Kavanaugh: Now & The Aftermath

[brucejoel99]

KAVANAUGH ACCUSER TELLS HEARING OF HIM TRYING TO FORCE HIMSELF ON HER; JUDGE COMPLAINS OF 'COMPLETE FALSEHOODS'

WASHINGTON (September 24, 2018) -- Confronting a disputed nomination to the Supreme Court and a boiling political furor, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard gripping but contradictory testimony today from Judge Brett Kavanaugh and the woman accusing him of sexual assault.

The proceedings in a jammed hearing room at the Hart Senate Office Building amounted to a political drama centered on two extraordinarily composed figures, Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, a California research psychologist who is currently a professor in clinical psychology at Palo Alto University.

Judge Kavanuagh and Professor Ford, whose alleged encounter is said to have taken place in the summer of 1982 when she was 15 and he was 17, both testified under oath and offered accounts of their social relationship that differed so starkly that Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said, "One of them is not telling the truth."

Professor Ford complained of a sexual assault in vivid detail and said she had volunteered to bring the issue to the Senate because she felt she "had a duty to report," she said.

Judge Kavanaugh angrily denied the charge and attempted to shoot down the allegation which he referred to as a "complete falsehood."

Testifying first in a hearing that lasted 12 hours and 35 minutes, Judge Kavanaugh sounded by turns defiant and sorrowful in insisting to committee members that he never sexually harassed Professor Ford, depicting himself and his family as victims who were, for lack of a better word, betrayed by a former acquaintance from high school and a Senate confirmation process that had run amok.

In his opening statement in the morning, and even more strongly when he returned to the Congress tonight to testify, Judge Kavanaugh tried to rebut the charges against him by putting the process on trial -- a political process that has been widely disdained as cutthroat and out of control.

He called it "a travesty" that such "sleaze," "dirt," "gossip" and "lies," which he said were improperly disclosed by the committee, should be "displayed in prime time to an entire nation." In answer to a question, he said that he did not watch Professor Ford's testimony.

Professor Ford said that she, too, had been tormented by the issue and the intense scrutiny. Facing sharp questions from Republicans and gentle questioning from Democrats, Professor Ford testified for nearly seven hours. She told of a childhood that sounded like that of Judge Kavanaugh's, dominated by a good upbringing and rigorous education.

"When I realized I had to report my experience," she said, "I felt that I had to tell the truth. I could not keep silent."

Judge Kavanaugh, in his return appearance, said, "I think something is dreadfully wrong with this country when any person, any person, in this country could be sujected to this."

"This is a circus," the judge continued, his voice brimming with outrage. "It's a national disgrace, perpetrated by a committee of the United States Senate."

Under questioning tonight from Senator Flake, Judge Kavanaugh said he did not watch Professor Ford's testimony because he could not bear to watch untruths.

"If you didn't listen," Senator Flake said, that made it difficult "to find out what the actual facts are."

In one of the most emotional moments of the proceedings, Senator Flake said that Judge Kavanaugh's attitude toward Professor Ford's testimony raised questions of "judicial temperament."

"Senator, there is a big difference between approaching a case objectively and watching yourself being attacked," Judge Kavanaugh said in one of a series of remarks denouncing the proceedings.

At times, the nominee seemed barely able to contain his anger, even under friendly questioning from Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, as he denounced "this nonsense, garbage, trash that you've siphoned out of the sewer against me."

"This leaked on me, and it is drowning my life, my career and my integrity," Judge Kavanaugh said. "You have robbed me of something that can never be restored."

Five minutes after the Senate hearing adjourned for the night, Raj Shah, the White House spokesman, said: "Judge Brett Kavanaugh's message tonight was a powerful testament to his integrity and character. He should be confirmed to the Supreme Court. His test speaks for itself."

In wrenching terms in his opening statement this morning, Judge Kavanaugh, a man who rose from being an attorney working for Ken Starr and his controversial investigation of the Clinton administration to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, characterized himself as someone who was never daunted until caught in what he described as a "Kafkaesque" Senate confirmation process.

"But I have not been able to overcome this process," he added. "This is worse than any obstacle or anything that I have ever faced."

Judge Kavanaugh, at the high point of a speech that he said he had written himself, with "no handlers, no advisers," declared: "No job is worth what I've been through -- no job. No horror in my life has been so debilitating. Confirm me if you want. Don't confirm me if you are so led. But let this process end. Let me and my family regain our lives."

Moments after Judge Kavanaugh departed from the packed Senate hearing room, Professor Ford took her seat in the same leather witness chair and described her allegation that Judge Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when both were in high school.

