This is what democracy looks like. This is what passion looks like. Let the Court remain a symbol of our fundamental freedoms and not let Kavanaugh gut the future for women. #SCOTUS #RoeVsWade pic.twitter.com/zPBoNbvWOg
— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) July 10, 2018
Inside the White House, some aides are annoyed Trump is announcing SCOTUS pick at 9pm because staffers think Bill Shine chose 9pm hour to help Sean Hannity’s ratings, a GOP source says
— Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) July 9, 2018
5. The more Kavanaugh's views on presidential power becomes the dominant storyline, the more problematic everything could become for Trump. https://t.co/k22fqiDKeS
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) July 10, 2018
Ever mindful of his self-interest, Trump has picked Brett Kavanaugh, who once wrote that he didn’t believe a sitting President should be subject to criminal investigation or prosecution.
Kavanaugh could be deciding vote on legal challenges to the Mueller investigation. pic.twitter.com/1b28UHharc
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 10, 2018
“More than any of the other finalists, Kavanaugh is a creature of Washington, having spent the vast majority of his career in the capital.” https://t.co/riQOq5Zfff
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) July 10, 2018
Kavanaugh dissented from Merrick Garland in one case I’ve found so far, in which Garland ruled that Sea World should have done more to prevent a captive orca from dismembering an employee. Kavanaugh felt dismemberment was a reasonable risk of employment.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) July 10, 2018
Maybe Democrats should make that a campaign slogan: Vote for Democrats. We don't think you should be dismembered by whales.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) July 10, 2018
Where Brett Kavanaugh sits in the ideological spectrumhttps://t.co/KWfe1by2nq pic.twitter.com/TQjUy2wmuH
— Axios (@axios) July 10, 2018
.@realDonaldTrump is using this nomination as a destructive tool on a generation of progress for workers, women, LGBTQ people, communities of color & families, & to radically reverse the course of American justice & democracy. #WhatsAtStake #StopKavanaugh https://t.co/lUDbzInQZ3 pic.twitter.com/oq6954uChh
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) July 10, 2018
While working for Ken Starr in 1998, Kavanagh routinely skirted or violated Rule 6 (e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by leaking details of Lewinsky probe.Mueller’s team obeys the law; Starr’s didn’t. Reporters didn’t bust Brett because they benefitted. Will one now?
— Jonathan Alter (@jonathanalter) July 10, 2018
Oh, good. The new SCOTUS nominee is a giant fucking liar, too. https://t.co/JuOzPCex8S
— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers) July 10, 2018
Notice that in three hours, Democrats have cited more concrete reasons for opposing Brett Kavanaugh, as a specific judge based on his specific track record, than Republicans could come up with in 300 days for Merrick Garland.
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) July 10, 2018
Then he reversed himself when a Republican was elected. El Chapo is more devoted to the rule of law than this guy. https://t.co/COJDUERqyu
— Jerry (@js_edit) July 10, 2018
Democrats can do a lot to derail Kavanaugh. But they almost certainly can’t do enough, if McConnell has the votes. It’s liberals & progressives AND moderates on various issues who will have to pressure enough Repubs to keep him from getting through.
— Dana Houle (@DanaHoule) July 10, 2018
it should be uncontroversial to say that the right's power relies on thwarting the will of democratic majorities, this is their avowed project, and "never-Trump" Erick Erickson types support Kavanaugh because he will stop voters from implementing a political progrem he dislikes
— Official Centrism (@pareene) July 10, 2018
And neither of those two white male presidents won the popular vote. https://t.co/nyzzl8wAiG
— laura olin (@lauraolin) July 10, 2018
rikyrah
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” – Frederick Douglass https://t.co/AmKmAoKMbu
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) July 9, 2018
Dorothy A. Winsor
@rikyrah: I hear Douglass is getting more and more credit.
(I wish that were the case)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
And Kennedy’s ruling on the ban, as I understand, was an “oh woe is me, I must rule for the racist and against my pure and noble heart’ type thing. I know it won’t happen, but I’d love to see Kennedy brought to testify.
rikyrah
Why am I not surprised?
rikyrah
That lowlife muthaphucka.
……………………………………
Jeff Hauser @ jeffhauser
Trump & Kennedy were negotiating over whether:
(a) Kennedy would retire and
(b) if Kennedy would get his preferred successor (Kavanaugh) while
(c) Kennedy was deciding whether to hold Trump’s professed motives for the #MuslimBan against him.
