Democrat Hoping to Be Tennessee's Next Senator Says He'd Vote Yes on Kavanaugh

[babylonsister]

Democrat Hoping to Be Tennessee’s Next Senator Says He’d Vote Yes on Kavanaugh
At least one Democratic super PAC says it won’t support him moving forward.
Becca Andrews
October 5, 2018 2:10 PM



Phil Bredesen, the Democrat running in an unusually tight race for retiring Republican Bob Corker’s Senate seat in Tennessee, says if he were a senator now, he would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Shortly after the Senate voted to move Kavanaugh’s nomination forward Friday morning, the former governor said in a statement that while he’s “still missing key pieces of information that a sitting senator has,” he would vote yes because he sees Kavanaugh as a qualified candidate for the position.

Shortly after his announcement, the Daily Beast reported that Bredesen’s support for Kavanaugh will cost him the financial backing of Priorities USA Action, a top Democratic super PAC which has spent $13 million so far to boost Democratic midterm candidates. The PAC later clarified that it has not spent any money in the Tennessee Senate race so far, and it has now firmly decided against it in the wake of Bredesen’s statement. The Senate Majority PAC, meawhile, says it will remain supportive of Bredesen’s campaign. The Tennessee seat is one Democrats have been targeting to flip, but in a state where Trump enjoys some of his highest steady approval ratings, it’s an uphill battle.

Despite saying he would vote for Kavanaugh, Bredesen called Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified last week that she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when they were in high school, a “heroine” who “has brought forcefully into the national conversation the many barriers women face in reporting and dealing with sexual harassment and assault.”

Still, he said, “Presidents have the right to appoint justices who share their values—elections have consequences.”

more...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/10/democrat-hoping-to-be-tennessees-next-senator-says-hed-vote-yes-on-kavanaugh-phil-bredesen/

[meadowlark5]

1. Why would someone feel compelled to even weigh in on this if you don't have to?

So stupid. What, to try and get the deplorable vote? Just don't answer if asked. Say you haven't thought much on it as you are focused on healthcare and jobs etc, etc.

Now we could lose a seat to that nutjob Marsha Blackburn. She's like a blond Michelle Bachman.

[ProudLib72]

4. Maybe constituents were asking him?

You're right, though. He should have kept his stupid mouth shut. We don't want anyone who feels they have to appeal to deplorables.

[elleng]

7. I think you've got this wrong,

we want and need EVERYONE, EVEN those to feel they have to appeal to deplorables; we NEED 'deplorable' votes, BADLY.

[ProudLib72]

11. We NEED non voters to get off their butts and vote

Deplorables are intransigent assholes we need to forget about. Sorry, but that's just how I feel. No compromises on this level of decision.

[JI7]

14. why do you assume non voters wil vote a certain way ?

[ProudLib72]

19. Why GOTV then?

Given how closely party identification tracks with vote choice, the disparity in turnout probably cost Clinton the election. SurveyMonkey did not ask non-voters whom they would have voted for, but we do know that more than 90 percent of self-identified Democrats who cast a ballot voted for Clinton and more than 90 percent of Republicans voted for Trump. Moreover, voters who didn’t identify with or lean towards either party were slightly more likely to prefer Clinton to Trump. That means that had the non-voters cast a ballot in accordance with their party identification, Clinton’s advantage over Trump nationally would have expanded by about 2 to 3 percentage points. That almost certainly would have been enough to flip enough states for her to win the Electoral College.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/registered-voters-who-stayed-home-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/

Evidently, I'm not alone in thinking this: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211241518

[Awsi Dooger]

10. Bredesen danced around the topic during the debate two weeks ago

I watched a tape of that debate. He wouldn't answer whether he supported Kavanaugh or not. He said both sides disgusted him with the circus atmosphere.

Bredesen led the polling at that point and may have believed he didn't need to answer. Now that Blackburn leads by up to 5 points in some recent polls Bredesen apparently thinks he needs to take a stand, and aligned with the conservative nature of that state.

I had higher hopes for him until watching that debate. He seemed to be playing the safe and strategic moderate role that normally equates to a tight defeat. It was exactly the opposite of Beto taking confident stances on every topic, despite being in Texas.

[elleng]

2. "While the subsequent events make it a much closer call, and I am missing key pieces of information

that a sitting Senator has, I’m still a ‘yes'."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/10/05/key-kavanaugh-vote-u-s-senate-begins-bredesen-says-he-supports-nominee/1524565002/

Full information and a real FBI investigation might have changed this, imo.

[babylonsister]

5. Full info and a real investigation might have

changed a lot of minds. That's precisely why it never happened.

[Casprings]

3. Likely right call for Winning in TN NT

[elleng]

8. Thanks.

[BeckyDem]

6. From MoveOn

We're cancelling a planned six-figure digital video ad expenditure for Phil Bredesen in Tennessee due to his Kavanaugh position. And similarly will be pulling all planned campaigning on behalf of Joe Manchin in West Virginia if he votes yes. Kavanaugh is unfit for the Court.
12:58 PM - 5 Oct 2018

Link to tweet

[EarlG]

13. Brilliant!

If there’s one thing that these past few years have taught us it’s that getting majority control of the House and Senate is simply not important.

[BeckyDem]

15. Maybe they just don't agree with you on how to get there.

But they do want Dems back in control of the branches of government.

