Feinstein's Next Move

Discussion in 'Politics & Government' started by Hal Pollner, Sep 24, 2018.

  1. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    Do you think Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed in spite of all the Democrats can do?

    When I talk about Democrats here, I don't mean our friends here like @Bill Boggs and any others who are Democrats. I mean those that head the Democrat party in Washington. Also the nutcases who are blocking Senators in elevators and releasing their address and phone numbers on Wikipedia.
     
    #61
  2. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    We'll see, @Shirley Martin. The fracas has done Republicans running against Democrats a good turn in general. Polls that were even or had the Dems winning are now tilting the other way. No telling if that is a permanent trend or if it will tilt the other way. If the likes of Collins, Flake and Murkowski turn their backs on him, the Republicans will look like fools as a group. If Kavanaugh is confirmed, it will be a good thing for all Republicans in Congress, regardless of what house they are in. The polls have Republicans losing a seat in the House, but gaining as many as 5 in the Senate. We'll see.... If the Democrats in te Senate suceed in defeating theis nomination, it will guarantee that we will see this kind of behavior forever as it will be seen as a reward for their efforts.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It's hard to know what's going to happen in the midterms because even to the extent that polls might be able to accurately measure such things, most of them are intended to influence the vote rather than to predict it. I know that there will always be some, actually quite a few, who refuse to see through it, but I can't help but think that anyone who has been paying attention would see through what's been going on with the Senate vote on Kavanaugh, and worry about this becoming the norm. There are, I know, Democrats who are quite aware that their side has been playing unfairly, although they might approve of it, believing that the end justifies the means.

    Here in Maine, we only have two federal seats open, and only one of them is in play. The Republican, Bruce Poliquin, who occupies a US House seat, is a political coward who, like Paul Ryan, never passes up an opportunity to criticize President Trump. During the 2016 presidential election, he distanced himself from Trump except to get a dig in whenever the opportunity presented itself, as he does now. A lot of Republicans, including myself, are sick of him.

    Taking advantage of that, the Democrats are sinking a lot of money into his opponent, a recent military veteran who makes a point of pointing out that he was a veteran in every ad that I have seen, and has put out professionally done ads showing him shooting a rifle. Although he has consistently voted for gun control as a state legislator and has F and D ratings from gun rights organizations, I am afraid that people who aren't paying attention might take him for being something other than the liberal he is.

    I don't think the US Senate seat is really in play. Angus King, a two-term former governor, is the incumbent. Although registered as an Independent, he votes solidly with the Democrats. The Democrat Party doesn't spend anything on his Democrat opponent because, for all practical purposes, King is a Democrat.

    His Republican opponent is carpetbagger who came here from Ohio during the 2012 Ron Paul campaign. His dad, who owns a good business in Ohio, bought him a state senate seat and financed a successful lawsuit that removed his only primary opponent from the ballot. I know him well enough to know that he's an opportunist whose only ideal would be to remain in power if he were to be elected. It's unlikely that he will be, however. Although a Democrat at heart, King is personable and generally well-liked by people who don't pay attention to his votes. If I stop by his office in Washington DC, he'll see me if he's available, despite the fact that he knows full well that I didn't vote for him. Plus, he sat with us a few times while we were attending the same dinners. He's a likeable guy.

    In contrast, his Republican opponent blocks anyone who disagrees with him on anything on Facebook and would never talk to anyone who wasn't on his team. A lot of Republicans will vote for him because of the "R" after his name, but Republicans aren't the majority in Maine. For that matter, our Republican Senator Collins would never waste a moment on anyone who isn't contributing heavily to her campaign.

    Usually, incumbents win. I doubt that King will lose but there is a chance the Poliquin could lose due to his own political cowardice and the fact that he's being outspent by the Democrats. So I can see Maine losing a GOP House seat and it's highly unlikely we'll pick any seats up here.

    It would be less confusing if Susan Collins changed parties.

