Quick Hits: Volume CLXVII

- Thanks to their former leader Harry Reid and current leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Democrats have little to no hope in blocking Brett Kavanaugh from being confirmed as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice. The only legit chance would be for Sen. John McCain (who has expressed his admiration for Kavanaugh's credentials) to not be well enough to travel to Washington, D.C. to cast a "yea" vote and for Rand Paul to be unable to look past Kavanaugh's record on warrantless bulk collection of data. That would put the number of GOP senators at 49 supporting Kavanaugh, which would thwart his confirmation if all 49 Dems and Paul vote "nay."

Sadly for the Dems, the dream now appears dead.

After meeting Judge Kavanaugh and reviewing his record, I have decided to support his nomination. No one will ever completely agree with a nominee (unless of course, you are the nominee). Each nominee however, must be judged on the totality of their views character and opinions.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 30, 2018

Ah cheer up, Democrats. At least you still have Ruth Buzzi Bader Ginsburg for another 5 years.


- The Huffington Post Politics Twitter feed recently linked to an article about Barack and Michelle Obama enjoying life after the White House. They tweeted out the following to accompany said piece: "The Obama were spotted dancing to "N***as in Paris" at Beyoncé and Jay-Z's show on Saturday. "They are living their best life," one fan tweeted.

CNN's Jake Tapper in response:

The Democratic Party is the weakest it has been since the 1920s, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/ATqKBx4bq0

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 29, 2018

Indeed, the numbers don't lie.

In his eight years in office, Obama oversaw the rapid erosion of the Democratic Party’s political power in state legislatures, congressional districts and governor’s mansions. At the beginning of Obama’s term, Democrats controlled 59 percent of state legislatures, while now they control only 31 percent, the lowest percentage for the party since the turn of the 20th century. They held 29 governor’s offices and now have only 16, the party’s lowest number since 1920.

Instead of dancing to a Jay-Z song, perhaps Obama would have looked more natural playing the fiddle while a donkey symbol was set ablaze.


- Upon resigning in disgrace from his U.S. Senate seat, Al Franken always gave a sense that he wasn't going away quietly.

He all but confirmed that in a recent interview with a local TV station.

WCCO-TV reporter Esme Murphy asked, "Will you run for office again?"

"Well, see, if I say anything there, you'll put it in the story. I don’t know. I don't know," Franken replied. "I haven’t ruled it out, and I haven’t ruled it in."

He obviously misses the U.S. Senate. He also obviously thinks he was wronged by the #MeToo movement, which aims to call attention to sexual abuse and misconduct. Remember: When he resigned in December 2017, he was anything but contrite.

"All women deserve to be heard, and their experiences taken seriously,” he said just before claiming the allegations leveled against him "are not true."

In all honesty, I hope he runs again. Since I know for a fact that there are more women whom he touched inappropriately than the eight who have come forward, it's likely those untold stories will emerge. How can the political party who declares themselves "champions for women" continue to justify Franken's return to the Senate? Regardless, it would be fun watching proggies twist themselves into a pretzel over this, particularly if they drone on with the perpetual chanting point of "ALL WOMEN DESERVE TO BE BELIEVED!!!!'

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