Every waking moment of the rest of Jeff Flake’s life should be like this one
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 28, 2018
We’ve raised 16K in two days for 40 of the most competitive house seats. Let’s keep it up. (You can pick just one or two to give to limit the number of mailing lists you get on.)
smintheus
Proudly Republican.
sherparick
Flake is responding to the Republican donor class who want Kavanaugh on the court since he will basically interpret the Constitution in manner that will benefit the interests, property, and liberty of the those 150 families that now own almost half the country and want to own the remainder. He might not be running for reelection now, but perhaps he will run for McCain’s seat in 2020 or for the Presidency in 2024 and he does not want a vote against Kavanaugh to disqualify him. He is a bad man. All the Republicans are are bad men or women.
Jamey
EVERY fucking moment.
schrodingers_cat
Flake was never going to do the right thing. Why is anyone surprised. Just look at his past behavior, not his empty words.
Jinchi
I find these Republicans so infuriating. He says Ford was compelling, but he still has “doubts”.
He’s willing to give Kavanaugh a lifetime on the Supreme Court because he thinks there’s only a 50/50 chance that the man is a rapist?
What exactly was it about Trump that Flake objected to again?
Paul W.
If you wanted to start a second civil war, there are not many better moments than the one captured in this video and by Kavanaugh’s blatant partisan posturing.
Schlemazel
This means Flake wants to run for POTUS in 2020. Had he voted no it would have meant 2024 for him.
Chyron HR
@sherparick:
I was under the impression that he was positioning himself as a “real Republican” in anticipation of the anti-Trump blowback. Is he really just going to stand there staring at his shoes every time the 2024 Democratic candidate points out that he rubber-stamped Trump’s pet rapist?
mad citizen
Phuck Flake and the lot. It’s going to be a long road to a constitutional amendment to make the Supreme Court into limited 18 terms with one turning over every two years.
Kraux Pas
@sherparick:
Ah, the old “not running for re-election to the Senate because he plans as running as a new candidate for the Senate” routine.
Crafty.
Jinchi
@schrodingers_cat: I don’t think many of us are surprised. We just refuse to shrug it off and normalize this.
schrodingers_cat
@Jinchi: When did I shrug it off? How am I normalizing anything by being clear from the get go where the vile Rs stand, including empty suits like Sasse and Flake who make the right noises but never come through when their actions are required.
Kraux Pas
@Chyron HR:
I don’t see what this accomplishes for him. Making vaguely disapproving noises while signing off on every Trump policy, which he likely approved of to begin with, isn’t fooling anyone. He get’s no independence points while still managing not to look like a team player, valuable Republican political capital.
For that matter, was Romney really that much better than Trump? He still lied his ass off and promised to further comfort the comfortable and afflict the afflicted. You just needed a decoder ring to detect the racism.
Jinchi
@Schlemazel:
Not to say that Flake doesn’t believe it, but that logic makes no sense.
He can’t claim to be part of the Resistance if he never actually pushed back against Trump when he had the power to do so.
Fair Economist
This vote makes no sense if he ever plans to run for anything. He’ll be “the guy who put a rapist on the Supreme Court” for the rest of his life.
Jinchi
@schrodingers_cat: Didn’t mean to imply you had. I just don’t believe that anyone is surprised by Flake being a weasel.
Calouste
A Phoenix newspaper called Flake “an anthromorphized loaf of stale white bread”. A phrase almost worthy of Betty Cracker.
schrodingers_cat
@Jinchi: No problem. I am on an edge like, everyone here, I guess.
Kay
Fun to watch this hack try to avoid getting the stink on himself. Too late! He’ll have to dance with the girl who brung him. I hope like hell he’s worried about his future party invites.
Major Major Major Major
@Jinchi:
Why not? It’s what every other republican does, and they get away with it.
celticdragonchick
@Paul W.: Agreed.
celticdragonchick
We need to start looking into how to file complaints to get Kavanaugh disbarred over his testimony.
