How long can Susan Collins keep lying to herself about Kavanaugh?

[turbinetree]

By Caroline Orr - September 28, 2018

Collins seems to have invented a version of Brett Kavanaugh that doesn't exist.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) appears to be getting pretty desperate to find a way to justify a potential vote in favor of Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, even as his confirmation to the court becomes more imperiled.

But rather than, say, not voting for him, Collins seems to have invented a fictional version of Kavanaugh to give herself permission to support him without admitting that she’s betraying her own promise to defend women’s rights.

For one thing, despite her insistence that she has an open mind when it comes to Kavanaugh’s accusers, and despite reportedly expressing concern in private about the accusations, Collins has been shockingly dismissive in the face of evidence that corroborates the allegations against Kavanaugh.

When presented with excerpts from Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook that appear to contain references to another potential victim, Collins feigned ignorance — and cast aspersions on Ford instead.

“There are rumors — there are so many rumors — that there are issues with Christine Ford’s yearbook as well,” Collins said.

https://shareblue.com/susan-collins-roe-v-wade-brett-kavanaugh-fake/

Hey Collins, now that there is a resubmitting of a FBI investigation to this person.....................your "guy" perjured himself...............his former classmates basically said this.....................your still toast in 2020..................and now your going to try to have it both ways , when you said you were glad that it was re-opened.............you had the means and the power to do this before, what happened yesterday...................you never said a word..........

[OrlandoDem2]

1. She hs lied to herself and the nation about the entire GOP for her whole career.

[Meadowoak]

2. I think all the R's will breathe a sigh of relief when the dirt comes out from the FBI. This will

Give them cover to vote no.

[bearsfootball516]

7. I think that's why Flake called for it.

He wants an excuse to vote no without looking bad in front of the Republican party.

[shanny]

17. Could be. Could be congressional pukes are looking for an out

and the fact that he is retiring made him a suitable candidate to fall on his sword. iirc McConnell et al didn't want this guy ("pick literally anybody else" ); Rump did (no investigations of the president while in office).

[BumRushDaShow]

3. It seems she likes to "pick her battles" for maximum effect

and apparently this one wasn't originally on her list (as a confirmation) to use the tactic, which she rations to once or twice a year.

That must mean there is something else in the pipeline that is coming up that was her original intent to use for equivocation.

[turbinetree]

4. Yepper, spot on.................

[BumRushDaShow]

11. I know another hurl at the ACA is still lurking in the shadows

https://www.axios.com/affordable-care-act-repeal-2018-midterm-elections-eeeee50f-2fbd-4d9e-ac40-a2e394b6dcd2.html

And their previous effort had been torpedoed by a guy who is no longer around.

So it'll be a post-midterms thing, which makes GOTV this November even more critical!

[turbinetree]

14. I fully believe that, and that they will go after SS and Medicare and do the same thing

so we really need to GOTV.....................

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Definitely

Lyin' Ryan, who will thankfully be going away, was all over SS & Medicare elimination.

But there is ALSO a deadline that is going to hit this weekend that has fallen out of the news cycle (and it ain't the government appropriations and CR that was signed yesterday). It's the FARM Bill. That expires tomorrow night at midnight. That funded SNAP but also funded all those subsidies for the farmers (in addition to Drumpf's trade war bribe money).

The last time it lapsed (for a year), it still had enough funding to sortof continue the programs and there were a couple short-term extensions, but the battle was fierce and this time it will be worse.

So eliminating or severely slashing SNAP (food stamps)/WIC/ADC is the next knock-down drag out to come and probably sooner rather than later.

[turbinetree]

20. Thanks for the reminder.............also haven't heard to much on this.....................

[BumRushDaShow]

21. The House passed their draconian version in June

which was DOA in the Senate, who passed their own version. They have been unable to reconcile the 2 versions in order to vote on a single identical bill.

House farm bill passes with controversial food stamp changes

By CATHERINE BOUDREAU
06/21/2018 04:08 PM EDT
Updated 06/21/2018 06:01 PM EDT


The House passed its farm bill Thursday by a vote of 213-211 after weeks of uncertainty over whether leadership would be able to secure enough support within the fractious GOP Conference to pass a measure that is critical to farm country. Republican leadership succeeded in rebounding from last month’s stunning defeat of the massive $860 billion legislation by meeting the demands of the House Freedom Caucus, which helped tank the first vote by withholding support as leverage to force a roll call on a conservative immigration measure. The immigration bill, written by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), was voted down earlier Thursday, but clearing that hurdle led the influential conservative bloc to deliver just enough support to pass the farm bill.

Freedom Caucus support was essential, because Democrats were unanimous in their opposition to the bill over new work requirements for food stamp recipients. Twenty Republicans joined with Democrats in opposing the bill, but eight Freedom Caucus members flipped their votes from last month and voted in favor, including caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.).

Passage of the House farm bill — which would re-authorize programs ranging from nutrition assistance and crop subsidies to rural development and agricultural research — moves Congress one step closer to sending a bill to President Donald Trump before the current legislation expires at the end of September. The Senate is planning to take up its version, which has bipartisan support, as soon as next week, and passage is widely expected — but trouble could be in store when both bills get to conference.

