Pierce: Michael Avenatti Is a Relentless Self-Promoter, But He Hasn't Been Wrong Yet

[babylonsister]

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a23455699/michael-avenatti-brett-kavanaugh-accuser/

Michael Avenatti Is a Relentless Self-Promoter, But He Hasn't Been Wrong Yet
Big ego, big results.
By Charles P. Pierce
Sep 25, 2018


We all have a Michael Avenatti Problem these days. The guy is a publicity hound with a monumental ego—President? Really?—and as gifted a high-rent ambulance chaser as it's ever been my pleasure to observe in the wild. He also is not wrong, at least not so far, anyway.

On behalf of Stormy Daniels, he helped run Michael Cohen into the loving arms of Robert Mueller's prosecutors, to whom the former bully-boy lawyer is spilling his guts. Recently, he has barged into the nomination process of Brett Kavanaugh, demanding a place at the table and an FBI investigation, even though he has absolutely no standing whatsoever to demand anything from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Monday night, he raised the bet.

Speaking with kindly Doc Maddow, Avenatti claimed to represent someone he described as both a "witness and a victim," and who "will be coming forward in the next 48 hours" to lob some new charges at the embattled nominee—who, judging by his performance with Martha McCallum on Fox Monday night, is currently operating on fewer circuits than he once was. Judging from letters that Avenatti has sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, it is likely that this "witness and victim" will accuse Kavanaugh of being part of a high-school clique that would try to incapacitate women with drink and then rape them en masse. Avenatti is continuing to demand that Mark Judge be made to testify under oath despite the fact that, as we said, Avenatti has no standing to demand anything.

I'm still wary of how hot a presence Avenatti is, and how painfully self-promoting he appears. If the Republicans really were on their game, they'd find a way to turn him into a caricature with which they could discredit the entire opposition to Kavanaugh. But the Republicans are not on their game right now. Catch them in an unguarded moment, and some of them are extremely disturbed that Kavanaugh has so many land mines buried in his past. Losing this nomination fight could be catastrophic in the midterm elections. Winning it could be worse. And they know, in case we forgot to mention it, that Michael Avenatti has yet to be wrong.

[greymattermom]

1. He's like a boxer

who can punch Trump in the face. Verbally. But that might be where it hurts most.

[DemocracyMouse]

21. That's precisely right - and the reason why preppies frame him as "upitty"

He's perceived as "lower class". Only "upper class" people are allowed to use their "subtle" self-promotion sleight of hand. The boxer must stay in his place.

See Colin Kaepernick:

https://leeannshawyounger.com/nobody-likes-an-uppity-negro-c8a8d4c17be0

[malaise]

2. And he's articulate and pleasing on the eyes

These things matter whether we like it or not.

[NewJeffCT]

5. I've been saying it over and over since the election

the candidate with the most charisma has won every election since 1980.

Avenatti, for good or bad, is able to get on television a lot. There are 0 Democrats that are on air regularly otherwise - not Pelosi, Hoyer, Durbin or Schumer, not a governor nor Obama or Clinton. The media seems to love running with Pro Trump vs Anti Trump Republicans. Democrats are relegated to second tier guests most of the time, or are on a panel with a Trump Republican and an Anti Trump Republican.

[smirkymonkey]

46. That is probably what they find the most threatening.

Not only is he charismatic, but like him or not, he is smart. He is also competent and he delivers. He does not shy away from confrontation. I would like to see one of our politicians with more of his qualities. We have a few great people fighting on our side, but we need more of them out there in the public spotlight making a name for themselves as liberal crusaders. They need to get people motivated to get out and vote for Democrats.

[FromTheAshes]

11. And personality too. Yes these superficial things matter more than we like but let's work with with

it ...AND WIN.!!!!

[Farmer-Rick]

17. My better half claims his dimples are cuter than mine

I have yet to see this feature.

But since she is Not likely to ever meet him, I will allow her to admire him from a distance.

Though the man is a good fighter.

[malaise]

19. ROFL

[miss-nasty]

27. Yes he is

Easy on the eyes...

[Lucinda]

3. KNR

[dalton99a]

4. Avenatti is a private citizen, beholden only to his clients. He can say and do whatever he wants.

[onetexan]

20. Agree, i like him

[BeckyDem]

6. How are the Republicans going to get their game on when Trump is the epitome

of the self promoter? As long as Avenatti is correct and has credible support he may help to end this nomination. So much so that Kavanaugh should be at risk to lose his seat as circuit court judge too.

[Hekate]

7. Every word is a gem, coming from Pierce...

And I love the phrase "Kindly Doc Maddow."