Pressed for details, Professor Ford spoke calmly and willingly but in langauge seldom heard in formal hearings: "Brett Kavanaugh physically and sexually assaulted me during high school in 1982. He conducted these acts with the assistance of Mark Judge. The assault occurred in a suburban Maryland area home at a gathering that included me and four others," she said. "Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a bedroom as I was headed for a bathroom up a short stair well from the living room. They locked the door and played loud music precluding any successful attempt to yell for help. Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with Judge, who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state. With Kavanaugh's hand over my mouth I feared he may inadvertently kill me. From across the room a very drunken Judge said mixed words to Kavanaugh ranging from "go for it" to "stop." At one point when Judge jumped onto the bed the weight on me was substantial. The pile toppled, and the two scrapped with each other. After a few attempts to get away, I was able to take this opportune moment to get up and run across to a hallway bathroom. I locked the bathroom door behind me. Both loudly stumbled down the stair well at which point other persons at the house were talking with them. I exited the bathroom, ran outside of the house and went home."

In a move intended to raise questions about Professor Ford's credibility, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the committee chairman, introduced into evidence an affidavit of Mr. Judge, a classmate of Judge Kavanaugh at Georgetown Preparatory School whom Professor Ford accused of being the third person in the room during the alleged incident.

Mr. Judge said in the affidavit that he had "no memory of this alleged incident." He said, "Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford's letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes."

But Professor Ford said she was puzzled by the affidavit, saying: "It's meaningless to me. It's simply a false affidavit."

In another disclosure that raised questions about Professor Ford's account, Judge Kavanaugh, under questioning tonight from Senator Hatch, said that "this is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes -- to her or to anyone."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, the committee ranking member and primary Democratic questioner, told Judge Kavanaugh the committee still had an open mind and urged him to give the panel whatever information he could to defend himself.

"This never happened, this is a false allegation from 36 years ago, and I will defend my integrity in any way that is appropriate," Judge Kavanaugh said.

Professor Ford's attorney, Debra Katz, said after the hearing when asked about Judge Kavanaugh's denials under oath that it was "inconsistent with the testimony" of the professor. "We stand by her testimony," Ms. Katz said.

The scene in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building today was vastly different from what it was during Judge Kavanaugh's four days of testimony three weeks ago, when his character not only went unquestioned, but also was considered one of his strongest assets. Although they split largely on party lines over his judicial qualifications to be an Associate Justice, lawmakers on both sides had praised Judge Kavanaugh for advancing through Yale Law School to the Federal appellate court. Today, however, it was allegations about Judge Kavanaugh's personal conduct that threatened to undo his nomination.

Judge Kavanaugh said his opening statement was not read beforehand by anyone other than his wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, and his chief defender, Senator Jon Kyl. In contrast to his earlier appearance before the committee, Judge Kavanaugh sat alone, without his coaches from the White House behind his side. His wife and Senator Kyl, an Arizona Republican, sat immediately behind him.

Judge Kavanaugh told the committee that his life was permanently altered on Sept. 12, when the existence of a complaint against Kavanaugh, by a "woman, who has asked not to be identified", was made public, in which she accused him of trying to force himself on her when they were both in high school.

"I have never in all my life felt such hurt, such pain, such agony," he said. "My family and I have been done a grave and irreparable injustice. During the past two weeks, I lost the belief that if I did my best, all would work out.

"I called upon the strength that helped me grow up," he said, referring to his formative years. "And it was all sapped out of me. It was sapped out of me because Christine Blasey Ford was a person I considered a fine acquaintance from high school, whom I thought I had treated fairly and with the utmost respect."

Professor Ford was accompanied by her lawyer and by her husband. Like Judge Kavanaugh, the 51-year-old professor in clinical psychology at Palo Alto University described the torment she had endured in the public eye.

"It is only after a great deal of agonizing consideration that I am able to talk of these unpleasant matters to anyone but my husband, marriage counselor and attorney," Professor Ford said. "Telling the world is the most difficult experience of my life."

She went on to explain why she did not report her allegations years ago. "I was aware that making public such an allegation could affect my future career and did not wish to burn any bridges," she said. "I may have used poor judgment; perhaps I should have taken angry or even militant steps, both when I realized Kavanaugh had risen to become a highly respected and high-ranking member of society in Washington or after I realized it. But I must confess to the world that the course I took seemed to me to be the better as well as the easier approach."

Moments after she had affectionately introduced her husband to the committee, Professor Ford spoke in detail about her allegation that Judge Kavanaugh physically and sexually assaulted her, as detailed above. Professor Ford also said she had received medical treatment regarding the assault.

From the start, it was clear today's hearing would be an event of high political tension. After Judge Kavanaugh delivered his opening statement, Senator Feinstein proposed to begin questioning him without reference to Professor Ford's confidential statement to Senator Feinstein that had led to the renewed hearings. Senator Feinstein said Professor Ford wanted the document kept confidential.

That prompted Senator Hatch to angrily remind Senator Feinstein that it was nonsensical to ignore a statement that had already been cited in the press.

