memeorandum: Republicans are adopting Trump's tactics in Kavanaugh battle (BostonGlobe.com)

10:55 AM ET, September 26, 2018

Top Items:

Aaron C. Davis / Washington Post:

Kavanaugh's ‘choir boy’ image on Fox interview rankles former Yale classmates — On Monday night, Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh said in a nationally televised interview that in his younger years, he was focused on sports, academics and “service projects.”

Discussion: New Republic, HuffPost, Althouse, Splinter, Daily Wire, Politico, Balloon Juice, The Week, CANNONFIRE, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Eschaton and The Atlantic

Steve Kiggins / USA Today:

Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford offers Senate four people who corroborate her assault claims — The attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford have sworn and signed declarations from four people who corroborate her claims of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

New York Times:

In Yale's Culture of Privilege and Alcohol, Her World Converged With Kavanaugh's — Last week, more than 30 years after they graduated from Yale, Deborah Ramirez contacted her old friend James Roche. — Something bad had happened to her during a night of drinking in the residence hall their freshmen year …

Discussion: CBS News, TheBlaze and Vox

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell is GOP choice to question Kavanaugh and accuser at hearing — Republican senators have selected Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting …

Arizona Republic:

Maricopa County prosecutor tapped to lead hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, accuser — Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story had the incorrect last name of Rachel Mitchell. — Rachel Mitchell, a Maricopa County sex crimes prosecutor, will lead questioning …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and New York Times

Christal Hayes / USA Today:

Brett Kavanaugh's 1982 calendar being used as evidence against sexual assault allegations — WASHINGTON — Brett Kavanaugh's calendar from 1982 is filled with nostalgia of the times and seemingly endless cliches that one would expect from a teenager growing up in a middle-class family.

Discussion: Washington Times, CNN, The Week, Daily Wire, VICE News and Conservative News Today

Paul Sperry / New York Post:

Eight big problems for Christine Blasey Ford's story — Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are serious. She is accusing him of violent attempted rape. “I thought he might inadvertently kill me. He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing,” …

Discussion: The Federalist, Bustle, The Daily Beast and The Ringer, more at Mediagazer »

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:

Three Yale Law School classmates who endorsed Kavanaugh call for investigation into sexual misconduct claims — Three Yale Law School classmates who endorsed Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh called Tuesday for an investigation into allegations by two women that he engaged in sexual misconduct in the 1980s.

Politico:

Democrats in the dark on eve of historic Kavanaugh hearing — Senate Democrats have had no apparent contact with Christine Blasey Ford — and have no idea how she'll hold up. — Tens of millions of people will be watching Christine Blasey Ford when she appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee …

Discussion: The Resurgent, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, The Daily Caller and CNBC

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Feinstein: Kavanaugh misled about grand jury secrecy in Vince Foster probe

Discussion: Political Wire, Shareblue Media, HuffPost, Daily Kos, Townhall, Axios and Talking Points Memo

Online NewsHour:
Majority of Americans oppose Kavanaugh nomination if Ford's allegation is true, poll says

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Jocelyn Noveck / Associated Press:
AP Interview: Hill says Kavanaugh isn't a #MeToo referendum

Discussion: theGrio and NTK Network

Axios:
Kavanaugh's second accuser willing to testify before Congress

Discussion: Political Wire

Margot Cleveland / Washington Examiner:
Vulnerable Democrats face Kavanaugh crisis: Vote for decency or smears

Discussion: Power Line

Washington Times:
Kavanaugh accuser asks Senate to limit press access for hearing

Discussion: The American Spectator, Townhall, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Politico:
Red-state Democrats refuse to come out against Kavanaugh

Discussion: Washington Post, Liberty Unyielding, AOL, The Week, Breitbart and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Willa Frej / HuffPost:
Judiciary Committee Republicans Are Dodging Deborah Ramirez, Attorney Says

Discussion: The Week, Breitbart, CNN and Splinter

BostonGlobe.com:
Republicans are adopting Trump's tactics in Kavanaugh battle

Discussion: Washington Post

David Barden / HuffPost: Tucker Carlson Criticizes Rape Victims Who Don't Report: 'You're Part Of The Problem'

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: 3 things to watch today

Discussion: Washington Times and Associated Press

Molly Hensley-Clancy / BuzzFeed News:
Brett Kavanaugh's Yale Classmates Remember Him In A “Drinky Crowd”

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, The Intercept, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Above the Law and Booman Tribune

Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Avenatti: I wasn't scammed — Michael Avenatti on Tuesday lashed …

Discussion: USA Today, CNBC, RealityChek, The Right Scoop, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News, ABC News, Mediaite and Towleroad Gay News

Lili Loofbourow / Slate:
Brett Kavanaugh and the Cruelty of Male Bonding

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Bloomberg, The Federalist, Washington Post, KTVQ-TV, CNBC, Bustle and HuffPost

Washington Post:
Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona county sex crimes prosecutor, emerges as top GOP choice to question …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Raw Story and Washington Times

Dennis Romero / NBC News:
Lawyer for second Kavanaugh accuser says Republicans refuse to talk

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post and Bustle

Politico:
Trump stays away from Senate Kavanaugh fight

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Weekly Standard and twitchy.com

Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

New Polls: Democrats in Decent Shape Across the Frost Belt — Democratic Senate incumbents with big leads in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; very close races in Indiana Senate and Ohio governor; Scott Walker behind in Wisconsin — A series of new Reuters/Ipsos/University …

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

NBC News poll: Ohio gubernatorial race tied, Brown leads big in Senate race — The race to replace outgoing Gov. John Kasich is in a dead heat weeks before Election Day. — WASHINGTON — Ohio's open governor's race is tied, new polling from NBC News/Marist College shows …

Discussion: Reuters and NTK Network

David Lauter / Los Angeles Times:
With growing support from women, Democrats poised for major gains in midterm, new poll shows

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Democrats have narrow lead in top Florida contests

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, Florida Politics, CNBC and Talking Points Memo

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:

Republicans start to pull plug on members — Republicans are performing critical triage to their midterm spending strategy as they seek to hold on to their House majority in a difficult midterm year. — The House GOP's campaign arm pulled the plug on its remaining ad buys last week …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Ben Jacobs / The Guardian:
Tennessee debate highlights uphill battle as Democrats eye Senate majority

Discussion: CNN

James Arkin / Politico: Bredesen won't back Schumer as Democratic leader

Jon Henley / The Guardian:

Distracted Boyfriend meme is sexist, rules Swedish ad watchdog — Popular image of man ogling another woman deemed degrading and discriminatory — The popular Distracted Boyfriend meme, based on a photo of a man turning away from his outraged girlfriend to stare admiringly at another woman …

Discussion: Mashable and The Local

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Rod Rosenstein's departure was imminent. Now he likely survives until after the midterms, officials say — Rod J. Rosenstein's departure seemed so certain earlier this week that his boss's chief of staff told colleagues he had been tapped by the White House to take over as second-in-command …

Discussion: The Week, HuffPost and Mediaite

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
House Republicans prepare subpoena for McCabe memos

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, Washington Post, Washington Times and RedState

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Considers Keeping Rosenstein On, Advisers Say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Adam Smith / Tampa Bay Times:

Ron DeSantis' wobbly campaign is running out of time to show he's ready for big leagues — The Republican gubernatorial nominee is struggling to gain traction in the general election — Ron DeSantis took a few friendly questions from Republican business owners in Oldsmar Tuesday during …

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Tom Steyer to Spend Millions Backing Andrew Gillum in Florida

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Capitolist, Florida Politics, electionlawblog.org, Political Wire and Politico

Emily Bazelon / New York Times:

Will Florida's Ex-Felons Finally Regain the Right to Vote? — A referendum on the November ballot in Florida would re-enfranchise 1.5 million of citizens — and could change the state's electorate. — Twenty-five years ago, when he was a sophomore at Ohio State, Neil Volz started volunteering for his state senator, Bob Ney.

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:

H.R. McMaster: ‘Wholly appropriate’ for Gary Cohn to remove letter from Trump's desk — Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster on Tuesday defended his ex-White House colleague Gary Cohn for removing a trade-related document from President's Trump. — “I know about that incident …

Will Oremus / Slate:

The Temptation of Apple News — The world's most valuable company is wooing the media with a human touch and a huge audience. One thing it hasn't delivered: money. — In the years leading up to the 2016 U.S. election, Facebook became the world's de facto morning newspaper—and everyone wanted to land on A1.

more at Mediagazer »

The Wrap:

‘NBC Nightly News’ Suffers Lowest-Rated Year Ever — But Lester Holt-anchored newscast still beats David Muir in key demo — “NBC Nightly News” declined in ratings during the 2017-18 TV season, suffering its lowest-rated September-to-September year ever.

Discussion: Breitbart