All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[ZombieHavoc]

Considering the Trump White House has defended domestic abuse from people like Rob Porter, and then the GOP had 65 women lined up from Kavanaugh's past to say, "Well, he didn't try and rape ME"...

The indication is they DID KNOW, and just didn't care.

Considering Trump was elected, I assume some kind of sexual assault was a prerequisite.

[MindofShadow]

Why is Kavanaugh so special?

Couldn't Trump and the GOP just move on to the next conservative judge on their list?

Or did they kinda blow it choosing this numbskull first and now if they pivot away they won't get it done before midterms?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Yeah she kept her hand close to her vest until it was time to get it out their to throw a wrench into these proceedings. Definitely something Mitch McConnell would've done, so who can blame her.

Bingo! Republicans had no problem with James Comey's 11th hour surprise that helped sink Hillary Clinton two years ago. The fact they're whining about Feinstein using a tactic straight out of THEIR playbook is pathetic and hypocritical on more levels than I can possibly describe.

[Tendrin]

Why is Kavanaugh so special?

Couldn't Trump and the GOP just move on to the next conservative judge on their list?

Or did they kinda blow it choosing this numbskull first and now if they pivot away they won't get it done before midterms?

Kavanaugh is their promise to the rest of the Evangelicals that they'll overturn Roe.
If they back down now, they'll be risking driving down the evangelical, anti-abortion vote they need to keep the house. It's what they're counting on.

[worstblogever]

Why is Kavanaugh so special?

Couldn't Trump and the GOP just move on to the next conservative judge on their list?

Or did they kinda blow it choosing this numbskull first and now if they pivot away they won't get it done before midterms?

Kavanaugh is their promise to the rest of the Evangelicals that they'll overturned Roe.
If they back down now, they'll be risking driving down the evangelical, anti-abortion vote they need to keep the house. It's what they're counting on.

There were 2 other candidates that were passed over for Kavanaugh.

Trump likes Kavanaugh, though, because he's the guy who thinks presidents are above piddly things like subpoenas and indictments.

[Tendrin]

There were 2 other candidates that were passed over for Kavanaugh.

Trump likes Kavanaugh, though, because he's the guy who thinks presidents are above piddly things like subpoenas and indictments.

There's /also/ that. There's little doubt that Kavanaugh's previous statements on executive power and privilege got Trump to support him. They had no way of knowing he had this particular skeleton in his closet, though, so it's really just deserts.

[aja_christopher]

Kavanaugh is their promise to the rest of the Evangelicals that they'll overturned Roe.
If they back down now, they'll be risking driving down the evangelical, anti-abortion vote they need to keep the house. It's what they're counting on.

The irony of supporting a judge accused of drunken sexual assault against a woman just so that you can overturn women's abortion rights.

Don't forget the fact that he also would likely rule that Trump doesn't have to answer any legal subpoenas or otherwise be held accountable for his crimes -- Trump is making sure to cover all of the bases in typical fashion by choosing "the best people" to serve in our government...

...which is why these allegations shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

[Mister Mets]

Because they had enough foreknowledge to get 65 people to sign a letter, whom only 2 are still willing to keep endorsing.

That's based on a misunderstanding about the source of the letter. I gave links to this a few days ago.

Virginia Hume, a signatory of the letter, explains how it came about. She heard about it from a friend.



The letter appears to have been organized by former clerks of Kavanaugh's, rather than Grassley.



One argument on the speed of the letter is that this is how that culture (insular Washington upper class) operates. They can circle the wagons very quickly.

[Mister Mets]

Well, perhaps they should dug deeper into Kavanaugh's past, made DAMN sure there would be ZERO skeletons that could pop out of the closet to bite them on the proverbial ass. I blame Republicans for not thoroughly vetting Bob 'n' Weave Brett, all they wanted to do was slurp Trump by rubber stamping that nomination.

How would vetting cover an allegation about events at a gathering among 5-6 teenagers 35 years ago when the only people the accuser has told are her husband and her psychiatrist?

[Dalak]

That's based on a misunderstanding about the source of the letter. I gave links to this a few days ago.

I responded to them then, but when reporting came out that only 2 of them were willing to stand by that letter you were silent and remain so regardless. The misunderstanding here appears to be yours.

[Dalak]

Why should they be rewarded for waiting so long with a letter they've had since July 24?

The fact that you think the dems held onto this maliciously but assume that a letter from 65 people who know Brett spontaneously spawned in a day is very telling.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

There were 2 other candidates that were passed over for Kavanaugh.

Trump likes Kavanaugh, though, because he's the guy who thinks presidents are above piddly things like subpoenas and indictments.

In other words, Bob 'n' Weave Brett would be Trump's lifeline against impeachment proceedings.

[Mister Mets]

I responded to them then, but when reporting came out that only 2 of them were willing to stand by that letter you were silent and remain so regardless. The misunderstanding here appears to be yours.

Do you have any source indicating that the claims from the letter writers about the timing are incorrect?

[KOSLOX]

What did Trump or the Republicans do wrong here? How should they have known that he would be accused of this?

I believe the term is vetting.

[Mister Mets]

Why is Kavanaugh so special?

Couldn't Trump and the GOP just move on to the next conservative judge on their list?

Or did they kinda blow it choosing this numbskull first and now if they pivot away they won't get it done before midterms?

There are two arguments about why Kavanaugh was chosen.

The first is that he does have the most impressive credentials. He had been considered a potential selection for Mitt Romney.

https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/30/polit...ist/index.html

He had an impressive background as a former prosecutor, and had clerked for Kennedy. The main reason why Mitch McConnell didn't want to fight to confirm him was the extensive paper trail, which also speaks to his qualifications.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ugh/756956002/

On paper, Brett Michael Kavanaugh may be the most qualified Supreme Court nominee in generations.
Like Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas, he has served on the second-most powerful court in the nation. Like Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch, he brings more than a decade's experience as a federal appeals court judge. And like Justice Elena Kagan, he has worked at the side of a two-term president.

But Kavanaugh's 12 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, combined with his Yale pedigree, Supreme Court clerkship under retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy and top posts under President George W. Bush, give him a résumé the court's current justices can't match.

More than anyone else in conservative legal circles today, Kavanaugh, 53, has been viewed as a Supreme Court justice-in-waiting. While waiting, he has written some 300 opinions and sent 41 of his law clerks to similar posts at the high court — far more than any of his competitors for the nomination.

The other suggestion about why Trump likes Kavanaugh is his views on executive power. It is worth noting that these were articulated during the Obama presidency, so it was not part of an effort to impress Trump.

As for why the Republicans don't immediately just replace him with someone else, there would be legitimate concerns about the precedent if a single uncorroborated accusation about someone's actions as a teenager is enough to establish that a nomination is morally wrong. If this is the new standard, it should be discussed and articulated.

One question that hasn't been addressed is what his normal obligation is about how to handle this if he's innocent?