memeorandum: The Supreme Court's Legitimacy Crisis (Michael Tomasky/New York Times)

12:05 AM ET, October 6, 2018

Top Items:

Grassley Says Workload Discourages Women Senators From Joining Judiciary Panel, Then Walks Back Remark — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) predicted that there would be more Republican women on his panel next year, after suggesting that the panel's workload was a deterrent.

Discussion: HuffPost, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Wall Street Journal:

Susan Collins Consents — The Maine Republican restores reason to the Kavanaugh confirmation. — The Editorial Board — With no small sense of the dramatic moment, Maine Senator Susan Collins waited until the final words of her more than 30-minute floor speech Friday to announce …

Discussion: Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Jezebel

The Daily Beast:

Top Dem Super PAC Backs Away From Phil Bredesen for Backing Kavanaugh — One of the top Democratic aligned super PACs says it will no longer consider helping Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen in Tennessee's Senate race after Bredesen announced his support for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Bredesen for Senate, Washington Examiner, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Townhall and Political Wire

HuffPost:

Donors Are Organizing A Multimillion-Dollar Effort To Defeat Susan Collins In 2020 — That's on top of $2 million already crowdsourced for her future Democratic opponent. — The left has a new top target for 2020: Maine Sen. Susan Collins. — While the election is more than two years away …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Washington Post, Bangor Daily News and USA Today

Robby Soave / Hit & Run:

Brett Kavanaugh Will Be Confirmed, and Liberals Should Blame Michael Avenatti — Sen. Susan Collins called the Swetnick story “outlandish.” It might have given her cover to confirm the judge. — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced on Friday they would vote …

Discussion: Hot Air and twitchy.com

Olivia Paschal / The Atlantic:

Read Susan Collins's Historic Floor Speech on Brett Kavanaugh — Capping several days of uncertainty over where her vote would fall, Senator Susan Collins said in a speech on the Senate floor on Friday that she would vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: New York Times and The American Conservative

Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:
Sens. Susan Collins and Jeff Flake Are Frauds, Plain and Simple. Their Kavanaugh Votes Show It.

Discussion: CBS News, CNN and Vox

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Did Michael Avenatti help doom the case against Brett Kavanaugh?

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and twitchy.com, more at Techmeme »

Pete Kasperowicz / Washington Examiner:
Michael Avenatti declares war on Susan Collins

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast and Patterico's Pontifications

National Review: Thank You, Susan Collins

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Elizabeth Warren's new, tantalizing claim about Kavanaugh shows what utter madness this is

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story, The Intellectualist, Washington Free Beacon and Hit & Run

Senator Susan Collins:
Senator Collins Announces She Will Vote to Confirm Judge Kavanaugh

Discussion: Breitbart, Townhall, Refinery29, Scared Monkeys, Louder With Crowder, No More Mister Nice Blog, AOL and RedState

Washington Post:
Senate votes 51 to 49 to advance Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court

Discussion: Politico, Axios, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, The Moderate Voice, New Republic, TheBlaze, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ABC News, The Root, Balloon Juice, The Atlantic, The Week and Outside the Beltway

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Kavanaugh's confirmation all but assured

Discussion: CNN, BuzzFeed News, The Week, Breitbart, Outside the Beltway, Common Dreams, Conservative News Today, VICE and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

F.B.I. Review of Kavanaugh Was Limited From the Start — WASHINGTON — An exasperated President Trump picked up the phone to call the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, last Sunday. Tell the F.B.I. they can investigate anything, he told Mr. McGahn, because we need the critics to stop.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

John Podhoretz / Commentary:

Backfire. — At 12:30 in the afternoon on September 27, I don't think there were many serious political thinkers or activists on the Right who thought Brett Kavanaugh would survive that morning's testimony by his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. — Eight days later—today—Kavanaugh all but secured his appointment.

Jack Mirkinson / Splinter:

The Democrats Failed Us — Let's be clear: Republicans are to blame for the fact that Brett Kavanaugh is about to become the next justice of the Supreme Court. But that doesn't mean that Democrats don't have anything to apologize for. — Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault by a string of women.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Federalist, TalkLeft and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
How Liberals Could Declare War on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Michael Tomasky / New York Times:
The Supreme Court's Legitimacy Crisis

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Washington Post

Sophie Tatum / CNN:
Attorneys: Christine Blasey Ford doesn't want Kavanaugh impeached, has no regrets

Discussion: TheBlaze

Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Sen. Durbin on Kavanaugh: I'll never forget the “fire in his eyes”

Discussion: New Republic, The Week, IJR and The Nation

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

The battle over accusations goes on as Kavanaugh nomination advances — Kavanaugh classmates ignored by the FBI speak out, reveal new text message. — WASHINGTON — As Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, closed out his executive summary of allegations of sexual misconduct …

Discussion: The Intellectualist and Raw Story

CNN:

Melania Trump's latest white hat evokes colonialist comparison — (CNN)When first lady Melania Trump first stepped out in front of the press Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, she was wearing an outfit suitable for the setting. She was at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, ready to pet …

Discussion: The Guardian, Jezebel and Front Page Magazine

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Melania Trump Raises Eyebrows in Africa With Another White Hat

Discussion: Quartz, HuffPost, Raw Story, Chicks On The Right, Vox, Mashable, twitchy.com, AOL and Althouse

Kathleen Culliton / Park Slope, NY Patch:

'I'm Doing My Workout,' Mayor Tells Homeless Woman Seeking Help — Video shows Mayor Bill de Blasio told 72-year-old Nathylin Flowers Adesegun, “I can't do this now.”

