Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

This blog will pay for itself.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Collins Is a Yes on Kavanaugh

Collins Is a Yes on Kavanaugh

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She hasn’t actually uttered the word “yes” yet, but her rambling soliloquy is leading inevitably to that conclusion. She’s going through all the arguments against Kavanaugh and dismissing them.

Shocked, gambling, etc. Fuckity fuck.

ETA: After blabbering on interminably, Collins made it official at 3:50, saying she hoped Kavanaugh would lessen the division on the court and restore public faith in it. What a fucking joke.

Reader Interactions

276Comments

  2. 2.

    Fair Economist

    This means the Republicans are exposed for what they are -irredeemably evil. The only choice is to take at least the House this year, the trifecta in 2020, and fix this.

    Which we can. Actually, horrible as Kavanaugh is, this will make it easier.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    A trip to Maine just appeared on my schedule. 2020. Actually, whatever her decision. Too much fan dancing.

  5. 5.

    Nashville_fan

    Wow . . . I am pretty sure she should have just voted yes this morning.

    Damn.

    Gotta love the “I asked him and he said . . . ” angle. Well that settles it then.

    I don’t ever wanna hear anyone say that don’t know what white privilege is again.

    White privilege is hearing what you wanna hear and believing what you wanna believe.

    No matter what the facts say.

    Every freaking time.

  17. 17.

    Waldo

    “… in conclusion, I believe Judge Kavanaugh is just the kind of rapey rageaholic our highest court needs.”

  18. 18.

    SFAW

    @chopper:

    looks like the ‘we’re fucked’ crew was right.

    You are SUCH a defeatist! You should be banned from BJ, because that statement means you will NEVER do anything other than wallow in your self-pity.

    Did I get the tone about right?

  19. 19.

    TenguPhule

    In her speech before the Senate, Sen. Susan Collins addressed several common arguments against Brett Kavanaugh, and refuted each one.

    “One concern I frequently heard was that the judge would be likely to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s vital protections for people with preexisting conditions,” Collins began. “I disagree with this contention.”

    She then cited the Seven-Sky v. Holder case as an example of Kavanaugh’s work in preserving the ACA.

    Collins also addressed the concern that Kavanaugh would help protect President Trump if he had a case of wrongdoing before the court.

    “Judge Kavanaugh has been unequivocal in his belief that no president is above the law,” Collins asserted, citing Kavanaugh’s admiration of cases such as Marbury v. Madison.
    She continued to address other concerns including access to birth control, LGBT rights, abortion rights, and racial equality. On each topic, she defended Kavanaugh, citing his previous statements and decisions, even arguing at one point, “I believe opponents missed the mark on this issue.”

    Collins then noted his “rave reviews” and the American Bar Association’s “well-qualified” rating of Kavanaugh.

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    “Over-the-top rhetoric and distortions of his record and testimonies at his first hearing produced short-lived headlines, which although debunked hours later continued to live on and be spread through social media.”

    “Interest groups have also spent an unprecedented amount of dark money opposing this nomination. Our Supreme Court confirmation process has been in steady decline for more than 30 years. One can only hope that the Kavanaugh nomination is where the process has finally hit rock bottom.”

    Straight from CNN.

  21. 21.

    SenyorDave

    Don’t worry, he’ll protect Roe v Wade. Maybe she’s right to disregard his whole history since he is a lying sack of crap about everything else. When is Collins up for re-election? I’ll donate some bucks to her opponent so Collins can move on to a gig at Fox or whatever else she wants to do, so long as it is not US Senator.

  22. 22.

    lee

    At least now the solution to this is a smidge simpler.

    Just reduce the number on SCOTUS by 2 and use ‘last in first out’ as the criteria for who leaves.

  24. 24.

    Aleta

    She is going out of her way to reframe and lie as a corrupted shill for the administration.

  29. 29.

    Aziz, light!

    The medical community is stumped. How does Collins survive with a spinal column made of overcooked spaghetti?

  31. 31.

    TenguPhule

    @Aziz, light!:

    The medical community is stumped. How does Collins survive with a spinal column made of overcooked spaghetti?

    There’s an invertabrate inside the human suit.

  34. 34.

    low-tech cyclist

    She’s going through all the arguments against Kavanaugh and dismissing them.

    How’s she addressing the “he lies pretty much whenever it suits him” argument? (WAG: she’s ignoring this one, right?)

    I can’t stand listening to her.

  35. 35.

    scottinnj

    Susan Collins voting for Kavanaugh is the perfect snapshot of white women bringing Trump and his administration over the finish line.

  36. 36.

    SFAW

    @Aziz, light!:

    The medical community is stumped. How does Collins survive with a spinal column made of overcooked spaghetti?

    You’re assuming she ever REALLY considered doing anything other than voting the party line. Bad assumption.

  38. 38.

    hueyplong

    Not sure, short of raising a fist to his female Democratic questioner, Kavanaugh could have more clearly demonstrated his unfitness for this lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

    Never, ever, let any Republican tell you that Trump is an aberration. He is their leader and they follow him in lockstep. He is the Republican Party and they are all his willing thralls.

  40. 40.

    Death Panel Truck

    I don’t know why anyone is surprised by this. She was a lost cause the moment she announced she’d bought Kavanaugh’s bullshit that he wouldn’t vote to overturn Roe. She’s a fucking moron and a traitor to her gender.

    It’s over. Kavanaugh’s on the court.

  43. 43.

    eric

    She is rich, white, and no longer has use for her uterus. Poor woman everywhere….you are on your own. Abused woman? sorry, it would not be right to hurt a man just for a little sexual assault among friends.

    In large part, this die was cast November 2016, though, conservative revanchists gave it there all here to break every progressive social norm over the last 50 years.

  44. 44.

    guachi

    She’s making him out to be some super liberal justice. If he really were no Republican would have ever voted for him.

  46. 46.

    kindness

    WTF is wrong with the people of Maine. They got this same stuff from Olympia Snowe. Now they do it again? Damn. I am disappointed in the voters.

  48. 48.

    Roger Moore

    @Len:

    We all know how she is planning to vote. Why is she still talking?

    She’s trying to justify her vote so she won’t get creamed in the next election.

  49. 49.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @SFAW:
    The point still stands. This is just one battle and as awful as it will be the war never ends. The battle for freedom and equality has been going on since time immemorial, long before any person alive today was born.

    It took hundreds of years for POC under European slavery and imperialism to gain any semblance of rights. But it did happen eventually. The bad guys can win but they also lose and in this case, there’s more of us than there are of them. They will eventually fall and we will have to ensure that good, honest people will be there to take their place to rebuild.

    This November is when that rebuilding process begins.