[spooky3]

42. me too--that's the basis for my rec! I disagree with some of his other statements

but Pierce always writes so well.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

50. Yes me too! I'll bet Rachel likes it too

[OilemFirchen]

8. Funny that those "concerned" with Avenatti LURV them some Michael Moore.

Go figure.

[Cha]

9. lol..

“But I think we have to embrace Trump,” Moore said in the interview. “People reading this will say, ‘What do you mean? Embrace Trump?’ But we have to embrace him. We have to listen to him. He’s telling lies, and he’s telling the truth at the same time"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/07/new-film-michael-moore-compares-trump-hitler-hes-not-so-crazy-about-obama-either/?utm_term=.77221405d03e

But, M.Moore also says trump is like "hitler".. so why should we "embrace" hitler? Or the fucking moron?

"In new film, Michael Moore compares Trump to Hitler. And he's not so crazy about Obama, either."

"I've come to the conclusion that the old guard of the Democratic Party is a greater roadblock to social progress than Trump"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/09/07/new-film-michael-moore-compares-trump-hitler-hes-not-so-crazy-about-obama-either/?utm_term=.77221405d03e

[Perseus]

30. Thank you for showing those quotes from Moore

I know many like to defend Moore, I have listened to him enough times to realize that he goes both ways, and can say very damaging things about Democrats. I personally don't like that. and when the stakes are this high? To give praise to the man-child is ludicrous.

Also, the fact that he makes the man-child bigger than he is, or deserves to be, bothers the hell out of me...what truths is the man-child saying? I would love to know what those truths are.

[Cha]

47. You're Welcome, Perseus. There are No "truths"

coming from the Fraud.. only in M.Moore's head and the goPutins'.

[peggysue2]

34. O.M.G.

"I've come to the conclusion that the old guard of the Democratic Party is a greater roadblock to social progress than Trump"

This is the stupid Susan Sarandon pitch: Dems are bad. Trump is the catalyst to change, revolution.

Give me and everyone else a frigging break. Must be nice to sit on piles of money while the little people suffer under the worst leadership/nonleadership in American history. As for social progress or any progress at all? We're going backwards, not forward. The Trumpsters are trying their damn best to break every American institution they can. Only their incompetence has saved us from total collapse.

This is the same empty philosophy that a Steve Bannon embraces:

Burn the House down then rebuild from the ashes. In Bannon's/Moore's/Sarandon's image, of course.

Horseshoe theory writ large!

People need to wake up and ignore the morons. Who are dangerously misguided regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum.

[Drunken Irishman]

44. I am so tired of everyone on the left and right blaming Democrats.

It's their scapegoat and has been for years and it's tiresome.

[Cha]

48. Yeah, Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon have a Lot of

FU money. Like they give a shite what happens those who are devastated by trump and his doormats.

Michael Moore is beyond Stupid telling "we should embrace trump".. "he has truths" .. you embrace him, MFM.

[Kurt V.]

41. I'm "concerned"

with a reality TV personality running this country and it takes lawyer who could be on reality TV to bring this shit to the fore. And I don't know what LURV means, but i can infer by the context, that I fall in the 2nd category too. i like MM films. they have added, not subtracted, from my overall view of life. what do you want me to go figure?

[FakeNoose]

10. He's getting tips from people who know things

Avenatti must have friends in the FBI, NSA and secret service, because people are feeding him reliable stuff. If it were just "anonymous email" tips, it would take forever to check them out, so I think he knows and trusts his sources.

Also I don't believe he really wants to run for President, I think he's just rattling cages so he can stay in the news. It's getting him some good clients and lots of headlines.

[rzemanfl]

29. Avennati raced sports cars in Europe. I think he may be getting info from across the pond. n/t

[FromTheAshes]

12. He's doing other things too whilst self promoting. Like getting Cohen's office raided, by getting

the ball fully rolling. The guy is conveying and relaying and he's getting knocked for self promotion.

Self promote away my brutha. It's great to be a lamb and 'go high' but we need some sharks in our tank....FUCK THIS and this guy is that so I'll take 10 more of him please and thanks.

[SunSeeker]

15. Exactly. We Democrats need a lot more people like Michael Avennati. nt

[ALBliberal]

13. And Perez?

Howard Dean and Debbie Wasserman~Schultz were constantly advocating for the Democratic Position.

[Izzy Blue]

14. Anyone else find this concerning?

Soon after Avenatti posted this he put his Twitter on private.


[link:|

[FromTheAshes]

16. He was getting bombarded by trolls. If you already follow him then you can still see his tweets. nt

[Izzy Blue]

37. I don't have a Twitter account and haven't seen anything he's said since his last tweet.

Has he given any updates on his client?