[EarlG]

20. They certainly don't agree with me on how to get there

They think pulling a six figure ad buy in a vital Senate race is a good idea. I think it’s a bad idea.

[BeckyDem]

21. They may find candidates who won't give in and would probably still win.

[Awsi Dooger]

25. Bredesen is our only chance in this race

Any other Democrat would be down double digits.

The disparity between liberals and conservatives is what causes this dilemma. Nationally it is 9% gap but in states like Texas and Tennessee it can be 20-32%. I posted a link earlier tonight from a Vanderbilt poll depicting Tennessee as 48% conservatives to 17% liberals. Republicans never face that type of thing. Not many states have more liberals than conservatives but where it does happen the gap is maybe 2% or 5% or 9%, which isn't too much to be overcome by shifting independents and moderates.

[BeckyDem]

27. You have two political groups who have always strongly supported Democrats and its pretty

clear they're not accepting votes like this any longer. I believe they are both well aware of the electorate in said state and also see the need for the candidate to stand up for certain issues.

[Awsi Dooger]

30. I understand that

Difficult balancing act. Seemingly we need a group willing to fund Democrats in the red states regardless of what they do, otherwise the 50 state strategy is mostly talk.

IMO, candidates like Bredesen and Manchin are already so well established in their states that they don't risk as much as they think they do, via voting with the party in situations like this.

Bill Clinton used to talk about the value of strong and wrong over weak and right. These votes may be deemed wrong by most people in those states but the strength of standing up for your party and its beliefs is seemingly every bit as valuable.

I have more respect for Heitkamp than Manchin or Bredesen, let's put it that way.

But for a newcomer in the state it seemingly won't lead anywhere if you take the hard left positions in a state that simply won't vote that way.

[BeckyDem]

31. What you're seeing here in reaction to their votes will be the trend that continues, imho.

Essentially they're saying they do not buy that those candidates will absolutely lose if they stand up for those imminently important issues.

[kcr]

32. Essentially they're saying they do not care if the GOP wins.

Their reasons for doing so don't matter. Feel free to agree that it's okay that the GOP wins because you agree with their reasoning. It's your right, of course. But it's stupid.

[BeckyDem]

34. No, that's not what they're saying at all.

Both groups aim and spend money to win.

[lancelyons]

18. Yep as long as we make sure people can use the right potties.. we are good.

[babylonsister]

22. Right? nt

[SouthernIrish]

9. Correct

I live in Tn and the people here would have voted for Marsha if he didn't say that. Marsha would have called him out and declared that Bredesen would vote with Dems all the way. He actually got in front of her chance to do that. I don't like what he said, but I understand why he said it. It was purely optics. A lot of Dems are mad over it, but we have to look at the big picture. Now MoveOn is taking money that they were going to contribute to his campaign. I begged them to rethink this. You would think that they would see clear through this. We need help in Tn. Marsha is Trump 2.0

[elleng]

17. Thanks. Good to hear.

[peggysue2]

26. Yes, Yes & Yes!

If we want any say going forward then pulling ads or rolling up sidewalks on any Dem candidate at this point is counterproductive. We need to win to have the clout to curtail the Trumpster's destructive policies and acts. We have the chance to do that by voting straight Democratic on November 6th.

The Kavanaugh debacle has been exhausting but our chances of stopping a nominee as the minority party was always a stretch. The way of stopping future candidates is by taking back the majority next month. This entire mess should fuel us all to the polls and as many other voters we can drag along the way.

We may not like Bredesen's comments on Kavanaugh but Bredesen is running in a very red state. Like Southern Irish, I live down here. I know this for a fact. Blackburn and her backers would have roasted Bredesen had he answered any differently. They would have loved the opportunity because the GOP is really worried about losing this seat. Bredesen has a real shot because he appeals to voters across the board: Democrats, Indies and yes, even Republicans. We may not like his answer but the political strategy is sound.

You have to weigh the consequences of not winning on November 6th to this single comment and stance. Which has absolutely no bearing on Kavanaugh's confirmation vote one way or the other.

Because our eyes need to be riveted on what matters the day after tomorrow: how many seats we fill and how we can neuter the Trumpster and this odious Administration.

Otherwise we'll be kissing the country goodbye.

[NurseJackie]

12. Because Vermont-style politics don't play well in Tennessee.

[lancelyons]

16. Think about this. In order to win.. Bredesen has to act like a Republican. How pathetic is that.

[DeminPennswoods]

23. Honestly, who cares what someone who has no say in the matter

says? These PACs need to focus on Dems winning...period. We might not like all their positions, but they are crucial to getting a Dem majority. This is cutting off your nose to spite your face.

[LisaL]

24. What's the point of electing a democrat who votes like a republican?

[Recursion]

29. Control of the chamber

If we controlled the chamber Manchin never would have had a chance to vote "Aye"

[Recursion]

28. Pander as much to the slack-jaws as necessary

Win the race. That's what's important.

[ProudDem314]

33. THIS IS IDIOTIC

Republicans are freaking out about losing this seat and we just gave them an assist. I hope Phil's fundraising is going well because it does not look like he is going to get much support from Democratic super PACs. Why do we keep shooting ourselves in the foot? Phil has a good chance to win this seat. Why do everything we can to blow it?

[Demsrule86]

35. Well if he doesn't get support given the alternative than the pacs are useless and should not be

supported...red state candidates are going to have to be moderate period. You want a majority...that is how you get one. Without a majority it matters not how pure our candidates are.