"It would be the greatest travesty I've ever seen in any court of law," Senator Hatch said, practically shouting, "let alone an open forum in the nomination process of a man for Justice of the United States Supreme Court, to allow her attorney or her or anybody on this committee or anybody else, for that matter, to tell us what can or cannot be used now that this man's reputation has been very badly hurt."

Senator Feinstein shot back that Professor Ford wanted to make her allegations in her own words and not have them disclosed in a confidential letter.

But Senator Hatch said that if the document was not made available to Judge Kavanaugh, "then I'm going to resign from this committee today."

Finally, Senator Grassley called a recess. When the committee reconvened, the chairman said Professor Ford would permit the use of the letter, and she then began her testimony. In a prepared statement and in response to questions from Senator Feinstein, she detailed her allegations.

On cross-examination, Senator Grassley sought to portray Professor Ford as someone who was never troubled by Judge Kavanaugh's behavior until he was nominated for the Supreme Court.

He suggested that Professor Ford was imagining things, and pressed her about why she waited years to come forward, and why she did not tell anybody relevant more details about her allegations..

Professor Ford acknowledged that while she could be faulted in her dealing with the aftermath of her encounter with Judge Kavanaugh, she offered explanations to all the Republicans' questions. She said she was afraid to speak out about him for fear that she would lose her job.

After today's hearing, the committee ultimately chose to recommend that Judge Kavanaugh's nomination be rejected by a narrow margin, a 12 to 9 nearly party-line vote, with Senators Flake and Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, joining all of the committee's Democrats in opposing the nomination after today's hearing. And with the Republican Party holding only a 51 to 49 majority in the full Senate, he is now widely viewed as not having enough support for confirmation when the full Senate is scheduled to vote on Friday. After Professor Ford's public disclosure of her allegation in today's hearing, however, an emotional debate occurred on and off the Senate floor on account of the erupting political firestorm.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Very well formatted!

[JoeyOCanada]

Astounding presentation! Can't wait for more!

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

A Democrat’s dream! Very few on this forum have not heard the latest chatter! There is a history there, one which has been overlooked. Both Ford’s parents had a foreclosure application rejected in a judgement rendered by none other than Judge Kavanaugh’s mother. I don’t believe sexual misconduct occurred, I think the ‘sexual misconduct’ angle, now so effective a weapon in scuttling the careers & reputation ‘s of Kevin Spacey & Harvey Weinstein has been weaponized as a tool to defeat the Kavanaugh nomination. Ask yourselves this question, why did Dianne Feinstein sit on these allegations for months in end? As a member of a committee considering the nomination of a Supreme Court pick, she had an obligation to table the information before both the committee and the FBI; I think Ford is being coached by Democrats to insist that the FBI investigates her allegations before she testifies before the committee. I find it highly improbable that a person who “suffered” in a manner she claims she “suffered” is now making demands that certain procedures be followed regarding her charges. I think it’s anot frivolous effort by Democrats to stall, delay and possibly derail Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Consider how hell bent Democrats have been in trying to prevent the Kavanaugh confirmation process from reaching its ultimate conclusion. Also consider Feinstein’s motivation in pulling this stunt! Is she not in a tough re-election effort?

[Blair]

Great, and quickly done TL- sorry to pollute it, but god idiocy of this manner needs to be called out.

There is a history there, one which has been overlooked. Both Ford’s parents had a foreclosure application rejected in a judgement rendered by none other than Judge Kavanaugh’s parents.

This has already been debunked. Foreclosure was brought forward, Ford's parents reached an agreement with the bank and Judge Kavanaugh mother dismissed the case. Was no conflict.

Besides, even if there was, this doesn't disqualify an accusation. In clubby places like D.C you can known 100's of people through your parents work- you can't just erase, and block out every accusation because there's some tenuous, disproved and ridiculous link between the parents. sh**t argument.

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Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

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Because Dr.Ford asked for her name not to be released publicly- hence why Feinstein went to the FBI rather then the leaking cesspool of the Senate. sh**t Argument.

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Well, most decent people believe that victims of sexual assault should be able to choose where, when and how they talk about their experience. We don't expect veterans to perform on command.

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Withdraw Kavanaugh, and nominate someone who isn't such an ethical blackhole. There's easily 51 Senate votes for a Gorsuch clone.

Mitch McConnell said he'd have problems getting Kavanaugh nominated- and he was right!

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Yes god forbid we actually allow the Senate to do it's job. Kavanaugh clearly needs scrutiny considering he's been accused of perjury from his 2006 confirmation, and now sexual assault.

The Democrats were pretty damn opposed to Gorsuch- but he got passed didn't he?

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No. She's not.

Stop being such a cretin.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Very interesting TL!

