US Politics Mega-thread - Page 748

On September 28 2018 03:35 ticklishmusic wrote:
so if kavanaugh sounds like he did at the confirmation hearings he is fucked.

On September 28 2018 02:55 Plansix wrote:
It is so wild and seems out of character for what I know about Graham. Especially when the Democrats didn’t cause any of this. These women made the claim on their own.

On September 28 2018 03:42 Nouar wrote:


Yes they did, however Ford didn't decide the timing. It was leaked most probably from Senate Democrat offices, and that forced her to go out publicly.
Her testimony was really heartfelt, but I found both sides of the aisle had shitty questioning...

Dems just making speeches and comforting her (that part is ok), and reps asking unrelated things to advance their narrative, and barely anything regarding the event itself. If I was that prosecutor, I would feel like shit.

House Democrats are preparing to force a vote Thursday on a plan to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's probe from interference or unilateral removal by President Donald Trump.

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, with the backing of Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, intend to introduce the proposal as an amendment ahead of expected consideration of three tax-related bills. The proposal would force Republicans to decide whether to consider the Mueller-protection proposal or sideline it.

For Democrats, the effort is a chance to force Republicans on the record on an issue that has generated some bipartisan support in the House and Senate. It's a matter Democrats have described with increasing urgency as Trump has ratcheted up his attacks on Mueller and the investigation of his campaign's contacts with Russia.

Republicans, though, have shown little urgency to support the measure, even as most have expressed support for Mueller being allowed to complete his work. They've argued that they don't believe Trump will try to remove Mueller, despite his rhetoric describing the investigation as illegitimate and a "witch hunt"

The measure, which has the backing of six House Republicans in addition to more than 120 House Democrats, would prohibit a special counsel from being removed without "good cause," such as a violation of Justice Department policy. The proposal would also prohibit removal by anyone other than the attorney general or the most highly ranked Justice Department official who oversees the special counsel.

In addition, the measure must provide written notice of any removal decision, including a detailed explanation, and provide the special counsel an opportunity to appeal to a three-judge panel. The court would also decide whether the special counsel would remain active while any appeal is pending -- and would guarantee that all documents, resources and materials are preserved.

Two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, backed an identical measure in the Senate.

McGovern intends to introduce an amendment to a House rule to govern debate on three tax bills. The amendment would require Republicans to add the special counsel legislation to the list of bills to be considered.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has long sought the committee's consideration of the legislation but has been stymied along partisan lines from a hearing or vote.

On September 28 2018 03:54 Plansix wrote:

There were 1000 ways the Republicans could have avoided today, including putting the nomination on hold and having the FBI dig into it. They choose not to. The timing sucks and everyone can speculate if the Democrats did it on purpose or not, but the Republicans decided to push forward and create this public circus. They have been the kings of political theater for so long, but now they are just getting upstaged. And their standard “the democrats are playing politics” line died when they decided to hold up all of Obama’s nominees for years, including a Supreme Court seat.

On September 28 2018 04:02 On_Slaught wrote:
Per a NPR correspondent a poll before the hearing said something like 54% of Republicans still want him voted in even if the accusations were true. That's what we're dealing with and why he may still be shoved through without an investigation.

On September 28 2018 03:59 crms wrote:
I'm surprised I didn't learn until today that Ford came forward BEFORE Kavanaugh was even nominated. Only when he was rumored to be on a short list of potential candidates. Was this already known and I just missed it? That seems pretty important especially when a big part of the narrative from the right is that this is a hit piece to stop this specific nomination in the 11th hour.

(I'm not saying the dems haven't purposefully tried to delay but the fact she came forward well before he was nominated is telling.)

On September 28 2018 04:03 iamthedave wrote:


I've said for pages now, I don't understand why the Republicans went gung ho on this. It was so obvious that they should have delayed. The optics are just cartoonishly horrible.

I'm not sure how much worse this could have gone.