memeorandum: Behind the scenes: Republican fears and opportunities (Jonathan Swan/Axios)

7:35 AM ET, September 17, 2018

Top Items:

California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault — Earlier this summer, Christine Blasey Ford wrote a confidential letter to a senior Democratic lawmaker alleging that Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted …

The Daily Beast:

Trump Believes There Is a ‘Conspiracy’ to Torpedo the Kavanaugh Nomination — The president and his team are not deterred by the sexual assault allegations being made against their Supreme Court nominee. If anything, their back is up even more. — In the hours after a 51-year-old …

Discussion: Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

David French / National Review:

Weighing the Allegations against Brett Kavanaugh — They're serious but not solid. — The allegations against Brett Kavanaugh — outlined now on the record in the Washington Post by Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford — are substantial and serious.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Townhall, RedState and The Daily Caller

David Lat / New York Times:

Delay the Vote — for Kavanaugh, for His Accuser and for the Court — Christine Blasey Ford deserves to be heard. And the judge deserves a chance to clear his name. — Mr. Lat is a former federal law clerk and prosecutor. — In many ways, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is the perfect Supreme Court nominee.

Discussion: Above the Law, Mother Jones, twitchy.com, Raw Story and Mediaite

CNN:

Read the letter Christine Blasey Ford sent accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct — Washington (CNN)The following is the text of the letter Christine Blasey Ford wrote to Sen. Dianne Feinstein detailing an event in which she accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.

Discussion: The Dworkin Report, The Daily Beast, Instapundit and Mediaite

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Delay the Kavanaugh Vote — I worked for a president who was arrested for driving under the influence at age 30. One of the most admired and successful governors of our times was arrested as a college student for industrial-scale drug possession. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke …

Discussion: Breitbart and Axios

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Flake opposes quick vote on Kavanaugh, putting confirmation in doubt — Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court hit a serious roadblock Sunday night, as GOP Senate Judiciary Committee member Jeff Flake said he is uncomfortable voting to advance Kavanaugh's nomination later this week …

Discussion: Axios, The Atlantic, POLITICUSUSA, LifeZette, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Power Line, RedState, Daily Kos, HuffPost, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Political Wire, CNN, The New Neo, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Mother Jones, The Slot, Mediaite and Vox

Politico: POLITICO Playbook: Can Kavanaugh hang on?

Axios:
Scoop: GOP plans to play hardball on Kavanaugh

Discussion: CNN, Power Line and Mother Jones

Sarah Quinlan / RedState:
The Supreme Court Is Too Important to Rush a Confirmation Vote for Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Robby Soave / Hit & Run:
Brett Kavanaugh's Sexual Assault Accuser Has Come Forward, and Her #MeToo Story Might Disqualify Him

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Law & Crime and POLITICUSUSA

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Woman Alleging Misconduct by Kavanaugh in High School Steps Forward

Discussion: Washington Post

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Brett Kavanaugh's Confirmation at Risk After Accusation by Christine Blasey Ford

Discussion: Simple Justice, alicublog, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Roll Call

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
GOP senator: Hold off on Kavanaugh vote until accuser is heard

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Roll Call, Political Wire, Washington Times, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Axios and Los Angeles Times

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Kavanaugh faces his #MeToo test to reach Supreme Court

Discussion: twitchy.com

Sasha Ingber / NPR:
Calls Grow To Delay Kavanaugh Vote After Accuser Goes Public

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Roll Call

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, comes forward in the Washington Post

Discussion: Stupid Girl, Breitbart, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, RedState, CNN and Splinter

Wall Street Journal:
Brett Kavanaugh Accuser Comes Forward About Alleged Sexual Assault

Discussion: Townhall, HuffPost and KTLA

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Kennedy says Kavanaugh vote will continue as planned on Thursday

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, Breitbart and The Hill

Hillary Rodham Clinton / The Atlantic:

American Democracy Is in Crisis — It's been nearly two years since Donald Trump won enough Electoral College votes to become president of the United States. On the day after, in my concession speech, I said, “We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.” I hoped that my fears for our future were overblown.

Discussion: NY State of Politics, HuffPost and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Behind the scenes: Republican fears and opportunities — A source who has seen recent polling, conducted by the Republican National Committee, told me the data show that a majority of Trump voters don't believe the mountain of evidence that Democrats will win back the House in November.

Discussion: RedState

Associated Press:

Grim warnings for White House, Republicans ahead of election — WASHINGTON (AP) — The prognosis for President Donald Trump and his party was grim. — In a post-Labor Day briefing at the White House, a top Republican pollster told senior staff that the determining factor in the election …

Daphne Merkin / Vulture:

Introducing Soon-Yi Previn As controversies tumbled around her, the daughter of Mia Farrow and wife of Woody Allen stayed silent for decades. No more. — Once, she was seen as a victim, her youth and relative innocence taken advantage of by a powerful, much older man who sucked her into his vortex.

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Daily News, New York Times, Deadline, Associated Press, Page Six, Mashable, Jezebel and IndieWire

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg / Wall Street Journal:

Time Magazine Sold to Salesforce Founder Marc Benioff for $190 Million — Benioffs won't have day-to-day operational role at Time Magazine — Time magazine will have a new home. — Nearly eight months after Meredith Corp. MDP -0.57% completed its purchase of Time Inc. …

Discussion: PR Newswire, CNNMoney, BloombergQuint, NPR and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Raphael Satter / Associated Press:

New leak shows Julian Assange sought Russian visa in 2010 — LONDON (AP) — Julian Assange had just pulled off one of the biggest scoops in journalistic history, splaying the innards of American diplomacy across the web. But technology firms were cutting ties to his website, WikiLeaks …

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

The Picture of Anderson Cooper is Real. The Claims About the Picture Are False. — A viral picture of Anderson Cooper in waist high water is real. But it is not from Hurricane Florence. — I note that even a post here at The Resurgent fell for the claims attacking Anderson Cooper.

Jackson Diehl / Washington Post:

Trump's foreign policy has devolved into chaos — It sounds unlikely, but the record shows that the most effective foreign policy adviser to President Trump since his election has been Barack Obama. — In their sole meeting, on Nov. 10, 2016, Obama managed to focus Trump …

Nicole Goodkind / Newsweek:

Ted Cruz Campaign is Mailing Donation Requests Disguised as Legal Summonses — Ted Cruz's Texas Senatorial campaign has sent hundreds of thousands of mailers seeking donations that are meant to look like official county summons, a high-ranking campaign official confirmed to Newsweek.

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Lance Perriman / Political Dig: Ted Cruz Is Furious Because People Are Comparing Beto O'Rourke To JFK: 'They've Lost Their Minds'

Nikki Schwab / New York Post:

Biden: I wish I had spoken out against Trump sooner … Former Vice President Joe Biden Saturday night told the audience at the Human Rights Campaign's National Dinner that he wished he trashed President Trump sooner. — “Barack and I agreed we would be quiet for the first year …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Political Wire