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

[Iron Maiden]

I feel like for the GOP, this is a no win situation. 6 weeks until the election. Your Supreme Court nominee has been accused of repeated sexual assaults, a rape attempt, and now women are coming forward and saying he and his circle of friends would drug girls to gang rape them.

A savvy Republican would doubt the accuser. Less savvy ones are going to victim blame. Some are going to go as far as to push a narrative that justifies rape, in the "show me a boy who hasn't done this" vein. And holy s***, what Trump might comment on this?

The only smart thing would be to force Kavanaugh to withdraw. If they don't, this is going to be in the headlines for 6 weeks, and it's going to make Todd Akin's comments look like an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in comparison, in terms of a "Republican War on Women".

I think putting it on Kavanaugh to withdraw is the only option at this point. If the Democrats are allowed to bring up Avenatti's revelations when it comes to their 5 minutes each of interrogation, he's toast. Is this going to be televised like with Anita Hill?

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Holy crap.

I'm not trying to jump to conclusions here, but even a tenth of this is true, then one of the greatest injustices in American history is that Brett Kavanaugh sat behind a bench instead of standing before one.

Jesus.

I kinda want them to ram him through now just so Democrats can campaign on it forever. Like I think Republicans are fucked now... and I’d rather see them take a bullet to the chest that will cripple them for years than take the back door exit and drop him, disown him, take credit for it, and nominate someone just as bad who happens to not be enough of a psycho that they could contain it

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I feel like for the GOP, this is a no win situation. 6 weeks until the election. Your Supreme Court nominee has been accused of repeated sexual assaults, a rape attempt, and now women are coming forward and saying he and his circle of friends would drug girls to gang rape them.

A savvy Republican would doubt the accuser. Less savvy ones are going to victim blame. Some are going to go as far as to push a narrative that justifies rape, in the "show me a boy who hasn't done this" vein. And holy s***, what Trump might comment on this?

The only smart thing would be to force Kavanaugh to withdraw. If they don't, this is going to be in the headlines for 6 weeks, and it's going to make Todd Akin's comments look like an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood in comparison, in terms of a "Republican War on Women".

Everything you said was spot on, but I suspect the GOP is going to stick to their guns and die on that hill for Kavanaugh. Republicans, most of whom probably couldn't spell savvy will cut right to the chase and play the victim blame card like there's no tomorrow, if not flat out call the accusers bald faced liars, and yeah, god only knows what Trump will say or do once he gets wind of this. I have no doubt Republicans won't be smart, they've come too far to give up on Kavanaugh now, they need Bob 'n' Weave Brett on the bench more than Trump does because he can advance conservative agendas for decades while Dolt45 will most likely be gone after next year. In any event, the next six weeks figure to make for one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

[Iron Maiden]

There must be something fundamentally wrong with this guy's moral compass if he can be capable of such ugly, misogynist conduct and then try and ignore his past. I'm not psychologist but it's like he has the traits of a sociopath. Or let's just say he sure is a Jekyll/Hyde. No wonder his buddy Mark Judge has tried to stay hidden. He knows damn well what he is guilty of

So how long will it take for good ol' Yertle the Turtle McConnell to make an annoucement? This sure throws a monkey wrench in their plans for Thursday.

[Iron Maiden]

He’s literally the best thing about the Trump administration

Let's see them call Avenatti an ambulance chaser now. I just hope Ghouliani is stupid enough to pipe in with his opinion. or Trump

Heck, the Dems need to hire Avenatti to work on their campaign and put some fire in their bellies. LOL

[worstblogever]

I think putting it on Kavanaugh to withdraw is the only option at this point. If the Democrats are allowed to bring up Avenatti's revelations when it comes to their 5 minutes each of interrogation, he's toast. Is this going to be televised like with Anita Hill?

There must be something fundamentally wrong with this guy's moral compass if he can be capable of such ugly, misogynist conduct and then try and ignore his past. I'm not psychologist but it's like he has the traits of a sociopath. Or let's just say he sure is a Jekyll/Hyde. No wonder his buddy Mark Judge has tried to stay hidden. He knows damn well what he is guilty of

So how long will it take for good ol' Yertle the Turtle McConnell to make an annoucement? This sure throws a monkey wrench in their plans for Thursday.

Only Ford is supposed to testify on Thursday. Other than Democrats trying to ask her if she can give any credence to Swetnick's accounts, there's not going to be any further testimony by Kavanaugh. Putting him in an open hearing is political suicide for the GOP.

Rumor is, Sen. Grassley is going to pretend Swetnick doesn't exist, have his fancy lady lawyer interrogate Ford just to act like "the accusations were addressed", and then they want to vote RIGHT ON FRIDAY without looking into any of Ramirez, or Swetnick's accounts, or if any other women come forward.

Which is, of course, craven, and disgusting, but they know that and don't care.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Only Ford is supposed to testify on Thursday. Other than Democrats trying to ask her if she can give any credence to Swetnick's accounts, there's not going to be any further testimony by Kavanaugh. Putting him in an open hearing is political suicide for the GOP.

Rumor is, Sen. Grassley is going to pretend Swetnick doesn't exist, have his fancy lady lawyer interrogate Ford just to act like "the accusations were addressed", and then they want to vote RIGHT ON FRIDAY without looking into any of Ramirez, or Swetnick's accounts, or if any other women come forward.

Which is, of course, craven, and disgusting, but they know that and don't care.

As I said, they have more incentives to confirm him than they do a moral compass to reject him. Short of people showing up
Saying the saw him rape somebody or a video/recording, they will play the plausible deniability card. Newsflash, he isn’t Merrick Garland, he didn’t commit the crime of being appointed by the Democrats, he advances there agenda.