  50. 50.

    psycholinguist

    The thing she said that pisses me off most:

    “i believe something happened to Ford (but it wasn’t Kavenaugh)” What a weasel fucking proposition. It refuses to deal with Ford saying she is 100% SURE it was that fuckhead. So no, you don’t believe Ford. At least own it, but you know, whatever gonna let you sleep at night I guess.

  51. 51.

    Mike in DC

    How much do we need to saturate the airwaves and do 100% GOTV for Maine? Because that’s how much I want to see committed before we even have a declared candidate.

  52. 52.

    James E Powell

    I don’t think there was ever any doubt about Collins. Flake, Manchin, and Murkowski could have ended this, but did not. They each have reasons, but the central fact is that they are fine with this piece of shit on the Supreme Court.

  53. 53.

    mad citizen

    Glad I’m not watching it. I kept refreshing cnn.com to see her answer and was perplexed why it didn’t appear. Now I know why. Christ, what a windbag!

  54. 54.

    eric

    I suppose Merrick Garland dodges the bullet of having to launch a fitness examination for Kavanaugh to stay on the DC Court.

  55. 55.

    bemused

    Even if there had been home movies of Kav shaking his wienie in front of a girl’s face, the R’s wouldn’t have even blinked.

  56. 56.

    debbie

    If Collins doesn’t condemn Trump’s mocking of Blasey Ford at his Mississippi rally, then she’s no better than the worse MAGAt.

  57. 57.

    banditqueen

    @SFAW: Not to mention Daniel Dale:

    Obviously, it will be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
    and
    Collins in sum: “I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the court.”

  58. 58.

    germy

    Susan Collins voting for Kavanaugh is the perfect snapshot of white women bringing Trump and his administration over the finish line.
    — Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) October 5, 2018

  59. 59.

    TenguPhule

    And so the rule of law dies not with a bang, but with a long rambling speech by Susan Collins that bored it to death.

  60. 60.

    sdhays

    Well, she just decided she would rather be a Republican than a US Senator. Collins is the Republican Senator least vulnerable to a primary challenge, because her state prefers to vote for independents. If she loses a primary, she can still easily win in the general.

    But now she’s flushed her independence down the toilet. She may not have to worry about her primary, but she shouldn’t have been anyway. She will never be as vulnerable as she will be in 2020. I hope the Maine Democratic Party can step up.

  62. 62.

    Aleta

    Ford testified that others at the party were not aware of what happened, that she never told them, that she left w/o speaking to anyone. Yet Collins says ‘but no one offered her ride home or called the next day to ask if she was OK.’ as though that counts as “no corroboration.” WTF
    Completely skirts the perjury and lies, ignoring the opinions of lawyers and others.
    Completely skirts the statements of lawyers and Stevens and former supporters that his temperament makes him unfit.

    This will follow her for the rest of her life.

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life,” Collins said. However, she then stressed that Ford’s allegations could not be corroborated.

    “The four witnesses she (Ford) named could not corroborate any of the events of that evening gathering where she says the assault occurred. None of the individuals professor Ford says were at the party has any recollection at all of the night,” Collins said, pointing out that Ford could not remember how she got home and questioning why Ford’s friends had not called the next day.

    She also called allegations against Kavanaugh of gang rape “outlandish,” and said they “illustrate why the presumption of innocence is so important.”

    In the same breath, however, she also expressed support for survivors of sexual assault. “The #MeToo movement is real,” she declared. “It matters. It is needed and it is long overdue.”

    “We must listen to survivors, and every day we must seek to stop the criminal behavior that has hurt so many. We owe this to ourselves, our children and generations to come.”

    My Gods, the brass testicles she’s borrowing.

  70. 70.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule: I’m kind of impressed that Collins herself is lying about debunking in her speech about debunking.

    I thought she would vote yes. I did t think she would be this self-righteously soulless about it.

  71. 71.

    MomSense

    @&$”’!?()/;:%*€€€|>%{%>$&/&):!’ and &$)(??!@@@!((!/*€>€£€|! you, Susan.

  72. 72.

    jl

    @Death Panel Truck: She’s a fucking moron and a traitor to democracy. A coward, A liar. A fraud.

    Has she explained yet why Kavanaugh lying during his confirmation hearing, past and present, is OK?

    As I said in previous thread, I am contacting her office, this time telling them that I am going GOTV Javert on her corrupt racket and will make contributions to ensure she never holds another public office, ever.

    Her statements about being all offended that lesser people would have the impudence to question the decisions our ruling oligarchs make, is a threat to democratic government, and a complete disgrace. Her statement is pathetic, patently dishonest and contemptible in every way. Dishonest and made in complete bad faith. Vile

    The GOP is simply a tool of ruthless Trumpism now, and it’s just a matter of how politely they act and talk about it.

  73. 73.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    This is just the cloture vote. The actual vote is tomorrow. Are you advising us to give up before that happens?

    Collins is telling us her vote tomorrow right now.

  75. 75.

    donnah

    Collins is disgusting. She’s a disgrace to human beings. And I want to know what McConnell promised her.

    I hope she remembers and regrets this day for the rest of her wretched life.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @Roger Moore:

    She’s trying to justify her vote so she won’t get creamed in the next election.

    She still thinks she’s going to win her next election? Wow, she really IS even dumber than I thought.

  79. 79.

    psycholinguist

    @Ian R: Looks like it just crashed – I got in and when I refreshed to see the total after my contribution it crashed

  81. 81.

    jl

    Will be fun to compare and contrast how worms like Flake and Collins excuse their filth, if Flake votes as I expect him to.

  82. 82.

    trollhattan

    @bemused:
    I believe you’re right. Once he yelled at Democrats to their faces he was Their Boy no matter what. The Clinton shoutout was just dessert.

    Brett and Donny may now walk out on 5th Ave together and shoot somebody–a twofer.

  83. 83.

    Cacti

    Did anyone honestly expect it to be otherwise?

    Collins’ “moderate” reputation comes from the fact that she furrows her brow once or twice before voting with the troglodytes.

  84. 84.

    James E Powell

    This is just one battle and as awful as it will be the war never ends. The battle for freedom and equality has been going on since time immemorial, long before any person alive today was born.

    This is true and saying it may make you feel better. But reading it does nothing for me at all. People have been harmed, are being harmed, and more will be harmed in the future because of this RW revanche. Knowing that this, too, shall pass does nothing for me.

  88. 88.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I keep muting and unmuting– is she getting any closer to a fucking point ?

  90. 90.

    SFAW

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??:

    WTF are you on about? You sure you’re responding to the correct commenter?

    Just because someone says “WE’RE FUCKED!”, it does not mean that person has, or will, quit doing what he/she can to get rid of Rethugs. There seems to be a vein here or persons who equate “WE’RE FUCKED!” with “I QUIT!” I am not one of those persons. And if I say “It just got a lot harder,” it doesn’t mean I’ve given up.