That is NOT ETHICAL BEHAVIOR!
eric
The argument to me is simple. Rarely does one person in our society decide fundamental rights. Usually it is the fifth vote on the supreme Court. Recently, John McCain oddly served that role in being the last vote to save ACA (as much as it can be saved). Right now, there are two republican women who hold the future of reproductive rights in their hands. History will remember them if Roe crumbles because they were the deciding vote that made it happen. This is a legacy vote. A big fucking legacy vote.
The Dangerman
It’s Mueller time (OK, not original, but I haven’t had a drop of coffee yet).
I see Trump is bitching about NATO again; that will be fascinating to watch.
Now, seriously, I need caffeine.
chopper
@rikyrah:
not that i had a high opinion of kennedy before but dang if this doesn’t fit the idea that everything trump touches dies.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@eric: Nobody ever mentions Dean Heller. I don’t know much about him, he seems to keep his head down in general and especially now. Is he a true believer? Is he counting on Nevada Mormons (minus the Reid family) to pull him through? Voter suppression? He should at least be made uncomfortable. I believe Sandoval is fairly popular, and what passes for a moderate Republican on choice. Seems to me the argument should at least be worthwhile for Rosen
Patricia Kayden
A big thank you to all those who just couldn’t force themselves to vote for Secretary Clinton. She wasn’t pure enough for you so here we are being ruled over by a monster and his enablers.
the Conster
Good thing we didn’t elect that email lady who was right about everything.
Dear Millennials who only turn out to vote at under 5% of their numbers: that tingle you didn’t feel about Hillary? They’re coming to take everything you take for granted. Not only won’t you get free college and healthcare, you get to live in Gilead. Well played, progressive dipshits.
Served
@the Conster:
“Dear Boomers who overwhelmingly voted for the racist….” See how this works?
rikyrah
Furthermore, the five names Trump added to his list of Federalist Approved judges last November was to get Kavanaugh on that list. The other four names were considered cover, per source.
In other words: the decision has been baked for a while:
W/ @frankthorp
— Leigh Ann Caldwell (@LACaldwellDC) July 10, 2018
Omnes Omnibus
@the Conster: Are you saying that less than 5% of millennials voted? IF so, I would like to see a citation. If not, could you clarify please?
Baud
@Served: There’s plenty of blame to go around.
rikyrah
@Patricia Kayden:
They will NEVER be forgiven.
The Dangerman
@Baud:
Yup.
Boris, Rasputin's Evil Twin
So, where does he stand on Plessey V. Ferguson? Or Dred Scott?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@the Conster: Ezra Klein did a couple of tweets when Kennedy announced hie retirement, observing that the seeds of the Senate majority were planted in 2014, with Ebola/ISIS panic (those of us who didn’t die of that ‘exotic’ disease were going to be beheaded in the cul-de-sacs of our gated communities) and typical turnout patterns, older and whiter. Not very controversial observations, you would think. He was flooded with rose-emoji responses about how Democrats need to offer inspiring candidates. Apparently Kay Hagan needed to campaign on single-payer and free college to win in North Carolina.
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m always amazed that a group of people who have won almost nothing of significance in over half a century think they are credible in preaching to us about how to win.
ruemara
@Served: Nah. Those Boomers are known quantities of shit. More than enough millenials felt HRC wasn’t good enough & the courts were a scare tactic. In fact, a number of their heroes are already starting the same anti-Dem crap as 2016. I don’t like the blame millenials nonsense but in this one, yeah, try voting regularly.
Trabb's Boy
Shouldn’t Kavanaugh have to recuse himself on a vote specifically about Trump? Judges do care about the appearance of bias, and there is such a clear quid pro quo optic here.
gene108
Yawn…Republicans, unlike during the Bork confirmation, only care about appealing to the base. This guy appeals to the base. He will get confirmed.
The only question is whether any Dems vote for him.
Our democracy is broken, and the only way to fix it is for Democrats to win election after election after election. But with Republican control of the media, this will be a hard task.
Served
@ruemara: It will be my honor to continue voting if there is anything left after you guys are done with the place. :)
gene108
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I get this from non-Bernie supporters, who a regular and loyal Democratic voters. Democrats don’t stand for anything, don’t inspire me, and I really want to enthusiastically support Dems, but they don’t offer anything that motivates me.
It is fucking nuts.
The media put their thumbs on the scale in 2014 and 2016 to get Republicans elected. They should be among the first up against the wall, when the revolution comes.
They brought us to this shit show.
the Conster
@ruemara:
The average American voter is white and 58 years old, so you get candidates and policies that appeal to those voters. Millennials outnumber boomers everywhere but at the ballot box.
The Dangerman
@gene108:
Which is why Step 1 has to be reconstituting some form of the Fairness Doctrine. OK, make that 1b, right after 1a, the Tumbrel rides. There could be a correlation.