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Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

Very interesting TL!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

Uh, he wasn't. He's talking about how #MeToo has been used to attack people for Personal or Political gain. Remember Mattress girl? She didn't last long once everyone realized she wasn't raped, he just told her no about having sex. Trust me, I've been hit by a few times about them and they're all false in many varying fashions (I won't say them here. If you want to know them, find my social media and DM me) so yeah, #MeToo has been weaponized. Sometimes it is justified, like in Spacey and Winstein's case, and sometimes it isn't justified. I believe in the motto Innocent until proven Guilty but I guess that doesn't exist anymore in the #MeToo era

EDIT: RIP, I meant to type False where True was. Sometimes, I can't type correctly when I rant.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

anyways, can we stop arguing and you guys just ignore him? Let's not make this dumb arguement be 50 freaking pages and let's allow this Thread for the TL only. If you want to discuss this, do it in the DMs. Seriously.

Anyway, great TL. I might watch for me depending on my schedule.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Very interesting TL!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

Uh, he wasn't. He's talking about how #MeToo has been used to attack people for Personal or Political gain. Remember Mattress girl? She didn't last long once everyone realized she wasn't raped, he just told her no about having sex. Trust me, I've been hit by a few times about them and they're all false in many varying fashions (I won't say them here. If you want to know them, find my social media and DM me) so yeah, #MeToo has been weaponized. Sometimes it is justified, like in Spacey and Winstein's case, and sometimes it isn't justified. I believe in the motto Innocent until proven Guilty but I guess that doesn't exist anymore in the #MeToo era

EDIT: RIP, I meant to type False where True was. Sometimes, I can't type correctly when I rant.

I mean, he literally said it's a tool used to ruin the career of these two. That's defending them. You can't call a shield a pillow.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

Very interesting TL!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

Uh, he wasn't. He's talking about how #MeToo has been used to attack people for Personal or Political gain. Remember Mattress girl? She didn't last long once everyone realized she wasn't raped, he just told her no about having sex. Trust me, I've been hit by a few times about them and they're all false in many varying fashions (I won't say them here. If you want to know them, find my social media and DM me) so yeah, #MeToo has been weaponized. Sometimes it is justified, like in Spacey and Winstein's case, and sometimes it isn't justified. I believe in the motto Innocent until proven Guilty but I guess that doesn't exist anymore in the #MeToo era

EDIT: RIP, I meant to type False where True was. Sometimes, I can't type correctly when I rant.

I mean, he literally said it's a tool used to ruin the career of these two. That's defending them. You can't call a shield a pillow.

oh, if he said that, then eff him, but you get what I'm saying, right?

[OBD]

Very well formatted!

[brucejoel99]

Very well formatted!

Astounding presentation! Can't wait for more!

Great, and quickly done TL

Very interesting TL!

Very well formatted!

Thank you all!

A Democrat’s dream! Very few on this forum have not heard the latest chatter! There is a history there, one which has been overlooked. Both Ford’s parents had a foreclosure application rejected in a judgement rendered by none other than Judge Kavanaugh’s mother. I don’t believe sexual misconduct occurred, I think the ‘sexual misconduct’ angle, now so effective a weapon in scuttling the careers & reputation ‘s of Kevin Spacey & Harvey Weinstein has been weaponized as a tool to defeat the Kavanaugh nomination. Ask yourselves this question, why did Dianne Feinstein sit on these allegations for months in end? As a member of a committee considering the nomination of a Supreme Court pick, she had an obligation to table the information before both the committee and the FBI; I think Ford is being coached by Democrats to insist that the FBI investigates her allegations before she testifies before the committee. I find it highly improbable that a person who “suffered” in a manner she claims she “suffered” is now making demands that certain procedures be followed regarding her charges. I think it’s anot frivolous effort by Democrats to stall, delay and possibly derail Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Consider how hell bent Democrats have been in trying to prevent the Kavanaugh confirmation process from reaching its ultimate conclusion. Also consider Feinstein’s motivation in pulling this stunt! Is she not in a tough re-election effort?

Bruh, it's just a TL, calm the f**k down

[brucejoel99]

KAVANAUGH VOWS TO FIGHT FOR COURT SEAT; WANTS 'FINAL DECISION' TO BE MADE BY FULL SENATE

WASHINGTON (September 25, 2018) -- In a surprising announcement delivered Tuesday in a voice quavering with emotion, Judge Brett Kavanaugh refused to withdraw his apparently doomed Supreme Court nomination and insisted on pushing ahead to a "full debate and a final Senate decision."

Charging that he has been the target of a "campaign of lies," Kavanaugh declared: "If I withdraw now, that campaign would be seen as a success, and it would be mounted against future nominees. For the sake of the federal judiciary and the American people, that must not happen. In the days remaining, I ask only that voices be lowered, the facts respected and the deliberations conducted in a manner that would be fair to me and to the infinitely larger and more important cause of justice in America."

Speaking to reporters at the White House after getting President Trump's blessing, Kavanaugh said he harbors "no illusions" about winning confirmation. 53 of the Senate's 100 members have already signaled to or outright declared their opposition to Kavanaugh, a fact that Trump seemed to acknowledge publicly in a Tuesday morning tweet.