[FromTheAshes]

43. I have no idea I'm banned from twitter for the moment, but rest assured other DU'ers are on the

lookout.

[Amishman]

35. He is getting targeted by 4chan

So he probably was getting bombarded with obscene content, trolling, and probably some fairly serious attempts to break into his account.

[zentrum]

18. When a person

...on our side is tough, loud and a fighter they demean it by calling it "self-promoting". Wish we had ten more Avenatti's on our side.

[catbyte]

22. It's a testament to how scared Traitor Tot is of him that he's never given him a

nasty little nickname, or even tweeted about him by name, if I remember correctly.

[Butterflylady]

23. Well it seems to me he is the only one out there fighting.

Please correct me if im wrong. I don't hear about anyone else out there fighting or even saying anything about what is going on.

[Jarqui]

24. Unfortunately, I've had to deal with a lot of lawyers over the past four years

Out of all of them and others I've seen recently, Avenatti is the one I most wouldn't want to be coming after me.

We've all got flaws. Avenatti is not perfect. But I sure am glad he's on our side.

Given their announcement for a committee vote Friday that you can be sure will be followed by a vote in the Senate as quickly as they can pull one off, Avenatti and his clients may be the only thing standing in the GOP's way.

So I'm in no mood to cut him up. My fingers are crossed realizing we're in deep trouble.

[watoos]

26. I posted before I saw your post.

I have the same feelings as you.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. I'm glad he's on our side BUT

he really needs to get his financial house in order before he gets into politics. The GOP looks the other way on Trump's bankruptcies and lawsuits. I would hope the Democrats don't. Avenatti has a lot of lawsuits pending against him.

[Jarqui]

36. I'm not endorsing him for president at this juncture

Haven't even thought about it.

There would be a lengthy list that he only might be a part of depending on the issues like you raise.

Whether he's got a bankruptcy and a lawsuit or 100 bankruptcies and 1000 lawsuits doesn't matter to me much right now. What matters is what he's going to do with his clients in the next 48 hours with respect to Kavanaugh.

Let's get through that first before worrying about whether he's a legit political candidate.

[TexasBushwhacker]

38. I only brought it up because he already has

https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/406923-avenatti-on-possible-2020-presidential-run-im-getting-more-serious-by-the

I'm still not crazy about people leap frogging to the highest office in the land. If he wants to get into politics, fine. Start as a rep or senator.

[Jarqui]

40. People are asking him and he's admitting kicking tires

which is honest.

So it is part of the noise but not a very big part right now.

I'm sure he's not working on a campaign speech tonight ...

[watoos]

25. I've been a big Avenatti backer from the beginning.

but with the news that the Repugs have scheduled the Kavanaugh vote for Friday morning, in other words they are thumbing their noses at any real investigations, we may need Michael's client to come forward before Friday.

Positive vibes being sent to Michael's client. God give her the strength and courage to come forward.

This Thursday can be a turning point for our democracy, one way or the other.

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. Putin and his killers didnt see him coming.

Putin is in charge of the WH...Putin is a killer.

WH is supported by GOP, GOP are killers.

basic math

[gibraltar72]

32. Avenatti is an endurance racer.

They think ahead he's actually stood on the podium in some relatively big races. He'll go in deeper. Hasn't disappointed me yet.

[calimary]

49. Nor me.

I'm liking this guy a LOT. And yes he's a novice but he seems to have GREAT political instincts, and he IS a practicing attorney. I think it might be a majority in the House and Senate who have a law degree and/or a lawyer's background on their resumes.

[TimeToGo]

33. "We're About to Find Out Whether Michael Avenatti Is Full of It"

Mostly positive

[link:https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/michael-avenatti-promises-kavanaugh-legit-or-not.html?|

[Leith]

39. Pierce Should Not Have Insulted Avenatti

Publicity hound? High-rent ambulance chaser? Monumental ego? Painfully self-promoting?

Nasty stuff that did not need to be said. I describe Avenatti as very intelligent, charismatic, quick thinking, bold, self-assured, and, yes, handsome. Exactly what Democrats need right now: somebody who stands up to rethugs, tells them what for, doesn't take their shit, and shoves their own tactics right back in their faces.

Pierce owes Avenatti an apology.

[dalton99a]

45. Avenatti has done more for the cause than people who criticize his tactics

No Stormy Daniels, no Avenatti, no Cohen raid, and many things that have unfolded since

I'd take an Avenatti over 100 editorial writers any day of the week

[Pachamama]

51. [phone]

I completely agree