    Aim your whatever-lesson-you-thought-you-were-imparting somewhere else.

  91. 91.

    TenguPhule

    @Roger Moore:

    She’s trying to justify her vote so she won’t get creamed in the next election.

    She’s going to run for governor of Maine. And presumably for president in 2024.

  94. 94.

    Ian R

    Aaand the CrowdPac anti-Collins fundraiser page has crashed from the amount of people donating during her speech.

  95. 95.

    Leto

    @bemused: Are you sure that’s his penis? Are you sure there’s not a look-a-like penis? A doppelpenis? It was such a young penis. You shouldn’t destroy this penises career over such a little thing! /vomit

  96. 96.

    cain

    If we don’t get congress, it will be a shit show next year when every conservative pony on womens rights and everything else will be trotted out for their supreme court. Roe vs Wade all of it is going to hit the dumpster. What the flying fuck…

  97. 97.

    Aleta

    quoted as from senate.com

    As to removal by recall, the United States Constitution does not provide for nor authorize the recall of United States officers such as Senators, Representatives, or the President or Vice President, and thus no Member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States. The recall of Members was considered during the time of the drafting of the federal Constitution in 1787, but no such provisions were included in the final version sent to the states for ratification, and the specific drafting and ratifying debates indicate an express understanding of the framers and ratifiers that no right or power to recall a Senator or Representative in Congress exists under the Constitution.

  98. 98.

    Brachiator

    @TenguPhule:

    Our Supreme Court confirmation process has been in steady decline for more than 30 years.

    Hmmm. Is this a reference to Judge Bork?

  99. 99.

    eemom

    Is there still a possibility he won’t be confirmed, or not?

    If Manchin votes no and that other guy doesn’t show up?

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    Yes, and … ? Murkowski is still a no. Manchin and Flake can still be pressured.

    You can curl up into a whimpering ball if you want to give up before the final vote is even taken. I’m not planning to.

  102. 102.

    TenguPhule

    45 minutes in and Collins still hasn’t gotten to the point yet.

    She truly is channeling her inner Trump here.

  104. 104.

    hueyplong

    @trollhattan: Brett kind of just did it. “Look what I did and I got confirmed anyway.”

    Prepare for some even keeling.

    Not sure why Collins wants to go on the record confidently giving a description of a Kavanaugh tenure that will be the laughingstock of history. But, as I’ve often admitted, I don’t understand Republican thinking.

  105. 105.

    JanieM

    @SenyorDave: When this particular moment has passed google “crowdpac Collins.” There has been a fund up for several weeks collecting $ that will be donated to her opponent in 2020 if she votes yes on Kavanaugh. I can’t get to the site right now to give you a link — I’m assuming it has been newly flooded with contributors/pledges. It was above $1.5 million last time I looked (maybe a week ago?) toward a goal of $2 million. I suspect the collective anti-Collins “we” will blow past that in short order, if it hasn’t already happened. Many people are making pledges of $20.20 to highlight when her term is up, but I’m going to give a bunch more than that.

  106. 106.

    patrick II

    @Jerzy Russian:
    I told my wife I am using the term “asshole” too often for polite speeech and shows lack of imagination, so I have looked up synonyms. None seem as apt.

  109. 109.

    cain

    @Ian R:

    Aaand the CrowdPac anti-Collins fundraiser page has crashed from the amount of people donating during her speech.

    It’s time to end her political career. She should be shamed wherever she goes. Persona non-grata. She should pay a price for this.

  110. 110.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    that idiot thinks she just gave an historic speech that will be remembered admiringly for a generation, doesn’t she?

  111. 111.

    MomSense

    @Mike in DC:

    We need help now with the election for Governor. Four people in the race. Attorney General Janet Mills is exactly the person you would want want to govern your state but she is up against a real slicker of a Republican Moody. For some fucked up reason Mills is under fire from a Native American group because Maine joined a suit regarding water rights and BLM decided to join in opposition. The only other viable candidate is Moody and he is a total asshole on civil rights, education, environment, health care etc.

  112. 112.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    Any asshole can run for office. She ain’t going to win anything higher than dogcatcher, ever again.

    All past evidence shows a majority of Maine’s voters are idiots.

  116. 116.

    JanieM

    Even worse, she had the gall a few weeks ago to call the fund a “bribe.” As if our political system isn’t utterly drowning in money from billionnaires. No, us ordinary people giving $20.20 at a time, that’s unacceptable.

    I’m from Maine. I’m so incandescent at this point.I wish I could run against her myself.

  117. 117.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @TenguPhule:
    Christ, “presumption of innocence”. He didn’t have that because he wasn’t on trial. He’s being considered for a lifetime appointment to the USSC, a privilege few people get to enjoy that has tremendous implications on hundreds of millions of lives. There are completely different standards between confirmation hearings and criminal trials, Susan. This is for a reason. You didn’t interview anybody else who accused the asshole or their witnesses because you didn’t want to. There was a pattern here and yet you claim that #MeToo is so needed in the same breath?

    This has been a sham process from the start and I hope that history judges you harshly for this cowardly and self-serving act. You could have voted “no” and survived just fine in 2020 if you ran again or ran for Main Governor.

  119. 119.

    banditqueen

    @TenguPhule: She was laying it on really thick toward the end. Does she have something hidden that might come before the SC? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  120. 120.

    jl

    From Collins’ disgusting statement, we can infer that lying for political advantage is not a problem with her. So Kavanaugh’s clear lying and perjury wouldn’t bother her at all. We can divine some truths through her disgusting babbling.

  123. 123.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    fuck him, but save your rage for Rs snd your money for Dem candidates up this year

    David Wright @ DavidWright_CNN
    Just in: Manchin issues statement saying he will vote yes on Kavanaugh

  124. 124.

    TenguPhule

    @eemom:

    Is there still a possibility he won’t be confirmed, or not?

    If Manchin votes no and that other guy doesn’t show up?

    McConnell is going to hold the vote open for the missing R senator to come back from the wedding.

    Assuming everyone shows up on time tomorrow, this is it.

  125. 125.

    Aleta

    @TenguPhule: I doubt she will run for anything again. She’ll rely on the political consulting group her husband formed (though he now works in her office) or corporate spoils, or hope for an appointment if Rs win in 2020.

  126. 126.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    Do you have a time machine, or do you rely on a crystal ball to predict future events?

    Again: you can cower if you want. I’m not planning to.

  130. 130.

    trollhattan

    @jl:
    OTOH Dr. Ford’s testimony and her “four witnesses” were not credible and Dr. Ford needs to Go Away, stat.

    Kavanaugh may be the real victim but Dr. Ford has sacrificed any chance for a normal life for the rest of us. I’m sick.