Despite the heavy odds against him, Kavanaugh said, "a crucial principle is at stake: the way in which we select the men and women who guard the liberties of all the American people. That should not be done through public campaigns of lies," he said. When judicial candidates are "treated worse than even political candidates," he said, it endangers the independence of judges and erodes public confidence in their impartiality.

Senators opposed to Kavanaugh's nomination, including 4 Republicans thus far (Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine), promptly denied that they have distorted Kavanaugh's record. Most Americans and most senators oppose Kavanaugh because of "his engulfment by a credible sexual assault allegation," said Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Senate Democratic Conference.

[PRESIDENT STANTON]

Very interesting TL!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

Uh, he wasn't. He's talking about how #MeToo has been used to attack people for Personal or Political gain. Remember Mattress girl? She didn't last long once everyone realized she wasn't raped, he just told her no about having sex. Trust me, I've been hit by a few times about them and they're all false in many varying fashions (I won't say them here. If you want to know them, find my social media and DM me) so yeah, #MeToo has been weaponized. Sometimes it is justified, like in Spacey and Winstein's case, and sometimes it isn't justified. I believe in the motto Innocent until proven Guilty but I guess that doesn't exist anymore in the #MeToo era

EDIT: RIP, I meant to type False where True was. Sometimes, I can't type correctly when I rant.

Again Ford is using the #MeToo organization or is being used by them and few left-wing groups funded by George Soros to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation prospects. How come Ford chooses the very week that Brett Kavanaugh is about to be confirmed by the Senate to “come forward”? Also nobody believes the clap trap that Feinstein was high-minded enough to be so concerned about Ford, that she went to the FBI with the allegations! It’s too coincidental for my taste.

[Huey Long is a Republican]

Very interesting TL!

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Both Weinstein and Spacey have virtually admitted their guilt, where known to be doing it for years and are both obviously guilty. sh**t argument.

Yeah, this line brings down his entire confused rant. No one should be defending Spacey or a monster like Weinstein.

Uh, he wasn't. He's talking about how #MeToo has been used to attack people for Personal or Political gain. Remember Mattress girl? She didn't last long once everyone realized she wasn't raped, he just told her no about having sex. Trust me, I've been hit by a few times about them and they're all false in many varying fashions (I won't say them here. If you want to know them, find my social media and DM me) so yeah, #MeToo has been weaponized. Sometimes it is justified, like in Spacey and Winstein's case, and sometimes it isn't justified. I believe in the motto Innocent until proven Guilty but I guess that doesn't exist anymore in the #MeToo era

EDIT: RIP, I meant to type False where True was. Sometimes, I can't type correctly when I rant.

Again Ford is using the #MeToo organization or is being used by them and few left-wing groups funded by George Soros to derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation prospects. How come Ford chooses the very week that Brett Kavanaugh is about to be confirmed by the Senate to “come forward”? Also nobody believes the clap trap that Feinstein was high-minded enough to be so concerned about Ford, that she went to the FBI with the allegations! It’s too coincidental for my taste.

Hey, I have one word for you: RELAX

Seriously, calm down. This a TL, a hypothetical what-if? Save your mindless rants for the General Discussion board

[Huey Long is a Republican]

A Democrat’s dream! Very few on this forum have not heard the latest chatter! There is a history there, one which has been overlooked. Both Ford’s parents had a foreclosure application rejected in a judgement rendered by none other than Judge Kavanaugh’s mother. I don’t believe sexual misconduct occurred, I think the ‘sexual misconduct’ angle, now so effective a weapon in scuttling the careers & reputation ‘s of Kevin Spacey & Harvey Weinstein has been weaponized as a tool to defeat the Kavanaugh nomination. Ask yourselves this question, why did Dianne Feinstein sit on these allegations for months in end? As a member of a committee considering the nomination of a Supreme Court pick, she had an obligation to table the information before both the committee and the FBI; I think Ford is being coached by Democrats to insist that the FBI investigates her allegations before she testifies before the committee. I find it highly improbable that a person who “suffered” in a manner she claims she “suffered” is now making demands that certain procedures be followed regarding her charges. I think it’s anot frivolous effort by Democrats to stall, delay and possibly derail Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Consider how hell bent Democrats have been in trying to prevent the Kavanaugh confirmation process from reaching its ultimate conclusion. Also consider Feinstein’s motivation in pulling this stunt! Is she not in a tough re-election effort?

Bruh, it's just a TL, calm the f**k down

IKR?

[brucejoel99]

McCONNELL'S STRONG-ARM TACTICS BACKFIRING IN SENATE

WASHINGTON (September 26, 2018) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's strong-arm "bullying" tactics appear to be backfiring with some of his Republican senators, Lisa Murkowksi of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine in particular, who are said to resent being bullied to vote to confirm the controversial Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, especially with their being seen as having the political clout to be able to resist such efforts.

