Why Sen. Heidi Heitkamp voted "no" on Brett Kavanaugh

[Rhiannon12866]

North Dakota senator says conduct during Kavanaugh's confirmation process was disturbing — both the judge's and the president's

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota, voted Saturday against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. Already one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-election, Heitkamp may have further harmed her chances in November with her vote.

This week on 60 Minutes, Heitkamp explains her decision in an interview with Scott Pelley. In a clip from the interview, posted in the video player above, she tells Pelley that she was troubled by Kavanaugh's demeanor in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

The senator says that, after listening to Kavanaugh's testimony, she went back and watched it with the sound off on her TV, an "old trick" she says she uses to help better understand what's being communicated.

"I saw a level of anger and combativeness that I thought was not something that would qualify you to sit on the Supreme Court," Heitkamp said.

Last year, Heitkamp was one of three Senate Democrats to break with their party and vote to confirm President Donald Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. After careful consideration in that case, she says she came to the conclusion that Judge Gorsuch "presented the right judicial temperament" for the bench. She says she doesn't believe the same is true of Kavanaugh.


Read more (Video at link): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-sen-heidi-heitkamp-voted-no-on-brett-kavanaugh/

[PandoraAwakened]

1. From the mouths of babes

Loved her "turn off the sound" trick at seeing into someone's soul. When one of my sons was a toddler, he urgently bid me to come into the living room where the TV was on, but with the sound muted. He held up his hand to me and said "Wait" as he watched the screen intently. Finally, the program cut to a talking-head shot of the person he so urgently needed me to see. As this man spoke with the sound turned off, my son clasped my hand tightly, looked up at me with eyes big as saucers, and whispered fearfully, "Mommy, he's a very, very bad man."

As they say, "from the mouths of babes"...The man on the television was Dick Cheney.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. Wow, I sure guess so! That was a purely intuitive reaction, the rest of us had to listen to him

I once had a nightmare that included Dick Cheney that's stuck with me. He was sitting in a wheelchair in the dark looking very scary.

[JudyM]

3. Welcome to DU! How old is your son now and is he still intuitive?

[PandoraAwakened]

5. We Say "Intuitive"...They Say "Woke"

My son who intuitively understood evil as a toddler just by looking at demeanor recently turned 18, and, yes, he is all fired up about voting for the first time this November. He was still 17 and thus not old enough to vote in the most recent primaries. However, he made sure he was registered and good to go for a month from now.

For those looking for a sliver of future hope, know that our current crop of teens (Gen Z), the self-described originators of the term "woke," are NOT the same as the largely apathetic Millenials (Gen Y). My son bristles at constantly being mis-categorized as a Millenial, which he points out is a designation for twenty-something's to thirty-something's who mostly stayed home in 2016 when America needed them the most.

While the eldest of Gen Z are heading to the Midterm polls now, we won't actually begin to feel the real benefits of the Woke Generation until 2020. At that point, their younger brothers and sisters (such as my next oldest son who will turn 18 just before that election) will swell their numbers considerably and will continue to do so all the way to 2028.

So, take heart dear friends. When Gen Z says to "Stay Woke," they're not so much speaking to their own peers (who intuitively know no other way to be) as they are politely prodding their older cousins of the Millennial Generation to "Wake the Hell Up."

[JudyM]

6. This should be an OP. It is encouraging!

Also kudos to you for timing the births for elections!

[gratuitous]

4. Sen. Heitkamp did the right thing

It's on us now to show her that we have her back. Snap polling in the immediate aftermath of Kreepazoid's confirmation shows that Sen. Heitkamp lost a few precious percentage points. A little dough goes a long way in North Dakota. If you've been looking to donate a sawbuck to a candidate for the 2018 election cycle, consider giving to Heitkamp, who passed the test that Collins and Manchin failed.