may cause sustained blowback on both parties.
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It seems that the guy will be confirmed. Things are turning in his favor.
(https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-oct-18/index.html)
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@munubantu
¿Wasn’t it self-evident from the very beginning just by the juxtaposition of life forces involved?
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Update: The FBI completed their investigation yesterday. They spoke to only nine witnesses. It seems that they pretty much just talked to Ramirez and some of Kavanaugh’s friends and then called it a day.
It was not the FBI which wanted to limit the investigation but President Trump.
Despite all that, Flake and Collins, two of the Republican fence-sitters, found the FBI report “very thorough”.
The Senate is set to vote on Kavanaugh on Saturday, two days from now.
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@ Afrofem
Why do you say both and not just the Republicans?
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@Abagond
Flake and Collins simply played it safe. Presenting themselves as on the fence would allow for them to switch sides based on the outcome.
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@ Abagond
A lot of people are very disenchanted with the gutless behavior of the Democrats. For decades, they have put fundraising ahead of the needs of their putative base: labor unions, working class White folk, students, elders and Black folk.
They have either stood by and let the Republicans run ‘buck wild’ or actively collaborated with them in dismantling New Deal and Great Society policies. I feel they showed their true selves in 2009 to 2011. They had majorities in Congress, a shiny, brand new president in Obama and a favorable Supreme Court. The Democratic base was mobilized and energized. All the Dems had to do was follow through.
They did not do that. Instead, they betrayed their base at every turn. They refused to push through card check for the unions. They did nothing to investigate and halt voter suppression of students and Black people. They failed to give relief to thousands of elders (plus Black and Latinx people) caught in the foreclosure and eviction crisis. To add insult to injury, a block of Dems adopted Republican policies and branded themselves, Blue Dog Democrats.
Fast forward to the present day and what are the Dems up to now? Still wringing their hands in faux despair and blaming Republicans for policies and actions they help facilitate.
For example, according to blogger Gaius Publius (GP), the Dem leadership cut a deal to fast track seven Federalist Society judicial nominees to lower court positions. This after allowing the Repubs to block Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court in 2015.
Even though the Repubs constitute a majority in Congress, GP described an extreme, but constitutional tactic the Dems could have pursued to shut down the Kavanaugh nomination——–basically boycotting the Senate until 2019. GP discussed how the tactic could have been executed in this September 2018 article:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2018/09/democrats-can-block-kavanaugh-nomination-want.html
In that same article, GP opines:
Democratic betrayal since the WJ Clinton administration has already cost them one voter; me.
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Look very close at the period you write about. The Blue Dog Democrats are from the southern states, who have always been different then the northern Democrats. They just did not change to the Republican Party.in the 60th.
There was just a very short period of time that both houses of congress were “Democrat controlled”.(Four months)
https://www.ohio.com/akron/pages/when-obama-had-total-control-of-congress
The current Blue Dog Democrats are Democrats in name only.
There is a problem, a lack of knowledge of the political situation. President Obama had a Senate majority leader who pledged that he would keep the president from succeeding. (McConnell). It was a miracle that President Obama even got done what he did get done with such a hostile congress.
Study the period, look at the votes of the laws that were proposed and passed.
President Obama proved that a person of color could think and act and broke down the barrier that had existed.
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I’m still hoping that this nomination falls apart and I think there’s a chance.
I don’t expect any red-state Democrat to be the deciding “yes” vote. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota has already announced that she’s a “no” and I expect Joe Manchin of West Virginia will also vote “no” unless the requisite number of “yes” votes were already assured.
Since the Republican Senate majority is really thin, the Republicans can only afford to lose two votes. On that note, I was just reading that Steve Daines (R) will not be showing up for the Saturday vote because he’s attending his daughter’s wedding. If someone else flakes, or one of Murkowski (who has reportedly been meeting with sexual assault survivors) or Collins votes “no” Kavanaugh will not be confirmed.
For me, the fact that he’ll be another conservative justice is less of an issue than the fact that the man just doesn’t have any integrity. There is no doubt that confirming him will corrupt the court. Awarding a partisan liar, and possible serial sexual predator with a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court would be another low for America.
As for the Democrats, sometimes they’re really tame in their opposition but they really fought hard this time, despite holding a weak hand. Republicans were rushing this nomination so even delaying it as long as they have is a victory for the Democrats. They’ve also revealed enough about Kavanaugh to make the confirmation vote politically consequential thereby giving some Republican Senators more to think about.
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Allen Shaw, you are always good for a laugh. Here’s a more informed take on Obama by somebody who does this for a living:
It’s a good thing that McConnell was too much of a racist prick to work hand in hand with Obama to cut Social Security benefits.
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@ Origin
Really? And why is that important?
If Kavanaugh is rejected what you will have is only a delay of the same pain that will come later anyway.
The guy was chosen by the POTUS because he embodies some desired (by the GOP) profile. If or when he is rejected they will replace him by somebody else with a similar profile!