    Overall though, I think it's looking good for the Republicans if Kavanaugh is confirmed. Democrats up for reelection in conservative states could be threatened however they vote on Kavanaugh because they will lose conservatives in a no vote and liberals if they vote yes. However, if Kavanaugh loses due to Republicans voting no, that would energize the Democrats and greatly demoralize Republicans, who may see no reason to ensure a majority in 2018.
     
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  4. Beatrice Taylor

    Beatrice Taylor Veteran Member
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    I'm also curious to see what happens in the midterm elections.

    IMO people are becoming so frustrated with the current Washington crowd that they will vote for fresh faces without much concern over party affiliation or they will stay home and not bother voting at all.

    We'll see.
     
    #64
  5. Neville Telen

    Neville Telen Veteran Member
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    For any following the Qanon stuff, it was predicted awhile ago that Kavanaugh would be confirmed, and according to this guy () it appears to be gonna happen, so I'm starting to take this stuff a bit more seriously.
     
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  6. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    VOTED TO ADVANCE KAVANUGH FOR CONFIRMATION
    Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee
    Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming
    Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri
    Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas
    Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina
    Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia
    Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana
    Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
    Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee
    Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
    Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas
    Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho
    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas
    Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana
    Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming
    Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa
    Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska
    Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona
    Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado
    Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina
    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa
    Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
    Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada
    Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota
    Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi
    Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma
    Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia
    Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
    Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana
    Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona
    Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma
    Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
    Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia
    Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
    Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas
    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky
    Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia
    Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio
    Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho
    Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas
    Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota
    Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida
    Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska
    Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina
    Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama
    Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska
    Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota
    Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina
    Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania
    Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi
    Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana

    VOTED NAY to ADVANCE KAVANUGH CONFIRMATION
    Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
    Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado
    Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut
    Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey
    Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
    Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington
    Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland
    Sen. Tom Carper, D-Delaware
    Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pennsylvania
    Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware
    Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada
    Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana
    Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois
    Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois
    Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
    Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York
    Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California
    Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire
    Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico
    Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota
    Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii
    Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama
    Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia
    Sen. Angus King, I-Maine
    Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
    Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont
    Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts
    Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri
    Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey
    Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon
    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
    Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut
    Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington
    Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida
    Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan
    Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island
    Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii
    Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York
    Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire
    Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont
    Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan
    Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana
    Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico
    Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland
    Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia
    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts
    Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island
    Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon
     
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  7. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Yeah, Murkowski betrays us once again, but Collins is thinking of changing her mind too.
     
    #67
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 5, 2018
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Sarah Palin: "Hey, Murkowski. I can see 2022 from my window!"

    Collins has been going on and on for the past twenty minutes, sounding like Columbo explaining how he solved the case, but she sounds like she's going to be a yes.
     
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  9. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    This picture has been circulating for the last few days, and it really does look like Feinstein is trying hard to intimidate Murkowski.
    D3CC2CA6-E3EA-4FDE-B42D-877DB6CD3FBA.jpeg
     
    #70
  11. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Yes, that has been circulating up here, too. Planned Parenthood is one of Lisa's biggest political contributors and supporters, so abortion is at the heart of much of what she does. I don't really understand how an organization that receives government funding can be a political contributor to a candidate. One of the callers on a political talk show here (not the host) said, "I hope she is not running on 'baby part money'".
     
    #71
  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    The latest information that I saw in one of the political groups online says that the conversation might have been recorded; so there is speculation that Feinstein may have been caught trying to coerce Murkowski into voting against Kavanaugh.
    If that is true, and can be proven, then she might be in some hot water for her behavior. If she is indeed being backed and funded by Planned Parenthood, then she probably didn’t need to be coerced into her vote.
     
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  13. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    #73
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  14. Neville Telen

    Neville Telen Veteran Member
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    Sorry, I put up the wrong one (I had found two versions). This is the better one:


    https://my.mixtape.moe/sqggko.mp4


    And here is likely the cause of them bleary eyes:


     
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    Last edited: Oct 6, 2018
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  15. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    Yes as a keen and avid people watcher, I found it extremely interesting too ken...
     
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