Step 2 is remembering how to win elections; there are roughly 30% Dems and 30% Reps in this country. You have to win the Swings and HRC didn’t, or couldn’t, in places that matter (i.e., enough Swing States).
ETA: Tumbrel rides or up against the wall as in 25; either works for me.
Uncle Ebeneezer
@rikyrah: Fuck them FOREVER!
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Served: Can we just agree that all generations have failed us, and move on?
Baud
@gene108: If they are regular and loyal Democratic voters, then that’s what we want. It’s a shame they contribute to a cynical and corrosive anti-Dem culture, but we need voters, not feelings.
Patricia Kayden
@eric: Murkowski and Collins will hold their noses and vote for their President’s SCOTUS nominee just like they’ve voted for his other nominees. This is Trump’s party and he must be supported no matter what.
gene108
@Trabb’s Boy:
Republicans don’t care about the appearance of impropriety. If they did, they wouldn’t have voted the way they did in Bush v. Gore.
All they care about is winning.
The courts are just another cog in the glorious conservative revolution to undo all the progress of the last 100 years. The judges are just as partisan as any other Republican, but they bullshit better to cover their bias.
nonynony
@the Conster:
@Served:
Hey guys – where’s the hate for Gen X? My generation also tipped toward Trump (especially the older half).
And yet once again, Gen X gets left out because there aren’t as many of us so nobody cares. Can’t you throw some hate towards us Gen Xers for a bit? We absolutely deserve it!
SFAW
What was interesting to me was that “graph” in the Axios tweet showing Kennedy as left-of-center.
Morons gotta moron, I guess.
Baud
@the Conster: The Youths have always voted less than the Olds. I don’t think we’ll ever see parity.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@The Dangerman: If we are to learn anything from 2016, I believe it was that the answer to winning elections is to seek and receive assistance from a hostile foreign power. But the namby pamby O’bambi Democrats are too chicken to play hardball. (Or something like that…)
Freemark
@ruemara: 18-29 year-olds voted at the second highest rate since 2000; Higher than 2012. The 45-64 age group is the only one that increased its support for the Republican candidate above 2012 rate. The only age group to vote at a higher rate for Clinton than Obama was the over 65. Blaming one age group because it makes you feel better makes no sense. There was plenty of f-up to go around.
Patricia Kayden
@gene108: Manchin and Heitkamp would be the Democrats who’d vote for Trump’s nominee, I suppose. They’re not red state Democrats for nothing.
gene108
@Baud:
Yeah, but if reliable Dem voters are this cynical, imagine how hard it is to burst through the bubble that surrounds an undecided or irregular voter.
It is such an uphill slog, just to get people’s attention, let alone get them to vote Dem.
You need super charismatic guys like Obama or Bill Clinton to stand a chance of winning.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@nonynony:
Bingo – we haven’t done enough damage to be reviled, and we didn’t have enough potential for it to matter that we squandered it. Oh well… “Meh”
Lapassionara
@Trabb’s Boy: Hah! Don’t we wish. This is “the ends justify the means” crowd.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I am increasingly of the opinion that Collins is a phony moderate and that her nose isn’t held at all. There was some discussion at the time of her ACA vote that she was gearing up for a run for governor, which might explain why that stance was more calculated than principled, but that seems to have died down. Murkowsil’s vote, and reputation as a moderate surprised me at the time, I’d always thought of her as far right, but I think in the end she’d vote to put DJTJ on the USSC if it meant she could sacrifice the last polar bear to Exxon
ETA: I’d be very happy to be proven wrong
The Dangerman
@Baud:
As long as the 3rd rails are SS and Medicare, no way. There’s a clue there, too; youngs have to realllllly feel the sting of losing an election. Obviously, multiple hot wars aren’t enough in a time of voluntary service.
eric
@Patricia Kayden: i 99.9% agree. But this is a vote to effectively end Roe. it is not just any vote. it is not a budget vote or hate on a muslim vote. it is a vote to end reproductive rights for women. I see it as slightly different, so i think their subjugation to Trump could yield.
D58826
depressing thought – given the ages of some of the justices Der Fuhrer could, in his first term, select 2 additional justices. In two terms he could replace the entire court. My grandkids would be living in a trump legal world. G-d is obviously a republican
Yarrow
He thinks that dismemberment is a reasonable risk of employment. That’s a good talking point for Dems.
FlipYrWhig
@Baud: It’s FAR longer than half a century. It’s pretty much 250 years. Or 150 if you want to start with industrial/labor conditions instead of views on how much centralized power can compel an agrarian elite.
