While a Democratic strategy of "'going after' Kavanaugh" may energize the right somewhat, the Democrats can accomplish the same goal by "'going after' Republicans. Just use the dog whistle "good governance" instead of impeach Kavanaugh. Good governance requires the Democrats to uncover what the Republicans have been trying to hide. Once the proper investigations have been done, there will be a lot to less to argue about what do next.
Try it.
While we’re at it, we can impeach Julia Salazar for lying about her background, have the FBI investigate Ocasio-Cortez years as bar tender in NYC (god knows what that will turn up), impeach Cory Booker for sexual harassment that he already admitted to, Diane Feinstein for sitting on that letter and creating this mess, and Hillary Clinton for (way too many reasons here, start with destroying Lybia, fast and furious, Begazhi).
And treat every single Democratic appointee to anything the same way you treated this guy. See how fast the DEMS cry foul.
@AutumLeaff: "investigate Ocasio-Cortez years as bar tender in NYC (god knows what that will turn up)"
You assume all kinds of horrible things will be uncovered because she was a bartender? Weird.
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If they impeach him in the House, or at least prove he lied to the Senate, can't he be disbarred, even if the Senate won't convict? Wouldn't that get him off the Court?
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The Dems would be insane to even think about it. It would come across as a stunt. If you know you don't have the votes to convict you don't go there, and in the unlikely event that the Democrats regain the Senate,. it's not going to be by more than a few seats. They'd start impeachment proceedings knowing it would be no more than a PR exercise that the Republicans would grab and run with. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Concentrate on getting to the bottom of Trump's finances, for one. If the Senate does change hands, take up DACA again but leave Kavanaugh alone.
No need go impeach the cad. If Democrats take back the White House, they should take a page Richard Nixon and threaten to prosecute Kavanaugh for lying to Congress unless he resigns.
That's what Nixon did to Abe Fortas and it worked.
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If the Democrats regain the house and senate, I would want them to focus on the immigration issues and pass legislation that reaches consensus with the Republicans and the public. We need to resolve this contentious issue that will roil our politics for years if not done.
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People need to stop saying I am a Democrat or I am a Republican and starting saying I am a US Citizen. We need more consensus, not political division. A divided house will not stand.
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Any impeachment talk now is a distraction issue. I'm a liberal Democrat, and I'm against this idea. I question how much support there is for impeachment among Democrats in general. I don't think there is.
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This fashion for impeachment is the political equivalent of the leisure suit or sagging pants. A really bad idea with unfortunate durability. The bad outfits at least you can quietly dispatch to Goodwill. Nattering on about impeachment that has zero chance of success just screams loser and aids your opponents.
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Going after Kavanaugh now is not constructive. Even if he is impeached, we'll just have a repeat of this debacle and, most likely, we'll get an even more recalcitrant Judge. No, the focus must now stay on flipping the House. Give a Democratic congress the subpoena power, and at the very least, there will be one check on Trump's abuses of power. I'm 100% certain that his support will crumble, if they can follow the Mueller plan of staying out of the fray and issuing indictments backed up by hard evidence.
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It would be far better for Democrats to focus on taking the House, Senate and Presidency. The vast majority of US citizens want the issues that Democrats seek to solve.
Then add 2 justices to the court. I'd bet that Kavanaugh goes along with the majority most of the time then. I would guess that he tends to blend in with his surroundings.
Abortion should be 'safe, legal, and RARE. The GOP knows that it's a hot button so they fake the Pro Life stance for the most part. Outlawing abortion will only affect the poor and most vulnerable. I suspect that evangelicals are figuring that out.
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Impeachment: That's a good one. Well, go ahead and bring it on, but this time the Democrats won't have the advantage of lying in wait with Christine Ford until the last minute before leaking her story to the press and springing her on the Republicans. Now they'll have lots of time and resources to really dig down into her complete life, psychiatric records, credibility, and motivation. And I'm sure the defense won't be apologizing to her at every turn and lobbing softball questions on cross examination. There's a lot at stake her, so expect the Republicans to play hardball.
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I've given up on the Democrats. They can't help themselves to take the bait that Trump and the GOP set out from them like peanut butter in a mouse trap. Forget Kavanaugh (he's in and not going anywhere). Don't even talk about him. It only helps them and does nothing for you. Forget HRC (she lost, tainted, so get over it). Don't even use the "O-word (Obama. He's gone and, no surprise, already sold out and looks , in retrospect, limp and weak). Stand for something that resonates (cliche or not) with the real voters. Get a solid, decent candidate. All your radical left (including Bernie) comes off as "crazies", off the rails and very scary to a good deal of middle America who don't see Trump as completely frightening (well, not compared to Freddy Kruger). Oh, you don't care? Certainly seems that way to a good deal of America.If you can't do better then "Let's grab them by the midterms" you are lost.
