Comparing confirmation times for judges that didn't have to be rammed through in 50 days with a judge that would have to get rammed through in 50 days isn't that meaningful.

Seems like the better play is to find some Federalist Society guy and roll the dice on keeping enough seats to pass him through after midterms. I really doubt the Dems have the stones to hold up a generic conservative nominee.

With this guy, there’s a real risk he gets shot down or else impeached. The optics are gonna be disastrous, and plus what happens if more accusers come forward and we have a full-on Cosby situation.

"but think of all the women he didn't rape" is an iteration of a joke I might have used on a web form 10 years ago. what a country.

https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/1041756703539318784

Can we please recruit Matt Yglesias to run for something? Dude never misses.

My favorite, and one of the most thoughtful, recent justices is John Paul Stevens, who went to Northwestern. Ginsberg went to Columbia.

Thing is, when you want to appoint a terrible half-wit conservative whose views are way outside the mainstream of the profession, you want to burnish him (not really any "hers") by having him come from a "top 3" school.

It's really damn hard to find smart, accomplished people who will decide cases like republicans want them to after being confirmed. Apparently the best bet these days is East Coast prep school scions, who still have something of an "affirmative action" path to Harvard, Yale, Princeton. If they are farily dilligent and kiss the right asses they can go to a "top 3" law school and then kiss the right conservative professor asses there (who they know of beforehand because of their network) and land a good "feeder" clerkship with the right judges. It's still not an easy path, and many would-bes wash out, but it mints a few "conservative legal luminaries" every year, which is sufficient.

Smart conservatives are so rare that even Ted Cruz got a Supreme Court clerkship (Rhenquist) even though he is the embodiment of smarminess. That's real affirmative action.

I'm sure that this point has made before itt, but Kavenaugh is so physically repulsive that he actually looks like a rapist from a potential 80s era David Lynch project. Just chilling that someone has had to think about this face her whole life.

Onion on a roll today:


https://twitter.com/OnionPolitics/st...67706146557953

I dont think they can find another person and get that person through the process before midterms. And it's a disaster if they dont get get someone through before the midterms and then lose the Senate. I don't think that scenario is likely but it isn't impossible.

The good news is that liberal, younger lawyers do not actually think like this, by and large.

He looks like Susan Boyle's brother.

538 has Democratic control of the Senate at ~33%. Not impossible.

Again just like with Moore the fact that this dude is a sex offender(whose character witness buddy is also a sex offender) is overshadowing all the other disqualifying stuff(finances, perjury, torture, etc.)

A lot of Dems are like "ah he got picked for his views on Presidential immunity", which, yes, true.

But way more telling is that he was on the list at all. Every federalist society approved judge, by definition, is an amoral power hungry theocrat child of privilege. And amoral power hungry theocratic children of privilege are all gonna have some skeletons in their closets, because they don't thinking hurting other people is bad.

They just don't have the same morality as the rest of us and one unqualified positive of the Trump regime is to lay that bare, that the consensus norms the media pretended existed do not.

This might, hopefully, really and truly put the end to that party of family values ****.

This is hyperbole, but conservatives definitely have an easier path to the court than liberals.

Right. I said not likely but not impossible.

Even then I think you for sure get several Dems to support a more generic conservative judge. I know they really want a hard liner on the bench, but trying to force Kavanaugh in could backfire spectacularly.

If K. gets shot down, Awval should sue Trump for political malpractice; he is ****ing up the easiest ****.

sarcasm?

The only difference between now and before is that people are far more aware of it. How many congressmen, senators, presidents, judges, etc etc (same in other countries) have been entitled, sexually assaulting men?

That far more is being exposed now is a sign of progress. If people were in denial before then the blinkers being lifted is even more progress

Should be a Constitutional amendment banning acne from the Supreme Court imo.

I mean IF this thing gets derailed, it is a historic **** up. How many right wing ghouls were like yeah well this Trump fella, a little too bombastic on Twitter, not my cup of tea but TEH JUDGES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT. THE JUDGES.

So taking a lot of the right at their word, the whole conceit of the Faustian Bargain of Trump is that the adults in the room sort of realize Trump is a senile vain self-absorbed idiot that riles up rubes and offends everyone else and it's a kludge and pretty unpopular, but they get their judges, at least. They get to control the judiciary for a while.

If Trump can't even deliver that competently by doing some pretty standard vetting and putting a league-average right-winger who can sail through a GOP controlled Senate, what can that clown do for them? How did the Federalist Society/ GOP bench of judges not have a second Gorsuch that just gets nominated and is auto-confirmed?

On a semi-related note, was wondering lately why Jon Lovett always tweeted so much about Ronan Farrow. Had no idea they were partners.

(came across this again because Farrow retweeted his post about not discussing upcoming stories...likely indicating he's got more to come, hopefully on Kavanaugh)

can't be unseen

Looks like you've got an excellent shot at not being raped by Kavanaugh if your name is Maura

Are we sure about that? Maura Kane and Maura Fitzgerald are both on the list of 65 women, but Maura Lindsay is also on that list and suspiciously did not release a statement saying Kavanaugh didn't try to rape her. 33% of Mauras have remained silent since Ford's accusations!

(mostly - 3 Mauras in a list of 65 women? what in the ****?)