This is going to be the biggest fundraising weekend in the history of American politics. We’ve raised nearly 30K since the sad news came down yesterday evening. You can see all the candidates we are fundraising for here.
I think the real pressure points in the Republican Senate are on Collins and Tillis. Gardner and McSally face pressure too but I think they’re dead as Dillinger already.
And Democrat Doug Jones will be under some pressure too. He’s in a tough race but he deserves our support.
Sara Gideon, Maine Senate
Cal Cunningham, North Carolina Senate
Doug Jones, Alabama Senate (incumbent)
PsiFighter37
The Pod Save America folks have raised $8mm over the past 12 hours for the Senate races, most of which were overnight hours that people were sleeping. That’s mind-boggling.
pat
Let’s hope the dems know what to do with all that money!
Yutsano
Re: Doug Jones – Tuberville was asked in a radio interview about the Voting Rights Act. He blustered through the answer but it was clear he had no idea what it was. It’s Alabama so it’s probably not enough to sink him, but it should be enough for Jones to be even more demanding about a debate.
MazeDancer
We are definitely “Under Pressure” right now. Good choice, Doug.
Allegedly, Act Blue took in $36 million over 12 hours last night.
Mousebumples
Sent Doug an email request for a thermometer for Democracy Docket, but I thought I’d post here too. Fighting for voting rights in court seems like a great cause to support in honor of RBG. Marc Elias and his team are doing great work. And more democrats voting will help all our candidates.
Thaddeu
Racist-in-Chief John Roberts is going to get his wet dreams of white rule realised.
Forget the crap about his sense of legacy and nonsense like that. No man, in modern times, has done more to deny political power to non-whites and entrench and empower white racism. Not even Trump.
Roberts is a hard-core racist, and should be called as such
SiubhanDuinne
@Yutsano: Here’s Tuberville’s statement, such as it is, on the VRA.
This is a word salad of which the bastard offspring of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump would be proud.
SalterWobchak
Just donated $100 to Cunningham.
The Oracle of Solace
@SiubhanDuinne: Good heavens, they all sound like Trump now. It’s contagious.
Glidwrith
$100 to Cunningham-NC
$100 to Kelly-AZ
$100 to Bullock-MT
$100 to Harrison-SC
J R in WV
@SalterWobchak:
We’re in for Cunningham as well, for 250. More than we usually do at once, but what the hell, it’s getting real now~!
J R in WV
@Glidwrith:
You inspire me, so we hit up all your candidates but for Mark Kelly, who we have donated quite a bit to in the recent past.
guachi
The best, maybe only hope, is to get enough Senators so that Manchin isn’t the deciding vote on
1) ditching the filibuster
2) making DCa state
3) Adding 2 or more Justices
It’s a long shot but I’m not certain we have any good alternatives left.
raven
“We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,” Trump said in a tweet Saturday. “We have this obligation, without delay!”
debbie
NPR reported that the DNC got $20 million in donations last night.
debbie
@raven:
Sounds like he wrote that one. //
Jinchi
I don’t think the pressure is what you’re implying. There is no political gain for Jones to support any Trump nominee. Republican voters aren’t going to back him in any case, and he would only lose Democrats. Jones only wins if there is massive turnout of his base.
Tokyokie
@SiubhanDuinne:
Tubby’s response sounds like a junior-high student bullshitting his way through an essay question about a novel he didn’t read.
WaterGirl
I imagine the other side thinks there is blood in the water and they are raising incredible sums of money, also. Does anyone know if that’s true?
Hildebrand
Don’t forget Gary Peters in Michigan. He is in a close race with the DeVos puppet John James – and they are pouring money in to help prop him up.
Elizabelle
@Hildebrand: I will make some calls/texts for Senator Peters. The Michigan Dems have been in touch about volunteering. Time to do it.
Another Scott
@SiubhanDuinne: He seems to be trying oh so hard to dog-whistle, but his mouth is too full of Cheetos to do anything other than sound ridiculous.
I saw someone on Twitter (in response to Jones’ comments about RBG – https://twitter.com/SenDougJones/status/1307141361813028867 -) that he would make a fine US AG. Indeed he would, or maybe being in charge of the Civil Rights division. But let’s try to keep him in the Senate.
Donated.
Cheers,
Scott.
MazeDancer
Grateful and awed at everyone stepping up.
Even if sparing 5 bucks is a stretch, big applause for your doing so.
laura
Just donated. I do not have the time or energy that fear requires. I have the time and the energy for a fight. A righteous fight. Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living. (Hat tip to Mother Jones.)
SiubhanDuinne
@Tokyokie:
Prezackly!
Another Scott
We know that voting is different now. Be sure you understand your state’s rules and procedures. For example, in Virginia:
Cheers,
Scott.