The only possible win would be in the sense that a guy who some people (and women in particular) suspect is a serial rapist would be knocked out for that chair for good, and that is it!
This is a sensitive topic and it is understandable that some people react to it emotionally, but from the political point of view Kavanaugh is hardly the most reactionary person in America and his replacement could make things even worse, at the level of Supreme Court’s future deliberations. Just a possibility!
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@munubantu
“If Kavanaugh is rejected what you will have is only a delay of the same pain that will come later anyway.
The guy was chosen by the POTUS because he embodies some desired (by the GOP) profile. If or when he is rejected they will replace him by somebody else with a similar profile!”
Many republican victories are achieved with the aid of the opposition’s defeatism. This often catches me by surprise because I am not one to give up or quit.
Republicans are a minority government (by overall popularity) that controls both houses of congress, the presidency and is stacking the judiciary because they play to win and fight dirty (gerrymandering, voter suppression etc.). However they do not have superpowers.
If the Kavanaugh nomination fails they will not be able to replace him before the mid-terms, that’s the reason for the rush. If, and it is an “if”, the people manage to install a check by giving the Democrats at least one house of congress the going will be tougher for the Rs.
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@ munubantu
“The only possible win would be in the sense that a guy who some people (and women in particular) suspect is a serial rapist would be knocked out for that chair for good, and that is it!”
Actually, it should also signal to the Republicans that they will need a more moderate, less partisan candidate with a cleaner background if they don’t want to go through a similar fight in the next round of confirmation hearings. They do want to get someone in that seat, and if Kavanaugh fails to be confirmed, it will probably have a sobering effect on them as they choose the next candidate. Historically that has been the case; see, for example Judge Bork: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork
Also, what Origin said about the upcoming midterm election. If the Democrats gain control of the Senate, that will further damper the Republicans’ ability to push through someone like Kavanaugh. Not only will the Democrats have the voting majority, but they will gain control of committees like the Senate Judiciary Committee that holds the confirmation hearings. If Feinstein had control of that committee right now, the process would be much different. For example, she could have allowed more people than Blassey Ford to testify last week, and she could have demanded a much longer FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations.
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@ Allen Shaw
” The Blue Dog Democrats are from the southern states, who have always been different then the northern Democrats. They just did not change to the Republican Party.in the 60th.
The current Blue Dog Democrats are Democrats in name only.”
On those particular points, we agree.
Your other points are open to debate.
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@ Origin
“Many republican victories are achieved with the aid of the opposition’s defeatism.
Republicans are a minority government (by overall popularity) that controls both houses of congress, the presidency and is stacking the judiciary because they play to win and fight dirty (gerrymandering, voter suppression etc.). However they do not have superpowers”
Agreed. That is the crux of Repub power.
My concern is how they have been aided and abetted by the handwringing Dems for the past 30 years. The Dems prioritized the desires of their funders over the need to check the worst impulses of the Repubs. They often used Repub ruthlessness as cover for their own agenda.
The Repubs have a lot of vulnerabilities that a true opposition party (or parties) could exploit to curb their power. The Dems have failed miserably as an opposition party.
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@Afrofem
Yeah, they seem like two sides of the same coin sometimes because both Dems and Rs have big donors funding them.
Anyway, based on today’s developments (Collins to vote “yes” on Kavanaugh) it seems that he will be on the Supreme Court barring a surprising turn of events.
I wonder what the political repercussions will be.
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We have a fascist on the court.
I thinks the Court wil now rule in favor of cases that curtail civil liberties.
If Roe v Wade gets overturned some States will flat out reject it.
Republicans use State rights to restrict abortion and other civil liberties so if abortion is overturned the Democrats might embrace State rights to protect a women’s right to choose.
I think many people will no longer look at the Supreme Court as a “hallowed institution”.
It will be interesting to see how the mid term elections turn out. I don’t think there is going to be a ground swell rejection of Trump because the economy seems to be hot right now.
Business cycles are cyclic and the markets have been on a bull run for close to ten years now so a major correction that takes into account tarrifs and the “trade war” could put the U.S. back in recession. That will hurt Trump.
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Update: Flake, Collins, and Manchin have all said they will vote for Kavanaugh. Barring any 11th-hour conversions, that is enough to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. The official vote takes place tomorrow.
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This link takes you to Kavanaugh rulings on national security.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/judge-brett-kavanaugh-national-security-readers-guide
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bbcnews reports para. ‘votingvat 1700 local time’ on a saturday? well monday is columbus day, thanks for holding on to my direct deposit from friday for one more day, well isnt voting day on a tuesday i think
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Update: Brett Kavanaugh is now on the Supreme Court.
It was the narrowest Supreme Court confirmation vote in over a hundred years.
The vote was 50 to 48. All but one Democrat (Manchin) voted against Kavanaugh, all but two Republicans (Murkowski, Daines) voted for him. Murkowski voted neither yes or no but “present”. Daines of Montana was not even present – he was at his daughter’s wedding.
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Update: Christine Blasey Ford is still in hiding. She is still getting death threats.
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