McConnell Warns GOPers To Make Up Their Minds, Wants Kavanaugh Vote Next Week

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By Nicole Lafond

September 25, 2018 7:50 am

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made it obvious with his fiery rhetoric from the Senate floor on Monday that he views the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh to be nothing more than a “smear” campaign against the stalwart conservative. But, according to Politico, he also is reportedly warning his colleagues in private that they need to make a decision on the Supreme Court nominee.

According to Republican senators who spoke to Politico, McConnell is planning to hold a floor vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation as early as next week, regardless of what the Senate Judiciary Committee decides to do, a bold move given several key Republicans have indicated their votes rest on the outcome of the hearing on Thursday.

Kavanaugh, as well as Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, are set to share their testimony on Thursday.

McConnell is reportedly eager to force Senators to publicly decide where they stand on Kavanaugh, but he also has midterm motivations: he wants to put pressure on the red state Democrats his party hopes to defeat in November.

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Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mcconnell-dead-set-floor-vote-kavanaugh

[padah513]

1. He doesn't have the votes

If he did he'd jam Kavanaugh through damn the torpedoes

[riversedge]

4. That was my first thought.

[lagomorph777]

11. +1. "Senator Collins, do you support the serial gang-bang rapist?"

Even in a red state, that's not gonna fly.

[getagrip_already]

12. If you are pinning your hopes on collins and murkowski....

fuhhgettabout it. They will cave.

They already know what will happen if they kill this vote. They will lose whatever plumb committee assignments they have and they will be primaried. Sure, murkowski survived that once, but she won't twice, especially once trump goes to work on her.

They also know that whatever they thought they could do in retirement will be very limited. No gop friendly law firm, think tank, university, or lobbying firm will touch them. They will be forever toxic to anything relating to the gop or conservative politics.

They are going scorched earth on this one. This is as important to mconnell and the gop as any single vote has ever been. They aren't going to lose.

The perjuring drunk gambler serial rapist will be on the court changing the constitution.

Collins and murkowski just don't have the spine to vote no. Period.

[honest.abe]

15. Yep. Otherwise he would have said he had the votes.

Clearly there are a few holdouts. I wonder what he does if he still doesnt have the votes by next week.

[femmedem]

2. GOP 2016: We can't confirm; an election is coming. 2018: we must confirm; an election is coming. eom

[NorCen_CT]

3. So - he's admitting that the hearing on Thursday is a complete charade?

Because otherwise why would he tell everyone to make up their minds before the hearing (other than the fact that he is an abysmal human being, bereft of any emotion not derived out of a soulless march to gather as much power as possible)?

[duforsure]

5. Any Senator who votes for kavanaugh

A possible rapist and sexual predator onto the Supreme Court without a complete FBI investigation should be targeted for being voted out of office, and a FBI investigation HAS to be done to ensure he hasn't done more illegal acts against women. Failure to do so now is a slap in the face of all women , and many men too. Its a slap in the face of justice, which he is suppose to represent. Instead he represents liars and corruption.

[getagrip_already]

13. It doesn't matter to them.......

There is 100% certainty they will be both challenged by dems or primaried by the gop if they vote no. Either way, they will have a tough re-election cycle. But one way they will have money, and the other they will have squat.

They will also lose committee assignments immediately if they vote no. Plus, any post office opportunities will suddenly vanish.

The GOP is going to go scorched earth on this.

They will cave. And the fbi is being weoponized to go after trump enemies, not friends. No fbi investigation for you.

[Racerdog1]

6. Mcturdmouth

You are the biggest loser. How Kentucky puts up with a fucking moron like you is amazing.

[joshdawg]

7. Ram it thru, mcturtle.

You miserable stinking pile of pig shit!

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Hey Mitch!! WHAT WAS MERRICK GARLAND LESS THAN A SILENT SMEAR?

Pompous prig

[Lonestarblue]

9. I just gave a message to my senator up for reelection.

Unfortunately, that senator is Ted Cruz, but my message was that a yes vote for Kavanaugh will be a no vote for Cruz in November. It will likely have no impact on his vote, but he may think about it given his tight race with Beto.

[turbinetree]

10. Fucking right wing enabling TRAITOR

November 2018 cannot get here fast enough..............................vote

[BumRushDaShow]

14. He wants him in by the start of the new term on Oct. 1st

and the "wiggle room" that was left after the previous demands, is this week. I.e., it's this week "or bust".

Of course THAT is also artificial because whoever does get confirmed can join at any time afterwards. Certainly Gor-suck came in mid-term.... although as others have posted, Turtle must have some tiny bit of concern about losing the Senate... HOWEVER, anytime between now and January 3rd, 2019, they can still ram their nominee through, so he still has plenty of time.

[getagrip_already]

16. This is all a head fake folks....

Mconnell KNOWS he has the votes. They are floating the charade that they don't to keep additional woman from coming forward.

They likely know that there are other woman who will come forward if they believe their voices are needed, but would rather not.

So they are pretending to not have the votes to keep them in the shadows. They want this over, and soon.

So they will push up the vote, giving no chance for others to step forward, once ford is done testifying.

And magically, they will come up with at least 50 votes plus pence to confirm him.

It's an old foil. Be on guard for it.

[tavernier]

17. People in hell want ice water.

My grandson’s favorite.

[Cosmocat]

18. How could it possibly be putting pressure on even the most red state dems?

this asshole has 35% favorability.

If anything them putting this scumbag up has relieved pressure on the red state dem senators.

[haele]

19. He wants Kavanaugh on the bench in October when Gamble v. U.S. comes up at the end of October.

Because a ruling in Gamble's favor can potentially be used in an argument protect the President and many in the GOP from "double jeopardy" on various State charges if Federal charges can't stick after the house of cards they built up around their dirty dealings finally fall down around them...

The merits of the case being argued is whether the Supreme Court should overrule the “separate sovereigns” exception to a possible double jeopardy clause under the 5th Amendment in which a convicted felon was originally charged by the State of Alabama for illegally owning a firearm and serving the maximum 1 year (because 2nd Amendment or something like that) for that offence should subsequently be charged and serve additional time (a minimum 10 years) for the very same crime by Federal authorities.

The ACLU, the CATO institute, and Mitch McConnell are filing amicus briefs in this case. And I'm pretty sure the ruling will end up narrowly being in Gamble's favor, as the Federal charges pretty obviously were made to augment the State's punishment.
How are those four Conservative "Law and Order" types going to deal with this issue, allowing a felon to "cheat" his "rightful" punishment because they have to protect the butt of the Criminal POS that currently sits in the big chair in the Oval Office. Normally, this would be a slam dunk for them. Screw the worthless criminal. But now...?

Now, mind you, if in the GOP's cluster f'K of money laundering and foreign conspiracies, the Federal charges are sufficiently different than the State charges, as in the States making charges are focused on what is occurring in their particular jurisdictions as opposed to a blanket indictment, then there should be no Double Jeopardy - especially if Ginsburg is the one writing the ruling rather than Alito or Roberts.

I'm hoping Mueller has considered this legal tactic to nullify charges as he's handing information over to the various States AGs.

Haele

[Nitram]

20. McConnell should be careful what he wishes for. Some of them may very well make up their minds

to vote against the serial rapist.