You know how Olive Garden is a punching bag for foodies, who hate it and think it’s bland by comparison to the local 4-table underground hole in the wall and think there should be more of those, because they know of them, inexpensive organic non-exploitative innovative options staffed by people who look like their friends? That’s also the way they see the Democratic Party.
A Ghost To Most
@gene108: Or get hijacked by false flag actors.
FlipYrWhig
@Yarrow: Didn’t Gorsuch write an opinion in favor of freezing in your truck because your boss quite reasonably demanded you never leave it? Alas I don’t remember that stinging him too badly.
Baud
@FlipYrWhig:
I was being generous and giving them the New Deal era.
LAO
O/T — he pardoned the Oregon ranchers. What a vile shit stain this president is. I never want to hear the phrase “law and order Republican” again.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@FlipYrWhig: Yup. Al Franken made him answer for that. I don’t want to start Blog Fight #643 again, but I’ve been thinking we’re really gonna miss him in these hearings. I hope somebody on Leahy’s (or somebody’s) staff is reaching out to him behind the scenes
I love the Olive Garden analogy. It’s not enough to choose not to eat there, you have to sneer at, even actively resent the existence of, those who do. (Erik Loomis, I’m looking at you)
ETA: @LAO: Sweet jumping christ. As so often with the Beast, shocking yet utterly predictable.
schrodingers_cat
Ds have been flipping solid R districts since Orange has been in the WH, forget the MSM, many commenters on liberal blogs such as this one are discounting that, saying that Rs always win even though that has not been the case in the past year. Northam won easily, Doug Jones won in the deep south. Self flagellation is the mode favorable by many but its gets tiresome after a while.
Baud
@FlipYrWhig:
“When you’re here, you’re family” might be a good slogan for the Dems.
D58826
and the Oregon Bundy crowd just got pardons. (sigh)
LAO
@D58826: Not the Bundys — the Hammonds — the ranchers that inspired the Bundys.
D58826
@FlipYrWhig: get real, the Trump crowd would support making Adolph Hitler’s birthday a US national holiday
D58826
@LAO: I just saw the headline Oregon ranchers. either way disgustingf
Baud
@D58826: There were bad people on both sides of that war.
LAO
@D58826: No worries — they’re all part of the same wackadoo cult.
Patricia Kayden
@Trabb’s Boy: Quite frankly, I doubt anyone connected to Trump cares about appearing biased. This is a power grab. Anything goes.
Patricia Kayden
@D58826: White Power!!
FlipYrWhig
@D58826: I’m not getting how your comment is a response to me…
A Ghost To Most
WaPo reports Shitler pardoning Oregon ranchers.
trollhattan
@The Dangerman:
Having now had my daily caffeine none of this shit seems any better. Ale time already?
trollhattan
During hearings when this fucker refuses to answer committee questions (“What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favourite colour?) they should frame his prior actions and decisions as hypothetical assignments given to his law students and ask how he’d grade them.
FlipYrWhig
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Loomis is a funny case because he wants to have populist tastes but also he wants to have elevated tastes. And it doesn’t really seem like he’s joking or lighthearted when he talks about food and drink; he really means it, it’s very important to him. But then he’ll say things like that he can’t fully hate ranch dressing because he wants to defend the people who like it from being disparaged. Dude, check the mirror. But whatever.
FlipYrWhig
@Baud: Ya know, that’s actually not half bad.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@FlipYrWhig: I didn’t know ranch dressing was the polyester leisure suit of the whole foodie thing till I started watching Chopped. You’d’ve thought there was a dead rat in the basket.
I’m not a regular reader of LGM and don’t really know Loomis, but someone posted a piece of his yesterday calling on tired old sell-out Tammy Duckworth to get out of the way of the future, and the future’s name is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez!(edited– dammit) and it seemed to fit your Olive Garden vs the urban farm to four repurposed tables restaurant in the back of a laundromat in a neighborhood you’ve never heard of because you’re old and basic
and I like AOC because, among other reasons, she strikes me as much too smart to get into that kind of bullshit
Mai Naem mobile
My brother’s barber’s sister in law’s aunt’s pest control guy’s nephew went to grade school with Kavanaugh’s second removed cousin who says that Kavanaugh is a child diddler. This should definitely be investigated
schrodingers_cat
I just checked the headlines including Vichy Times, Ross Doughboat seems excited by this pick.
FlipYrWhig
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, Loomis isn’t usually in that vein (and there is no shortage of people who don’t know anything OUTSIDE that vein) but he’s had a few benders lately.
trollhattan
@schrodingers_cat:
Of course, Yet Another Catholic. Some of us recall when JFK had to specifically declare he would not govern under the influence of the pope. How things have changed.