  131. 131.

    OGLiberal

    @TenguPhule: My guess is she’d win re-election or governor no matter what way she voted. This “yea” isn’t about Maine. Not sure what it’s about….

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Good fuck, MSNBC, no one wants to hear from Jon Meecham, much less on the same panel as fucking tweety

  135. 135.

    Cacti

    Is this a bad time to point out that Justice Kavanaugh would never have been possible without Bernie?

  136. 136.

    TenguPhule

    “Despite the turbulent, bitter fight surrounding his nomination, my fervent hope is that Brett Kavanaugh will work to lessen the divisions in the Supreme Court so that we have far fewer 5-4 decisions and so that public confidence in our judiciary and our highest court is restored,” she said.

    “Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh,” Collins said.

    Her announcement essentially secures that the judge has enough support to be confirmed when a final vote takes place Saturday.

    Forty five minutes just to say ” Yes, I am a fucking disgrace to political whores everywhere.”

  137. 137.

    jl

    @banditqueen: I’ve ridiculed some commenters’ statements that the whole national level GOP is seriously criminally compromised in some way. But from the behavior I’ve seen from these people, even Murkowski’s behavior during her no vote as described in news reports, my skepticism is cracking.

    I have to wonder how many are guilty of something, and how many are scared to death because they know and have done nothing.

  139. 139.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Cacti: Nope.

    Susan Sarandon ought to sell her villa in Tuscany and donate the proceeds to the DCCC

  141. 141.

    lurker dean

    fucking infuriating. it’s now perfectly clear that trump can do whatever the fuck he wants, including fucking with FBI investigations, and the GOP won’t stand up to him. a nominee can lie to congress every which way, but it’s okay. so fucking infuriating.

  142. 142.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    Do you have a time machine, or do you rely on a crystal ball to predict future events?

    Bad dreams that seem to inevitably come true.

  143. 143.

    chopper

    @psycholinguist:

    “i believe something happened to Ford (but it wasn’t Kavenaugh)” What a weasel fucking proposition.

    well then who the fuck did it, susan? i mean, ford was fucking there.

  144. 144.

    bemused

    @trollhattan:

    And most Republican senators are pretty wealthy so they can afford security costs a lot easier than the Ford family. Everything about this is FUBAR.

  146. 146.

    TenguPhule

    Minutes after Sen. Susan Collins announced on the Senate floor that she would vote yes to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Sen. Joe Manchin, a red-state Democrat, released a statement declaring his support.

    “I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearing,” Manchin wrote, expressing sympathy for sexual assault survivors.

    “However, based on all of the information I have available to me, including the recently completed FBI report, I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution and determine cases based on the legal findings before him.”
    “That is why I voted to confirm Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to serve on the Supreme Court because I believe he will rule in a manner that is consistent with our Constitution.”

    Once again, Fuck Manchin.

  147. 147.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Jesus, that speech was such horseshit even Parson Meecham could smell it, “she turned him into John Paul Stevens”. I’m sure he’ll get back to blaming this all on the Clenis

  151. 151.

    Paul W.

    OK, Cole was right. Now can we please get back to trying to win these midterms?

    The only, and it is still a horrible outcome that will devastate the lives of millions, upside is that Kavanaugh is SO horrible of a pick that it will be easier to add seats to the court if we can get the Senate/House/Presidency in 2020. Literally the first thing that should happen IMO.

  153. 153.

    MazeDancer

    @rikyrah:

    No matter what it takes…that woman has to be defeated in 2020.

    She’s never going to run for anything again.

    She just torched her legacy.

    The Ady Barkan give money to Collins’ opponent crashed as people poured contributions into it.

  156. 156.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @SFAW:
    I guess I’m venting a little myself. It does get tiring when 6 people comment the same negative thing every day or so. I’m glad that you’re not giving up but “we’re fucked” does give kind of imply “all hope is lost”.

  157. 157.

    Cacti

    @lamh36:

    Manchin is a YES.

    Calculated cowardice.

    I expected as much.

    Now I’m certain he and Murkowski agreed to a vote swap.

  158. 158.

    piratedan

    @cain: she deserves the same amount of derision as every other Republican, we’re only massively butthurt because the GOP Lucy continues to place the football down invitingly at our insistence. This is who she is. IMHO, it makes her just as culpable as a our erstwhile Senators Flake, Kyl, Tillis, Cornym, Inhofe,. Fischer, Gardner et al… ad nauseum.

    The only rights and privileges that they recognize are their own, everyone else is either fungible or fodder.

  160. 160.

    geg6

    That’s it for me. I’m done. This country isn’t worth fighting for any more. Fuck this fucking place. I have to figure out what to do and where to go. I can’t live here. I just can’t. This has been too much over the last couple of years and the last few weeks have just about done me in. This is the last straw. I just can’t.

  161. 161.

    Aleta

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday rejected a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to temporarily block an order requiring Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and another official to sit for a deposition in lawsuits challenging their decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

    The DOJ has also asked the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to quash Ross’s deposition. Ginsburg is letting that request, which is scheduled to be reviewed on Oct. 9, play out first.

    “The application is denied without prejudice, provided that the Court of Appeals will afford sufficient time for either party to seek relief in this court before the depositions in question are taken,” the court’s public information office said.

    But in his request to Ginsburg earlier this week, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said there will be little or no time for the parties and the Supreme Court to act before Ross’s Oct. 11 deposition if the 2nd Circuit Court denies their request.

    The appeals court has already denied a request to keep John Gore, the acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, from having to be deposed.

    The ruling the DOJ is appealing came from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in two lawsuits that have been challenging the citizenship question.

    The lawsuits allege that a citizenship question on the census would deter immigrants from participating, consequently decreasing federal funding to historically Democratic states.

    Dale Ho, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the immigrants’ rights groups challenging the rule, trolled the administration on Twitter after Ginsburg’s decision was announced.

    “Not tired of winning yet,” he tweeted.

    The Department of Justice declined to comment.

  162. 162.

    banditqueen

    @SFAW: This is now a much harder fight, which means a lot more people are going to be hurt no matter how hard we continue to fight. It should be OK to recognize how powerful, evil, and ruthless republicans are. As you said, “Fuck this”–but our side did take a hit, hence the fight is now much harder.
    Oh, Manchin will vote yes.

  163. 163.

    OGLiberal

    Dems take Senate, 51-49. Manchin wins, switches parties, get sweet committee chair from Mitch.

  164. 164.

    jl

    Federal judges and a SCOTUS justice were impeached for Kavanaugh style crap. In 1804 and 1805. We need to elect Democrats willing to do their duty, just as politicians during the Founders and Framers era were willing to do. Otherwise we’ll lose our democracy.