I will say again for everything that has been alleged, there was far more real evidence supporting the claim of Roy Moore being a child molester. They stood by him. This is a game to them. Treat it as such and play to beat them at it

[Iron Maiden]

I don't see how the GOP can come out ahead on this with the mid terms 6 weeks away. I know these news cycles give everyone short term memory loss but IMO this is something women voters won't forget. I know I won't

And what about his wife and daughters? How can the wife live with him now?

I have this strange feeling that somehow, there will be an attempted suicide out of this...either Mark Judge or BK. I guess I'm getting too melodramatic. That only happens in the movies.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I don't see how the GOP can come out ahead on this with the mid terms 6 weeks away. I know these news cycles give everyone short term memory loss but IMO this is something women voters won't forget. I know I won't

And what about his wife and daughters? How can the wife live with him now?

I have this strange feeling that somehow, there will be an attempted suicide out of this...either Mark Judge or BK. I guess I'm getting too melodramatic. That only happens in the movies.

Guarantee this is the plan.

1. Rush him through, don’t call for an investigation.

2. Gaslight campaign. Call the allegations not credible, too far in the past to matter, etc. Say Ford has no proof, the second victim can’t even say Kavanaugh was the one who did anything, and the third said he was only present at what she assumed was rape and didn’t mention him being an active participant in her own alleged assault. Use that to get enough plausible deniability so you can call this a smear campaign by Democrats.

3. Do that enough to at least shore up your base on it and muddy it enough for anyone who isn’t a Dem.

4. They know they are taking a midterm hit anyways so just grunt and bare it.

5. If the Democrats threaten to impeach Kav, start making idle threats about finding dirt on one of Obama’s nominee’s and start another SCOTUS war.

6. After the storm he becomes another Clarence Thomas who we is just a thing we put up with.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I don't see how the GOP can come out ahead on this with the mid terms 6 weeks away. I know these news cycles give everyone short term memory loss but IMO this is something women voters won't forget. I know I won't

And what about his wife and daughters? How can the wife live with him now?

For the same reason the wives of Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Cruz, et al, stick with their husbands----POWER. Being the wife of a potential Supreme Court judge makes for one hell of a potent rush, imagine the prestige and recognition Mrs. Kavanaugh would be afforded in Washington social circles, I would imagine that would be more than worth selling her soul and moral compass for. And let's not kid ourselves here, she probably knows all about Brett's revolting misadventures and stayed with him because of his standing and position, not out of loyalty.

[Tendrin]

If the GOP holds together, then we can expect to see them ram him through, yes. The end goal of having a locked in federalist society majority on the court that is hostile to federal power and will continue to gut at the foundations of the modern state in favor of so-called 'states rights' is the only thing they care about at this point. Their house majority, even their senate majority, is something they will gladly lose to that end. It's why they're ramming through so many judicial appointments. In the GOP's view, hey know the clock is potentially ticking on their majorities, but if they have the courts sown up and the tax cuts defunding any liberal goal, then liberals will be frustrated and unable to push through any of their own agenda and their voters will, as they do, turn on them, especially with increasing misinformation and use of voter suppression to help out.


I am not sure they have the votes, though, at this exact moment. I expect McConnell will act like he does right up until the last moment, as he did with health care reform. Murkowski and the disapproval of the native americans who helped her stay in the Senate is key here, for example.

[Raiders]

I think it’s over for Kavanaugh

[Jack Dracula]

If the GOP holds together, then we can expect to see them ram him through, yes. The end goal of having a locked in federalist society majority on the court that is hostile to federal power and will continue to gut at the foundations of the modern state in favor of so-called 'states rights' is the only thing they care about at this point. Their house majority, even their senate majority, is something they will gladly lose to that end. It's why they're ramming through so many judicial appointments. In the GOP's view, hey know the clock is potentially ticking on their majorities, but if they have the courts sown up and the tax cuts defunding any liberal goal, then liberals will be frustrated and unable to push through any of their own agenda and their voters will, as they do, turn on them, especially with increasing misinformation and use of voter suppression to help out.


I am not sure they have the votes, though, at this exact moment. I expect McConnell will act like he does right up until the last moment, as he did with health care reform. Murkowski and the disapproval of the native americans who helped her stay in the Senate is key here, for example.

This.
With the courts stacked in their favor, even if the lose the House and the next President is a Democrat, they can still obstruct and stonewall like they did through Obama's administration. It's an MO that's served them well in the past.

[Iron Maiden]

For the same reason the wives of Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Cruz, et al, stick with their husbands----POWER. Being the wife of a potential Supreme Court judge makes for one hell of a potent rush, imagine the prestige and recognition Mrs. Kavanaugh would be afforded in Washington social circles, I would imagine that would be more than worth selling her soul and moral compass for. And let's not kid ourselves here, she probably knows all about Brett's revolting misadventures and stayed with him because of his standing and position, not out of loyalty.

I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt since we don't know much about her. I mentioned before how he jumped in on a question that was directed to her in that Fox interview. She's probably the dutiful little wife/mother figure. Even John Wayne Gacy's 2nd wife didn't suspect he was a mass murderer with a thing for young men. And there's always the chance that he's one of those guys with the whore/madonna complex. There I go again with my armchair analysis!

[Tami]

This.
With the courts stacked in their favor, even if the lose the House and the next President is a Democrat, they can still obstruct and stonewall like they did through Obama's administration. It's an MO that's served them well in the past.

The same trick can only work so many times before it fails.