The Thin Black Duke
@Mai Naem mobile: Even if he is, the Republicans won’t care.
Aardvark Cheeselog
@Trabb’s Boy: Ha ha ha ha… you slay me.
Trump will have gotten the promise not to recuse up front, this time.
As for concern about appearances, is there anything in modern Republican politics that suggests they care about that anymore?
Brickley Paiste
@Patricia Kayden: @Served:
Dear “democrats” of a certain demographic who showed up to vote for Obama in record numbers but who stayed home in 2016 …
tobie
@gene108: I just had a family reunion and my very middle-of-the-road Democratic family that often complains about things like the laziness of union workers was lamenting that the Dems don’t have an exciting leader and that Nancy Pelosi must go. Even though they all supported Hillary in the primaries, they now claim they knew she was a disaster. They spouted so much conventional wisdom from the TV punditocracy. I don’t know how we defeat that beast. So many Americans are so uncritical and uninformed.
satby
Repeating from upstairs: The last Seals and medic left the cave!! All out safe!
Hooyah!
Brickley Paiste
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
You put words together good
Aardvark Cheeselog
@nonynony:
Absolutely. GenXers are the worst. Why, I remember, back around ’82 or so, driving by a high school and seeing what seemed like most of the kids wearing buttoned shits and slacks instead of tees and jeans like decent people. I blame them for not smoking enough dope to keep the pressure on their parents for legalization, too.
Baud
@satby: That’s excellent news.
FlipYrWhig
@tobie: That’s what The Liberal Media is constantly pumping out. I will just say again: notice that “nobody likes the Republican Congress, guess they need exciting new leaders instead of Randian ciphers like Paul Ryan, Machiavellis like Mitch McConnell, and actual child molesters like Dennis Hastert” is NEVER FUCKING WELL SAID BY ANY FUCKING PERSON even though it’s completely valid.
FlipYrWhig
@Aardvark Cheeselog: I’ll have you know that all my Gen X friends and I spent the entire ’80s wearing acid wash jeans and size XXL sweatshirts, like God intended.
satby
@Baud: 4 hours after the last extraction, wonder if they waited to make sure the rest were clear before even starting. The other seemed to come once per hour.
I’m just relieved that another diver wasn’t lost saving the kids.
bexley
It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world … but for whales?
satby
@FlipYrWhig: I’m a Boomer, and that’s how I dressed.
Still wear the same get-up, but the jeans have been replaced by yoga pants. Comfort knows no age baby.
CliosFanboy
@Patricia Kayden: “Well, I just did not like her.” which is a reason not to vote for Prom Queen, NOT for voting for president!!!!
CliosFanboy
@satby: gad, at work only the Boomers like me still wear a shirt and tie. One of my Gen X colleagues was mistaken for a homeless man!!!
rikyrah
@CliosFanboy:
LMAO
rikyrah
YEAH!!!
Calouste
@trollhattan: With the current pope, governing like they are under his influence would actually be an improvement in a number of areas (not women’s rights obviously).
cmorenc
My 21yo nephew, an otherwise quite bright, delightful lad, nevertheless when talk turned to politics is an infuriating example of the disdained detachment of too many of his generation from involvement, spinning elaborate intellectual rationales for why “it doesn’t matter” for them to do so. His elaborately spun explanation boiled down to “the people of the US get the government and leadership they deserve” (said in a negative sense) – and somehow that’s how it ought to be if so many people are that dumb, meanwhile he’d rather be left alone to indulge his personal interests e.g. electronica music, than waste his time on political involvement. My counter-arguments boiled down to: his attitude is precisely what enables the worst elements who would gladly screw the likes of him and most of the citizenry over for their selfish economic benefit, or to curtail his (and others) freedoms in the name of their own fanatical religious or nightmarish ideological visions, and in fact they are trying to propagandize people like my nephew to think as he does their own benefit – to accomplish that. Alas, I failed to penetrate his sophomoric apathy parading as sophisticated cynicism.
He is the paradigm for why far too much of the youth vote fails to bother to show up at the polls, despite nominally being on-board with progressive economic and social ideals. Absolutely infuriating.
satby
@cmorenc: you just described my30 year old nephew too, especially frustrating because as a gay man, he had rights at risk and just blew that off. Hopefully, he’s had an awakening.
Scrumpus
@rikyrah: How dare those kids get rescued right after the SCOTUS announcement? I prefer kids who don’t get trapped in caves.
Mnemosyne
@gene108:
If they’re not motivated by the US government literally stealing babies from refugees and refusing to give them back, then they can’t be “motivated” by anything at all.