"No matter how strong or dominant a personality McConnell thinks he has within the Senate Republican Conference, he is going to have trouble taking on two moderate political institutions as powerful as Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowksi when their minds have been made up," said a source close to one of the senator's offices, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "The Senators have a strong sense of independence and sense of self that says 'I don't get pushed around that way.' And they're choosing to pushing back this time."

In the last two days, McConnell is said to have threatened Murkowski's status as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Collins' status as chairman of the Aging Committee in an attempt to force them to support Kavanaugh's controversial nomination. The strong negative pushback from the two senators' camps and public confirmation of their opposition to Kavanuagh, however, has apparently forced McConnell to realize that not only is there no chance of saving the now-all-but-doomed nomination, but that he himself may have gone one step too far in attempting to force the senators' hands this time.

"It's stunning to think the majority leader believes that this kind of pressure campaign is going to bring the senators to the table when it is actually repelling them," said the source. He said the threats against their committee chairmanships were especially "dumbfounding," and appeared to allude that at the behest of these threats in particular, Collins and Murkowski were said to be in the earliest stages of considering leaving from the Republican Party, though when (and even if) this might ever occur is uncertain.

Rather than inspiring loyalty from the senators, McConnell's "ham-handed" tactics are said to be spurring them to increasingly go their own way, the source said.

"It would not surprise me to begin seeing the majority leader being more and more marginalized, with Senators Collins and Murkowski going forward with their own agenda, and trying to ignore him as best they can," the source said.

Kavanaugh's plunging popularity as a nominee in the wake of a seemingly-credible sexual assault allegation is what is emboldening the senators to exercise their independence, the source said. A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University showed that only 17% of Americans continue to support Kavanaugh's nomination.

"The majority leader is not in a position right now in regards to this nomination to inspire fear or respect in Senators Collins and Murkowski," the source said.

[brucejoel99]

COLLINS AND MURKOWSKI LEAVE REPUBLICAN PARTY

WASHINGTON (September 27, 2018) -- Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowksi bolted the Republican Party and declared themselves Democratic-caucusing independents on Thursday. "Increasingly, we find ourselves in disagreement with our party," they told the assorted press corps.

Collins and Murkowksi, announcing their party departure in the Senate Press Conference Room, made their announcement after an apparently threatening last-ditch effort by Majority Leader McConnell to keep them in the fold.

Their decision to become independents and caucus with the Democratic Party for committee assignment purposes (as Independent Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Collins' fellow Senator from Maine Angus King already do) in the wake of McConnell reportedly threatening to take away their Senate committee chairmanships if they voted to reject the Kavanaugh nomination will give control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats.

In a statement released immediately after Senators Collins and Murkowski's press conference, current Senate Minority Leader and Majority Leader-Designate Chuck Schumer (D-NY) praised the decision of Collins and Murkowski as both politically and morally correct on behalf of the American people, and announced that they would be promised their chairmanships of the Aging Committee and Energy and Natural Resources Committee, respectively, once the Republican-to-Democratic Senate transition was complete, which is expected to be in about two weeks' time, to offset their threatened loss of committee chairmanships under current Republican control.

"In order to best represent our states of Maine and Alaska, our own consciences and principals that we have stood for our whole lives, we will leave the Republican Party and become independents," Collins and Murkowski said as Senate Democrats could be heard erupting in cheers in the Senate cloakroom.

Collins and Murkowski said that they had been "struggling with a very difficult decision" in regards to the tumultuous Supreme Court nomination process of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the past several days, which they announced during their press conference that they will adamantly vote to reject if and when the nomination reaches the Senate floor.

The senators said as recently as Wednesday when reports of McConnell wielding strong-arm tactics against the two first arose that they had "no thoughts whatsoever" about changing parties. But they said that it being too difficult for GOP members of Congress to take positions at odds with President Trump in general and McConnell's behavior in regards to the Kavanaugh nomination in particular were the last straw.

"We understand that many people are more conservative than we are and they form the Republican Party. Given the changing nature of the national party, it has become a struggle for our leaders to deal with us and for us to deal with them," Collins and Murkowksi said in their published joint statement which they read aloud.

Collins and Murkowski, declaring "We feel as if a weight has been lifted from our shoulders," said they made their decision Wednesday night after meeting with colleagues in the Senate.

"We met with some of our closest colleagues yesterday. It was one of the most emotional times we have ever had in our lives, with some of our closest friends urging us not to do what we were about to do because it affected their lives substantially," they said.

Collins and Murkowski, however, said they felt unwelcome in a caucus so dominated by not only conservatives, but conservatives willing to cede any claim to upholding moral standards, particularly in regards to the Kavanaugh nomination.

