Yeah, yeah. I know there aren’t enough votes (we can’t count on Collins or Merkowski) to block the horrific SCOTUS nominee, Kavanaugh. Here’s the thing: if Chucky Schumer said loudly, did his job as minority leader (and leader of the party, by the by), made it so clear, zero room for debate that not only will HE say NO to Kavanaugh, but he will whip that caucus into such shape, we will feel it at the core of our being that the Democratic Party, headed by Chuck, will always have our back, it’ll be refreshing, indeed.
Polls usually show that on most issues, in the abstract, majorities support the Democratic position, from preserving Social Security to comprehensive immigration reform. That seems great for Democrats, but in fact it often lulls them into an uncreative passivity: They’re with us on the issues, Democrats think, so all we have to do is discuss the issues and we’re home free.
Republicans look at those same polls and think: Hmm, the voters aren’t with us, so we must discredit these popular Democratic positions. They do this in two ways. First, by reminding voters that these ideas cost money. Second, and more cunningly, they attempt to turn the conversation away from issues and toward character.
This is one of the fundamental differences between the two parties. For Democrats, politics is a battle of ideas, punctuated by occasional detours down the character road. For Republicans, though, politics is an unending morality play, in which the probity of the dramatis personae is all-defining, punctuated by occasional battles of ideas. And while you may be thinking that Donald Trump upends this theory, in fact, our arbiters of right-wing morality (such as it is) are constantly excusing his louche behavior and trying to make him into a figure of rectitude.
Now, back to the matter at hand. It will be the Democrats’ first instinct to attack Judge Kavanaugh on abortion rights and health care. And, indeed, polls are finding very strong support for maintaining Roe v. Wade and pretty strong support for Obamacare.
Democrats should talk about those very important things. But they can’t leave it at that. They absolutely must discuss character — both the president’s and Judge Kavanaugh’s. The nominee worked for Ken Starr in 1998 as Mr. Starr pursued President Bill Clinton. What exactly did he do for Mr. Starr? That office was notorious for leaks. Did he leak secret grand jury proceedings, violating Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure?
He helped write the Starr report, which recommended impeachment of President Clinton for (among other things) lying to the public. Is that grounds for impeachment today? There will be many statements Mr. Kavanaugh made in the late 1990s that he will want to walk back, and the Democrats should make him walk every one of them back — over hot coals.
Then there is the matter of Mr. Trump’s possibly naming one of his own future jurors. This is a grave constitutional issue. The Democrats’ job here is to get Judge Kavanaugh on the record such that if he does someday rule that Mr. Trump cannot be prosecuted, the public will be outraged.
The Democrats will probably lose the Kavanaugh battle. But there are two ways to do it. They can lose by appearing to be timid, calculating, fretting too much about the consequences of being aggressive.
Or they can lose by showing they understand that millions of Americans are counting on them to protect their rights and, the stakes being what they are, the Constitution itself. If Democrats do the latter, they will manage to have laid the groundwork for some optimism about November and 2020.
The far right wing has been plotting this for decades. The Koch brothers, The Mercer clan, The Heritage Foundation, all of it.
The powerful Koch network of megadonors plans to spend seven figures backing President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick if he nominates a candidate similar to Justice Neil Gorsuch to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy, a network official said Wednesday.
“Faced with a vacancy on the highest court, we encourage President Trump to build on that success by nominating a Supreme Court Justice in the spirit of Justice Neil Gorsuch — a nominee who will respect the rule of law, interpret the Constitution as written, and not seek to advance a political agenda,” said Sarah Field, the vice president for judicial strategy at conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.
The early promise of big spending shows the stakes of the fight over the nomination, which Democrats may be powerless to stop. Republicans see a chance to enshrine a conservative majority on the court for another generation, and their donors are willing to spend heavily to make it happen.
The network, which includes Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Partners, Concerned Veterans for America and other groups, spent millions supporting Gorsuch’s nomination with waves of direct mail, canvassing, digital ads in a dozen states, town halls and more than 500,000 phone calls.
This country needs Dem leadership more than ever. As we are staring at fascism, the right’s takeover of this country, Chuck? Nancy? Wise up.
Mary Angela Daily Rants 