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This Has Nothing to Do With Kavanaugh
I’m sorry to contribute the 100th post on Kavanaugh from the past few days, but I think we may be missing the point here. I really don’t think the Democrats expect that their last-minute surprise will keep Kavanaugh off the Supreme Court. They don’t control the Presidency or either house of Congress, so they know they’re sort of stuck here. They’re probably secretly grateful because Trump could have nominated a more conservative firebrand, and there wouldn’t have been much they can do about it. So I don’t think keeping Kavanaugh off the court is the reason they did this. I suspect it is a combination of some of the following reasons:
- This is a warning to any conservative who might consider a spot on the Supreme Court, or any other high office, in the future. This has more to do with future nominations than with Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination.
- If the Republicans vote on this and approve him (as they should, and probably will), then every Democrat running for office in the next few elections can remind voters that “Republicans put a known rapist on the Supreme Court!!!” The only way to stop the Republican Party from expressing their hatred for women in the future is to elect more Democrats. This has more to do with future elections than with Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination.
- The rise of the far left in their party has the old establishment Democrats understandably nervous. This is an opportunity for an extremely wealthy 85-year-old white person to polish her progressive bona fides. I refer to Sen. Feinstein, but also to most other Democrat congress-humans. This is more about those in power protecting what they have and getting re-elected than with Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination.
- Pure desperation. Like a shot from half-court as time expires, there’s really no reason not to give it a try. It’s amazing how your options open up when unconstrained by ethics, religion, and other inconvenient truths.
- There’s really no downside to this, as far as the Democrats can see. If the other side is pure evil, then what tactic is unacceptable? How can anyone criticize any effort to combat evil? There is no downside to this – no Democrat will ever have to pay for this charade. So if there is any possible upside at all, why not do this?
My point is that this really is not about Mr. Kavanaugh – he’s just collateral damage. It’s a shame somebody had to be destroyed, but as long as he’s conservative, it’s not too much of a shame.
This really isn’t about the Supreme Court, either. This may look stupid, but it’s probably good politics. For the Democrats. Again, it’s amazing how your options open up when unconstrained by ethics, religion, and other inconvenient truths.
The catch is, the Democrats have to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it’s not just national Democrat office holders. They have to know that their supporters are also unconstrained by ethics, religion, and other inconvenient truths. So this really doesn’t tell us what Democrats think of Mr. Kavanaugh. It tells us what they think of the media, the educational establishment, and Democrat voters. And they apparently think that all those people are unethical bastards, willing to easily abandon any pretense of virtue, in an effort to demonstrate their virtue to one another.
There were a lot of conservatives who found it difficult to vote for Donald Trump because they disapproved of his ethics (or apparent lack thereof). Try to imagine what a Democrat politician would have to do to get Democrat voters to abandon him/her due to ethical concerns. The Democrats think that their lack of ethics will not create a backlash among Democrat voters, because they think that Democrat voters lack ethics as well.
I wish I thought the Democrat party was miscalculating on that point. But I don’t. What a horrible thought.
So this this may look stupid. But it’s probably good politics.
What say you? Please tell me I’m way off base here…
Published in General
You are 100% right
You are mostly correct. There are a few good democrats ( Jim Webb, Joe Leiberman, …) but they have absolutely no power or influence.
I think every good Democrat should vote for Republicans in November to send a message to the Democrats and to hold this out-of-control party in check. We have to destroy the Democratic Party to save it.
Like @bryangstephens, I think you’re 100% right. Because there are roughly 17 independent assertions in your article, that’s a lot of right.
I would if I could, but… yeah. Pretty much.
DiFi is in a battle with “Ponce” De Leon. She has to do something to reaffirm her liberal credentials with the California voters. However, her elite friends and supporters are concerned her opponent has a big following.
Hence, her “something” is to try and derail Brett Kavanaugh. Well, it ain’t gonna work unless Republicans cave.
So far, I’m impressed Susan Collins of Maine has appeared to have “grown a pair”. Perhaps the pressure from Dems and the disgusting stunts have steeled her resolve. I don’t know – you Maine folks have to help me out here, because you know her best.
I’m disgusted with wealthy white Democrats who can afford armed security 24/7 telling me I have to give up my guns, my faith, and my meager wealth (which I’m living off of in retirement) so a bunch of low-life criminals sneaking across our southern border can enter our country and receive almost all the same benefits I get, and even vote in some places!
No, it’s time to put a stop to this. Even well-meaning illegal aliens need to be sent back. Maybe they should focus on changing their country of origin, instead of ours . . .
Your right on.
Hear, Hear!
Agree with pretty much all of this. Most of this spectacle is just rank opportunism. And I also don’t find it particularly shocking, it’s just how hardball politics are played today.