Fuckem.
sherparick
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: A third element of the 2014 election Ezra did not mention was a large influx of young, mostly teenage, asylum seekers from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador fleeing gang violence and forced recruitment. Although Roman Catholics and Evangelicals from Central America, they were portrayed as the pointy spear of ISIS infiltration and carrying Ebola infections. And again, the MSM helped the Republicans by saying “deadlock” and the Senate could pass anything so “time for a change.” This is how Cory Gardner beat Udall in Colorado, with the endorsement of the Denver Post.
cynthia ackerman
On pardoning the Hammond’s:
— This is entirely a sop to the rabid base. A very narrow set of lawless self-interest gets the slate wiped clean, so nihilist elected officials get a slight boost.
— It comes at the expense of the juries who found guilt, and the courts which upheld.
— As an Oregon fire official, I am personally offended by the casual disregard for arson on public lands, the core of the Hammonds’ charges. So that Greg Walden and Shitgibbon get to puff chests in neck-beard country, the likelihood of dangerous wild fire just went up.
–.On the plus side, this calculus makes part of the case for swaying my neighbors’ votes in four months.
schrodingers_cat
@cynthia ackerman: Orange is behaving more and more like an unhinged king rather than an elected public servant.
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
We can win all the elections, pass all the good laws we want, etc., but as long as Republicans have a stranglehold on the SCOTUS, it won’t matter. All the good laws will be declared unconstitutional.
Obamacare barely survived its first encounter with the SCOTUS, and even then it was damaged.
This Supreme Court stuff has really gotten me down.
We were soooo close to flipping the SCOTUS for the first time in my life, and now here we are.
Zinsky
This Kavanaugh is an unflushable turd. He is simply too huge and smelly to fit down the pipes easily. He was part of the Ken Starr hatchet brigade in the 1990’s, whose mission was to flog the “Hillary murdered Vince Foster” canard. The pain and suffering that Kavanaugh and his ilk caused to Lisa Foster, Vince’s widow, is incalculable. He should have his lip busted open for that alone. This reptile also was part of the “Brooks Brothers” riots in West Palm Beach in December 2000, that stopped the counting of legitimate ballots and allowed a neer-do-well alcoholic named George W. Bush to steal the election from a dedicated civil servant who got more actual votes from human beings, named Al Gore. Kavanaugh should have his jaw busted for that crime against humanity. Dubya rewarded this dullard for his perfidious behavior. His judicial career is as lackluster as you might expect from a moronic right-wing ideologue. In short, he is an ignorant, mean-spirited political hatchet man who should have the living shit beaten out of him for the disrespect he has shown to American democracy and the damage he has done to real people’s lives.
lollipopguild
@schrodingers_cat: Trump sees himself as an elected dictator , one reason he likes Putin who is also an “elected” dictator.
gene108
@cmorenc:
This has been a deliberate decision by the media and especially right-wing media to get people to feel their vote won’t matter.
I think Bill Clinton was the last hope to get people to believe “government is the solution” again, because you still had enough people who survived the Great Depression still alive or whose parents survived it that still hoped government could help the people.
Butbthe media decided Whitewater, his haircuts, and bringing accountability to the travel office were scandals just as big as Watergate and Iran-Contra.
I don’t see how we can change this.
gene108
@tobie:
Force everyone to read Balloon-Juice until they get clued in.
Like filing taxes, or registering for the draft, when you turn 18, reading Balloon-Juice everyday will be mandatory for all Americans.
And
John ColeSteve,Rosie,Thurston, Lilly will be our benevolent overlord.(((CassandraLeo)))
@the Conster: …so that’s a no, you don’t have a citation on the 5% bullshit you just made up? Our generation didn’t go some ≥50% for Trump. So, y’know, go fuck yourself.
Bess
Couple of thoughts –
Seems like Collins set up a ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ criterion for her vote. As long as the candidate said nothing about destroying Roe vs. Wade she would vote for them.
“How would I have known that he would have been the deciding vote to kill? I’m shocked. Shocked, I say.”
If Roe vs. Wade is killed by the SC that leaves the abortion decision to individual states (IIRC). Some states will outlaw abortion and that is likely to create more voters who will vote for pro-choice candidates. The long term results could be bad for Republicans. Especially as older more conservative voters are replaced by younger voters.
Those sexually active younguns who find themselves or their female friend “embarrassed” and have to face the long drive from a red state to the coast or go the illegal route are likely to want a change.
gene108
@FlipYrWhig:
It is a sad reflection on how expectations setting affects how we perceive success or failure.
People expect Republicans to funnel money to their donors and fuck over their constituents and corrupt the Democratic process.
Democrats are expected to run a perfect government, end poverty, reduce income inequality, end racism, etc or else they are failures.