    I believe Trump nominated Kavanaugh because he believes, and I am beginning to think a corrupt deal, to protect him from any sanctions for his lawlessness, both during and after his term.

  165. 165.

    TenguPhule

    @Gin & Tonic:

    If I count right, Manchin makes 50 and puts the rapist over the top. Nice work, Joe.

    I suspect the plan is he votes last, waits for the Montana senator to return and makes it 51. “Don’t blame me, Pence would have broken a tie anyway, amirite?”

  170. 170.

    JCW

    I believe we no longer live in a democracy. Maybe the November elections will change my mind. But I think the democracy we were raised to be proud of no longer exists. The GOP has been chipping away at it for decades. I don’t think there’s any turning back from what has been done.

  171. 171.

    hilts

    There needs to be a special place in Hell reserved for Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, and Joe Manchin. Fuck all of them and, lest I forget, fuck those goddamn motherfucking NY Yankees.

  173. 173.

    eemom

    Oh stop this petty sniping over “we’re fucked” or not.

    We ARE fucked, even if we win back Congress, because that won’t fix this.

    Acknowledging that reality is not the same thing as giving up.

    Anyway it’s a stupid as shit argument to be having at this horrible moment.

  177. 177.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @TenguPhule:
    And the response to that is that it doesn’t matter. This was a question of inner moral fortitude and convictions. You should have voted no Manchin. History will not remember you fondly

  178. 178.

    Kay

    Now we can go back to ignoring her until the next time she pretends to be persuadable, right?

    He’ll go after voting rights, Kavanaugh. He told us all he hates “the Left” which means anyone to the Left of him, so a couple of hundred million people. He vowed to punish us for slowing his assent to his rightful throne.

    So, vote. Use it or lose it. That’s all we got left. It’ll be hard to dislodge them now but it will be near-impossible later. They’ll make sure of that.

  179. 179.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @eemom:
    Why don’t you directly address those you’re criticizing?

    Winning Congress won’t fix it completely, but it will be a great first step, in addition to winning governorships and state legs.

  180. 180.

    jl

    @eemom: A strong non-corrupt Congress, House and Senate can fix a lot. We need to work for that starting this November.

  182. 182.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    Dude, if I’m going to fight the fucking Republicans to my last breath, what the fuck do you think I’m going to say to you?

    Here, I won’t keep you in suspense: go fuck yourself, surrender monkey. Always remember that you were a coward who decided to run away during the last hours of the fight.

  183. 183.

    lamh36

    @lamh36: Manchin knows how to win in WV Kl told…so I’ll just assume that this is what WV overwhelmingly wanted…because of it wasn’t Manchin shouldn’t be a YES….right.

    And like I said last night, There will be no consequence to his voting Yes. So why would he?

  184. 184.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    Now we can go back to ignoring her until the next time she pretends to be persuadable, right?

    No. Now I hope she gets to run from angry protesters for the rest of her life.

  187. 187.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    as I said below, the only surprise is that she got down in the muck casting doubt on Christine Ford, and I suspect she’s going to reap the whirlwind and has no fucking idea what she’s done today

  191. 191.

    Kay

    Does anyone ever ask Collins why she does this? Why she gins up all this drama? Who benefits from this stupid game? I’m not even sure she does. All it does is remind her constituents that she’s a phony “moderate” and she’s been cynically using her pro-choice voters for her entire career.

    Can’t she just skip it? It’s depressing.

  192. 192.

    Mnemosyne

    @TenguPhule:

    Sorry, did I stutter?

    Go run away and hide, coward. If you don’t have the balls to fight, step aside and let women do the job you’re too chicken to do.

  194. 194.

    Rommie

    It’s not even that she is a yes vote. It’s that her speech was broiler-plate GOP talking points that Lindsey Graham could have given word-for-word. She’s a front to give cover – see, even a “moderate” female conservative senator is saying all these things, so it’s OK to believe us, ladies!

    If there is really a hail-mary bomb to derail this nomination out there, that time is now.

  195. 195.

    jl

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: GOPers, on a national level are acting like seriously compromised people, under threat or jeopardy of something. All of them. I used to scoff at that kind of talk, but not now. Why did Collins think it was necessary to say just vile and absurd things at such length? Almost like someone told her what to say, or else…

  197. 197.

    James E Powell

    I suspect she’s going to reap the whirlwind and has no fucking idea what she’s done today

    I suspect she doesn’t care and never did.

  198. 198.

    Cacti

    If liberals had any intestinal fortitude, here’s what would happen after Kavanaugh got confirmed:

    Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor would announce that they would not share a bench with a sexual predator and refuse to come to SCOTUS.

    The quorum requirement for SCOTUS is 6 Justices and the felonious 5 couldn’t hear or decide any cases without them.

    But they won’t, because that would be impolite, and our team prefers losing graciously while the other team violates every norm of civility and wins.

  199. 199.

    D58826

    @eemom: Congress and POTUS can increase the number of seats on SCOTUS buit that requires a change to both branches

  200. 200.

    Ohio Mom

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??: I think you are right to look to the future. It’s the only thing we can do, really.

    The simple truth is that our country is in thrall to Russian oligarchs. Maybe it is some sort of karma for all the times we did the same to our neighbors in Central and South America. Not a pretty thought, I know, considering what turmoil and hardship those countries have endured. I hope we can prevail without that level of upheaval.

  201. 201.

    Ivan X

    @donnah: I always assume it’s threats, rather than promises. Like very serious, bodily and/or financial threats to family members. It’s the only way I understand his ability to get them all in line, every time.

  203. 203.

    jl

    @eemom: Yes they can. They just need to have the courage to go there, like they used to have, all the way back to 1804 and 1805.

    Kavanaugh committed repeated perjury during this and previous hearings. He should be impeached, tried, convicted and removed from office. Period.

  204. 204.

    Kay

    Well, hopefully it will energize Democrats. Kavanaugh can punish “the Left” in his courtroom by denying several hundred millions of us a fair hearing but until he attacks voting rights he can’t reach the election process itself. So there’s a window here. Closing, but still a window.

  205. 205.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne: Your problem is that when you’re wrong, you refuse to admit you’re wrong and double down on the personal insults. Also, you should probably pay more attention to what people are actually writing then the voices in your head telling you what those voices actually mean even if that’s not what’s actually there.

  206. 206.

    Hungry Joe

    Saying that Collins lacks a spine gives her way too much credit. She didn’t back down. She didn’t fold. No, she voted exactly the way she wanted to vote.

  207. 207.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @lamh36:

    And like I said last night, There will be no consequence to his voting Yes.

    You never know. He might have an “accident” and fall out a high window. A guy can dream

  208. 208.

    chopper

    so unless somebody wants to fly to DC and literally throw themselves at flake or collins tomorrow in an attempt to stop them from voting, i guess this is it. doubt any of these fuckers are going to care about the breakdown of calls their offices get in the next 24 hours.