CarolDuhart2
This “running in 2020” makes no sense whatsoever. Incumbent Presidents run for re-election unless they are 1) dead, 2) extremely ill, 3) or in jail somehow. That’s it. The last time an incumbent didn’t run, it was Vietnam and LBJ, and before that Truman and before that Coolidge. That’s how rare it is. And even then parties choose the VP for a candidate. How is Flake going to get funding, let alone traction?
schrodingers_cat
@celticdragonchick: Good idea. Are the two women that came forward going to file a complaint against him.
Jinchi
@Major Major Major Major:
Running in 2020 means running against Trump. Kasich might be able to pull it off if Trump is polling badly enough. The other “Never-Trumpers” Romney, Flake, Sasse, Cochran, Lindsay Graham – not so much.
jacy
@celticdragonchick:
Won’t matter if Kavanaugh is disbarred. You don’t even have to be a lawyer to sit on the Supreme Court. Not saying he shouldn’t or wouldn’t be disbarred, but it isn’t going to matter to Republican senators. They’re all in no matter what. The only thing that will stop him sitting on the Court is if he is convicted of a felony and is sentenced to prison. (Or impeached, or he snaps and kills himself or someone else, which, considering his performance yesterday is not that wild an outcome. I have had some experience in the situation, and he’s a highly functional rage-filled drunk.)
zhena gogolia
Per Cole’s twitter, GG has decided it’s all Feinstein’s fault.
Major Major Major Major
@Jinchi: the problem is that you’re thinking a republican will be held responsible for their actions rather than judged solely on whatever they’re saying at the moment.
Chyron HR
@CarolDuhart2:
Yes, and?
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Fuck GG, that sanctimonious prick.
japa21
@Kay: All these people coming out now can in the future claim they wanted an FBI investigation. Of course, they waited until it didn’t matter. Typical cowards.
Chyron HR
@jacy:
Skype exists, he can serve hard time and still serve on the SCOTUS.
(I’m sorry, but this is my coping mechanism.)
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
This should be what life should be for every shitbag who votes for this rapist.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
This made me chuckle in spite of my rage-induced headache
tobie
@zhena gogolia: it’s always a woman’s fault with GG and Julian Assange. Somehow everything always comes back to Hillary, Pelosi or Feinstein for that crowd. Mysogonists, the whole lot. They’re not fit to tie any of the aforementioned women’s shoes
Jinchi
What really annoys me is the chatter about Heitkamp, Donnelly and Manchin. I understand the need to appear moderate in a red state, but if they vote for Kavanaugh after this, they can kiss their election good bye, because their base will abandon them. This should be glaringly obvious, but the press treats it like it’s not a problem.
schrodingers_cat
@Jinchi: The R enabling press is focusing on the D senators to take the heat off Collins and Murkowski.
Jinchi
@japa21:
Flake can’t. He’s on the Judiciary committee. He could have demanded one as the price of his vote.
Jeffro
@Jinchi:
As I have been telling/tweeting/FB-ing everyone who will listen: one of the two people who testified yesterday is lying. Make a decision: who was it? None of this “well, Dr. Ford sounded sincere, but I have my doubts”. Ok then, what are those doubts? Kavanaugh has denied the encounter entirely. Dr. Ford described his attempt to rape her in great detail. Who is lying? Who?
None of this “both sides” bullshit, none of this “I have my doubts”. One or the other is lying. Say it, Republicans. (I’m not talking to you, Miss Lindsey: deranged though you are, you’re certainly making no bones about it). What about you Flake, Collins, Murkowski? Who’s lying?
Kay
@Jinchi:
Because the press doesn’t consider the Dem base as legitimate. We have whole discussions about the GOP base (important!) and then Dem leaners (also important!). Our base is basically sneered at. Not important. I myself think it’s because our base is not composed of a majority of white men. They’re the “real” voters. Everyone else is a whiny interest group, bothering them while they conduct important business.
There’s only one base. The GOP base.
Jinchi
@Major Major Major Major:
This seems like an argument that we should revisit after the November elections.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: And the media, the power brokers that call the shots in the media are a part of that base.
lamh36
Signed: Black women voters!!
