Next: Susan Collins will say she has assurances that Kavanaugh will be impartial and fair-minded.

[Still In Wisconsin]

Susan Collins will then vote to confirm when the full Senate takes its vote next week. So will Murkowski.

Collins will then express shock and dismay when Kavanaugh overturns Roe, rules in favor of Trump and his associates in every case that comes before SCOTUS, protects Trump from indictment, and on and on and on.

Fuck Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, Murkowski, and every other Republican "moderate" who claims to be above the rancorous state that US politics is currently mired in. You're no better than any of them, spineless Republican "moderates," you're just as much part of the problem as people like Ted Cruz, Ghomert, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows and other teabaggers. In fact Senators like Collins are worse in my book. At least with the teabaggers you know what you're getting.

[emulatorloo]

1. Testor and Donnelly are "NO" on Kavanuagh

CNN chryon: Montana's Senator Testor is a "NO" on Kavanaugh.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211203425

[rzemanfl]

2. I think cover is being arranged for them to vote "No." Time will tell. n/t

[Drunken Irishman]

3. I hope that cover isn't two Dems voting yes.

[emulatorloo]

4. See

Tester to oppose Kavanaugh
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142167376

[Drunken Irishman]

9. It's not Tester I worry about. It's Manchin.

[emulatorloo]

11. If Schumer needs Manchin's "No" vote he will pull through, IMHO

Manchin very protective of the ACA

[Still In Wisconsin]

8. It might be. I have my doubts about Manchin and Heitkamp.

I know Nelson is a "no" as is Tester (MT) as noted above.

[cstanleytech]

41. If all the Repugnants vote yes and ram it through with 51 votes then 2 Democrats joining them to try

and win re election is hardly relevant imo.
What we need is for atleast one Repugnant to show some morale courage (unlikely) and vote no on this nomination and then we can worry about those two Democrats.

[Orsino]

6. They only need 51...

...and in the past some few were allowed nays. Flake is done with his hand-wringing, at least until the next accusers come forward or public outcry increases.

[Girard442]

12. A tie + Pence. That would be 50 unless some abstain.

[JPK]

34. Pence can't vote

The Constitution says "Senators" must vote. Pence is not a Senator.

[forgotmylogin]

37. The VP casts a deciding vote when there is a tie.

Remember he was on the premises during the late-night ACA repeal sessions? We all joked that Mother would be mad for keeping him up past bedtime.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. For my 35,000th post

....

The VP is officially the "President of the Senate" (and majority party Senators rotate the position of President "Pro-Tempore" ).

Article I

Section 3.

<...>

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei

[quakerboy]

30. They only need 49

if 2 sit it out.

[cstanleytech]

42. To counter it all we would need then is one to sit it out.

After all without the tie then they cannot get Pence to step in.

[quakerboy]

44. We need two of them to vote no

We need to have all 49 dems vote no, and then we either need two Republicans to vote no, or 3 to stay home.

[irresistable]

10. you can't arrange cover for a Democrat to vote no.

[rzemanfl]

13. That was not the post I replied to. n/t

[irresistable]

19. my apologies

[rzemanfl]

20. None needed. It happens here all the time. n/t

[calguy]

5. We've seen this charade so many times before

[Anon-C]

7. Yep. I'm going to give these soulless ghouls the benefit of my liberal tears...

...there, true blood for these vampires.

RIP, United States of America

July 4, 1776 - January 20, 2017

[Girard442]

14. Collins and Murkowski are going to toss a coin to see who gets to vote against Kav...

...while still allowing him to get confirmed.

Got to preserve those (meaningless) moderate bona fides.

[Still In Wisconsin]

15. If they can pick off Manchin and Heitkamp, they can both vote "no!"

That's what I'm expecting.

[BootinUp]

16. Lol. Nt

[safeinOhio]

17. That make her an official

GOP Boofer.

[ProudLib72]

40. Oh please let this become a maddogpac billboard!

GOP Boofer!

[Azathoth]

18. Yup. And then she'll call her critics "sexist" because they "would never accuse a male Senator

of being so weak-minded and gullible."

Collins has one of the most despicable acts in American politics.

[charlyvi]

21. Yeah. Mitch promised her. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

22. I agree. I can actually hear her distinctive manner of speech in my head...

saying, "Well, I am really surprised by this holding. Justice Kavanaugh personally assured me that he had an open mind on this and other issues. I am very disappointed."

[Goodheart]

23. Dear Susan,

Your chances at reelection are slim in either case, but your BETTER chance is to vote NO against a would-be rapist. Do the right thing.