And the media just goes along with this, so they can still pray at the alter of “both sides”.
ET
I understand why tRump would like a justice that is sympathetic to a strong executive office. Not only does this fit because he is President right now, but also because it plays well with his predilection for bosses being BOSS. However, Republicans only like a strong president when on of their party sits in the White House and generally seem to feel this is antithetical to that “states right” bullet point. I don’t expect any of them to buck the President in any way because so far they haven’t and have been bullied, but because they like the rest of the nominee’s portfolio. I do wonder if full-throated or uncontested/tacit support for this nominee won’t sit well with some and in the long run, may end up being in conflict with other parts of their anti-government agenda. Only time will tell if this is a if the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers scenario.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Served:
How do you know ruemara is a Boomer? There are plenty of commenters on this blog who are Gen Xers or later.
cynthia ackerman
@schrodingers_cat:
Agee in principle, but part of my lament is that shit like these pardons is all about eeking out narrow electoral wins.
The vast right wing conspiracy, for the last fifty years and especially the last twenty, has been all about leveraging those wins in service of amoral power grabs, viz. our new Dark Ages SCOTUS.
chopper
@nonynony:
oddly enough, there are more gen x’ers today than any other generational cohort.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@gene108:
By directly protesting/harassing the media itself to stop this?
gene108
@Bess:
Either they will be fired up to vote or they will just get more discouraged and tune out.
I wouldn’t bet everything on the former. People getting discouraged, as Republicans do more damage to society, is part of the reason we are where we are.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@gene108:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DystopiaIsHard
Eventually, conditions will become so intolerable that either the system will collapse or people will fight back. That’s like an iron rule of history. I don’t believe the current political landscape is sustainable. There is a backlash coming.
sukabi
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: interesting bit of relevant info left out of THAT discussion. Funny how there is NO mention of Kennedy’s kid and his Trump connection possible legal exposure, like that detail never even existed.
WestTexan70
@the Conster: I’m a white male Texan who turns 58 in a couple of months. None of the Gooper bullshit makes me happy. Unfortunately, I’m in the vast minority …
Aleta
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Same. Whereas Collins’ questions will merely give him an opening to say he understands precedent. Problem solved!
TenguPhule
/whistles innocently.
Yutsano
@TenguPhule: I’m not certain that’s what he meant…
Eh who cares. Own petard, hoisted upon, etc.
Steeplejack
@CliosFanboy:
My God, if your work dress code permits not wearing a tie, why would you voluntarily wear one?! Unless your job involves dressy client contact.
I’m a boomer, wore ties for years at work, but if the dress code had ever loosened I would have ditched them in a heartbeat.
Bess
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?:
I agree. I’m of the silent generation. The pre-boomers. We’ve fought to forward equal rights and all the social advancements made post FDR. Younger people seem to not understand that we could slip back to those conditions where, basically, only white men had power.
Things may need to get a little bad to make the bad understandable and awaken a new generation. They are either going to have to wake up or get handed the short, stinky end of the stick. My generation and even the left-of-center boomers are going to be busy dying out.
Ruviana
@FlipYrWhig: Try asking him about ketchup and you’ll see how far his populism goes.
liza
@Bess: The Supreme Court is perfectly capable of overturning state laws that permit abortion.
Aleta
To me, the protests we’re expecting against the court clarify why conservative strategy has included fighting education since the 80s. Understanding political power encourages protesters and is basic to women’s studies, multicultural studies, gender studies, and how US history is told. Sex education is also about self-determination and responsibility for one’s fate.
Citizen_X
@TenguPhule: Lol.
Another Scott
@The Dangerman: (Someone may have already made this point…)
I don’t think the Fairness Doctrine will save us. Though I think the case can be made that the FCC has jurisdiction (the Internet uses radio bands for WiFi, communication with satellites, etc.), it’s not fighting the right battle, IMO.
What needs to happen is that Money == Speech needs to be revisited. Buckley v. Valeo is one – it said that individual contribution limits are OK, but that “independent expenditures” could not be limited. That’s clearly a big problem these days. Citizens United and all the rest, also too.
If “Equal Justice Under Law” means anything, it means that the rich cannot put their warehouses full of jackboots on the scales in political discourse and lawmaking.
Cheers,
Scott.
JoyceH
@rikyrah:
Kavanaugh needs to be asked about this at his confirmation hearings. Of course he will deny being the leaker, but if one other person knows that he was and is willing to go public, boom – perjury in Senate testimony.
