Sen. Heitkamp statement as to why she is voting NO is exactly right...

[book_worm]

From her statement: “I voted for Justice Gorsuch because I felt his legal ability and temperament qualified him to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Kavanaugh is different. When considering a lifetime appointment to Supreme Court, we must evaluate the totality of the circumstances and record before us. In addition to the concerns about his past conduct, last Thursday’s hearing called into question Judge Kavanaugh’s current temperament, honesty, and impartiality. These are critical traits for any nominee to serve on the highest court in our country.”

https://politicalwire.com/2018/10/04/heitkamp-will-vote-against-kavanaugh/

He proved during the hearings that his temperament, honesty and impartiality are called into question--That is besides the accusations of rape.

[Funtatlaguy]

1. Good answer Senator.

[Hoyt]

2. That's the message, as succinctly as it can be expressed. It might not make a difference to

white wing GOPers, but that's the crux.

[Autumn]

3. Sounds like she heard what Hillary and Bernie have been saying.

[ehrnst]

24. Glad Hillary pulled Bernie to the left on social justice issues.

[Autumn]

29. Whatever gets you though the night ehrnst.

I won't belittle Hillary or Bernie.

[pangaia]

34. LOL. Thanks you saved me from getting.. well, at least dumped on.

[ehrnst]

38. How does that "belittle" Bernie? Or Hillary?

Can you explain?

[chwaliszewski]

30. You're kidding, right?

[Autumn]

31. No, it's almost a hobby. I don't understand the need to trash the people who

are out there speaking truth to power.

[ehrnst]

37. I thought that would be your response.

Interesting, when Democrats speak truth to power, many dismiss it as a "strongly worded letter."

That red x works for me.

[Autumn]

40. Are you of the opinion that Hillary and Bernie are not speaking truth to power?

Neither one of them have been distracted by the shiny bouncing ball the republicans have put out there, neither have been reduced to writing , as you so strangely put it, a "strongly worded letter." They have both been hitting him hard on his nasty temperament, his lies and being unfit for the SC.

[ehrnst]

41. Strawman much?

Edited to add:

My bad. It's more of a red herring.

[ehrnst]

36. No. (nt)

[chwaliszewski]

46. Welcome to my ignore list.

bye bye

[ehrnst]

48. That's probably best.

Just don't ask Autumn how to use it. She's having problems getting it to work

[Autumn]

60. A very smart DUer messaged me the other day and explained the

pros and cons of using that feature, I'll send it along to you.

[JHan]

35. Don't get the consternation to your comment when Weaver suggested the same..

so strange.

[lapucelle]

43. Now, now, give credit where credit is due.

After all, MLK did march with him, and he would have opened the Women's Convention if he hadn't been so badly needed in Puerto Rico.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

4. YAY for Senator Heitkamp!

Tell it! Kavanaugh is unfit without ever considering the credible accusations of sexual assault.

[lagomorph777]

19. His history as a gang-rapist allowed them to make it all about "disproving" that.

...and thereby ignoring the even bigger problems of perjury, partisanship, and political dirty tricks/felonies.

[Ohiogal]

51. Amen!

[Fred Sanders]

5. Full statement:

https://m.facebook.com/501810613175643/posts/1953935744629782/

[BootinUp]

6. Thank you Senator. Nt

[ananda]

7. Bad answer on Gorsuch. Good on Kavanaugh.

nt

[Raster]

8. Thank you, Senator Heitkamp!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. say thanks, with a donation

See:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211232486

[LAS14]

10. Yes!!!!! I'm glad she inserted the vote for Gorsuch into her statement.

Let's hope their are ND GOP voters who can tell the difference between Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

[Hortensis]

22. Yes! Also hope the difference matters to those capable of caring.

[SunSeeker]

11. As Flake said about Kavanaugh, "we can't have that [sharp partisanship] on the Court."

Flake was specifically referring to Kavanaugh's attacks on Dems at Thursday's hearing.

We'll see if Flake's vote reflects his words.

[Hortensis]

12. No, it's not. Gorsuch's extremist ideology was displayed

strikingly by his continual attempts to disguise and hide it. These people CANNOT tell the truth about what they'll do. Bald-faced evasion was more common, though, than lies about how he'd decide, but there were deceptions strong enough to be nothing but lies also.

But we're going to have another such appointed, so I would even understand Heitkamp voting for him to save her seat and really, really hope this decision both buries Kavanaugh and helps reelect her.

[LAS14]

18. I agree on all points. nt

[NCjack]

25. For voting "yes" for Gorsuch (vomit here), she should be getting an

endorsement from the Orange Rapist.

[JHan]

44. Solid points, and I think Heitkamp played it well.

For wavering Senators, her statement provides a template for a no vote.

[alarimer]

54. I don't get why they think voting for Trump's candidates helps them at all.

It certainly would depress enthusiasm for Democrats and it doesn’t make a difference to conservative deplorables.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. Excellent

Glad to hear. Now we just got to get to Manchin

[oasis]

28. If only Joe could change his name to "MVNCHIN", so he could vote

after MURKOWSKI.

[oasis]

14. Kavanaugh is unfit to hold his current judgeship. nt

[lagomorph777]

21. +1. Should be impeached.

[Freethinker65]

15. These are the exact reasons Kavanaugh should not be confirmed.

It has nothing to do on his personal views on abortion. It is his views on the constitution that matter. Will he even attempt to look at the constitutionality at cases brought before the Supreme Court or will seek to live out his avowed-in-the-hearings revenge against anything and everything he sees as tangentially having to do with his personal hatred of the Clintons and his idea of the "left".