"Looking ahead, we can see more and more instances where we'll disagree with the president on very fundamental issues -- the issues of choice, the direction of the judiciary, tax and spending decisions, missile defense, energy and the environment, and a host of other issues, large and small," Collins and Murkowski stated.

Republican leaders were quickly furious, to say the least, about Collins and Murkowski's decision. "Our concern for them is that their legacy will be as one of Benedict Arnold," said John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas and the current Senate Majority Whip and Senate Minority Whip-designate.

[Cold War Liberal]

WOOOO

[JoeyOCanada]

This keeps getting better and better! Keep it up!

[Continential]

Hopefully Sasse leaves the GOP and becomes a independent

[KaiserDave]

Whoa. This is great. Republicans are looking at midterm wipeout though.

[brucejoel99]

KAVANAUGH'S NOMINATION IS REJECTED, 55-45; TRUMP 'SADDENED'

WASHINGTON (September 28, 2018) -- One of, if not the, fiercest battles ever waged over a Supreme Court nominee ended today as the Senate decisively rejected the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in the wake of Professor Christine Blasey Ford's credible sexual assault allegation against him.

The vote was 55 against confirmation and 45 in favor, tying Richard Nixon's 1969 nomination of Clement Haynsworth, a Southern jurist rejected due to his civil rights record and perceived ethical lapses, for the third biggest margin by which the Senate has ever rejected a Supreme Court nomination (behind only the rejection by 9-24 votes of James Madison's 1811 nomination of Alexander Wolcott in second and the rejection by 42-58 votes of Ronald Reagan's 1987 nomination of Robert Bork in first to not only the very same seat which Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to was rejected for but the same vacancy that recently-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement precipitated Judge Kavanaugh's now-failed nomination, was eventually successfully confirmed to fill). Judge Kavanaugh's was the 30th Supreme Court nomination to fail in the country's history, the third in this century, and the first since only two years ago, 2016, when the Senate refused to consider President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. There have thus far been 113 Supreme Court justices in the nation's history.

The vote came three days after Judge Kavanaugh, in the face of expected defeat, said he would not withdraw his name and wanted the full Senate to vote on his nomination. In a statement issued from his chambers at the Federal courthouse here, where he still serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Judge Kavanaugh said he was "glad the debate took place."

"There is now a full and permanent record by which the future may judge not only me but the proper nature of a confirmation proceeding," the 53-year-old judge said.

President Trump, in a tweet, said, "I am saddened and disappointed that the Senate has bowed today to a campaign of political pressure." In the final hours of the three-day debate on the Senate floor, senators turned their attention to the next nominee for the vacancy on the court. The White House is not expected to name a new candidate before the middle of next week, though with the Democrats expected to take over full operational control of the U.S. Senate in approximately two weeks' time thanks to the party switches of now-former Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and with the midterm elections only a little more than a month away, such a nomination could very well face the same fate as Judge Garland's did two years ago.

The President has publicly vowed to find a nominee who will upset Judge Kavanaugh's opponents "just as much" as Judge Kavanaugh himself. President Trump tweeted today, "My next nominee for the Court will share Judge Kavanaugh's belief in judicial restraint -- that a judge is bound by the Constitution to interpret laws, not make them."

Meanwhile, senators on both sides of the debate urged the President to adopt a less confrontational tone.

"I would recommend they not send someone as controversial," Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the outgoing chairman and soon-to-be ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, said at a news conference after the vote. In his closing remarks on the Senate floor, Senator Grassley called Judge Kavanaugh "a great judge who would have adorned the Supreme Court with integrity and honor."

At his news conference, Senator Grassley added that "as a matter of fairness," the next nominee whom President Trump nominates should be given a fair proceeding and be easily confirmed. Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose nomination was confirmed in early 2017, was President Trump's first and, at this point in time, only successful Supreme Court nominee.

Democrats were more pointed in their warnings to the White House.

"If we receive a nominee who thinks like Judge Kavanaugh, who acts like Judge Kavanaugh, and who lacks integrity and honor like Judge Kavanaugh, then he will be rejected like Judge Kavanaugh, just like that," Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont said on the Senate floor while snapping his fingers for emphasis.

While it's understood that no final selection has yet to be made, Trump Administration officials have been relatively open-mouthed about who the next nominee might be, most prominently suggesting conservative Federal appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett, 46, of South Bend, IN, who serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and who was previously one of the finalists for the nomination in the run-up to Kavanaugh's eventual selection earlier this year.

The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, urged the Administration to consult with the Senate before submitting a new name. In the run-up to their taking control of the Senate, Democratic leaders have warned the White House that the nomination of a conservative would engender deep opposition.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the current ranking member and soon-to-be chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said after the vote that Don McGahn, the White House counsel, had told her today that no choice had yet to be made but that Administration officials would discuss the matter with Democratic leaders next week.