JPL
Iowa and Montana are possible flips. Let’s not forget them.
Also I hope that Joe points out this is the party that wants to take away your health care. This is the party that wants to do away with food safety, in fact they already have. The court will decide on more than abortion. They will decide on issues that affect your life.
evap
I gave to Cunningham, Gideon, Ossoff, Greenfield early this morning. Thanks for the reminder about Doug Jones, I just threw him some coin as well.
I just took a look at the ballot on the GA My Voter page. There are 20!!! candidates for the special Senate election (Issacson’s seat), 9 are Democrats. The most viable and best known Democrat is Warnock and I’ve seen a lot of signs for him. I really hope he makes it into the runoff, but I’m guessing it’s unlikely.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
I donated to NC, IA, MI, TX, SC, ME, MT and Biden. I honor Ginsburg’s legacy but…I really question her decision not to step down while Obama was POTUS. She’d already had, what, 2 bouts with cancer?
Does it look like MJ Hegar has a shot? Bullock I think does, though maybe a bit of a climb. I gave to Peters because I grew up MI. I think he’s pretty safe but best to help him out anyway.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:
Well, she didn’t.
We can do a lot of this. A whole lot of people made bad decisions that led us to the situation. I have a list in my head that I’m biting my virtual tongue about here because I don’t want to start any fights. But could we stop blaming a dead woman, a historical figure who made the wold a better place because she had brains and guts and determination? She didn’t resign. A whole bunch of people made more obviously bad decisions after that which helped trump get elected. What we can do now is get rid of trump, and take away Mitch McConnell’s majority.
Another Scott
So much is at stake. We have to do what we can, now, to help bend the path toward justice.
Cheers,
Scott.
Angela (@Toocananj)
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: You think McConnell was ever going to let the first Black President place a Supreme Court justice? LOL
Jinchi
Republicans were one vote shy of ending Obamacare at the Supreme Court. If they get the opportunity they will strike at it again. This point should be stressed repeatedly to voters thinking about Trump replacing RBG.
Matt McIrvin
@Jinchi: There’s another case currently pending about overturning the ACA.
Here’s another thing to stress about these cases: even if the Republicans replace RBG, if the Democrats are actually able to pass laws with a Dem Congress and President (and no filibuster), they go away. They rely on blowing up the law with nitpicky points of statutory interpretation that could be easily fixed by Congress. But Congress hasn’t done so simply because there’s not a majority in both houses (or the White House) that wants the law to be fixed. Without Congress helping them kill the ACA, the Supreme Court won’t kill it, at least not in this way.
If the Court does overturn the ACA, unless their reasoning is extremely broad, Congress could bring back an improved version easily… if we had Congress, and the White House.
A large part of the reason the Supreme Court and Presidency are so important right now is that Congress has become an obstructive body mostly incapable of passing substantive laws. But if that changes, a lot of new possibilities open up.
Another Scott
Beware of Darkness – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bobu27kEoVE (3:34)
Hang in there, everyone. Back to the barricades on Monday.
Cheers,
Scott.
Elizabelle
@Angela (@Toocananj): Excuse me?
Are you familiar with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan??
Jinchi
People are motivated. Let’s keep it up.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jinchi:
You mean while RBG was alive? They had five votes, still do. The four-four theory is based on the idea that Roberts would act as a politician rather than as an ideologue, his legendary (like Bigfoot) concern for the ruputation and dignity of the court, which while not being a lawyer or even close court-watcher, I put at 50-50. Gorsuch also strikes me as more political than ideological (compared to Kavanaugh, Alito and Roberts). What that would mean for the O’Care case, I have no idea
Baud
@Elizabelle:
They were confirmed when the Dems still had the Senate.
Jinchi
I’ve always thought the most likely outcome if Republicans succeed in killing the insurer-friendly Obamacare would be the following Democratic Congress passing universal healthcare.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Jinchi:
takes a while to write that bill– putting “insurer friendly Obamacare” back in place is probably an easier sell and better politics. I don’t know what you mean by “universal healthcare”, but under the best-case scenario for the Senate, our 2021 majority includes a whole bunch of centrists, my gut tells me they’re a better and more progressive bunch than Obama had to deal with, I have a hard time seeing Cal Cunningham and Steve Bullock voting to kill private health insurance. And I don’t know where Angus King stands on every specific health care provision, but he opposes eliminating the filibuster.
Elizabelle
@Baud: There is no reason the Senate Majority Leader should be a bottleneck. I realize that’s what McConnell did, but he should not have been allowed to get away with that. It’s a horrible precedent.
Will be interested in what Obama has to say about Merrick Garland in his memoirs, although maybe that’s book 2.
Nelle
Just want to say, we have to look in all directions. That wonderful House victory in 2018? Every single new Congress critter has to earn their seat all over again. State legislatures decide redistricting of congressional districts. We have to multi-task between now and the election.