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"Not all Democrats agree with the idea: “Talking about it at this point isn’t necessarily healing us and moving us forward,” Senator Chris Coons of Delaware told NBC over the weekend."
So does this mean crimes and ethics violations will not be investigated?
Certainly good news for every Republican in the Senate.
Dems need to stop with the hand-wringing, navel gazing and self-doubt. Every time Republicans throw a label on Democrats (mobs!)---Dem's immediately go into self-doubt mode. Stop it!
Dems know they are on the right side of history---they need to start acting like it---not stooping to the sleazy machinations Rep. have committed, but rather being ethical, strong, and persistent. Take a page from Mueller.
Dems can walk and chew gum at the same time.
I will demand that they investigate past crimes and ethics violations, AND I will demand that Dems make solid moves forward to get this country out of the mess Republicans have put us in.
Won't happen
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Fight ? Just Get to the truth.
The truth is what republicans hide.
If it is uncovered, republicans will call truth, "A Smear".
republicans will do everything they can to distort and hide the truth.
Hide the tax returns, stifle the FBI investigation, fire the FBI director, hide the paperwork, lie about the meetings .....etc....etc....etc
The lawless mob of republicans who shoved Kavanaugh onto the Supreme court have much to answer for.
How is the Kavanaugh family explaining all of this to their daughters? They will have access, if not already, to the Internet. It should be an interesting conversation when they discover the calendar and the year book references to boofing, the devils triangle, and the Renet alumnus. Kavanaugh's youthful antics will comeback to haunt him. Kids are not stupid and they are entering the age where their friends have a greater influence then their parents. We all know old addage do as I say not as I do does not fly with his kids, mine, or yours. That is where you have to think past your own ambition as a parent. How does this next promotion impact my family and is it worth it? Your kids don't care how much money you spent on them or if you become an executive. They do care how much time you spend with them.
How did the Clinton’s explain Monica and all the others to Chelsea? What with all the damning evidence.
The Kavanaugh’s just need to tell the truth. Hyper partisan Democrats, without a shred of evidence, tried to lynch their dad. Nothing new. Just like the Reign of terror in the Ftench Revolution.
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@RLS My comment is not partisan. I am sure the Clinton's had a terrible time explaining what Chelsea saw on TV or the newspapers. She was also 18 and Lewinsky was 22 when it started hitting TV and the news and she was also pre-Internet. Chances are when Monica and the Clinton story broke she did not get cyber bullied by her classmates or strangers on her computer--social media was in its infancy. Chelsea often stands up for the kids living in the White House in the past and today. Claiming they are not part of the news..."leave them alone and don't attack them". She obviously understands how nasty it can get.
@RLS Chelsea was 18 and Monica was 22. Not a easy explanation for a parent at any age. Kavanaugh's daughters appear to be a lot younger. Chelsea saw the newspapers and TV about the affair. I don't think it matters what age your children see what a parent has done or not done in the headlines. I believe it leaves a mark regardless what age, political affiliation, or gender.
Strategy lasts for the first five minutes of battle. If you cling to a failed strategy beyond it's usefulness, you fail. So time to step back and find a new approach. Sexual politics isn't a problem that's going to be solved between now and November. Giving this administration a lame duck two years is unthinkably dangerous. So think fast, the path to which you are committed is leading to catastrophe.
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It's mind-boggling that otherwise intelligent people appear to fail to understand how our government works and the limitations it presents. Either that or they are simply blinded by rage and emotion.
It takes a 2/3 majority of Senators to fully impeach a SC justice (or a President). Same goes for enacting SC term limits. Democrats have NO chance of gaining that majority any time soon. Those all might be satisfying revenge fantasies for the people traumatized by Kavanuagh's hearing. But in the words of Yogi Berra, It Ain't Gonna Happen.
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"His wife, Merrilee Reynolds, agreed: “The Democrats have been too nice. "
Nice is not the term I would think of. I'd say naive.
I remember a time when the Democrats ridiculed Republican voters for supporting anti-abortion candidates for Congress and the Presidency. They said the Republicans were too stupid to understand that decision-making power belonged to the Supreme Court. But the Republicans knew what they were doing: making sure that when a Supreme Court retired or died, they would be in a position to determine his/her successor. And so the Democrats were helpless as they watched Republicans block Obama's nominee and pushed through Trump's.
The Democrats were too naive, regarding the Court as Platonic guardians above the political fray. To the Republicans, the Court was a power center to be captured, and it has been.
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The people who think the words Merrick Garland are a free pass to slander and smear of an Innocent man, a sitting Federal Judge no less, need to take a good long look in the mirror and give themselves a metaphorical slap across the face and yell to themselves: Snap Out of It!!.
