What they’re saying: Alabama politicians react to Brett Kavanaugh confirmation
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday night as the 114th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after weeks of debate over sexual misconduct and judicial temperament that divided the nation. He was ultimately confirmed in the Senate by a vote of 50 – 48. Here’s what Alabama politicians are saying about his confirmation: U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby: I voted today to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who has devoted 26 years of public service to our nation as a jurist, lawyer, and professor. During the hearings, I found Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony to be credible. I also found the subsequent FBI report to be thorough. As a senator, my job is to carefully consider and review all available information. After doing so, it is evident that the accusations against Judge Kavanaugh are uncorroborated, and there is no confirmation of any of the alleged misconduct. During his time as a federal judge, Judge Kavanaugh has been a principled, intelligent, and steadfast supporter of the rule of law. In accordance with my constitutional right to ‘advice and consent,’ I advise that Judge Kavanaugh be the next associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.” Alabama 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne: Our nation is better off with Judge Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, and I am glad the circus is over. I applaud the senators who supported Judge Kavanaugh, including Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. This process and the shameful tactics used have been an embarrassment to our nation, but I hope we can now move forward as a country and not return to these pathetic political games again. Terry Lathan | Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party congratulates Judge Brett Kavanaugh on his confirmation. Judge Kavanaugh has our full support as he begins his honorable journey serving the American people on our nation’s highest court. In celebrating this confirmation, we thank Senator Shelby and his Republican colleagues for their yes votes. Unlike Senator Jones, Senator Shelby exemplified what it means to be a true public servant by representing the majority of Alabamians when he cast his final vote. Without meeting with Judge Kavanaugh, Doug Jones even went so far as to insinuate his opinion mattered more than those of the people he was elected to serve… It is clear that Senator Doug Jones’ allegiance lies not to his Alabama constituents, but strongly to the Democrat Party. Voters will remember this when they head to the polls in 2020. Alabama 2nd District U.S. Rep. Martha Roby: Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a conservative, experienced jurist who I believe will be a strict constitutionalist on the Supreme Court. I am pleased that the United States Senate voted to confirm him, and I am confident he will serve the Court and the American people admirably. Alabama 7th District U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell: When we appoint a Supreme Court justice for life, their honesty, their temperament, and their credibility should not be in question. But Judge Kavanaugh fails on all of those counts. This man should not be on the Supreme Court.
Brett Kavanaugh confirmed: Senate OKs Supreme Court nominee
The bitterly polarized U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Brett Kavanaugh on Saturday to join the Supreme Court, delivering an election-season triumph to President Donald Trump that could swing the court rightward for a generation after a battle that rubbed raw the country’s cultural, gender and political divides. The near party-line vote was 50-48, capping a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — which he emphatically denied. Those allegations magnified the clash from a routine Supreme Court struggle over judicial ideology into an angrier, more complex jumble of questions about victims’ rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees. Acrimonious to the end, the battle featured a climactic roll call that was interrupted several times by protesters in the Senate Gallery before Capitol Police removed them. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the roll call, his potential tie-breaking vote unnecessary. The vote gave Trump his second appointee to the court, tilting it further to the right and pleasing conservative voters who might have revolted against GOP leaders had Kavanaugh’s nomination flopped. Democrats hope that the roll call, exactly a month from elections in which House and Senate control are in play, will prompt infuriated women and liberals to stream to the polls to oust Republicans. In final remarks just before the voting, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said a vote for Kavanaugh was “a vote to end this brief, dark chapter in the Senate’s history and turn the page toward a brighter tomorrow.” Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York looked ahead to November, appealing to voters beyond the Senate chamber: “Change must come from where change in America always begins: the ballot box.” Rep. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, confronting a tough re-election race next month in a state that Trump won in 2016 by a landslide, was the sole Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. Every voting Republican backed the 53-year-old conservative judge. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, the only Republican to oppose the nominee, voted “present,” offsetting the absence of Kavanaugh supporter Steve Daines of Montana, who was attending his daughter’s wedding. That rare procedural maneuver left Kavanaugh with the same two-vote margin he’d have had if Murkowski and Daines had both voted. Republicans hold only a 51-49 Senate majority and therefore had little support to spare. It was the closest roll call to confirm a justice since 1881, when Stanley Matthews was approved by 24-23, according to Senate records. Within minutes, dozens of political and advocacy groups blasted out emailed reactions. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List, which contributes to female Democratic candidates, assailed the confirmation of “an alleged sexual assailant and anti-choice radical to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. But we will carry that anger into the election. Women will not forget this.” Kay Coles James, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, called the vote “a victory for liberty in America” and called Kavanaugh “a good man and good jurist.” The outcome, telegraphed Friday when the final undeclared senators revealed their views, was devoid of the shocks that had come almost daily since Christine Blasey Ford said last month that an inebriated Kavanaugh tried to rape her at a 1982 high school get-together. Since then, the country watched agape as one electric moment after another gushed forth. These included the emergence of two other accusers; an unforgettable Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which a composed Ford and a seething Kavanaugh told their diametrically opposed stories, and a truncated FBI investigation that the agency said showed no corroborating evidence and Democrats