[jpak]

24. Collins also told us she had assurances that Turtleman would allow votes to save the ACA

didn't happen.

She's a snake.

Yup

[Haggis for Breakfast]

26. What is wrong with this woman ?

Was she born with an extra gullibility gene ?

[SunSeeker]

36. Or she thinks we're gullible.

I believe she is a liar trying to mollify outrage over her expected vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

[Salviati]

39. Anyone who believes a word collins says...

... is as naive as she pretends to be.

[elocs]

25. There are GOP senators like Collins and Murkowski who occasionally vote against their party

and we laud them for that and congratulate them for how wise they are, but when they don't vote how we want them to vote we then trash them. They're Republicans! Be happy when they vote our way and hope there will be more and remember you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and enough of this celebrating them when they vote our way and then saying Fuck You! when they don't.

[watoos]

27. Well said,

I don't see the point of this thread, too negative for me.

[WinstonSmith4740]

33. The problem I think most of us have with those two is their supposed "moderate" label.

As opposed to their votes. Somehow, regardless of what they say on camera, they're always "convinced" the party line vote is the way to go. Collins and (now retired) Snow were notorious for this crap when Reid ran the Senate. They'd dangle the possibility of them voting "yes" until a bill was so watered down as to be ineffective, and then still wouldn't vote for it. Collins once withheld her vote because Reid "took too long" to get a bill to the floor...and it would have benefited veterans. Murkowski pulls the same thing, and that's what they're both doing now. They may vote with the Democrats occasionally, but not on the big stuff. They'll turn a blind eye to whatever the FBI finds out in the next week, and vote to confirm him because of an "unfair process".

And will be shocked, SHOCKED! when he votes, along with every other man they voted to put there, to overturn Roe.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

28. 100% superficial opinion..she always seems like a dipshit

Have never heard her say anything remotely interesting or savvy.

Pays to be a rhino...you have all this power and exposure...even if you have nothing worthwhile about you

[SeattleVet]

29. Yeah...

and Charlie Brown had many repeated assurances from Lucy that *this* time she would really hold the football.

Typical repuke tactics...

[Captain Stern]

31. That's pretty much it. Susan Collins is a fraud.

She pretends to be a 'moderate'. But to her, 'moderate' means she'll act like she's undecided. It doesn't mean that her vote will be any different than Cruz's, or Ghomert's. She'll toe the party line. She always does.

I pity the people that fall for her shit. over, and over, again.

[bobGandolf]

32. Such a letdown...

Always thought Collins had a backbone. Guess I'm wrong.
.

[ooky]

35. In Kavanaugh's comments about the Clintons "revenge"

he revealed himself as a right wing conspiracy theorist. Now, it's virtually impossible for anyone to make an argument that he would be fair minded. Joy Reid brought this up last night when she was sitting in for Rachel Maddow, questioning if that would need to be looked at as an issue for even keeping his current job as an appeals court judge. Personally I believe that statement is a disqualifier for him to render any kind of opinion in a case that has any political ramifications, and his opponents should use it to go after him.

[DFW]

46. I agree. That CANNOT be overlooked

In his statement, Kavanawful specifically attacked the Clintons and the Democrats. No impartial opinion on ANYTHING can be expected from this lowlife, and Republican insistence on sticking with him only makes it more obvious that their only goal is turning the Supreme Court into an ideological rubber stamp of their very own.

[ooky]

47. The practical matter is there will now be a cloud on all the Supreme Court

5-4 decisions that he sides on the right. Every lawyer making arguments for the left should/will ask for his recusal based on his public statement about the Clintons, as a clear right wing partisan who cannot be reasonably expected to judge the case fairly. And, of course, he will refuse to recuse himself for that reason, saying it has no impact on how he applies the law to the constitution.

So every 5-4 decision in favor of the right wing arguments will be tainted with his political bias. He will be known as the partisan justice. And I can easily see this issue causing division among the court itself.

[DFW]

48. And there lies the chasm

We warn about this. Republicans smack their lips in anticipation.

[shadowmayor]

43. Lucy holds the football again

And Charlie Brown ends up on his back.

[lastlib]

45. I suppose the leprechaun on the unicorn told her!

[unitedwethrive]

49. Yup, most repubs don't truly care one way or the other about abortion...they just vote based on the

political winds. Since Kav managed to avoid getting pinned down on his abortion views during the nomination process, those on the fence can claim that they have no idea how he feels.