Now for my unpopular opinion: the Republicans wouldn’t act much differently in this situation if the tables were turned.
Only key item missing from this post: Garland.
Democrats are still hopping mad over his nomination. So what better venue to throw an entire strainer of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks than a Supreme Court hearing.
[[[ SHUDDER ]]]
As far as I can recall, no Democrat nominee for the court has been Borked. It’s becoming a regular feature for Republican nominees.
One silver lining Dr. If the Republican base was lackluster in their motivation. The evil party fixed that. We are pissed now.
Well, I’m pissed. But I was always going to vote anyway.
I think the Democrats may have over-reached, particularly with their eleventh hour accusation that is falling apart to such an extent that even nominal allies are finding it stinky, which over-reach could hurt them with the coveted “independent” voters.
And as others have said, it will fire up Republicans, who are at risk of being complacent in whether or not they vote.
Well said. I think Points 1 and 2 are the most important.
Decent Democrats need to vote R in order to save their party from its growing radicalism and its turn towards authoritarianism.
I’m not sure any Democrats are interested in saving their party from its growing radicalism and its turn toward authoritarianism; especially the latter.
Well you gotta admit it’s a much better idea than Kristol’s and Will’s crazy “Vote Democrat Because We Hate Trump” plan of action.
I do believe that the democrats have just “awoken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve”.
This is just the needed motivation for the GOP electorate to turnout this November at 2016 levels.
Independents will break for the GOP in order to reject these insane, unhinged crazytown democrats.
Great post. But some of the Comments have gone over the edge.
Right on the money.
One more point to add to your list is the bloody shirt that will be waved not only at every justice nominated by a Republican president to SCOTUS and probably lower courts, too, but at just about every decision every one of them makes about any issue remotely connected to social justice.
David Marcus at the Federalist puts it like this:
My point is that this really is not about Mr. Kavanaugh –
You’re correct. A great post. As I’ve said before, I was on the Left as a young person. One of the reasons I became disgusted with them and saw them for what they really are by about age 24 was this:
Their stated agenda is never their real one. Never.
With these people, you always have to look under the surface for what their real motive is, and it’s always one thing: Power. They say they’re the party who cares about the poor. Nope. They care about making sure enough people stay poor to keep themselves in power.
They couch their “causes” in emotionally appealing terms so that if you oppose it, you’re a monster. They call it “The Children’s Defense Fund” because if they called it the “Throw Money at Social Problems so Marian Wright Edelman Can Skim Off the Top Fund” nobody would support it, now would they.
This is nothing new with them. I saw this by the mid-1970s and they haven’t changed a bit. The only thing that has changed is that they’ve allowed their fringe to take control. On the one hand, it’s kind of amusing to watch as they barely even bother to hide it anymore, but on the other hand I’ve never been more worried for the country.
And a postscript to my comment above: Any of you Republicans who actually believe it would be smart to vote for Democrats in the Midterms, all I can say is you don’t know these people the way I do. I pray that you stop this fool’s errand and stop trying to persuade others to take this terrible step. The way things have been going lately, if they ever get back in power, they’ll never let go again.
I really don’t think you realize what you’re playing with.
Exactly right.
And they usually hew to the party line on important votes.
DING-DING-DING!!! BINGO!!!
“The issue is never the issue, the issue is always the revolution!”
-Anonymous SDS radical
It’s amazing what people will say after a few drinks. Hehe . . .
Thomas Lifson has a very interesting piece at American Thinker drawing attention to a post at a blog called Cult of the First Amendment:
UPDATE: That’s the only post on that blog. Inquiring minds want to know…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-18/internal-rnc-poll-complacent-trump-voters-may-cost-gop-control-of-congress
I believe the line between believing in your team, and not taking the other team seriously, has been moved by the Democrats and their mouthpieces. The “leaked” RNC poll, as reported, does not distinguish between confidence and complacency. If “Trump voters” were negative about the midterms, we’d read they were to blame for Republican losses because they won’t show up for a losing fight.
What we want to get at is voter intensity. Sounds like the Republican base will be motivated. The question is, what of independents? What of Trump Democrats? That is a question with local fact specific answers. We have an answer in Texas, now, as the latest real poll shows 99% of likely voters have made up their minds on Cruz vs. O’Rourke. The undecideds swung hard to Cruz, giving him a 9 point advantage. We will start to see other state specific answers emerge as voters look at their choices.
Is this an example of what you mean?
Because that looks wildly optimistic to me. I hope he’s right, though, and that my opinion is colored by the fact that where I live Feinstein is called “conservative” and pols like Zoe Lofgren “moderate.”