lambasted as a White House-shackled farce. All the while, crowds of demonstrators — mostly Kavanaugh opponents — ricocheted around the Capitol’s grounds and hallways, raising tensions, chanting slogans, interrupting lawmakers’ debates, confronting senators and often getting arrested. Trump weighed in Saturday morning on behalf of the man he nominated in July. “Big day for America!” he tweeted. Democrats said Kavanaugh would push the court too far, including possible sympathetic rulings for Trump should the president encounter legal problems from the special counsel’s investigations into Russian connections with his 2016 presidential campaign. And they said Kavanaugh’s record and fuming testimony at a now-famous Senate Judiciary Committee hearing showed he lacked the fairness, temperament and even honesty to become a justice. But the fight was defined by the sexual assault accusations. And it was fought against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement and Trump’s unyielding support of his nominee and occasional mocking of Kavanaugh’s accusers. About 100 anti-Kavanaugh protesters climbed the Capitol’s East Steps as the vote approached, pumping fists and waving signs. U.S. Capitol Police began arresting some of them. Hundreds of other demonstrators watched from behind barricades. Protesters have roamed Capitol Hill corridors and grounds daily, chanting, “November is coming,” ”Vote them out” and “We believe survivors.” On Friday, in the moment that made clear Kavanaugh would prevail, Collins delivered a speech saying that Ford’s Judiciary Committee telling of the alleged 1982 assault was “sincere, painful and compelling.” But she also said the FBI had found no corroborating evidence from witnesses whose names Ford had provided. “We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed that fairness is most in jeopardy,” said Collins, perhaps the chamber’s most moderate Republican. Manchin used an emailed statement to announce his support for Kavanaugh moments after Collins finished talking. Manchin, the only Democrat supporting the nominee, faces a competitive re-election race next month in a state Trump carried in 2016 by 42 percentage points. Manchin expressed empathy for sexual assault victims. But he said that after factoring in the FBI report, “I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution.” Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has repeatedly battled with Trump and will retire in January, said he, too, planned to vote for Kavanaugh’s confirmation. In the procedural vote Friday that handed Republicans their crucial initial victory, senators voted 51-49 to limit debate, defeating Democratic efforts to
Brett Kavanaugh says he ‘might have been too emotional’ at hearing
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh acknowledged Thursday he “might have been too emotional” when testifying about sexual misconduct allegations as he made a final bid to win over wavering GOP senators on the eve of a crucial vote to advance his confirmation. Three GOP senators and one Democrat remain undecided about elevating Kavanaugh to the high court. Two of the Republicans signaled Thursday that they were satisfied with the findings of a confidential new FBI report into the assault allegations, boosting the hopes of GOP leaders. President Donald Trump rallied behind Kavanaugh during a campaign event in Minnesota Thursday night, telling supporters that the “rage-fueled resistance” to his nominee “is starting to backfire at a level nobody has ever seen before.” Still, Kavanaugh’s op-ed underscored that his performance at a Senate hearing last week opened new questions about his impartiality and judicial temperament. Democrats say Kavanaugh’s assertion that left-wing groups seeking “revenge on behalf of the Clintons” were behind the misconduct allegations suggests he would rule from the bench with a partisan bent. In an op-ed Thursday in The Wall Street Journal, Kavanaugh said there were “a few things I should not have said” during the hearing. “Going forward, you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good,” he wrote. Senate leaders set a pivotal preliminary vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination for 10:30 a.m. Friday. If that succeeds, a final roll call was expected Saturday as the long, emotional battle over the conservative jurist drew toward its climax. Six days after Trump reluctantly ordered the FBI to scrutinize the accusations— which Kavanaugh has denied — leading GOP lawmakers briefed on the agency’s confidential document all reached the same conclusion: There was no verification of the women’s past claims and nothing new. Democrats complained that the investigation was shoddy, omitting interviews with numerous potential witnesses, and accused the White House of limiting the FBI’s leeway. Those not interviewed in the reopened background investigation included Kavanaugh himself and Christine Blasey Ford, who ignited the furor by alleging he’d molested her in a locked room at a 1982 high school gathering. A week after a televised Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which Kavanaugh and Ford transfixed the nation, the Capitol campus remained a stew of tension as the election-season cliff-hanger neared its conclusion. A hefty police presence added an air of anxiety, as did thousands of noisy anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who gathered outside the Supreme Court and in Senate office buildings. U.S. Capitol Police said 302 were arrested — among them comedian Amy Schumer, a distant relative of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “What we know for sure is the FBI report did not corroborate any of the allegations against Judge Kavanaugh,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters about the document, which was sent to Congress overnight. On the Senate floor, he witheringly called the accusations “uncorroborated mud.” Earlier, Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, one of the publicly undecided Republicans, told reporters “we’ve seen no additional corroborating information” about the claims against the 53-year-old conservative jurist and said the investigation had been comprehensive. A second undeclared Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, also expressed satisfaction with the probe, calling it “a very thorough investigation.” She paid two visits to the off-limits room where the document was being displayed to lawmakers. She told reporters she would not announce her position until Friday. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, said she was “still reviewing” her decision. While GOP leaders were not saying they’d nailed down the support needed, backing from two of those three would ensure Kavanaugh’s confirmation because every other Republican was poised to back him. Republicans have a narrow 51-49 Senate majority, and Vice President Mike Pence will be available to cast a tie-breaking vote. The trio of GOP moderates, leery of three women’s claims of alcohol-fueled sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh, had refused to let his nomination proceed last week until Trump ordered the FBI probe. The three were briefed together on the investigation in the secure room senators were using to view the report. They skirted reporters for much of the day, sometimes shielded by Capitol Police. Underscoring the hardening partisan lines, one of the two undecided Democratic senators said she’d oppose Kavanaugh. North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who faces a difficult re-election race next month, cited concerns about his “past conduct” and said she felt his heated attacks on Democrats during last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing raised questions about his “current temperament, honesty and impartiality.” West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, the other undeclared Democrat, spent time looking at the report and said he would resume reading it Friday. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, said while her party had agreed to a week-long FBI probe with a finite scope, “We did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI’s hands.” Democrats also objected to a statement by committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who said the investigation “found no hint of misconduct.” The Judiciary panel’s 10 Democrats said in a statement that based on their briefing and study of the document, “That is not true.” Grassley also said the FBI could not “locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations,” and he said there is “no contemporaneous evidence.” Neither side specified what they were referring to. Under rules Congress and the White House have used for years, FBI background checks are considered confidential, and lawmakers and aides are not supposed to reveal details. White House spokesman Raj Shah rebuffed Democrats’ complaints, saying, “What critics want is a never-ending fishing expedition into high school drinking.” He said the FBI reached out to 10 people and interviewed nine, including “several individuals at the request of the Senate, and had a series of follow-up interviews … following certain leads.” Senators said the documents they examined totaled about 50 pages. Some
What they’re saying: ALGOP reacts to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination advancing to final floor vote
It’s official: the U.S. Senate will give Judge Brett Kavanaugh a final floor vote on Saturday, after enough senators voted to end debate and advance his nomination Friday. The final vote was 51 to 49. Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) Chairman Terry Lathan said the state party was “very supportive” of the vote. “The Alabama Republican Party is very supportive of today’s vote now allowing Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to come to a full floor vote in the U.S. Senate,” said Lathan. “We have the utmost respect for Judge Kavanaugh as he has endured baseless and slanderous attacks on his character from the left. We deeply appreciate Senator [Richard] Shelby‘s yes vote today along with his careful consideration of the requests of Alabamians who want to see this confirmation move forward.” The ALGOP doubled-down on their disappointment to Jones, whom they called out last week when they described his decision to vote against Kavanaugh as a betrayal to the State of Alabama. Lathan continued, “It is an absolute shame Senator Doug Jones chose to vote no and deny the pleas and calls of his constituents who clearly want to see Judge Kavanaugh confirmed. In 2020 the voters will hold Senator Jones responsible for continually ignoring the will of Alabamians and instead choosing to follow the bidding of Democrat leadership.” Friday morning’s cloture vote follows a September 27 hearing in which Kavanaugh fended off allegations by Christine Blasey Ford that he had sexually assaulted her when both were in high school in the 1980s.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh clears crucial Senate hurdle
A deeply divided Senate pushed Brett Kavanaugh‘s Supreme Court nomination past a key procedural hurdle Friday, setting up a likely final showdown on Saturday in a spellbinding battle that’s seen claims of long-ago sexual assault by the nominee threaten President Donald Trump‘s effort to tip the court rightward for decades. The Senate voted 51-49 to limit debate, defeating Democratic efforts to scuttle the nomination with endless delays and moving the chamber toward a climax of a fight that has captivated the country since summer. With Republicans controlling the chamber 51-49, one Republican voted to stop the nomination, one Democrat to send it further. Of the four lawmakers who had not revealed their decisions until Friday — all moderates — Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona voted yes, as did Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted not to move the nomination ahead. While the vote was a victory for the GOP, lawmakers can vote differently on the climactic confirmation roll call, which seems likely Saturday afternoon. Collins told reporters she would announce later Friday how she would go. That left unclear whether Friday’s tally signaled that the 53-year-old federal appellate judge was on his way to the nation’s highest court, though it would be unusual for lawmakers to switch their votes on such a high-profile issue. Confirmation would be a crowning achievement for Trump, his conservative base and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Murkowski sat solemnly during the roll call and whispered “No” when it was her turn to vote. As the tally neared an end, she spoke with Collins, a friend. The pair was surrounded by colleagues from both parties after the vote. All four lawmakers who’d been undeclared said little or nothing to reporters as they left the chamber. Trump weighed in shortly after the roll call was announced, tweeting, “Very proud of the U.S. Senate for voting ‘YES’ to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh!” Vice President Mike Pence, who could have broken a 50-50 tie, watched the vote from the White House. He is heading to New York for a congressional fundraiser Friday but planned to be back in Washington for the final vote. Friday’s procedural vote occurred a day after the Senate received a roughly 50-page FBI report on the sexual assault allegations, which Trump ordered only after wavering GOP senators forced him to do so. Republicans said the secret document — which described interviews agents conducted with 10 witnesses — failed to find anyone who could corroborate allegations by his two chief accusers, Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. Democrats belittled the bureau’s findings, saying agents constrained by the White House hadn’t reached out to numerous other people with potentially important information. The vote occurred against a backdrop of smoldering resentment by partisans on both sides. That fury was reflected openly by thousands of boisterous anti-Kavanaugh demonstrators who bounced around the Capitol complex for days, confronting senators in office buildings and even reportedly near their homes. On the Senate floor, lawmakers’ comments underscored the lingering bitterness. “What left wing groups and their Democratic allies have done to Judge Kavanaugh is nothing short of monstrous,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said on the chamber’s floor before the vote. He accused Democrats of using destructive, unwarranted personal attacks on the nominee and even encouraging the protesters, saying, “They have encouraged mob rule.” Dianne Feinstein of California, that committee’s top Democrat, said Kavanaugh’s testimony at last week’s dramatic Judiciary panel hearing should “worry us all,” citing “a hostility and belligerence that is unbecoming” of a Supreme Court nominee. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the fight “a sorry epilogue to the brazen theft of Justice Scalia’s seat.” That reflected Democrats’ lasting umbrage over Republicans’ 2016 refusal to even consider Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama‘s nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia. When Trump nominated Kavanaugh in July, Democrats leapt to oppose him, saying that past statements and opinions showed he’d be a threat to the Roe v. Wade case that assured the right to abortion. They said he also seemed ready to knock down President Barack Obama’s health care law and to rule for Trump if federal authorities probing his 2016 campaign’s connections to Russia initiate legal action. But that evolved into a late-summer spectacle after Ford accused Kavanaugh of trying to rape her at an alcohol-infused high school gathering in 1982, when both were teenagers. Two other women also emerged and accused him of other incidents of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh has denied all the charges. Under pressure from wavering Republicans, GOP leaders agreed to an extraordinary Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week that mesmerized the nation as Ford nervously recounted her story and said she was “100 percent” certain that Kavanaugh was her attacker. A fuming Kavanaugh strode into the same packed hearing room that afternoon and said he, too, was “100 percent” certain the incident had not occurred. He angrily accused Democrats of a “search and destroy” mission, fueled by their hatred of Trump. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Brett Kavanaugh bump? GOP fights for new energy as vote nears
On the brink of a political gender war, President Donald Trump‘s Republican Party is threatening to erode Democrats’ enthusiasm advantage as the fiery debate over his Supreme Court nominee enters its final phase. Political strategists in both parties suggest the GOP’s enthusiastic embrace of Brett Kavanaugh despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct may have shifted the political landscape — at least temporarily — by injecting new energy into the most passionate Republican voters a month before the election. Trump’s aggressive defense of Kavanaugh — and more recent attacks against his female accuser — have resonated particularly with white working-class men, who are a shrinking voting bloc nationally but remain a critical segment of Trump’s political base. For now, many men apparently agree with Trump’s warning that the surge in women speaking out against sexual violence in the #MeToo era has created “a very scary time” for men in America. “Democrats have been trying to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh since the very first second he was announced,” Trump declared as he rallied voters in Minnesota on Thursday night. He added: “What they’re putting him through and his family is incredible.” Energy is everything in midterm elections, which typically draw fewer eligible voters to the polls. And through the first 21 months of the Trump era, Democrats have claimed an undisputed enthusiasm advantage — as evidenced by a slate of special election victories and fundraising successes. Yet even a small erosion in the so-called enthusiasm gap could make a big difference in the Democratic Party’s high-stakes push to wrest control of Congress from the GOP. The effect is most visible in Republican-leaning states where vulnerable Democratic senators are running for re-election. Public and private polling in recent days has shifted in the GOP candidate’s favor in West Virginia, Missouri, Indiana and North Dakota. The Kavanaugh debate “is making the two groups of people who are already mad at each other in America even madder. To me, the question is, who is maddest?” said Gary Pearce, a veteran North Carolina Democratic strategist. Just as Trump benefited from opposition to Hillary Clinton in his 2016 election, the GOP could benefit from opposition to the Democratic Party’s handling of Kavanaugh this midterm season. “This may be energizing the right — especially people who don’t like Trump and may not have been motivated to vote,” Pearce said. “This is the substitute for Hillary.” The Supreme Court clash has already attracted a surge of new campaign cash for both parties. The Republican National Committee and its associated groups raised more than $3 million in digital donations this past weekend, the most it’s ever raised online, according to GOP spokeswoman Cassie Smedile. And last Sunday was the GOP’s highest single-day online fundraising haul. The GOP says the fundraising surge is fueled by anger over how allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh have played out. On the other side, the online Democratic fundraising portal ActBlue pulled in $25 million in just two days, while Emily’s List, a group that aims to elect more Democratic women, also set a record for online fundraising. Trump and his lieutenants on Capitol Hill tried to stoke that same anger on Thursday as they outlined an aggressive timeline for the Kavanaugh confirmation. A round of Senate voting is expected Friday, with the final vote likely Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that an FBI supplemental background investigation didn’t corroborate any of the allegations against the Supreme Court nominee. The Kentucky Republican said senators wouldn’t be “hoodwinked” by those who have tried to “smear” Kavanaugh’s reputation. “This is a search and destroy mission,” the second-ranking Senate Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, added. The GOP’s support of Kavanaugh puts the party at odds with the rising #MeToo movement that has empowered women across America to share their stories of sexual violence. The movement has triggered the downfall of powerful men in media, sports and politics — Republicans and Democrats alike. “It’s a very scary time for young men,” Trump said this week. A day later, he mocked Kavanaugh’s accuser’s memory of the alleged sexual assault. Many women, backed by liberal men, have been outraged by Trump’s comments. “The idea that it’s a terrible time to be a young, white guy is completely absurd,” said Florida-based Democratic strategist Steve Schale. He noted, however, there is “some evidence that the Kavanaugh stuff is galvanizing Republicans, particularly Republican men.” “It’s coming at a price,” Schale added. “We’re seeing Republican women throw their hands up.” Indeed, while Trump often states, falsely, that he won the women’s vote in 2016, Democrats have enjoyed an advantage with women for most of the last three decades. Political strategist Matthew Dowd, a former Republican who has criticized Trump, said it’s unclear so far whether GOP energy behind Kavanaugh represents “some men on social media” or a “movement.” “I’ve always been a believer that the most motivating factor in these elections is who is the angriest,” Dowd said. “Whoever loses is going to be the angriest.” While Kavanaugh may be helping Republican candidates in deep-red states, a Quinnipiac University poll released this week shows that opposition to Kavanaugh nationally is actually growing, as is the gender gap. Women overall oppose the confirmation, 55 percent to 37 percent, while men support it 49 percent to 40 percent, Quinnipiac found. The Trump White House is expected to intensify its support for Kavanaugh as the final vote approaches. “You can feel the energy both for the president and for his nominee in Brett Kavanaugh,” Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told Fox News. “People are outraged at the way that the Democrats have totally made this process into a partisan battle and they’ve created something that should never have happened.” She continued: “And I think the message is very clear: Dems, you made a mistake here and it’s going to show up in November.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Shocker: Brett Kavanaugh showed his humanity (rescind his nomination now)