Kay
@Jinchi:
That’s why I think it’s so fascinating to see the AA Dem base exert their numerical clout in sourthern states. Now THAT’S interesting. There’s a Dem base that doesn’t get a lot of coverage, huh? Southern AA Democrats? They have some real power within the Democratic party in southern states. I’m thrilled they’re using it.
They should pull a couple of reporters off the Pennsylvania Trump voter beat and send them to Georgia or Florida. I’m interested.
dww44
Not that it matters, but I am curious if Kavanaugh’s behavior and temperament yesterday changed Benjamin Wittes support and approval in any ways. Given that the ABA has withdrawn its full throated endorsement and wants an FBI investigation, I’m curious about Wittes.
I’m already called my two GOP Senator this morning.;the more reasonable/moderate one’s phone lines are way busy. Got a female staffer at the other’s office who seemed really surprised that someone opposed to Kavanaugh would call. She was very non-committal and just generally unhelpful and I was very polite and respectful.
gene108
@sherparick:
He’s retiring. Why pass up on a lucrative wing-nut welfare sinecure for the rest of his life by listening to a bunch of hysterical women, who aren’t going to be paying him to live the life of plenty?
Jeffro
@CarolDuhart2: @Jinchi: No Republican is going to get a majority of GOP primary voters if Trumpov is running, full stop. What they are hoping is that somehow he implodes/resigns/doesn’t run/whatever, and that they’re the viable choice to lead a suddenly-come-to-its-senses Republican party. Good luck with that. You know who has the best chance of being their next nominee if Trumpov doesn’t run in 2020? Don Jr.
Mnemosyne
@zhena gogolia:
Of course he has — he’s echoing his Republican buddies. Everything is a woman’s or a POC’s fault. White men are alwaya blameless for their own actions.
I hope every Republican on that committee enjoys their upcoming lifetime of being jeered and shouted at every time they go out in public. They earned it.
Tenar Arha
@Doug! is Cole’s recommended candidate for West Virginia on this list? (I am totally blanking on her name).
dww44
@Kay: As one who lives in a majority AA small city, I can attest that they actually control the Democratic party in this county and while it is entirely understandable, the Democratic party here could use a good bit more diversity. I’ve been volunteering since 2008 and all the power in the local party rests with African Americans.
Kay
@Jinchi:
I’d like to see a piece on the AA women in Florida who are organizing for the governor there. They’re part of the Dem base. What are they up to? Something! Someone should go look into it. They might win.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: Time magazine had a profile on Stacy Abrams and her appeal to the D base.
Kay
@dww44:
It’s true in some parts of Cleveland too. I witness it at state party events. It’s odd. They’re treated like an interest group but they’re actually The Establishment and have power in their own right. It’s the huge…misunderstanding of this relationship. A kind of blindness.
I remember being at the 2008 convention and looking at the SC delegation and thinking “they are the Democratic Party there” – for a long time, too! Decades. It’s exciting to see them out front with top of the ticket candidates.
Kay
@schrodingers_cat:
Well, hopefully they win and then the NYTimes can have a boring discussion on why they missed it :)
Go forth. Without them. They’ll catch up later.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: NYT is busy being Treason Times in the service of the being in the WH and his Russian masters.
lamh36
Ella in New Mexico
The one hope/chance we all have is that people like Flake could still be moveable–he might be voting to release Kavanaugh from the Committee for a floor vote, yet could vote no after that.
Our side can’t stop pushing to get the stories out. We can’t stop pushing for more info to come out, because it’s there. All we need is to scare the shit out of our weak-kneed wobblers on the Dem side and get two R’s.
More ugly, verified facts about his lies and his conduct are likely to come out in blazing glory over the next 24-48 hours.
By the way, Durbin and Whitehouse just did some good stuff on this pathway.
Really proud of our Dems on that committee right now.
Kay
@schrodingers_cat:
They think he’s good for business but Donald Trump is the worst thing that ever happened to them. He ruins everything he gets close to and they’re too close to escape without damage. He’ll drag them right down with him, but apparently, they’re enjoying the ride, so won’t get off.