Getting college football and sports going is part of distracting so many. Give a semblance of normality before the election. I read somewhere that the WH was involved in getting the Big 10 to start up, with daily testing of athletes. Sure, send teachers and kiddos into unsafe situations but get those entertaining circuses going before the election.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Elizabelle:
what do you mean “allowed”? voters “allowed” him to get away with it. A significant portion of Democratic and left-leaning voters decided that WALL STREET SPEECHES! and TPP (and as ever, I’d bet a kidney that 90% of the youths waving those No TPP signs in Cleveland couldn’t have told you what it was) was more important than the Supreme Court
Matt McIrvin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Agreed. If the ACA actually went away (especially now!) it would be a screaming emergency. Millions of people would suddenly lose their health coverage. There would need to be an immediate fix, and I’m sure few other than M4A purists would appreciate the Democrats taking several months to put together a universal health-care bill under the circumstances. In the short term, the immediate fix would be “the ACA with a few obvious tweaks”: minor wording fixes for anything the Court objects to, and some other things like eliminating the absurd coverage gap caused by some states’ refusal to do Medicaid expansion.
raven
@Nelle: I really don’t want to argue about it but don’t believe everything you read.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Yes, you’re right — we’re going to have to wait a few more years for the skinny on Merrick Garland.
(from the NYT announcement the other day
JPL
@raven: And trump had nothing to do with providing adequate testing to keep them safe.
It would be nice if he could do the same for nursing homes..just sayin
I must have read the same article as Nelle, because trump was involved in getting the tests.
Uncle Jeffy
So Mitch McConnel finally revealed his decision process for allowing the nomination of a Supreme Court justice to proceed in the last year of a President’s term in office:
1) Are the Presidency and control of the Senate in the hands of the same party?
If No: wait until after the election
If Yes: proceed to step 2
2) If the Presidency and the Senate are controlled by the same party, is the controlling party the Republican party?
If Yes: proceed with the nomination
If No: proceed to step 3
3) If the Presidency and Senate are both controlled by the Democratic party, is the Moon in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligned with Mars?
If Yes: wait until after the election
If No: wait until after the election
Chyron HR
@raven:
And why should we believe that?
Another Scott
@Elizabelle: There’s a military saying: “You cannot surge trust.”
McConnell has had the upper hand in the Senate for a while. And he might (but it’s not at all a sure thing, not at all) succeed in installing another Justice on the SCOTUS.
But there will be blowback. Political adversaries and their parties that destroy norms and rules and traditions cannot and will not be trusted nor negotiated with. Ultimately, the majority must be able to rule and pass its agendas, and that means that when the GOP is in the minority in January they will have little input on the processes and legislation that passes.
Someone did a timeline that showed the SCOTUS has only rarely been even kinda liberal (FDR to Carter) – the rest of the time reactionary white guys ruled. It’s long past time for the SCOTUS to reflect the views of fairness and equal protection held by most Americans. If RBG’s passing accelerates that process, then that’s a very good result of a very sad event.
Cheers,
Scott.
Emma from FL
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: for God’s sake. Look at what McConnell did to Obama. Does Garland remind you of anything? It would have been a two or three freaking year battle and we would have had an empty seat anyway!
Added: Once Sotomayor and Kagan were in, one more liberal judge would have tipped the balance. As if McConnell would have allowed it.
jonas
I don’t see how *any* Republican can afford to break ranks on this, even if it costs them their seats. If they were to fuck up the GOP’s last chance this century to install a solid anti-choice majority on the SCOTUS, they’d literally have to hire round-the-clock security for them and their families for the rest of their lives. They’re going to fall in line behind McConnell, take whatever shit they have to take, and keep their heads.
Goku (Amerikan Baka)
@raven:
And Alexander can’t be lying?
Opinion: Big Ten’s decision to play football signals darkest day in conference’s sports history
Leto
The fact that nobody here who’s on the “RBG SHOULD’VE RETIRED DURING OBAMA” is saying the same thing about Breyer (who’s almost a decade older) just says everything. If you were consistent in thought, you’d already be screaming about that. You’d have been screaming about that back in 2008. You’d be screaming about that of all the Social Security eligible people, and the ones who are on the doorstep. The fact you’re not, is again, telling.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Emma from FL: We’ll have to disagree. Up to early in Obama’s second term I think he could have appointed another Justice. Maybe not, but there would have been far more pressure for far longer. But I’m not going to argue about it anymore.
RBG was a great woman. Not going to argue with anyone about that.
raven
@Goku (Amerikan Baka): If you believe it was the “darkest day” in Big Ten history you need to go see Jerry Sandusky and take a shower with him.
raven
@JPL: Yea, so that’s what you both read.
dww44
@evap: I too think that Warnock is the best candidate. IMO he does stand a chance to make the runoff if Collins and Loeffler continue to beat each other up in these incessant tv ads.