But Senator Feinstein said she was not certain that the White House was committed to advance consultations. "It may very well be that they will just come up here with a name,'' Senator Feinstein said of the Administration.

4 Republicans joined 49 Democrats and the 2 Democratic-caucusing Independents, Murkowski and Collins, in voting against Judge Kavanaugh, while not a single Democrat joined the 45 Republicans who voted in his favor.

By the time the Senate convened this morning, only three senators had not announced their positions: Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. All three had chosen to walk back previous public declarations of opposition to the nomination after apparent threats to their status in the Senate by now-outgoing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; in the end, they, in addition to Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who had also previously declared publicly his opposition to the nomination in the aftermath of Monday's tumultuous Judiciary Committee hearing on the topic of the sexual assault allegation levied against Judge Kavanaugh and who had refused to walk back his declaration of opposition in the face of McConnell's threats, voted against Judge Kavanaugh.

The biggest surprise was Senator Blunt, perceived to be a loyal conservative who had been openly and publicly agonizing for the last several days over the decision. The chairman of and soon-to-be ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Blunt is almost unfailingly loyal to the Administration. But in a brief speech on the Senate floor, he said that Mr. Trump's recent statement that the opposition to Judge Kavanaugh was a "lynch mob" was "simply unbecoming the office of the Presidency."

Senator Blunt said that he wanted to support the nominee. However, he said: "I searched the record. I looked at this distinguished jurist, and I cannot find in him the values of truth, of integrity and honor to enable him to sit on the highest Court of the land."

Although the outcome of the vote today was decided three days ago when the number of senators on record as opposing confirmation reached a majority, a sense of drama nonetheless arose in the Senate chamber when the moment came, shortly after 2 P.M.

The galleries were filled, both with members of the general public and with leaders of organizations that had attempted to play leading roles in lobbying for and against confirmation.

In an ordinary roll-call vote, senators wander through the chamber, chatting with colleagues and voting by a casual hand signal. But for this vote, Senators McConnell and Schumer asked senators to remain at their seats and vote. As the clerk called each name, senators stood up, intoning "aye" or "no" in solemn voices.

But earlier in the day, the scene was less dramatic than poignant. Then, the chamber was nearly deserted save for a few senators making their final speeches and Judge Kavanaugh's wife, Ashley, and two daughters, who sat expressionless in the visitors' gallery. They left before the vote began. Mrs. Kavanaugh and the judge's daughters, Liza and Margaret, had sat with him in his four days of testimony earlier this month before the Judiciary Committee. In his statement today, Judge Kavanaugh said that his family's "love and counsel sustained me throughout the extended process we have been through together."

Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican who, as a then-former Senator was the so-called shepherd of Judge Kavanaugh's nomination through the Senate prior to his re-appointment to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by John McCain's passing, gave a long speech on his behalf this morning, contending that opponents had distorted the nominee's honor and defeated him by making the public afraid of him.

The normally soft-spoken Senator continued, his voice rising: "What has happened to Brett Kavanaugh is wrong. The man's been trashed in our house. Some of us helped generate the trashing, others yielded to it, but all of us are accomplices."

Senator Feinstein replied that Senator Kyl was making "one heck of an indictment of your colleagues" by suggesting that senators had not reached independent decisions on Judge Kavanaugh but had "succumbed to raw pressure."

Senator Feinstein continued: "I have a higher opinion of the ability of my colleagues to do what's right."

Later, in closing the debate, the Judiciary Committee ranking member and soon-to-be chairwoman said: "This has been a great debate, a debate about fundamental principle and, above all else, a debate about values; the fundamental values of truth, integrity, and honor."

Senator Feinstein repeated the statement with which she helped open Judge Kavanaugh's second confirmation hearing earlier this month, and which she attempted to make a theme for the entire proceeding. "Serious questions have been raised about Judge Kavanaugh's record, and serious allegations by Mrs. Ford necessitate a no vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination," she said.

After the vote, Senator Feinstein said that although "I enjoy winning," this particular victory was "less enjoyable than others, because we are talking about a woman who had to come out of the shadows and have her life turned upside down, a respectable woman who just couldn't stay silent about something that happened to her at the hands of this nominee."

The debate thus ended with Judge Kavanaugh's supporters and opponents holding fundamentally irreconcilable views of what had gone wrong for the nominee. His supporters insisted that his actions had been misunderstood and mischaracterized by lies, while his opponents maintained that he lost precisely because the senators and their constituents did understand his actions and values, and rejected them.

[JoeyOCanada]

Amazing! Curious as to if this will lead to you covering 2020? Or simply just to the mid-terms, I hope 2020 because the more the better!

[brucejoel99]

Amazing! Curious as to if this will lead to you covering 2020? Or simply just to the mid-terms, I hope 2020 because the more the better!

I don't yet know about 2020 but don't worry, I'll definitely be going into 2019 (midterms included)