NRSC Weekly Rundown: Praise pours in for Judge Kavanaugh, Durbin wants red state Dems to lose, Jacky Rosen “didn’t build that” and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRSC Weekly Rundown:
#SCOTUS: Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin made it clear that he would be willing to lose seats held by red state Democrats in order to block President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Following his lead, Senate Democrats and Chuck Schumer quickly proclaimed they will do everything possible to obstruct Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Court, putting increased pressure on red state Democrats to follow their lead or risk alienating their base. But under Barack Obama, Democrats were singing a different tune, claiming a speedy process was needed to confirm Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. As Democrats continue to grasp at straws for any reason to delay the confirmation proceedings, editorials across the country are praising Judge Kavanaugh’s “gold-plated resume” and highlighting how “fierce opposition to Kavanaugh hurts Democrats” up for reelection this November.
#NVSen: A bombshell report in the Reno Gazette Journal exposed Jacky Rosen’s ridiculous false claim that she “built a business.” The story revealed that “Rosen has regularly touted her efforts to build a business after moving to Southern Nevada in 1980. Yet a Reno Gazette Journal review of public records found no evidence that Rosen held a state or local business license for the software consulting shop she’s referenced in interviews with C-SPAN, NBC Reno and other media outlets.” The new allegations raise serious questions about Rosen’s character. How can Nevadans trust her to tell the truth when she has consistently embellished her resume? To make matters worse, the Nevada GOP filed an ethics complaint against Rosen for using taxpayer funds to campaign. And to top it off, the NRSC released a new video recapping President Trump’s trip to Nevada where he blasted Wacky Jacky and reminded Nevada voters that a vote for her is a vote for higher taxes and weaker borders.
#PASen: Before President Trump had even announced Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Bob Casey released a statement making it clear he will oppose ANY nominee President Trump puts forward. But an explanation for Casey’s knee-jerk obstruction emerged when #resistance favorite Kamala Harris announced she would travel to Pennsylvania to raise money for Casey’s reelection campaign. As Casey auditions to be Harris’s 2020 running mate, Pennsylvanians are still left wondering how a self-described moderate could decide to oppose a Supreme Court nominee before he was even named.
#FLSen: Governor Rick Scott announced he raised over $10.7 million dollars in less than three months, notably including contributions from all of Florida’s 67 counties with 80 percent of that money coming directly from Floridians. Scott’s mammoth fundraising haul sends a clear signal to Bill Nelson and national Democrats that Floridians are fed up with career politicians and will vote for change this November. According to a new poll, the majority of Florida voters want Judge Brett Kavanaughconfirmed to the Supreme Court. But in an attempt to dodge reporters’ questions, Bill Nelson claimed he’s “losing his voice,” making it impossible for him to further comment on the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. The NRSC hopes he finds his voice soon, so to help Bill out we’ve sent him a care package filled with remedies like cough drops and throat spray!
#NDSen: Heidi Heitkamp is doing everything she can to avoid answering questions about whether she’ll support Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. According to a story from The Hill, as reporters attempted to discuss Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with North Dakota’s junior Senator, Heitkamp “bolted from the Capitol out of the first floor exit instead of taking the Senate subway, where most reporters camp out.”
#MOSen: While in Kansas City, Vice President Mike Pence laid out the case against Claire McCaskill, declaring that Missouri “deserves better” than the liberal Democrat Senator. Meanwhile, Claire McCaskill spent this week desperately dodging reporters’ questions about whether she’ll support Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination by taking fake phone calls as she hurried through Capitol hallways. When they finally caught up to her McCaskill told the press, “If you’re going to ask me questions about the Supreme Court nominee, I have absolutely nothing to say.” As the Kansas City Star said best, McCaskill is facing a “no-win” situation where she’ll either betray Missourians by joining the far left’s blockade against Judge Kavanaugh or alienate her radical base.
#WISen: Tammy Baldwin went into hiding at the beginning of the week and refused to answer questions about Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his confirmation to the Supreme Court. Asked by Fox 6 Milwaukee whether she would talk to reporters about Kavanaugh, Baldwin conveniently ran out of time. But by Thursday, she decided she was out of lame excuses and came clean about her plans to stand with Washington liberals to fight Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the court. As one of Washington’s most partisan Senators, her decision to #resist hardly came as any surprise. Leaning in further to the left, Baldwin is welcoming socialist Bernie Sanders to Wisconsin this weekend to stump on her behalf.