Today, I want to talk about the anger and frustration directed toward Brett Kavanaugh for showing emotion during the Senate hearing. Yes, I realize that judicial temperament is important especially when you’re talking about a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, but at the same time Kavanaugh didn’t lose his cool in an ordinary professional setting, he lost his cool as a result of a full-on character assassination attempt including accusations that, if true, would make him a monster. He was facing this playing out minute-by-minute across the nation. On Thursday, Kavanaugh did something unprecedented which is write an op-ed and acknowledge that he went too far in letting his feeling show at the hearing. While I applaud him for taking responsibility and for apologizing I have to wonder if anyone on the left will ever do the same for him and his family? Against that backdrop, I testified before the Judiciary Committee last Thursday to defend my family, my good name and my lifetime of public service. My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate. That is because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me. …I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters. The sexual assault accusations against him have ranged from questionable (did he or didn’t he) to delusional (no way in the world that’s true) with the FBI not being able to find a single witness or piece of evidence to back up any of the claims. That hasn’t stopped liberals in the U.S. Senate from their smear campaign or outside groups from rallying to oppose his nomination louder than ever (because the tone in which they were screaming about his experience and background wasn’t effective they are now grasping at straws). Here’s where I have to shake my head and wonder what people are thinking. The people saying he shouldn’t have lost his cool realize that he’s human and that this wasn’t an attack on his resume, his background, or his fairness on the bench? This was a full-on assault on who he is as a person and the kind of life he’s led to date. Can you name anyone who wouldn’t be emotional about this? I would have been more concerned for his character had he remained stoic and just regurgitated talking points and practiced lines while faced with accusations of a near rape and gang rapes. I frequently see progressives/liberals talk about how we should raise our boys and our children without gender roles allowing them to embrace who they are. It’s been said that we as a society should not raise or encourage our boys to be tough but instead should let encourage them to be in touch with their feelings in the same way girls are (genetics and hormones be damned); the ideas of “boys will be boys” and other traditional societal norms of men being the protectors is wrong and dated they say. “Gender conforming stereotypes” are wrong. But just let a man show his true feelings. Let him cry. Let him get angry. Let him be defensive when attacked and BAM he should be disqualified from consideration for a job he’s more than qualified for. In this case we’re not talking about just any man. We’re not talking about a man who maybe has a history of not being able to control his emotions. No, here we have a man with a reputation that’s been well documented for his entire adult life. Here we have a man who’s been under tremendous scrutiny before and has never shown a hint to cause concern. Here we have someone who has a history of being more than fair going out of his way to help women succeed and thrive. We’re talking about someone with hundreds of witnesses who have gone on record to talk about how much he respects women, whose career is exemplary and who was never given a moments fair shake once the allegations came out and when he gets on the stand and shows some frustration, hurt and disappointment at a process that’s been completely unfair to him he’s a monster. I will tell you, I would hope that any man in my life from friends to family would feel strongly about being attacked the way Kavanaugh has been. I’d hope anyone male or female faced with the way in which senate democrats and the media has portrayed accusations as being equal to a conviction would feel and express dismay. This isn’t something that was happening in a vacuum to Kavanaugh this circus played out on the worlds stage in front of his wife and children. Feminist who call for the end of gender stereotypes should be ashamed of themselves for mocking and criticizing his display of emotion because it was appropriate and measured. I would imagine most people would be far more upset, far more emotional and far more angry and frustrated if dealing with what Kavanaugh and his family has had to deal with understanding the long-term consequences of what’s happening. So in today’s episode “make up your darn minds” I once again call into question those who say we shouldn’t conform to gender norms and be able to express emotions, and then mock him for doing so. You need to take a look at your lives and realize that yes, conservative, Christian men should be able to display emotions. A nominee for the Supreme Court doesn’t stop being human, doesn’t stop being a father simply because of their nomination. It looks like we’re just a day or two away from the senate voting on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. I hope any senator
Alabama editorial roundup: Oct. 4, 2018 edition
Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers: ___ Sept. 28 The Cullman Times on upcoming elections for state offices: The long political year in Alabama will come to a conclusion when voters go to the polls Nov. 6. … And everyone should be interested in the major state offices on the ballot. The governor’s race, with Republican Kay Ivey as the incumbent against Democrat Walt Maddox, who has served as Tuscaloosa mayor, features two candidates who bring different messages to the campaign. Ivey is running on her long years of services in various state offices and Alabama’s solid run of job growth. Maddox’s reputation became known across the state as he effectively led Tuscaloosa through the tragedy and rebuilding from a destructive tornado in 2011. He is challenging certain aspects of Ivey’s campaign, saying that education, health care, and the wages workers are paid all need improving. The themes of this race with a seasoned politician facing a new, young candidate give Alabamians plenty to consider on election day. Offices such as secretary of state, attorney general, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and two Public Service Commission seats all carry importance for citizens across the state. But to make a difference, every eligible voter needs to be registered and then go to the polls. A record number of Alabamians have been registered to vote in recent years, but often the turnout is thin. For those who are looking to the future, there is still plenty of time to register to vote. The deadline is Oct. 22. Requesting an absentee ballot is open until Nov. 1. Alabama has many crucial issues awaiting the next group of officeholders. Workforce training, better paying jobs, Medicaid expansion, access to health care, internet service for rural areas, and improving roads are among some of the topics that need to be addressed. Candidates will have plenty to say between now and Nov. 1. A lot of them will be making stops in this community and points across the state. Take the time to listen and ask questions when the opportunity arises. Alabama will reach its potential when citizens speak up. And the first step to be being heard is to vote. Online: https://www.cullmantimes.com/ ___ Sept. 27 Decatur Daily on national violent crime rates: Having spent the past year and a half claiming America was in the midst of a rising tide of crime, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has suddenly changed his forecast. According to FBI statistics, both violent crimes and property crimes decreased slightly nationwide last year, after two years of slight increases. At the time of the slight upticks in crime in 2015 and 2016, informed observers cautioned there was no cause yet for alarm because they might be simply statistical blips and crime levels nationwide remained close to 30-year lows. Others, however, including some hoping to stifle bipartisan criminal justice reform efforts in Congress and in many states, seized upon the uptick as evidence being “soft on crime” was resulting in more crime. They pointed in particular to increased violent crime in Baltimore and Chicago, while ignoring New York City, which continued to see declines in crime rates even as the police there were ordered to abandon their controversial “stop and frisk” policy. Honest observers recanted their doom-and-gloom predictions about New York. As National Review’s Kyle Smith wrote, “The statistics are clear: Crime is lower than ever. It’s possible that crime would be even lower had stop-and-frisk been retained, but that’s moving the goal posts. I and others argued that crime would rise. Instead, it fell. We were wrong.” Now crime has again ticked downward nationwide, and just as the two years of slight increases were no cause for alarm, one downward year doesn’t guarantee everything is all blue skies and sunshine ahead. It does mean, however, that the 30-year trend of historically low rates of violent crime still holds, and it’s the long-run trends, the ones that reveal patterns and smooth out statistical bumps in the road, that are important. And being at a 30-year low is cause for some celebration. Moreover, crime in the nation’s 30 largest cities is down, according to an analysis of the FBI data conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice, which found “that across the cities where data is available, the overall murder and crime rates are projected to decline in 2018, continuing similar decreases from the previous year.” The Brennan Center analysis continues: “Especially sharp declines appear in San Francisco (-35.0 percent), Chicago (-23.2 percent), and Baltimore (-20.9 percent). These estimates are based on preliminary data, but if they hold, the number of murders in Chicago could fall by year’s end to the lowest since 2015. In Baltimore, homicides could drop to the lowest since 2014. While the city’s murder rate remains high, this would mark a significant reversal of the past two years’ increases.” Sessions was quick to take credit. “And I am announcing today the FBI will release its annual Uniform Crime Report, which will show that violent crime and murder have stopped rising and actually declined in 2017,” Sessions said in a speech to law enforcement in Alabama. “. Those are the kind of results you get when you support law enforcement. Those are the kind of results we get when we work together.” By work together, however, Sessions means ending federal oversight of local police departments that have violated the civil rights of the people they’re supposed to protect. Ames Grawert, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Reason.com it was “galling to see” Sessions cite national crime data to support his position on policing: “Ascribing credit of any crime increase or decrease to a single year and a half of federal policy is just beyond belief, but here we are.” Sessions first exaggerated the scope of the problem and now is exaggerating the supposed effects of his policy changes, all in an effort to derail criminal justice reform. “The reality is, data-driven prison and sentencing reforms, like those
GOP looking more confident on Brett Kavanaugh after FBI report
A high-stakes partisan row broke out Thursday over a confidential FBI report about allegations that Brett Kavanaugh sexually abused women three decades ago, with Republicans claiming investigators found “no hint of misconduct” but Democrats accusing the White House of slapping crippling constraints on the probe. At the same time, Republican leaders seemed to show increasing confidence. Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa said he now expects the Supreme Court nominee to be confirmed in a Senate roll call on Saturday. In a hardening of battle lines, one of two vacillating Democrats — North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp — said she’d oppose the Supreme Court nominee. Heitkamp, facing a tough re-election fight next month, said she was concerned about his past conduct and felt that his angry attacks on Democrats during last week’s Judiciary Committee hearing raised questions about his “current temperament, honesty and impartiality.” However, in a potential sign of momentum for Kavanaugh, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told CNN that “we’ve seen no additional corroborating information” for the accusations and that the investigation had been comprehensive. Flake, who’s not stated his position on the nomination, was among three Republicans who had pressed President Donald Trump to order the renewed FBI background check. Another GOP lawmakers who has publicly taken no stance, Susan Collins of Maine, also called the probe “a very thorough investigation” and said she’d read the documents later. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski said she’d read the report. Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia also has not declared how he’ll vote. The battling commenced as the conservative jurist’s prospects for winning Senate confirmation remained at the mercy of five undeclared senators, including the three Republicans, with an initial, critical vote looming Friday. It followed the FBI’s early-morning release of its investigation. “There’s nothing in it that we didn’t already know,” Grassley declared. He said he based his view on a briefing from committee aides and added, “This investigation found no hint of misconduct.” Other Republicans who’d already voiced support for Kavanaugh echoed Grassley, saying after a briefing that there’d been no corroboration of wrongdoing by Kavanaugh. