memeorandum: “Cocaine Mitch” wins over deplorables (Jonathan Swan/Axios)

12:45 PM ET, October 6, 2018

Top Items:

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

“None of This Was Fair”: the Kavanaugh Nomination Marks the Triumph of Trumpism on Capitol Hill — For the President, the whole fight has been the kind of win he loves: divisive and loud, with enraged liberals sputtering and his political base riled up. — By the time Senator Susan Collins …

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 …

Discussion: Althouse, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politico and Instapundit

New York Sun:

Susan Collins' Game Changer — It's tempting to call Senator Susan Collins' announcement of her intention to vote for Judge Kavanaugh a profile in courage and it surely is that. In recent weeks she has been subjected to threats of violence and what she considers to be a bribery attempt …

Discussion: Power Line, PJ Media Home, RealClearPolitics and National Review

Wall Street Journal:

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: Vox, Daily Kos, Conservative News Today, Sputnik International, Washington Post, Raw Story, HuffPost, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Politico:

Senate set to vote on Kavanaugh — DRIVING THE DAY — THE SENATE is poised to put BRETT KAVANAUGH on the Supreme Court. The final vote is scheduled to happen this afternoon around 5 p.m. Senate Democrats have taken to the Senate floor this morning giving impassioned speeches against Kavanaugh's appointment to the court.

Discussion: Political Wire, CNN and HuffPost

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

Susan Collins' Bad Faith — Her pro-Kavanaugh speech on the Senate floor was an insult to Americans' intelligence. — Sen. Susan Collins' Friday speech announcing her decision to support Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the Supreme Court revealed that her vote had never really been in doubt.

Discussion: The Atlantic and The Nation

New York Times:
Read Susan Collins's Speech Declaring Support for Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: Althouse, Raw Story and IJR

Fox News Insider:
McConnell Praises Sen. Collins, Responds to Susan Rice Possibly Floating Opposing Bid

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, Conservative News Today and Fox News

HuffPost:
Donors Are Organizing A Multimillion-Dollar Effort To Defeat Susan Collins In 2020

Discussion: New York Daily News, Bangor Daily News, The Week, The Intercept, Axios, Sara Gideon and The Daily Beast

CNN:
The effort to unseat Susan Collins in 2020 is already underway

Discussion: KTVQ-TV, Patterico's Pontifications, Joe.My.God. and TheBlaze

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Bitter Tenor of Senate Reflects a Nation at Odds With Itself

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Robby Soave / Hit & Run:
Brett Kavanaugh Will Be Confirmed, and Liberals Should Blame Michael Avenatti

Discussion: Hot Air and twitchy.com

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

Discussion: Conservative News Today, The Daily Beast, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and Axios

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:

Merrick Garland Has Recused Himself From The Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh — Chief Judge Merrick Garland disqualified himself from handling ethics complaints against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit announced Saturday morning.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Robert Post / Politico:

Brett Kavanaugh Cannot Have It Both Ways — As the former dean of Yale Law School, I'm shocked by the judge's partisan turn. — Brett Kavanaugh and I differ on most fundamental questions of constitutional law. Nevertheless, as a former dean of the institution where he received his law degree …

Press Herald:

Our View: With a ‘yes’ vote, Sen. Collins ties her legacy to that of Brett Kavanaugh — It may not seem fair to pin so much responsibility on one senator, but she is part of a small group of her colleagues who could break a partisan vote. — Maine's Sen. Susan Collins did more than announce …

Discussion: Kennebec Journal …

Michael Tomasky / New York Times:

The High Court Brought Low — Don't let Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh have the last word about American justice. — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. — So what now?

Discussion: The Other McCain, Joe.My.God. and Outside the Beltway

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Brett Kavanaugh admits he screwed up — but doesn't actually say how

Discussion: Florida Politics, New York Times, Macleans.ca and Daily Kos

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Kagan warns that Supreme Court may not have a swing vote anymore

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, The Week and CNN

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation will delegitimize the Supreme Court — and that's good

Discussion: Althouse and Daily Kos

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Senators representing less than half the U.S. are about to confirm a nominee opposed by most Americans

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Townhall and The American Spectator

New York Times:

F.B.I. Review of Kavanaugh Was Limited From the Start — President Trump, reacting to critics, said the F.B.I. should have a free hand to investigate. But the White House counsel told him that would be potentially disastrous. … POLICE SHOOTING — White Officer Convicted of Murder in the Death of Black Teenager in Chicago

Discussion: The Week, Vox, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Viking Pundit

Luppe B. Luppen / Yahoo:
Lawsuits point to large trove of unreleased Kavanaugh White House documents

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
House Democrat Promises Kavanaugh Investigation if Party Wins Control

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Caller News Foundation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Mahablog, POLITICUSUSA, The American Conservative, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Axios and Washington Post

Peter Baker / New York Times:

After Lots of Bluster, Trump Has a Week to Brag About — WASHINGTON — He promised so much success that everyone would be tired of all the winning. But after 20 months that proved more arduous than President Trump once imagined, this may be the best week of his presidency so far.

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon: Trump's Remarkable Week

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Breitbart, Sputnik International and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

“Cocaine Mitch” wins over deplorables — You know something rare has happened in the Republican Party when Steve Bannon is gushing over Mitch McConnell — the man he spent months trying to destroy. — Between the lines: In a text message last night, Bannon told Swan …

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

U.S. General Considered Nuclear Response in Vietnam War, Cables Show — WASHINGTON — In one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War, the top American military commander in Saigon activated a plan in 1968 to move nuclear weapons to South Vietnam until he was overruled by President Lyndon B. Johnson …

Hrag Vartanian / Hyperallergic:

$1.3M Banksy Artwork “Self-Destructs” at Auction — A Banksy artwork “self-destructed” at a Friday night Sotheby's auction in London. — “Girl with a Balloon” (2006) was the final lot of the evening sale at Sotheby's and ended things off with an impressive final price of £953,829 …

Discussion: Financial Times, The Express Tribune, Marginal REVOLUTION, VICE and RT

Salvador Hernandez / BuzzFeed News:

A Reporter Who Wore A MAGA Hat While Covering A Trump Rally Has Been Fired — A reporter for an NBC affiliate in Minnesota was fired Friday, one day after he was spotted wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat while covering a Trump rally for the local TV station.