AA voters will turn out for Warnock. Not sure what support Lieberman’s son has. Didn’t know he lived in the state.
LeftCoastYankee
$25 each for Doug Jones (AL), Amy McGrath (KY) and Marc Kelly (AZ). Probably can swing one more… if I can’t choose (every one is critical), maybe I’ll put it towards Uncle Joe and Cousin Kamala.
Feels good… or at least a little better!
LeftCoastYankee
@Leto:
Thanks. The “she should have retired” take is stupid, revisionist history. It assumes the knowledge of how McConnell would treat the Garland nomination (i.e. breaking decency and all precedence), and Kennedy taking on his own succession planning (not his job).
It’s a hysterical (but very human) reaction to the reality of “well, here’s more shit we have to work through”.
Fair Economist
@Leto: Breyer is 5 years *younger* than RBG. It was questionable for him to stay on in 2010 when he could have been replaced. He’d better retire now if we get the trifecta.
Nelle
I don’t follow the details. But, without preconceptions one way or another, the details of who is paying for the tests with what money might be of interest. Sports have distorted the academic mission of universities for a long time. Signed, an underpaid member of faculty at a place where it wasn’t uncommon for the bb team to go to the Final Four. I’m not denigrating anyone for enjoying sports. But the situation is both disproportionate and used, I think often, as a way to distract many from the realities of their lives. Hence, the circus comment. Insert the obligatory “Not all sports fans” here.
Fair Economist
@Leto: Breyer is 5 years *younger* than RBG. It was questionable for him to stay on in 2010 when he could have been replaced. He’d better retire now if we get the trifecta.
Jinchi
Dude, people have been saying this about all older justices for years now. Both parties are trying to seat justices who will stay on the court for decades. One of the hits on the Garland nomination (by Democrats) was that, at 64, he would only have been able to serve for 10 or 15 years.
But I’ll say it again. This is not a decision that should be in the hands of the justices at all.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us
@Fair Economist:
I do think Breyer should step down if Biden wins. Anyone over the age of 70 should just hang ’em up as soon as they’ll be replaced by someone of their own political persuasion. I know they think they’re all one of a kind super genius irreplaceable legal minds, and in some cases (Ginsburg was arguably one of those cases) they’re even right about themselves. But bright legal minds come along with regularity and each one of them is going to have to be replaced sooner or later.
Honestly I think SCOTUS terms should be limited to 20 years – that’s long enough to prevent decisions based on short term partisan gain or whatever other high and mighty purpose for which the the lifetime appointment was supposedly established. And honestly I think the Dems should campaign on that time limited SCOTUS term, and that they should apply that time limit to the current court. Say they pass that reform in 2021…Thomas and Breyer would be replaced by Biden. Next up is Roberts and Alito. If Biden hangs on for two terms Roberts is gone in 2025 we have a liberal majority by the beginning of his second term. IMO it’s less radical than the packing the court approach (not that I’m opposed to that either if that’s the way we decide to go) and minimizes the possibility that SCOTUS nominations will randomly happen due to when a Justice happens to pass.
MazeDancer
@LeftCoastYankee: Consider Cunningham, Greenfield, Bullock, or even Espy,
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us
@Jinchi: Yes, this. People brought it up in 2009 right here on this here blog when Ginsburg had pancreatic cancer.
That said I regret bringing it up today of all days. Definitely not the right time in retrospect.
I do think 20 year SCOTUS terms is a good idea and might even garner some votes from Republicans – I don’t see why it would be a partisan issue if one takes the long view. I mean, they could have lost that seat when Scalia died. We might lose a seat when Kagan and Sotomayor are up. 20 year terms could work out to the detriment or benefit of either party.
rikyrah
@PsiFighter37:
I’m glad people are terrified.
They should be.
Tom Levenson
Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
raven
@Chyron HR: Why should I care what you believe?
SuzieC
Donated to each.
Lurking Liberal Luthier
When I told my friend back in California about these races and the “let’s stun the republicans with huge donations to their most vulnerable senate members’s opponents this weekend,” he asked me to double all my donations – he’d send me a check. (He’s nearly 80, so doesn’t have a computer or even an email address, etc.)
So count us in for a total of $350, though a good chunk of that went to Biden…
Thanks, DougJ.
edit: I don’t type to gud sumtims
Zelma
What about Paula Jean Swearingen of West Virginia? Is that a lost cause? Don’t we owe it to Cole to help her? I get her mailings because I gave money to the WVA group that John told us about. She looks like an interesting candidate. I can give her via email but I like to give via BJ. Plus I’d like us to give her some help.