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., “The senators who requested the supplemental background check got what they requested, and I am ready to vote.” Top Democrats fired back at Grassley after getting their own briefing. The Judiciary panel’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, said it appeared that the White House had “blocked the FBI from doing its job.” She said that while Democrats had agreed to limit the probe’s scope, “we did not agree that the White House should tie the FBI’s hands.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has already started a process that will produce a crucial test vote in his polarized chamber Friday on Kavanaugh’s fate. Should Republicans get the majority of votes they need — and Vice President Mike Pence is available to cast the tie-breaker, if necessary — that would set up a decisive roll call on his confirmation, likely over the weekend. Several senators said 10 witnesses were interviewed for the report. One senator said it was about 50 pages long. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said agents reached out to 10 but spoke only to nine. He said five were witnesses connected to accusations by Christine Blasey Ford and four involved a separate claim by Deborah Ramirez. Feinstein complained Thursday that agents had not interviewed Kavanaugh or Ford, who has testified that he sexually attacked her in a locked bedroom during a high school gathering in 1982. Feinstein also said attorneys for Ramirez, who’s claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when both were Yale freshmen, had no indication the FBI had reached out to people she’d offered for corroboration. Grassley said the FBI could not “locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations,” and he said there is “no contemporaneous evidence.” He provided no specifics. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats’ fears that the “very limited process” laid out for the investigation would restrain the FBI “have been realized.” He also said, “I disagree with Sen. Grassley’s statement that there was no hint of misconduct.” Neither side provided any detail about what the report said, constrained by years-old arrangements that require the results of FBI background checks to remain confidential. Earlier, White House spokesman Raj Shah rebuffed Democrats’ complaints, saying, “What critics want is a never-ending fishing expedition into high school drinking.” He said the FBI reached out to 10 people and interviewed nine, including “several individuals at the request of the Senate, and had a series of follow-up interviews … following certain leads.” While the FBI interviews were to focus on sexual assault allegations, Democrats have also questioned Kavanaugh’s drinking habits during high school and college and dishonest comments they say he has made about his background. Kavanaugh has said stories of his bad behavior while drinking are exaggerated. Three women have accused him of sexual misconduct in separate incidents in the 1980s. Kavanaugh, 53, now a judge on the powerful District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, has denied the claims. The White House received the FBI report around 3 a.m. Thursday. Trump weighed in hours later in a tweet in which he denounced what he called “the harsh and unfair treatment” of Kavanaugh. “This great life cannot be ruined by mean” and “despicable Democrats and totally uncorroborated allegations!” Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois told reporters Thursday that time slots for reading the FBI file are so full that senators are being told they might have to wait until Friday to read it. “They’re so swamped,” she said. The report arrived at a Capitol palpably tense over the political stakes of the nomination fight and from aggressive anti-Kavanaugh protesters who have rattled and reportedly harassed senators. Feeding the anxiety was an unusually beefy presence of the U.S. Capitol Police, who were keeping demonstrators and frequently reporters at arm’s length by forming wedges around lawmakers walking through corridors. Barring leaks, it was unclear how much of the FBI report,
Senate Democrats: Living out ‘If you give a mouse a cookie’
Since the day President Donald Trump won the election, Democrats have openly flaunted the fact they would do everything they could to derail his presidency, his agenda and essentially anything they could related to him. Chants of “Not my president” could be heard on the streets of D.C. throughout the inauguration and haven’t stopped since. They have shown given any opening whatsoever they will do whatever they can to stop progress and to tarnish anyone associated with the President. Even Senate confirmations for critical agencies have sat around for much longer than in previous administrations. And we’ve watched Trump repeatedly be blamed for policies in existence before he took office. His staff has been accosted out in public. His cabinet officials have been personally and professionally vilified. Everything including his wife’s shoes and recovery time from a medical procedure has come under fire. I thought we’d seen it all until the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings began. When Democrats realized they couldn’t stop the appointment based on his merits, they set out to derail his confirmation by attempting to ruin his character. The twists and turns of the last several weeks are going to have ever lasting consequences as Senator Lindsey Graham passionately said, “This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap.” The number of holes and inconsistencies in Dr. Christine Blasey Ford‘s accusations from the day they came has out raised red flags for even the most casual observer. That said, Senate Democrats called for another hearing to address the concerns, when they got that they then screamed for an FBI investigation. And then they got that, and now they’re saying that it’s still not enough. They want more time. They want more witnesses. They want more. It reminds me of a book I read to my children, “If you give a mouse a cookie.” The fact is this isn’t about the accusations anymore and if you had any doubt about that Senator Cory Booker was so kind as to finally say so yesterday. Enough already looking at the evidence senators have all that they need to vote plus some. As a voter in Alabama, I call on Senator Doug Jones and the others to reject the partisan gamesmanship that has torn apart more than this nomination process and to confirm Kavanaugh. Top four facts for senators to consider: Not only are there no witnesses, the people Ford claimed were there deny such an event. The holes in Ford’s memory. While not remembering specifics of an event from 35 years ago is in itself surprising the number of holes are in fact. Front door questions. Kavanaugh’s history and testimony and that of those who support him. Senate Democrats have done a great disservice to our nation and to women by using the accusations against Kavanaugh as a prop in their political theater. I hope that the backlash is swift and firm not just with the upcoming elections, but also with Kavanaugh being confirmed.
