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News and Analysis
September 7, 2018 4:05 pm | By 28179Why Brett Kavanaugh’s Excuse for His 2003 Email on Roe Doesn’t Work
In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 6, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh tried to explain away a March 24, 2003 email he wrote while in the White House about whether Roe v. Wade is “settled law.”…
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News and Analysis
September 7, 2018 1:58 pm | By 28186Second Day of Kavanaugh Questioning Makes Even More Clear His Troubling Views on Presidential Power
During Wednesday’s second day of senators’ questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a number of them honed in on questions Kavanaugh has not answered about his past record concerning presidential power and prerogative. Although Kavanaugh continued to evade or…
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News and Analysis
September 6, 2018 7:55 pm | By 28188Brett Kavanaugh Refuses to Criticize Trump’s Attacks on the Judiciary
On the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Brett Kavanaugh made his fealty to President Trump clear in an exchange with Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The senator pointed out how the independence of the federal judiciary is under attack…
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News and Analysis
September 6, 2018 3:41 pm | By 28188Brett Kavanaugh Still Deflecting on Presidential Power in Supreme Court Hearing
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh continues to avoid ‘fessing up to his belief that a sitting president cannot be criminally indicted. https://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse/status/1036954533593722880 On the afternoon of day three of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Sen. Whitehouse showed a telling video…
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News and Analysis
September 6, 2018 12:59 pm | By 28188An Unsettling Deception About “Settled Law”
Brett Kavanaugh has sought to hide his plans to be the fifth vote to eviscerate abortion rights by repeating the truism that Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood are “settled law.” Republicans hope Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa…
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News and Analysis
September 6, 2018 10:43 am | By 28188Democrats’ Civil Disobedience For American Values at the Sham SCOTUS Hearing
The GOP’s effort to sell the Brett Kavanaugh hearings as legitimate crumbled even further as soon as Day Three began. Chairman Grassley insisted the “committee confidential” process was fair and gave all senators plenty of time to make certain documents…
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News and Analysis
September 6, 2018 10:08 am | By 28186
Despite Kavanaugh’s Efforts To Evade, Senators Make Clear His Troubling Views on Presidential Power
Although Judge Brett Kavanaugh did his best to evade and avoid questions on his views of presidential power, the dogged questioning of Senators coupled with his past record make clear just how troubling his views are, particularly in light of…
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News and Analysis
September 5, 2018 5:21 pm | By 64026Fact Checking the Supreme Court Hearings: A Corrupt, Dishonest Process
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee made one thing clear today: they’re unwilling to let anything stop them from forcing Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination forward—not transparency, not committee rules, not the integrity of the Senate, not the will of the American…
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News and Analysis
September 5, 2018 3:18 pm | By 28185Susan Collins, Meet Lindsey Graham
In hearings on the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, most Republican senators manifested a dewy-eyed naiveté with regard to Kavanaugh’s position on Roe v. Wade. Chairman Chuck Grassley went so far as to urge Kavanaugh not to comment…
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News and Analysis
September 5, 2018 1:46 pm | By 28188Kavanaugh Proves the Difference Between the Personal and the Professional
During his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Brett Kavanaugh and his fellow Republicans on the Judiciary Committee spent much of Wednesday morning focusing on his personal traits: He helps feed homeless people, coaches basketball and supports women lawyers he has worked…
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News and Analysis
September 4, 2018 1:45 pm | By 28188A Corrupt Hearing to Corrupt Our Democracy
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy noted this morning that: only four percent of [Brett Kavanaugh’s] White House record has been shared with the public, and only seven percent has been made available to this Committee. The rest remains hidden from scrutiny.…
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News and Analysis
September 4, 2018 9:28 am | ByCrash Course: How Does The Supreme Court Nomination Process Work?
Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court of the United States. Kavanaugh has a record that shows he will bend over backwards to push his extremist agenda and won't come to the bench with an open mind. The next…
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News and Analysis
September 3, 2018 1:22 pm | By 28185ABA Issues Rating for Brett Kavanaugh—And Suddenly Republicans Care About ABA Ratings!
Late on Friday afternoon, the American Bar Association’s announced that it has rated Brett Kavanaugh “well qualified” for a seat on the Supreme Court. But Republicans crowing about the ABA’s rating today are flaunting their own hypocrisy. For months, they’ve…
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News and Analysis
August 31, 2018 3:44 pm | By 28185, 28183The Progressive Happy Hour: The Fight for Gun Violence Prevention
Over the past several years, as deadly mass shootings continue to occur with alarming frequency, gun violence prevention has been hotly debated by our federal and state officials and the general public. In the August 29 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” co-host…
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News and Analysis
August 24, 2018 2:34 pm | By 28185, 28187, 60767The Progressive Happy Hour: Alex Jones, Technology and the Alt Right
Earlier this month, hard-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones lost his prominent online presence after Spotify, Google, YouTube, Apple and a slew of other tech companies banned his Infowars podcast from their sites for having violated their terms of service—reviving the…
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News and Analysis
August 24, 2018 2:19 pm | By 28188Another Unqualified Trump Nominee, This Time in Oklahoma
This week, yet another Trump judicial nominee—John O’Connor of Oklahoma—was deemed unqualified for the bench by a disinterested, non-partisan, and unanimous committee of the American Bar Association. Unfortunately, since Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley rushed the confirmation process, no senator…
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News and Analysis
August 23, 2018 2:11 pm | By 28188Not This Supreme Court Nominee, and Not Now
Trump’s attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen has pled guilty to numerous felonies and implicated Trump in criminal activity intended to affect the presidential election. His campaign manager Paul Manafort has been found guilty of numerous felonies connected to his efforts…
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News and Analysis
August 21, 2018 4:39 pm | By 28186
“Protecting” Civil Liberties Kavanaugh-Style
This post originally appeared on Medium. Some of Brett Kavanaugh’s supporters maintain that adding him to the Supreme Court would strengthen protection for constitutional civil liberty. Well, that all depends on what civil liberties we are talking about and for…
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News and Analysis
August 17, 2018 3:21 pm | By 28185, 28187, 64117The Progressive Happy Hour: Young People For Tallahassee Road Show
The midterm elections are less than three months away, and recent voter registration data suggest that young progressive voters are galvanizing to take the ballot box by storm in November. Friends of the podcast may recall that we’ve discussed the…
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News and Analysis
August 16, 2018 8:50 am | By 28179
What’s Behind Chuck Grassley’s Rush to Confirm Brett Kavanaugh? Corruption.
On July 27, in his request for Brett Kavanaugh’s White House records, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley pointedly omitted records from the three critically important years when Kavanaugh worked as staff secretary in the George W. Bush White House. In…