House GOP leadership had to rely solely on Republican lawmakers to carry the measure — the first farm bill to pass either chamber with only one-party support — after Democrats revolted over its proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. SNAP, which helps more than 40 million Americans buy groceries, accounts for more than three-quarters of the farm bill’s price tag.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/21/house-passes-farm-bill-663124

Trade promotion, dozens of other programs at risk as existing farm bill nears expiration

Jeff Daniels | @jeffdanielsca
Published 10:35 AM ET Fri, 28 Sept 2018 Updated 22 Hours Ago

With the existing farm bill set to expire after Sunday and no deal reached by a joint House and Senate conference committee, it's likely the legislation will be taken up by a lame-duck session of Congress after the November midterm elections. Yet the looming expiration has more immediate ramifications for 39 so-called orphan programs because they have authorization or funding tied to the 2014 Farm Bill. They include a government-funded trade promotion program utilized by various U.S. agricultural sectors, including some targeted with retaliatory tariffs by China and others.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who chairs the House-Senate farm bill conference committee, said in a statement Friday that the focus is "on getting a conference agreement on the farm bill as soon as possible to minimize the impact." "Time is getting short," said Kevin Skunes, a corn and soybean grower from North Dakota and president of the National Corn Growers Association. "If the bill expires, some funding for our export program called 'Foreign Market Development' will be impacted." Another program that doesn't have baseline funding after Sept. 30 is for organic agriculture. Also at risk are certain bioenergy and rural business development programs as well as a program to assist military veteran farmers.

<...>

Both chambers of Congress passed a farm bill in June but major differences between the bills have led to delays in finalizing an agreement. For one, the Senate's $428 billion farm bill didn't have stricter work rule requirements for food stamp recipients, or people participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The White House and conservatives in the House has pushed for the SNAP changes, but Democrats oppose tougher work rules for the government's food assistance program.

Farm subsidy reform, meantime, is another sticking point in reaching a compromise along with policy on land conservation programs. The House version of the farm bill eliminates the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which is utilized by forest and farm landowners. CSP is the nation's largest conservation program with more than 70 million acres enrolled in the program, according to the USDA.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/looming-expiration-of-farm-bill-raises-risks-for-trade-promotion.html

[Iliyah]

5. She is not lying.

[lark]

12. ???

I don't understand your comment. What did you mean? She's obviously lying to the public when she says she believes he won't overturn Roe v Wade, she's not a dummy and all his writings show extreme antipathy for it and he in a hate filled tone informed the committee that birth control pills cause abortions, like it was a totally settled fact but he and she knows it's a lie. She's trying to fool us, but she knows she's been bribed or threatened and really doesn't care. She'll just play it off as "worst move of my life, so sorry" or will bluff and say I did what I thought was right.

Interesting thing is if FBI finds proof of assaults and black out drinking, will she change her mind, or is the bribe/threat big enough that she will vote yes even when he's been absolutely proven to be unfit??

[zanana1]

6. Collins keeps taking the football away. nt

[kentuck]

8. Until she is no longer in the Senate.

She needs to be replaced by a Democrat.

[Iggo]

9. She's not lying to herself. She's lying to you.

She doesn't believe one word of that bullshit.

[LakeSuperiorView]

10. She's a binary thinking conservative. Only capable of yes/no, black/white, with us or against us.

People like that have to bend reality into their mindview and can accept almost anything to do it. Since the GOP needs Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, she believes he won't do the things that he obviously would do.

[madaboutharry]

13. Susan Collins trading in Alex Jones conspiracy theories is a very bad look for her.

What the hell is wrong with her?

If you click on the link you can clearly see that the yearbook pages are completely benign. There are no "issues" with Christine Ford's yearbook. Susan Collins should be ashamed of herself.

She is a bigger idiot than I thought. I always thought she was dim, but now she has proven that she is not only dumb but is as much a jerk as her male colleagues in the republican party.

[shanny]

15. Forever. Next question.

[grantcart]

18. She has a lot of practice

[maxrandb]

19. She's as worthless as tits on a bullfrog

as my dad would say.

No matter what, she's needs to get her ass handed to her the next time she's up for election. At this point, she could vote "No" on Rapey Brett and switch parties to Democratic, but she would still need to get her electoral ass kicked.

If for no other reason, she needs to be defeated so we don't have to ever go through this "will-she/won't-she" fucking bullshit

Every time there is a possibility that millions of Americans are going to get fucked over by the latest nutty fucking wing-nut, racist shit the Retrumplicans are doing, the fucking media run to Suzie to breathlessly ask; "will this be the time she shows political courage"?

Fuck that noise. For the country's sanity, she needs to go the fuck away.

[jalan48]

22. Is she using the argument it's what her constituents want?

[PCIntern]

23. What is her "virtue" that she keeps being re-elected?

There's no one else in the state of Maine that has more charisma, more political acumen, more strengths, than she?

[dalton99a]

24. Because she is not batshit crazy like Paul LePage?