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In my opinion our country needs to implement term limits. Elected officials with a finite amount of time to serve can then focus on their job without wasting time on partisan dealings and campaigning for re-election. Americans also need to restore civility by treating each other with kindness and respect and truly listening to each other.
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@Sunny
I could not agree more. Those term limits should extend to Supreme Court Justices. No one in this country should hold a lifelong position equivalent to that of a monarch.
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Thanks Jerry. Your proposal to Investigate J. Kavanaugh with a view towards impeachment is just plain dumb. It’s that kind of talk that makes moderate folks cringe and wonder if they should trust Democrats with their vote.
Sure it plays to your base and I suspect is very popular in your home district but it’s “manna from heaven “ for the far right demigods who now dominate the National Republican Party.
Lord, aren’t there other things we should be talking about in a his election cycle - climate change, immigration reform, the deficit etc. - where sensible proposals by the loyal opposition would convince the American people that a change in the leadership in Washington would be a change for the good .
And no, I am not related to J. Kavanaugh
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Kavanaugh impeachment is a dumb, stupid idea. The Democrats need to be showing that they are capable of governing, they should be advancing bills that would help the average person. The should be looking for a presidential candidate who has a chance of winning. They should NOT be playing inside the Beltway games that do not help the average American. All this kind of thing does is give Trump more ammunition. You cannot play his game, he is better at it than you. Make your own case, show the nation you are better for the country than he is. THAT is how to win.
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@Bruce1253 - Although naturally, anything they come up with which might actually help people, Kavanaugh will rule it unconstitutional.
@Anthony Flack That will take a decade to work its way through the courts. The Democrats need to be concerned about the next 24 months. Our country is huge and they are spending all their time playing in Washington. They need to be getting out. Trump is holding rallies around the nation of his faithful and the Dems are sitting in their Washington offices, not smart.
@Bruce1253
Sorry, but we're way past that point. Trump's acolytes are impervious to reality because they are solely tied into the right wing propaganda machine. Obama made the mistake of thinking he could pet the rabid Republican dog and that dog would miraculously become his best friend. Opponents of tyranny, not just Democrats, should put that rabid dog down for good any way possible.
Lisa, thank-you for at least talking about impeaching kavanaugh.
Yes, there are the midterms to focus on, and yet there remains the issues of alleged sexual assault by kavanaugh by three women, many of whom have supporting corroboration.
There's no way women can let that stand.
Please research the process of disbarment by the state since even the ABA wanted to investigate kavanaugh.
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Folks, there is a lot else going on right now. Let's leave this topic alone unless and until Democrats control this House. If that happens, investigations can be discussed in 2019.
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If the press catalogs his sworn statements and sources who directly contradict them, impeachment might work. But the press exposed the depth of Trump's fraud two years too late, so Kavanaugh isn't going anywhere.
The time for reprinting press releases and sound bites is over. If the NYTimes doesn't dig in, we're stuck with a liar.
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If you really want to get down and dirty, Kavanaugh should be referred to as 'the rapist' at every opportunity. Cartoons can be drawn of him with an inebriated look, holding a rag doll and a bottle of booze. A huge bulge might project out from the front of his robe, etc...
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@bill harris Guilty if accused is a great tactic. That won't backfire at all.
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@bill Harris
You find this amusing ?!! Those of us who have been victims of sexual assault do not find any humor in such "humor."
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@bill harris
Uh, you do realize he was never accused of rape, right?
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No doubt about it, the majority of my fellow Democrats seem to have succumbed to Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Impeach Justice Kavanaugh, the victim of uncorroborated, evidence-free allegations of sexual assault? Mr. Kavanaugh was vetted 7 times in his government career and the FBI found no evidence of wrong-doing.
Dr. Ford, who accused Mr. Kavanaugh of sexual assault, was unable to remember the day, month, year, city or house in which the alleged assault took place, nor how she got to or from her home to the location of the alleged assault. The witnesses she named as being present were, according to the FBI, unable to recall the alleged incident. Dr. Ford has had 35 years in which to bring criminal or civil complaints against Mr. Kavanaugh, but did not do so and has now said she does not plan to do so. She was the Dems' star witness, and her allegations were manifestly unsupportable.
As a life-long Democrat I am disgusted with the so-called Democratic leaders and their blatantly phony attempt to derail Kavanaugh's confirmation, an exercise in political theater rather than a genuine search for truth and justice.
Let's stop this nonsense and focus our efforts on getting out the vote next month and in 2020, the best way to exercise--and achieve--Democratic power. And attacking a sitting Justice can only energize the Republican/Trumpian base and push some independents/undecideds to the dark side.
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@Ro Ma
It's an outright lie that Dr. Kavanaugh does not remember the year, or the City in which she was sexually assaulted.