Discussion: Daily Caller News Foundation

New York Times:

House Democrat Promises Kavanaugh Investigation if Party Wins Control — Representative Jerrold Nadler said he was prepared to look into accusations of sexual misconduct and perjury. — Trump Claims, Without Evidence, That Kavanaugh Protesters Were Paid — The president derided women protesting …

Discussion: Raw Story and Axios

Rep. Eric Swalwell / Fresno Bee:

Nunes buried evidence on Russian meddling to protect Trump. I know because I'm on the committee — No one really expected President Donald Trump, who benefited from Russia's 2016 election interference, to counter that hostile regime's active measures: Russia wanted him to win, and when they hacked, he invited them to hack more.

Discussion: Raw Story

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:

The War That Never Ends — The vote on Brett Kavanaugh is likely to be taken this weekend. But, the impact of the battle over his confirmation is likely to have short and long-term consequences. — As for the short term, the consensus seems to be building among both Democratic …

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

‘Willing to go to the mat’: How Trump and Republicans carried Kavanaugh to the cusp of confirmation — Again and again, President Trump was instructed not to do it. A cadre of advisers, confidants and lawmakers all urged him — implored him, really — not to personally attack the women …

Ishaan Tharoor / Washington Post:

A journalist's disappearance may rev up a Middle East rivalry — Want smart analysis of the most important news in your inbox every weekday along with other global reads, interesting ideas and opinions to know? Sign up for the Today's WorldView newsletter. — We still do not know what has happened to Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and Council on Foreign Relations

Dan Merica / CNN:

Tennessee Senate race: Phil Bredesen goes all in on pledge to break with Democrats — (CNN)Democratic Senate hopeful Phil Bredesen is going all out to highlight his pledge to break with his own party as he seeks to win in conservative Tennessee. — Bredesen, a popular former governor …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Bredesen for Senate

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
The Kavanaugh effect: GOP runs hard against his tormenter Feinstein

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Times and KTVQ-TV

Sarah Maslin Nir / New York Times:

Take a Tour of Manafort's Multimillion-Dollar Homes, Going Up for Sale — As part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Paul Manafort, President Trump's disgraced campaign chairman, forfeited his New York homes worth about $22 million to the government. — An 1890s Brooklyn brownstone with gilded details.

Washington Post:

Trump abruptly replaces federal personnel director after just 7 months — President Trump on Friday abruptly replaced his federal personnel director after just seven months, leaving the agency that oversees 2.1 million civil servants with no permanent leadership at a time when the White House …

Don Palmerine / Washington Post:

I watched a rape. For five decades, I did nothing. — Many men have stories to tell and confessions to make. This is mine. — Don Palmerine is a former reporter and columnist living in Pittsburgh. — I was both an observer and a participant in a teenage rape.

Ben Terris / Washington Post:

Why is Lindsey Graham acting like this? — Lindsey Graham learned the benefits of acting audaciously at a young age. — As a boy, no older than 6, he hung around his mom and dad's bar in Central, S.C., dressing up as a cowboy and yukking it up with drunks for laughs.

Discussion: The Intellectualist, Splinter, Politico, Political Wire and Washingtonian

Luppe B. Luppen / Yahoo:

Lawsuits point to large trove of unreleased Kavanaugh White House documents — New details have emerged about potentially thousands of Brett Kavanaugh's White House emails and other records related to the Senate hacking scandal from early in the George W. Bush administration …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Phyllis Bennis / The Nation:

If Kavanaugh Is Confirmed, We Need to Mobilize Like Never Before — His record indicates that he would stonewall movements against poverty, militarism, and racism for a generation. — and , — It's a familiar story: A candidate for president loses the popular vote …

David French / National Review:

The Complete Case for Kavanaugh — The truth matters, and the truth is proved with evidence. — As we approach the final confirmation vote for Brett Kavanaugh, it's important to reflect back and take stock of the complete case against him - at least the complete case since Christine Blasey …

Discussion: Daily Caller News Foundation, Fox News, Viking Pundit and Townhall

Aimee Picchi / CBS News:

LaCroix ingredients: Lawsuit alleges “all natural” claim is false — LaCroix sparkling water is facing a lawsuit alleging its claims of “all natural” and “100 percent natural” are misleading because of artificial ingredients. — “Testing reveals that LaCroix contains a number of artificial ingredients …

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Caller and CBS Chicago

Slate:

Investigation at Yale Law School — An inquiry into the actions of a prominent professor reveals why it's so hard to report inappropriate behavior at the top law school in the country. — One afternoon late in her first year at Yale Law School, Linda sat down to create a contemporaneous record …