GOP senator: Secret FBI report shows no Brett Kavanaugh misconduct
A top Senate Republican said Thursday the confidential FBI report on charges that Brett Kavanaugh sexually abused women three decades ago “found no hint of misconduct” by the Supreme Court nominee. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, made his remarks — and urged his colleagues to confirm the conservative judge — in a written statement hours after the post-midnight delivery of the FBI document to Congress. With Kavanaugh’s uncertain prospects for approval depending in part on the decisions of five wavering senators, lawmakers began viewing the document in a secure room in the Capitol complex. “There’s nothing in it that we didn’t already know,” Grassley said, basing his comment on a briefing he said he’d received from committee aides. He added, “This investigation found no hint of misconduct.” Democrats have complained that the FBI’s reopening of its Kavanaugh background check has been far too limited, leaving out contact with crucial potential witnesses. Grassley said the FBI could not “locate any third parties who can attest to any of the allegations,” and he said there is “no contemporaneous evidence.” He provided no specific detail. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has already started a process that will produce a crucial test vote in his polarized chamber Friday on Kavanaugh’s fate. Should Republicans get the majority of votes they need — and Vice President Mike Pence is available to cast the tie-breaker, if necessary — that would set up a decisive roll call on his confirmation, likely over the weekend. “Senators ought to wipe away the muck from all the mudslinging and politics and look at this nomination with clear eyes,” Grassley said, echoing accusations against Democrats that McConnell has been making. He added, “It’s time to vote. I’ll be voting to confirm Judge Kavanaugh.” Three women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in separate incidents in the 1980s. Kavanaugh, 53, now a judge on the powerful District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, has denied the claims. While the FBI interviews were to focus on sexual assault allegations, although Democrats have also called into question his drinking habits during high school and college and dishonest comments they say he’s made about his background. Kavanaugh has said stories of bad behavior while drinking are exaggerated. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Pivotal GOP senators hit Donald Trump for mocking Brett Kavanaugh accuser
Two wavering Republican senators lambasted President Donald Trump on Wednesday for mocking a woman who has claimed Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, underscoring the risks of assailing Kavanaugh’s three accusers as Senate support teeters for the Supreme Court nominee. The blowback to Trump’s scoffing at Christine Blasey Ford came as lawmakers awaited results of a revived FBI background check, expected imminently, on accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school and college. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said the chamber will vote on Kavanaugh later this week, and the conservative jurist’s fate is in the hands of a handful of undecided GOP and Democratic senators. At a political rally in Mississippi Tuesday night, Trump mimicked Ford’s responses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week at which she recounted Kavanaugh’s alleged attack on her when both were in high school. The audience laughed as Trump, at times inaccurately, recounted what he described as holes in her testimony. “I had one beer — that’s the only thing I remember,” Trump said. On NBC’s “Today” show Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said that ridiculing “something this sensitive at a political rally is just not right.” Flake added, “I wish he hadn’t done it. It’s kind of appalling.” Separately, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters, “The president’s comments were just plain wrong.” Trump’s comments about Ford reflected a growing frustration among some in the White House, and by the president, that her story has not received the same level of scrutiny as Kavanaugh’s, said a person close to the process who was not authorized to speak publicly. As he flew aboard Air Force One to the Mississippi rally, Trump was also enraged by stories in The New York Times about Kavanaugh’s high school and college years and alleging tax avoidance efforts by the president and his family, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday echoed the president’s newly aggressive approach. She said Ford has “been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president.” She said Trump was merely “pointing out factual inconsistencies.” “Have a vote on the man,” Conway said of Kavanaugh. “Vote him up or down.” Trump’s criticism of Ford seems to reflect the sentiments of some of his conservative supporters. But it raises questions about how such words will affect five senators — all moderates — whose votes on Kavanaugh will be decisive. Besides Flake and Collins, Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota have yet to declare their positions on Kavanaugh. Flake has clashed repeatedly with Trump over his behavior and is retiring at year’s end. Collins has criticized Trump at times as well but not as often as Flake. McConnell told reporters Tuesday that “I can tell you with certainty” that the FBI report will be finished and the Senate will vote this week, though he didn’t specify when. Senators are preparing to vote on Kavanaugh as soon as this weekend — and prepared for it to be a close. Vice President Mike Pence, who would be brought in to break a tie, is due to campaign Monday in Texas for both Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Pete Sessions, but officials with both campaigns braced for changes. Democrats contend the investigation has not been expanded to sufficient potential witnesses. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he wants senators to receive an FBI briefing on its findings at least 24 hours before the chamber takes its first procedural vote on Kavanaugh, but Republicans have given no sign of assenting to that. The FBI has finished an interview with Chris Garrett, a high school friend of Kavanaugh. Ford said she “went out with” Garrett for a few months in high school. Garrett’s lawyer, William Sullivan, said Garrett has voluntarily cooperated with the FBI’s reopened background check, but he declined to comment further. Garrett is at the least fifth person known to have been interviewed since last Friday, when the White House directed the FBI to look again into the allegations. Others interviewed include Mark Judge, who Ford has said was in the bedroom where, she says, a drunken Kavanaugh sexually attacked her at a 1982 high school gathering. Also interviewed were two other people Ford said were present but in a different room: Patrick “P.J.” Smyth and Leland Keyser. Judge, Smyth and Keyser say they don’t recall the incident described by Ford. Kavanaugh has denied the accusations by Ford, by Deborah Ramirez, who says he exposed himself to her during a college party, and by Julie Swetnick, who has alleged she was victimized at a party attended by Kavanaugh and his friends. Besides Trump, Senate Republicans also began to aim credibility questions at Ford. In a letter Tuesday night, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed Ford to turn over more information to support her claim and accused her lawyers of “withholding material evidence.” Sen. Chuck Grassley repeated his request for notes from Ford’s therapy sessions, details of her communications with The Washington Post and any recordings of her taking a lie detector test. The senator said he was requesting the recordings because the committee has obtained a letter that “raises specific concerns” about the reliability of Ford’s polygraph test. In the statement, a man who says he is Ford’s former boyfriend says he saw Ford, a psychology professor, coach a friend on how to be less nervous during a polygraph examination. If true, the claim could contradict testimony Ford gave last week, when she told senators she had never given tips or advice to anyone taking a lie detector test. A representative of Ford’s legal team had no immediate comment. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
