ALL ATTENTION ON D.C. FOR KAVANAUGH DECISION DAY
Final confirmation votes expected to be tight
The eyes of the nation are on Washington, D.C., as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faces a high-stakes vote today with a final confirmation decision to follow after weeks of tense hearings and protests.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tweeted yesterday that he plans to hold a cloture vote today, a step that needs to happen before a final vote on the federal judge can take place, which would likely happen over the next few days.
An FBI investigation into sexual assault allegations against President Trump’s Supreme Court pick has wrapped up with McConnell saying it shows “no hint of misconduct” while Democrats say it is too limited in scope.
The votes are expected to be close, as Republicans control the Senate by a 51-49 count and only one Democrat and three Republicans are the outstanding swing votes. Vice President Mike Pence would break a tie in favor of Trump’s nominee.
Experts say the controversial process is sure to leave a lasting effect on the midterm elections and Supreme Court nominations.
“It’s just gotten more and more political,” Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz told the Herald of the Supreme Court confirmation process, pointing additionally to Robert Bork, who the Democrats took down in the 1980s and Merrick Garland, who the Republicans would not bring to a vote in 2016. “We’re going to see more and more belligerence.”
“We have to figure out how to take it back from the senators,” Dershowitz continued, though he conceded that that was unlikely. “The president should appoint a commission of distinguished scholars, thinkers and professors to come up with a report on what should happen.”
Republican consultant Rob Willington, a former MassGOP executive director, told the Herald the “Kavanaugh debacle” has helped close the enthusiasm gap Democrats had held over Republicans, a disparity recent polls have shown has tightened.
“Now the Republican base is also awake,” Willington said, adding that he does not believe they’re going to start snoozing again even if Kavanaugh is quickly confirmed now. “It’s the home stretch — people aren’t going to get less engaged.”
David Paleologos, the
director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, which conducts polls nationwide, said that the constantly updating news cycle pushes big events quickly out of the public eye. For example, Suffolk had been asking voters four questions about Kavanaugh, but in an upcoming Senate race they’re looking at, they will only ask one, a simple question about Kavanaugh’s approval.
“Voter intensity isn’t the kind of thing that switches on and off like a light — but it can fade or, on the flip side of that, intensify,” Paleologos told the Herald.
Rebecca Hart Holder, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, said she expects women in particular to come out to the polls in a few weeks for Democrats after the debates about Roe v. Wade and sexual assault.
“This is a scary time for people,” Holder said. “The midterms are a mechanism for women to express their extraordinary fear about what’s going on.”