  209. 209.

    Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot

    @SFAW:

    @chopper:

    looks like the ‘we’re fucked’ crew was right.

    You are SUCH a defeatist! You should be banned from BJ, because that statement means you will NEVER do anything other than wallow in your self-pity.

    Did I get the tone about right?

    Yes. Yes, you did. Elizabelle, Mnemosyne, LAC, etc., would be so proud!

  210. 210.

    LAC

    @SFAW: you got that tone right. There are some posters on this site that if we had to rely on them for help back in the day, we would still be drinking out of separate water fountains. ITS TOO HARD! I GIVE UP! BOTH SIDES! WASH…RINSE…REPEAT!

  211. 211.

    TenguPhule

    @lamh36:

    There will be no consequence to his voting Yes.

    I suspect he’s now in serious danger of losing his senate seat.

    WV Democrats are going to have to swallow a huge shit sandwich without mustard to pull that lever for him now.

  212. 212.

    James E Powell

    @debbie:
    @TenguPhule:

    I should have been more precise. I meant Flake, Manchin, and Murkowski acting together could have put an end to this.

    I’m pretty sure that the RWers would hate them forever, but they probably already do. The Village Courtiers would have declared them the Greatest Americans.

  213. 213.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @James E Powell: she cares. I’ve always thought Susan Collins stumbled into the Senate on Bill Cohen’s coattails and stayed there by aping Olympia Snowe, and she’s as surprised as anyone else to see herself in that fancy office with a fancy title. As she proved today, there’s nothing she won’t do to cling to both. And she just may have fucked herself out of both today.

  214. 214.

    bemused

    @Kay:

    It’s a facade that fools no one but don’t most of the R’s do this in varying degrees? The republican rule book on how to look like a senator while lying through their teeth.

  217. 217.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    This is just the cloture vote. The actual vote is tomorrow. Are you advising us to give up before that happens?

    Sorry, no, this is the real deal. Cloture vote was this morning. This was Collins stating her intention to vote Aye on the actual confirmation.

    I guess in theory something could happen between now and tomorrow that might change her mind, but it is unlikely in the extreme.

  218. 218.

    TenguPhule

    @Kay:

    Does anyone ever ask Collins why she does this?

    Could anyone sit through the 45 minute speech she’d make before answering the question?

  221. 221.

    Aleta

    Collins cares a lot about her image, has spent 30 years making collages of it for publication. Her public image is now burnt and trampled in mud by her fellow greed ghouls, and it will remain that way. With judgement becoming worse after every conservative vote of the SC. It won’t ever be forgotten. She’ll suffer some from loss of the applause and respect she loved, especially in Maine, though partly protected by her delusions. It will also be rough when Ivanka stops having time for her and Trump stops pretending to value her opinion.

  222. 222.

    MJS

    @jl: You don’t need to go back that far. Abe Fortas resigned in 1969 once impeachment proceedings started.

  223. 223.

    jl

    Goal should be to elect a Congress that has the guts to impeach, try, convict and remove a corrupt future Justice Kavanaugh for perjury at this and previous hearings. And take powers it has to strip a corrupt SCOTUS of ability to destroy Constitution. A good Congress can do a lot to fix this mess.

    Whether it can happen soon or not is no matter, our goal should be to make it happen asap.

  224. 224.

    TenguPhule

    @James E Powell:

    I thought he was going to lose no matter what he did on Kavanaugh.

    Manchin was polling 20 points ahead of his opponent. Heitkamp was the one 10 points behind. And she’s voting no.

  226. 226.

    Mnemosyne

    @Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot:

    You can also go fuck yourself with your fucking Eeyore gloating. You’re not the one who’s getting fucked over, so it’s all fucking academic to you, isn’t it?

    Take your gloating and shove it up your fucking ass. Maybe you’ll find TenguPhule up there when you look.

    This was not a motherfucking game to some of us. This was our fucking LIVES. Monday morning quarterbacking this is NOT MOTHERFUCKING APPROPRIATE RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

  227. 227.

    jl

    @MJS: Yes. Thanks. I want to go back as far as possible, to make clear that a good Congress can do a hell of a lot to fix things, and do at least a little something to stop lies being told about how our democracy works and what Founders and Framers intended and did.

  228. 228.

    TenguPhule

    @James E Powell:

    I meant Flake, Manchin, and Murkowski acting together could have put an end to this.

    Well Flake and Manchin just gave their brand of approval to probably rapist on the SC.

    So that’s not happening.

  229. 229.

    Kay

    Democrats please don’t start fighting with one another. People deal with disappointment in all different ways and if some people want to wallow for a while and others want to rant and others want to remain stoic all of that is permissible.

    Don’t fracture. Stick together. HOW you deal with this is much less important than the fact that you all opposed it and you all will fight it, in one way or another. We need one another.

  230. 230.

    chopper

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I guess in theory something could happen between now and tomorrow that might change her mind, but it is unlikely in the extreme.

    i don’t know what it would be. i assume if someone out there had a serious bombshell of a story on the guy that hadn’t leaked yet, it would have come out by now.

  231. 231.

    MJS

    @TenguPhule: And the rest of us have to hope that they hate the taste of shit sandwiches less than they hate the idea of continued Republican control of the Senate.

  233. 233.

    TenguPhule

    @Mnemosyne:

    Monday morning quarterbacking this is NOT MOTHERFUCKING APPROPRIATE RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

    We’re not the ones making strawman shit about our positions, you are. Double standards much? You want an apology from us when we’re wrong and you get it.

    You on the other hand, when called out for being wrong, insist on distorting our positions and going full Kavanaugh on us.

    Here’s a piece of advice, stop attacking people on the same side for stuff they didn’t do.

  234. 234.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Jesus Christ, wait for the vote to happen. I mean keep in mind Obamacare which came down to the wire. This is all about internal angst among the Republicans and there is little anyone else can do besides egg them on to injure each other.

    At the moment.

    And you all need to take a step back and consider US history – Packing the SCOTUS with slaver symps who handed down Dreed Scott didn’t turn out like the conservatards behind it planned.. Like Aboloition, all these touchy freely equality laws are the result of serious social issues were the women, minorities, immigrants and homosexuals need to be vested participants in our society, some drunken useless frat boys wanting to LARP a Leave it Beaver episode won’t stop that.

  235. 235.

    Aleta

    Crowdfunding site for Collins opponent went over 2 million as she spoke, and crashed. Early on I looked for but didn’t see information on use of the $ if she doesn’t run.

  236. 236.

    lamh36

    If the irony of Joe Manchin possibly closer to winning re-election while Heitkamp and McCaskill possibly losing theirs after voting against Kavanaugh…doesn’t piss you off…

  237. 237.