#AZSen: Kyrsten Sinema released a new campaign ad this week where she brags about her so-called “fiercely independent record” in Congress. Truth is, she isn’t independent at all. In fact, Sinema has been a loyal rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi’sagenda in Congress, helped “shape and promote” Obamacare, is backed by Chuck Schumer and describes herself on her own website as a “staunch defender of Democratic priorities.” Arizonans know that Sinema’s “independence” is a total fraud and, if elected to the Senate, she’d back Washington liberals every single time.
#INSen: Today marks one year since the AP first reported that Mexico Joe Donnelly had been raking in profits from his family business outsourcing Hoosier jobs to Mexico. For the last year, Mexico Joe Donnelly has been running from his outsourcing hypocrisy by selling his interest in his family business and scrubbing all mention of the Guadalajara factory from the company website. But from now until Election Day, Hoosiers will be constantly reminded that Mexico Joe outsourced their jobs.
#MNSen: At an angry protest Monday night, Tina Smith joined the radical left in immediately opposing President Trump’s eminently qualified nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Smith’s longtime pal Keith Ellison is championing the far-left’s next off-the-wall idea – impeaching Supreme Court Justices. Minnesota voters deserve to know if Tina Smith agrees with her good friend’s latest left-wing fantasy.
#NJSen: Disgraced Senator Bob Menendez and his campaign lackeys sure have started to talk tough on Big Pharma. But their rhetoric is grossly out of line with Menendez’s record. Over his career, Menendez has accepted nearly $1 million in donations from pharmaceutical companies. It’s clear that Menendez’s newfound tough guy act on pharma is just the latest desperate move by a corrupt career politician who will do anything to maintain his tenuous grip on power.
#MISen: In less than one week’s time, Debbie Stabenow announced she will vote NO on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. Though Judge Kavanaugh is considered to be highly qualified for the Supreme Court, Stabenow claimed to have come to her decision after she “reviewed” Kavanaugh’s extensive record in just 3 days. Stabenow’s brash decision only proves to Michiganders why she needs to be voted out this November.
NEWS AND NOTES:
New York Post: Brett Kavanaugh is an excellent pick for the Supreme Court
It’s an excellent choice – though the coming wave of fear-mongering may hide that fact for a while. Judge Kavanaugh, 53, is widely seen as one of the top legal minds of his generation – so much so that now-Justice Elena Kagan recruited him to teach at Harvard Law, where students across the spectrum rave about him. READ
New York Times: Just Confirm Kavanaugh
Fierce opposition to Kavanaugh hurts Democrats. This was already going to be a difficult year for Senate Democrats, who are defending 10 seats in states won by Trump. Everyone knows that North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly are vulnerable, which is why they voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch last year. Florida’s Bill Nelson is struggling, too, as is Missouri’s Claire McCaskill. READ
The Intelligencer: Manchin Should Back Nominee
Kavanaugh has said that if confirmed to the Supreme Court, his alliance will be to the Constitution as it is written, not to his personal preferences. That is precisely what this nation needs. That, not how Kavanaugh may rule on any single issue, ought to be Manchin’s concern. READ
Washington Examiner: Poll: Most ‘better off financially’ under Trump than Obama
For the second time in two weeks, a new national survey has found that most Americans — and especially Hispanics — feel that they are better off under President Trump than they were under former President Obama. The latest survey is from Emerson College which on Monday said that 42 percent feel better off, compared to 26 percent who feel worse off. Some 30 percent said that their financial situation is about the same as it was in 2016. READ
Say Anything Blog: Prognosticators See North Dakota Senate Race Trending Away From a Heitkamp Victory
For what it’s worth, the folks at Roll Call see the trend in North Dakota’s hotly contested, nationally important U.S. Senate race trending away from Senator Heidi Heitkamp. They’ve changed their rating of the race from a “toss up” to “tilts Republican.” READ
Newsmax: Poll: Scott Leading Nelson Among South Fla. Hispanic Voters
Forty-two percent of South Florida Hispanic voters back Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott in his bid for the Senate, while 39 percent favor incumbent Bill Nelson, D-Fla., according to a new poll for Telemundo 51. READ
Fox News: Pence assails McCaskill’s record during Missouri visit, says state ‘deserves better’
“Time and again, Claire McCaskill has voted ‘no’ on the policies that Missouri supports and Missouri needs,” he continued. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think Missouri deserves better.” READ
Cleveland: Over time, Sen. Sherrod Brown reversed his stance on term limits
The longer Sherrod Brown served in Congress, the less appealing term limits appeared to him. The longtime Democratic senator from Ohio backed term limits when he was initially elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 but grew disenchanted with the notion after his seniority grew in the legislative body. READ
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