Agreed!!!
I like what David Corn (Mother Jones) of McConnell’s actions now - (above entry)
it’s ‘peak hypocracy.’ on McConnell.
Yes, why rush GOP…?!! Sheer torment holding off Garland.
Hard to get any (real) perspective on this…as the R’s want to ram this nominee through, yet there is some soft pedaling around the edges with “Of course she should testify…” Paraphrasing Kelly Anne’s statements today.
Found another good Political report recap today via Lisa Lerer NYT NYT On Politics Newsletter - subscribe here
Lots of angles…and well, it IS a “#MeToo Missile”
Lisa Lerer’s take on Kavanaugh nomination debacle
Remember last week, when Brett M. Kavanaugh seemed to be on a glide path to becoming a Supreme Court justice?
Well, that’s over.
Mr. Kavanaugh’s confirmation was supposed to be the culmination of two decades of Republican judicial activism, winning the party the biggest prize of all: a conservative majority on the highest court.
Instead, Christine Blasey Ford’s decision to go public with her accusation that Mr. Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school has turned his confirmation battle into a #MeToo missile.
Just before 6 p.m. tonight, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said that Mr. Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey will be called before the committee for a public hearing next Monday.
Yes, the story so far seems to be one of he said-she said. But Dr. Blasey’s accusations are potent beyond their specifics because they tap into the biggest debates roiling American life in 2018.
In the Oval Office sits a president who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. A series of high-profile sexual harassment scandals have ousted top men in media and Hollywood. The gender gap between the parties stands at an all-time high. And a record number of female candidates are running for office.
It’s quite a political storm to hit just 50 days before the midterms, and Republican strategists tell me they face no good choices.
With the Republican side of the judicial committee consisting entirely of white men, the visuals of the hearing will not be great for the G.O.P. And the risk of a tone-deaf moment going viral seems high.
“Their instincts are not good on this stuff, even when they think they’re being sensitive,” said Katie Packer Beeson, a former deputy campaign manager for Mitt Romney who now runs an all-female political consulting firm.
And then there’s the Trump factor. Even if Republican senators handle Dr. Blasey’s charges with respect, we know the president’s playbook: deny the allegations, attack the accuser.
Democrats see political opportunities, not only to keep the Supreme Court seat open, but to win over the independent suburban women who are crucial to their electoral chances.
“The midterm politics of the Kavanaugh nomination just boomeranged on Republicans,” said Brian Fallon, the head of the liberal activist group Demand Justice, which is leading opposition efforts against Mr. Kavanaugh.
History supports that idea. In 1991, the disrespectful treatment of Anita Hill by the Senate Judiciary Committee led to women winning an unprecedented number of seats in the 1992 election.
Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, one of just two female senators in office at the time, who pushed for Ms. Hill to testify, had some advice for the committee.
“How you treat her with respect is to take it seriously. You also treat Judge Kavanaugh with respect,” Ms. Mikulski told me. “You do an investigation. And then you hold a hearing, not a trial.”
What both sides are saying
There’s a lot being written about how the Senate should handle the accusations against Mr. Kavanaugh. We read through it all to break down the arguments coming from the left and the right.
Liberals have almost universally called for a deeper investigation before the Senate votes to confirm. Here’s what they are saying:
• A Supreme Court position is too important to hurry.
“The urgency is to investigate, not to rush to confirm a lifetime appointment. Surely a few Republican senators retain enough sense of institutional responsibility to insist on that.” — Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post
• Kavanaugh’s honesty is on trial.
“Kavanaugh has denied that he did it … If Ford’s allegation is true, then Kavanaugh has lied to the public.” — Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs
Conservatives, meanwhile, are split. While some have echoed the same concerns as their liberal counterparts, many still believe an investigation is not warranted. Here’s what they are saying:
• The allegations are too old to be proven.
“There is no way to confirm her story after 35 years … This is simply too distant and uncorroborated a story to warrant a new hearing or to delay a vote.” — Wall Street Journal editorial board
• The way Democrats brought the case forward is suspect.
“If Kavanaugh’s confirmation is derailed, the precedent will be set. Whenever the stakes are high enough, the most sinister, underhanded forces of the left will manage to surface an unsubstantiated character-destroying allegation at the most opportune moment.” — Buck Sexton, The Hill