Of course Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh would not corroborate the evidence.
Did you expect them to admit that they pinned down Dr. Blasey? Did you expect Brett Kavanaugh to admit that he held his hand over Dr .Blasey's mouth while ripping her clothes off , hoping to rape her ?
I was sexually assaulted 32 years ago. I did not file a criminal or civil complaint ,on the advice of my uncle ,who is one of the top attorneys in New York. My uncle knew that I was telling him the truth. He knew that it would be my word against that of the doctor who sexually assaulted me. I knew that.
Who was going to believe the word of a 26 year old woman over that of a Fifth Avenue Dr. ?
You wrote that Dr. Blasey's " allegations were manifestly unsupportable."
Had I made an allegation, you could have said that it was manifestly unsupportable. That doesn't mean that it did not take place, because it most certainly did.
You'll be happy to know that because I did not have any corroborating witnesses , and that because my allegation would have been "manifestly unsupportable", that doctor was free to sexually assault thousands of other patients,
Had the victims before me felt that they would be believed, perhaps I would not have been assaulted.
How dare you refer to this as "nonsense."
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@DJS I am truly sorry to hear that you were sexually assaulted. Perhaps if the assault had been reported to the authorities and others at the time it is possible, maybe even likely, that the perpetrator would not have been able "to sexually assault thousands of other patients." I am not "one of the top attorneys in New York", just an average kind of guy, but I certainly would have urged my nieces or other female relatives and friends to report a sexual assault to the authorities.
My use of the term "nonsense" referred not to Dr. Ford's allegations, but to my fellow Democrats' attempts to turn the Kavanaugh hearings into a political circus that cynically used Dr. Ford as a pawn. I called her allegations "manifestly unsupportable".
In America those accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In the absence of corroboration and evidence, and after 7 FBI investigations and hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Justice Kavanaugh must be presumed innocent.
I find it telling that Dr. Ford has said she does not wish Justice Kavanaugh to be impeached nor does she plan to use the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for her on GoFundMe to file civil or criminal charges against Justice Kavanaugh. I am no lawyer, but I suspect her top attorneys have advised her that, without corroboration and evidence, her allegations are unsupportable.
@DJS
Maybe you don't know what it means when we say presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
I do not know if the person who you claim sexually assaulted you is guilty.
I do know your uncle did not know either.
How could he know if he wasn't there.
He believed that you were telling the truth.
It is not enough to believe your story if there is reasonable doubt.
Your uncles knows you wouldn't lie to him.
I don't know what he knows, so I have reasonable doubt.
If I was on that Jury and all you had was your testimony I probably would not convict.
I'll ask you a question.
Why do you believe a person should be convicted based solely on testimony when no evidence has been submitted and it is 36 years after the incident allegedly happened and key details are not known.
Ms. Ford should not have brought up these charges 36 years later and when she lacked evidence.
I do not understand how you can not see this.
...you talk of impeachment or not...is this politics again or it this working hard, explaining very much AND DO THE RIGHT THING, otherwise one becomes like others in playing with justice.
What I am saying we need to learn how to do the right thing not find hidden ways but open human ways to build a strong foundation. We are better and can be better in doing what is right in all aspects of government and as a people.
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Where is the press? The FBI won't do the job. It's time for the press to investigate. A functioning press does more than reprint press releases and summarize sound bites. NYTimes, dig in and put Kavanaugh's sworn statements against your sources.
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@Dan Ari My thoughts exactly - let some investigative journalists find the evidence - hopefully Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer will take this on - and while they're at it, present the evidence against Clarence Thomas. I just read of another fairly recent encounter he had with a woman at a party. While I do believe it is foolish to use the threat of impeachment as a political tool, I think it is very important to make it clear that sexual harassers and rapists will no longer be protected and promoted by society at large. Also important: judges lying under oath in order to advance their careers - don't people want a higher standard for the Supreme Court? If practices like this are allowed to stand,what kind of a democracy do we really have?
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To all those Republican operatives who are trying to morph the Kavanaugh hearings into a right wing dog whistle:
In your heart your know she's right.
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@Milliband
Of course Dr. Blasey was telling the truth. Apparently, ramming their nominee through to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court was more important that investigating the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh as thoroughly as possible.
What can one expect in a country which has a President who has admitted to groping women , prior to his "election".
I suppose that Trump, Putin, Kavanugh and Kim Jong Un Supreme can tee off together at Maralago, and celebrate.
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Who besides the news media cares about Nikki Haley's resignation, her, the reasons for her departure, or her future political ambitions. Of course, these observations are equally applicable to others who are nominally in the political arena, jockeying for a post position, at the starting gate. No knows until the beauty pageant is underway. No sense jumping the gun.
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