    TenguPhule

    @MJS:

    And the rest of us have to hope that they hate the taste of shit sandwiches less than they hate the idea of continued Republican control of the Senate.

    Yep. And it sucks.

  238. 238.

    Hungry Joe

    Anyone in the mood for a silver lining? Or at least, an it-could-have-been-worse comment? I’m going to give it a go:

    Okay, say we’d won this one: The Kav got 86’d. The GOP base gets fired up, and their GOTV efforts pay off: The Blue Wave is reduced to a slightly higher than average Blue Tide. And within days Trump hawks up an equally execrable Kav II — probably that anti-abortion lunatic woman whose name I’m blanking on — that Mitch rams through (sic) even a lame-duck Senate … if in fact the GOP even loses the Senate, which would be more unlikely after Kav went down. So: although we didn’t dodge the bullet, at least it didn’t hit any vital organs.

    How’d I do?

  239. 239.

    TenguPhule

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    And you all need to take a step back and consider US history – Packing the SCOTUS with slaver symps who handed down Dreed Scott didn’t turn out like the conservatards behind it planned..

    Yeah, we got a bloody Civil War.

    Was this supposed to be reassuring?

  241. 241.

    Ruckus

    The pie filter is your friend.
    You tired of the constant screaming about everything? Consign them to the bakery. Preserve what little is left of your sanity. We need each other to be strong so that we can have a chance going forward. We have just over 30 days to the most important election of our lives.
    Good luck to all of us.

  244. 244.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot:
    “Snowflake”?
    Yeah, you’re a total asshole who’s bitter about how you perceive you’ve been treated here. Don’t use language that right-wing reactionaries employ.

  245. 245.

    JanieM

    @Aleta: I can’t remember precisely, but either the money would have been returned if she voted no, or it’s already just in the form of a pledge until we know whether she votes yes or no on BK.

    One way or another, if she had voted no, there would have been no fund.

    ETA … to correct my own hasty typing.

  247. 247.

    Mike in DC

    Can we not, with the personal attacks? I understand that people are hot right now, but circular firing squads don’t help.
    Anyway, 5 options going forward, 4 of which would be considered escalatory:
    1. Secure the replacement to RBG and Breyer and wait for a vacancy on the right.
    2. Explore impeaching Kav
    3. Pack the court
    4. Circumscribe areas that SCOTUS can review
    5. If a decision is egregiously bad, pull an Andrew Jackson and ignore it

    1 is super passive.
    2 is unlikely to succeed
    3 will lead to the GOP responding in kind
    4 and 5 are dangerous precedents to set

    All in all, I think we should assume 1, and explore 2 and 3 when in power. The GOP is constantly escalating anyway.

  250. 250.

    MJS

    @Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot: “Snowflake town”? Are you by any chance wearing a white polo shirt and khaki pants right now? Do you have a tiki torch propped in the corner of your room? Seems like you should.

  252. 252.

    Aleta

    Support for local rape crisis centers that depend on volunteers (who depend on their morale to help keep them in balance) would be a useful counter-act right now. Also for orgs that support immigrants and native people.

  253. 253.

    M31

    If Manchin isn’t the deciding vote, I’m fine with him making whatever calculation he wants in order to win reelection. If he was the deciding vote that’s different, and I’m telling myself that he’d have done the right thing.

    Every single Republican Senator? They are horrible shitstain monsters and pathetic excuses for sentient life. Not one of them is a decent human being, and they deserve to spend their lives in jail.

  255. 255.

    Tenar Arha

    Any Attorney General races that need few bucks? Or should I just look for Holder’s organization of which name I cannot remember?

    Also been thinking about the future, & wondering if anyone started a bail fund yet for people who decide to protest this in-justice at the Court?

  256. 256.

    germy

    If Brett Kavanaugh were really the Brett Kavanaugh described by Susan Collins, and if his jurisprudence were what she so confidently predicted, his nomination would be vehemently opposed, not supported, by most Republicans & he wouldn't be the Federalist Society's Gold Star list.— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 5, 2018

  257. 257.

    VeniceRiley

    I just hit the act blue button on dailykos for all 2018 & 2020 I assume they left manchin off

  258. 258.

    Mnemosyne

    @MJS:

    Well, come on, chicks are getting all bent out of shape about having their civil rights taken away, like they actually need them, amirite? //

    ETA: Obviously, not directed at you. Also, I can edit!

  261. 261.

    Aleta

    @lamh36: Thanks for this. My donation is lined up. Turning both Maine seats over to Dems will be another failure on Collins’ record esp in Repub eyes, for Maine has traditionally had one of each party, both Sen and House.

    This is about Susan Rice’s mom (from her jan 2017 obituary):

    Lois Dickson Rice (was) a corporate executive and education policy expert who earned the moniker “mother of the Pell Grant” for her role in shaping the federal financial aid program that benefits millions of students each year. Rice was an executive with the College Entrance Examination Board … when she pushed for the creation of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program in 1972. The program (was) later was renamed for its legislative sponsor, Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-Rhode Island. … Rice worked directly with Pell to design the program and, as vice president of the College Board from 1973 to 1981, lobbied and testified before Congress to ensure that the grants remained intact.

    “This program was not inevitable, and it would not have come into existence without her, nor survived in the decades since without her passionate advocacy,” Clay Pell IV, a grandson of Pell and former deputy assistant secretary in the federal Education Department, said in a statement.

    Beginning in 1992, Rice was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, where she led studies on federal higher-education policies and oversaw an initiative to promote racial diversity at public policy organizations.

    (In addition to being on many boards) She was also a trustee of the Urban Institute and the federally funded Center for Naval Analyses, and under President Bill Clinton was a member of what was then called the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

    Lois Dickson was born in Portland, Maine, on Feb. 28, 1933. Her father, a janitor, and mother, a maid, were Jamaican immigrants who did not graduate from high school but instilled in her an appreciation for the transformative power of higher education, her daughter said in a phone interview.

    Rice earned a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Radcliffe College in 1954. She directed counseling services at the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students before joining the College Board in 1959.

  263. 263.

    Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot

    @Kay:

    Democrats please don’t start fighting with one another.

    You might notice that the fighting around here (or, at least, who’s starting the fighting and tossing around spittle-flecked personal invective) is pretty much a one-way street. Hint: it ain’t the alleged “defeatists” (who the tone-police have pilloried for their wrongthink). Seeing or saying otherwise would be our very own BJ-version of “both-siderism” (not accusing you of that).