Arm’s length. The shit sticks.
Ian R
@Jinchi: Even McCaskill has realized that voting to confirm would kill her chances. Why can’t these assholes?
Kay
@lamh36:
I think it’s important for her since they’re smearing her as crazy this morning, but if they cared about the facts they would have called their own witnesses. They didn’t. There’s a reason for that. It isn’t Ford’s job to exonerate Kavanaugh. She doesn’t have to present her case and his.They were his witnesses and they were not there. he didn’t want them there.
The Moar You Know
@lamh36: Horse, barn door, etc. Dems need to ditch this and focus on GOTV and preempting any voter suppression. Of which there will be a lot. Any further effort digging into Supreme Court Rapetime is wasted, he is out of committee, getting fitted for his robe, and the FBI can investigate, put his rapey ass on trial, throw his drunk self in prison…he’s on the Court. He can attend via Skype if that’s required. Only way out of that is a 2/3 vote by the Senate to convict. You can figure out the odds of that happening as well as I.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Ella in New Mexico: I caught some of Whitehouse. He was great.
@Ian R: I have a theory, which is my theory, and my theory, which is mine, is that Joe Manchin is kinda dumb.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Donnelly’s a NO
Jinchi
@Kay: Right. They were strong enough to win a Senate seat at in Alabama on this very issue. Forget Trump voters, those women are the most underestimated and under reported force in America.
The Truffle
@The Moar You Know: Aren’t there a boatload of GOP seats up in 2020?
Doug!
@Tenar Arha:
No. He already raised a ton for her though. If we hit our goal for this one, I think I may do another 20 and let Cole and you all just pick them.
Doug!
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m not so surprised. I think it goes 52-48 with just Manchin voting yes.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Doug!: I’d bet Heitkmap will wait for Collins and Murkowski to vote, then do what they do
hedgehog the occasional commenter
Just threw some money in for Sharice Davids and Jason Crow. Crow is running to replace the useless Coffman in my neighboring district, and he looks to have a good chance of unseating the bastard. Feeling ragey and stabby; this seemed one good way to channel. Thanks Doug.
Doug!
@hedgehog the occasional commenter:
It’s good way to channel the rage. Beats keying the cars of Trump supporters.
mad citizen
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Halle–phuncking—loo ya. I worry about Donnelly. He had ads saying he’s for the wall and I’m thinking, why the hell are you tying anything to trump? I can only imagine the Wall polls very high among idiots.
debbie
It’s monstrous that Flake had no reaction to the woman’s obvious pain. If that isn’t the GOP in a thimble, I don’t know what is.
patroclus
I’m guessing we’ll get Murkowski but not Collins. Manchin and Heitkamp will then see that the votes are there and make a political calculation. So 52-48; just like Clarence Thomas. This time, the blame is all on one side.
ellie
@celticdragonchick: Agreed. Can he be investigated even though he is on the court? I would like to hound this guy to his dying days. He’s a rapist.
CarolDuhart2
Of course-there’s no Constitutional reason not to.
Yutsano
Is it just me, or are we witnessing a political party committing suicide?
Neldob
@Yutsano: We are witnessing the Repugnant party’s final turn to Fascist.
J R in WV
@Yutsano:
We can hope so!
oatler.
The November vote will be a clusterfuck, possibly with rioting at polls. And think of the impartial Supreme Court we’ll have to decide election conflicts…
BlueGirlFromWyo
@patroclus: Are you joking? Manchin and Heitcamp will make it both sides forever in the eyes of our complicit media.
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
Meh…20 years ago I saw a woman on the side of the road in distress.
I stopped and asked what was the problem, and she told me that she’d run out of gas.
I gave her a ride to the nearest gas station and I noticed that she held her keys in hand.
Though I didn’t realize it until after the time, her key ring had a mace canister attached.
If i’m honest with myself, that was the first time that I was empathetic to someone else’s problems.
While I knew I wouldn’t hurt her, she had no way of knowing that.