Posted on 09/25/2018 10:16:05 AM PDT by Mariner
WASHINGTON — Republican Party leaders may be insisting that they will install Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, but Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is offering a blunt warning of her own: Do not prejudge sexual assault allegations against the nominee that will be aired at an extraordinary public hearing on Thursday.
“We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,” Ms. Murkowski, a key swing Republican vote, said in an extended interview in the Capitol Monday night. “It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.”
One of two Republican woman in the Senate who supports abortion rights — Susan Collins of Maine is the other — Ms. Murkowski was always expected to be a critical vote in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. But she is making clear that, beyond matters of reproductive rights, she is deeply troubled by Christine Blasey Ford’s story of a sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh when she was 15 and he was 17.
In the interview, Ms. Murkowski emphasized how invested she is in assessing Dr. Blasey’s story. She said she worked behind the scenes last weekend to ensure negotiations between Republicans and the accuser’s lawyers did not fall apart because of an “arbitrary timeline.” She canceled a meeting of the Senate committee she chairs on Thursday to ensure her schedule was clear.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The vote needs to be done and this needs to be finished.
Democrats voted for her.
Unable to leave message for Ms Murkowski....like many in Congress, voice mail boxes are full. Could it be that they do not, truly, want to hear from Americans? sarc/on
Would like to ask the Senator if she takes Ellison accusations seriously.
She promised the dem INdians all the gold they could eat if they wrote her in on election day; all after she lost the primary.
What pisses me off is these people seem to fail to understand... there’s nothing to investigate. The accuser refuses to divulge any pertinent information.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski – office number 202-224-6665
“Hard not to remember that had Luther Strange been nominated for Senate in AL, we’d have that crucial extra insurance vote.”
Thank you for saying that.
This is a bad sign. The GOP is a to blame for this horrible woman. They made sure she won even when she lost the Primary and was a write in.
What’s worse, she won with a lot of Rat votes, so she feels beholden to them. She’s only a Pubbie because her daddy was.
No one's holding you here. Go play with the smart kiddies at Truth or Dare, if we're too ignorant for you.
The usual suspects, Murkowski, Collins, Flake and Corker...
A woman can be a victim, and a woman can accuse the wrong person, and a woman can out right lie....
A woman claiming she was victimized by a man 40 years ago, does not mean that she actually was victimized by that man. An accusation by itself is not evidence.
I have no problem letting this woman speak, assuming she even shows up.. but do I believe even if her allegations are true, that a 17 year old and a 15 year old drunk at a party, had an encounter that was less than stellar in its character, that the accused is a predator??
No, I do not.
Does that 1 encounter disqualify him from serving as a Supreme Court Justice?
No, I do not.
And that is assuming that EVERYTHING this woman has claimed is true. The greater problem is, there is absolutely no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that any of her allegations are true.
A claim of sexual assault, does not mean a sexual assault occurred. The notion that an accusation is enough is preposterous.
I empathize with this woman, but there is nothing there Ms Murkowski, and if you believe there is, that speaks to your character, not Mr. Kavanaughs.
Sounds like we have to buy another bridge for eskimos
Unions, natives, and AK republican party leaders. She sold her soul to win a write in vote against the duly elected and conservative republican nominee for Senate. Simple math in AK, if you are owned by the unions and natives, you win.
That was the voters fault. It was a three way and she won over both the Dem and the Republican. I don’t think you can blame that on anyone but the guys who went to the polls. Unfortunately our own core voters aren’t very loyal. Not as loyal as the Dems.
“think Murkowski and Collins are the ones who are holding this up. Unfortunately, they control the swing votes. Without them, he is probably not confirmable.”
Murkowski and Collins need to told unambiguously that they will be removed from all Senate committees, no money allocated to their pet projects in their states in spending bills while they are in office, and that no party money will be spent on the reelection campaigns.
I suspect Murkowski knows well there’s nothing there...that’s not the game she’s playing.
She wants Santa Claus Mitch to reach down deep in his bag of presents $$$$ and find her a gift. Murkowski knows about whoring around...she’s a political prostitute (like so many). She wants to be paid for her trouble (vote).
The most effective thing would be for their own constituents to confront them. If you live in either Alaska or Maine, make your opinion known.
Where the hell is Grassley? He’s supposed to be the Chair of the Committee, yet he’s been AWOL...letting all the other Committee members make statements to the media.
he is not “letting” them do anything. Senators do this’ll the time.
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