Another line of inquiry: Kavanaugh clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski, who resigned last year after fifteen accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual conduct. Dems should ask if he’d seen any instances of inappropriate behavior toward women. Of course, he’ll deny that too, but then all it takes is one female clerk to come forward with, “But I TOLD Brett…” and boom – another perjury, and this one comes wrapped in a Jim Jordan Problem.
Yes, Dems should ask about abortion and gay marriage and health care, to remind their base what the stakes are, but he’s going to stonewall future opinion questions, so don’t waste ALL your time on that. Also ask, not ‘what WOULD you do?’, but the ‘what DID you do?” questions.
A blowup on the Starr or Kozinski fronts could give Collins or Murkoswki second thoughts about voting to confirm.
And hey, if we have credible allegations that he lied during his confirmation, and Dems take back both houses, well – Supreme Court justices can be impeached too.
Another Scott
@gene108: Northam in Virginia is far from charismatic. ;-)
We need to turn our voters out: 1) Beat back the voter-registration suppression efforts (ID, limited registration points, felony disenfranchisement, etc.). 2) Beat back the voter suppression efforts (limited hours, lack of mail-in options, lack of no-excuse absentee options, limited machines in precincts). 3) Support our party in its efforts to get the message out to marginally-connected voters.
We can do this! 119 days to go…
Cheers,
Scott.
Brendan in NC
Re: the Ilyse Hogue tweet at the top…On the conservative radio station here in Charlotte, the former mayor, and 1 term governor was bemoaning that the protests were too perfectly staged, including, gasp!, pre-printed signage. I do hope some people got on and told him that it was easy, since the Orange Fart Cloud had promoted when he was going to make the announcement since last week…Besides that, all the nominees are against the same things that we hold dear; so there was no need for specifics…
prostratedragon
Call it the Rod Blagojevich Commemorative Seat.
D58826
@Bess:
Dan B
@satby: As a gay guy who came out before Stonewall I’m not too surprised that your nephew is not concerned about his rights. I have a visceral, existential panic reaction to the right. I know the feeling of being shunned and accused of being a deviant. It meant no chance of a career unless you were married by age 25. It meant fear of exposure, of criminal charges… The fear was ever present. Young LGB people in liberal enclaves of the west have had a very easy time. The next 50 years are likely to be a shock.
Aleta
@Bess:
I don’t like the anti-(any)generation) talk. It’s easy enough for groups to splinter or denounce each other after people are working together/joining in protest. I know complaints about generations are a norm; still I hope the activists who’re now complaining won’t set a pattern that makes disorganization easier to occur.
Dan B
@Bess: My cousin had an abortion in Mexico. She was lucky her older sister had money. She was lucky the bleeding finally stopped ir she could have faced legal consequences or worse.
Oh, her boyfriend wouldn’t talk to her.
Plus side, boost to economy for Canada and Mexico.
Mnemosyne
@D58826:
I kinda disagree with you — the deal was that white men at the top got all of the money and most of the power, but white men at the bottom had plenty of power over women and minorities. That was the whole trade-off and what they’re pissed about losing. A poor white man can no longer lynch a random black man or beat his wife without consequences.
Aleta
@D58826:
is already a restriction against the assumption of “all white men.” Why use caps?
Bess
@Aleta: What you quoted had nothing to do with anti-generation talk. It was about personal experience.
Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
Many people alive today simply accept computers are part of their lives. Others of us remember being excited when pocket calculators were invented. Before then we learned to use slide rules.
Bess
@Mnemosyne: A poorly qualified white man no longer automatically gets the job over a more qualified woman or minority member. That is not how it used to be.
I am not saying that all problems have been solved. I am pointing out the different worlds that people my age grew up in and the world that younger voters have experienced.
I vividly remember the days of segregation and women not being allowed into graduate school in many fields (with tiny exceptions). Those of us who are older have a better realization of what a round of major backsliding might look like.
J R in WV
@Trabb’s Boy:
Just like Clarence will always recuse himself on cases where his wife’s right wing organization is organizing opposition!
Right?
Were you found under a big leaf in a cabbage patch, and never found the garden gate?
Right wing people in the justice department or judiciary never recuse themselves even when there’s a clear conflict between their opinion and their closest relatives. Sons and daughters, wives, never you mind, I would have made the same decision if my relatives were on the other side! Believe me!!
And this appointee, working on Ken Starr’s starr chamber investigation into Bill Clinton, is believed to have illegally shared information supposed to be highly confidential with right wing reporters for the duration of the Starr chamber investigation, which ran near to $50,000,000 and for years, and never found anything but a consensual encounter between two adults.
That’s a violation of Federal law, I can’t remember chapter and verse, but our legal beagles have already posted it somewhere below. He should not be eligible for a judicial appointment, being unable to keep his professional secrets to himself.