    I’m on Mnemosyne’s side, and have been for 50 years (back to when I was a teenager helping my dad’s Rustbelt union campaigning for Dem candidates). I’m a proud liberal Democrat, and I’ve never missed campaigning and donating in an election cycle for Dem candidates and liberal causes (like referendums) in all that time, and I’m doing so right now in my benighted red state of AZ. I’m saddened and enraged by the morass of fascism this absolutely horrible timeline has us stuck in — it’s the worst straits our country’s been in since Vietnam and Nixon. I fear greatly for my grown children’s future, and the future beyond that of my precious little granddaughters who I love more than life itself. White privilege, patriarchy, bigotry, misogyny, and oligarch-industrial-capitalism is likely going to be the death of us all (there I go!) and I feel powerless to do anything about that (cuz I mostly am). But I’ll keep fighting anyway till I return to the eternal oblivion.

    Mnemosyne tells me to go fuck myself, etc., because I’m insufficiently optimistic for her tastes (no different than John Cole or Betty Cracker, for instance). I’m still on her side.

  264. 264.

    PenAndKey

    @TenguPhule: @TenguPhule: Were you expecting any other outcome? Just a few days ago in another thread, about sexual assault and the measures people take to be or feel safe, she attacked me for no damn reason. When I tried to de-escalate the conversation she started all-caps raging at me. When pointed out that she was attacking a male sexual assault survivor, and that a previous response of mine should have made that obvious what was her response? To tell me to fuck off because I was a “statistical anomaly”. I quit the conversation.

    She probably thinks she won some sort of fight, if she even remembers it, and I don’t think for a second she gives a shit that she gave an assault survivor a panic attack and two straight nights of insomnia and nightmares.

    I don’t come here to make enemies and I’ve been a straight ticket liberal vote since I turned 18. I’ll keep fighting the good fight but, but her? She lost any right to any moral high ground days ago.

  265. 265.

    Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot

    For anyone still reading this thread, or who gives two shits about what I have to say about anything, I sincerely apologize for using the term “snowflake” in comment 232. I know it’s mostly a rightwing term of invective, and that was an asshole, smarmy move on my part. Not going to excuse it, I shouldn’t have said that, it was right for all those who called me out on it to do so, I was wrong, period.

  266. 266.

    Kay

    @Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot:

    I didn’t say it was you. I think you can express anything you want and deal with this anyway you want. Rant, rave, fine with me.

    But at the end stick together. Don’t fracture and fly apart.

    You don’t have any choice. It’s bad and you’re stuck with us :)

  267. 267.

    MomSense

    @lamh36:

    OMG!! I saw her recently at a function here in Maine and begged (I ain’t too proud) her to consider running.

  268. 268.

    Ksmiami

    @Kay: then we get out tumbrels- sorry when democracy fails, it’s up to the ppl. Do we need a Supreme Court or a senate? Seems so archaic for a modern country w 330 million. Ps the Czars cracked down really hard on the peasantry and they were murdered in a basement so…

  269. 269.

    J R in WV

    @TenguPhule:

    I suspect he’s now in serious danger of losing his senate seat.

    WV Democrats are going to have to swallow a huge shit sandwich without mustard to pull that lever for him now.

    Well, but the alternative… it’s a giant piece of fascist fat called Patrick Morrisey, who is from New Jersey, not a fatal error, but still… He’s been attorney general, and sued to prevent his constituents from having health care insurance, for one tiny example.

    So now I have these choices:

    1. Vote for Fuckin Joe Bastard Manchin,
    2. Vote for fascist Patrick Morrisey,
    3. Don’t vote in the senate race, which helps fascist Morrisey.

    What do you think? I’m still leaning toward voting for Manchin, no matter how much I hate him personally and politically, because he isn’t a Russo-Republican. I expect someone has felonious dirt on Manchin, he’s long been rumored in LEO circles to be mobbed up, being from that part of the state. But still…

    All my options do appear to suck at this point !!!

  270. 270.

    J R in WV

    Joe Manchin is currently leading in his WV Senate race by 9 points, because he is an incumbent, his family has been successful in WV politics for 50 years, and he isn’t Patrick Morrisey, who is a giant, obese, fascist who opposes health care for his constituents, an easy sell even in WV. For Joe I mean.

    So why did he make this decision>????

    All signs point to blackmail~!!~ I can’t think of any other reason for him to vote to confirm a hateful, fascist, raging alcoholic, perjured, attempted rapist. Who probably drugged and gang raped other women in his college days. And who promised to screw Democrats on his Supreme Court Bench seat. So, Russian Blackmail, via the mob, now owned and controlled by the Russian mafia.

    ETA: to add perjured, fix typos, THANKS Edit button!!!

  271. 271.

    Mnemosyne

    @Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot:

    Mnemosyne tells me to go fuck myself, etc., because I’m insufficiently optimistic for her tastes

    No, jackass, I’m telling you to go fuck yourself because the people who are most affected by this don’t need to hear your apocalyptic bullshit because they’re already calling rape crisis and suicide helplines to deal with the despair they’re feeling. Stop. Making. People. Feel. Worse.

    If you can’t be bothered to understand that, then you are not on my side.

  272. 272.

    PenAndKey

    @Mnemosyne:

    You know Mnemosyne? You’re not the only person in the world who has to deal with this shit. You’ve already belittled me as being “IN THE MINORITY” when it comes to sexual assault because I’m a man. So don’t give is this soapbox shit about “making people feel worse”. You’re doing that just fine by your lonesome.

    We’re all on the same side fighting against the same causes and people. Why the fuck are you so adamant on attacking ANYONE who you perceive as “privileged”? Because we don’t give you itemized lists of what steps we’re taking push back against the GOP whenever you tell us to fuck off?

    And even if I wasn’t assaulted when I was younger, so fucking what? I have a wife. I have a son who could very well face the same threats I did. I have a mother. I have friends who stand to lose everything you claim you’re fighting for. Who the fuck are you to say we can’t participate in this struggle?

    So what are you more interested in: belittling your allies or actually making a difference? Because, from where I’m sitting, you’re all rage and no substance.

  273. 273.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)  ??

    @PenAndKey:
    Mnemosyne didn’t say anything wrong. There was a commenter here who stated she was contemplating suicide because of everything going on. Negative doom and gloom all the time isn’t going to help anyone’s mental state

  276. 276.

    Spinoza Is My Co-Pilot

    @Mnemosyne: Likely neither you nor anyone else is reading this dead thread anymore, but I just have to say that you really are a viciously nasty piece of work, aren’t you? Just throwing that out there, anyone so interested can read what I’ve written around here lately and what you’ve written and judge for themselves, free country and all (though maybe not for long — omg, there I go again!).

    Nothing I’ve written here or anywhere else is as “apocalyptic” as John Cole’s post after this one titled “But Her Emails”, or any number of other posts from him lately (like, say, his “I’m in a Foul Mood…” post on Wednesday). Maybe take up your tone-police crusade with him? I’m guessing you wouldn’t dare.

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