There is a reason that the justices sometimes come down on the side of corporations and the government, and sometimes they come down on the sides of individuals. They should have the ability and temporment to decide each case based upon merit and constitutionality. Kavanaugh chose not just to obscure the truth during his testimony to the Senate but to outright lie. He was very confrontational, combative, and biased. He does not belong on the Supreme Court.

Thank you Senator Heitkamp.

[Vinca]

16. I must admit, she's taken me by surprise. I assumed she and Manchin would be sure "yes" votes.

Integrity over job security. Wish the others would practice that.

[sunonmars]

17. no chance, we need lions as gatekeepers, not kittens.

[Cha]

20. JHC, I hope so! Bringing the Clintons into his

current problems was a dead give-away.. along with everything else he spit out at the Senators.

[Staph]

23. I just passed her statement along to Manchin's office.

Let's hope he listens!

[riversedge]

26. Kavanaugh has told us who he is. Many are not listening--just like they did not listen when

Trump told us who he was.


Glad that Heidi is listening.

[Gothmog]

27. My statement on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh:

Link to tweet

[Stinky The Clown]

32. Holyshitwowgoodonher!

She has earned my respect. I hope her vote was the result of a wet finger testing the wind because if this is what she read, in her state, there may be hope for the country.

[eleny]

33. Precisely

[Gothmog]

39. Look at these numbers from Actblue

Link to tweet

[stuffmatters]

42. That's a big relief!

I think Manchin'll vote no too, so it's down to two of three Repugs. I think Murkowski is going to vote no and Flake no too. Collins is a yes vote, I've felt from the beginning.

Both Murkowski & Flake are not as dependent upon MCConnell, Trump, Kochs etc

Flake's retiring &, I hope, beginning to see that he has a much brighter future if he stands against Kav's confirmation. Speaking at the Music/Peace Festival over the weekend in front of tens of thousands cheering him on (and tv audience of millions) had to be both a heady first for him and also a signal that standing up for decency could be his political id going forward.

Murkowski was abandoned entirely by the GOP when she once lost her primary to a Tea Party bully & lout. She comes from a powerful political family and had her own deep resources in Alaska. She won that reelection to the Senate by a write in vote! A vote that depended heavily on both indigenous tribe support and, as a pro choicer, on women. She knows her own unique,independent power as a Repub Senator and exactly who her constituents are and what they expect from her. For Murkowski to vote for Kavanaugh, unlike 49 other Repug Senators, is political suicide.

That other Repub vote, Collins. Many consider it political suicide for Collins to vote for him after she's claimed to be pro choice & pro women all these election cycles. But McConnell, Trump etc apparently made sure they had her yes vote before nominating Kav.I think she has a long friendship with Kav and also probably a political history while he was a Repug operative. There's a personal connex there; no matter how bad the Kav "Day" has gone, her interview remarks always sound like Trump on Putin.

I would not be surprised to see Flake & Murkowski vote no on Kav tomorrow and the announcement of Flake-Murkowski 2020 to carpe the diem right after.

[Garrett78]

45. One would hope Manchin sees the logic in that statement.

[watoos]

47. Looks like that fake poll

that showed Heitkamp behind by 10 points didn't fool her. Some things just stick out like a sore thumb and that poll was grade A bs.

[Scurrilous]

49. K&R

[Honeycombe8]

50. No one has accused Kavanaugh of rape, that I know of.

Who accused him of that?

[FakeNoose]

52. Julie Swetnick who is Avenatti's client

She never got a chance to give her testimony but her sworn deposition is posted on this DU thread:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211183107#post1

Also a day or two after that (last week maybe Friday) Mark Judge's former girlfriend said she was willing to testify as to stories that Judge told her about Kavanaugh that included sexual assault and/or rape. It's on DU and it would have been posted on Friday or Saturday. She was never contacted by the FBI but she tried to come forward in the media anyway.

Dr. Ford never said she was raped by Kavanaugh or Judge, but she believes she would have been. They were too drunk to actually finish the deed, so she was lucky and got away.

[Honeycombe8]

56. Swetnick's claim in that she saw them in line, I think.

not that they actually raped anyone. Not that she lied. It's that people misinterpreted what she'd said. Maybe I have her confused w/someone else.

Mark Judge - he isn't the one being investigated.

[FakeNoose]

58. Correct - she didn't claim that she was raped by either of them

Since she blacked out she doesn't know who raped her, but she went to several parties and she saw Kavanaugh and Judge numerous times. I figure if her deposition becomes widely read, probably more women will come forward.

Here's what she said - she was definitely raped. They were definitely there. She's not sure if they raped her because of her drunkenness or blackout, but they took part in other rapes when she wasn't drunk/blacked out.

[Honeycombe8]

59. The account I read of what she said did not implicate Kav. in any rapes.

She said he was there, handing out punch in red cups, I think she saw him in or near a line. But she never saw him definitely doing any of the criminal acts.

I think it's safe to assume he did some things, but that's not proof or testimony.

He says he didn't have sex for years after high school. I find that hard to believe. OTOH, not many men would admit to that, if it weren't true. Don't you think?

[alarimer]

53. Good for her. It's a courageous, principled stand.

Now, maybe she can work on Manchin.

[Lithos]

55. Gave her $20

Right answer on her part...

L-

[at140]

57. Wise decision. She won't win anyway so

what's the point in giving Kavanot one more vote!