"This Nomination is a F--k You to the Left": Trump Campaign is Itching for a Culture-War Fight

[Zorro]

RBG’s death, and the opportunity to push the Supreme Court further right, is a Comey-level election game changer, Trump’s allies insist. “It just changed the calculus for any conservatives who were on the fence,” says one.

As Donald Trump was considering who should succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court in the summer of 2018, he met for lunch with Sean Hannity and Rudy Giuliani at his private golf club in West Palm Beach. According to a source briefed on the conversation, Hannity and Giuliani argued that Trump should nominate Amy Coney Barrett, a federal appeals court judge and Notre Dame law professor, because her conservative credentials would mobilize the president’s base. “Hannity and Rudy said, ‘You’re going to have a confirmation fight anyways, so pick Barrett,’” the source said. Trump told them he was going to pick Brett Kavanaugh, whom he viewed as a safer choice.

With 43 days left until the election, Trump is itching for a fight as he moves quickly to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat. “This nomination is a fuck-you to the left,” a Republican close to the White House told me. Two years later Barrett is the front-runner. According to a source, Trump told Federalist Society cochairman Leonard Leo prior to Ginsburg’s death that he would nominate Barrett to fill her seat if it opened up. The White House did not provide comment.

Barrett’s divisive positions on issues like abortion, which held her back last time, could now be seized upon to goad the left into a culture-war battle in the campaign’s waning months. “It would be malpractice not to nominate Barrett,” former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg told me. “You’ll have a Catholic judicial legal powerhouse who will be attacked by the left,” he said. “This will be especially useful in Pennsylvania to remind Catholic voters that [Joe Biden] supports third-term abortions.” (Biden, also a Catholic, “has not explicitly expressed support for late-term abortions,” notes NPR.) Other sources, however, said Trump is strongly considering Barbara Lagoa, a Cuban-American federal appeals court judge from Florida. Lagoa, it’s believed, would help secure a Florida victory in November.

The SCOTUS drama has infused the Trump campaign with renewed optimism after it has been battered by weeks of devastating book bombshells, widening polls, and a U.S. coronavirus death toll nearing 200,000. Just one day after Ginsburg’s death, the MAGA faithful were chanting, “Fill that seat!” at Trump’s North Carolina rally—and the campaign is already selling T-shirts with the slogan. Sources said Trump sees selecting Ginsburg’s replacement as if he is scripting a new story line in the reality show he’s producing. “I guarantee you he parades female judges through the White House every day for the next week,” a former official said. “This is his thing. He loves the nomination guessing game.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/trump-campaign-is-itching-for-a-culture-war-fight-over-scotus-pick

Pretty much every thing Republicans do is a "fuck you" to the left. And to common decency.

[Iliyah]

1. he fight is between the republican party . .

[Statistical]

2. Honestly and this is hard to say but I think people should resist the urge to get sucked in.

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders should work quietly behind the scenes to delay the vote if possible. However Biden is on a roll to win this thing big. The Democrats have a very good chance of flipping the senate. The best chance we have had since it went red. Voters are largely cemented in their positions making it very tough from Trump to move the polls. Biden really just needs to avoid a fumble and let the clock wind down. I am not saying he should stop campaigning just that it is his race to lose at this point. He doesn't need some desperate gamble.

Trump on the other hand is in serious trouble. Nobody trusts him on COVID, the economy is in shambles and looks to get worse before election day, he is no longer an unknown/outsider, and his law & order strategy has fallen flat. He really needs chaos and a miracle to turn things around. The status quo is he loses and likely loses big.

Barrett is a dumpster fire but attacking her won't keep her out of the seat. This very likely will be 100% party line vote with a sham and short hearing. If Mitch has the votes and Pelosi can't pull some magic she will get confirmed. Attacking her and making this the biggest issue however will help to change the narrative to a battlefield where Trump has a better chance of winning.

If I were Biden (or advising him) I would be doing everything possible to keep as many news cycles on the economy and covid. Those are solid losers for Trump.

[DonaldsRump]

3. Agreed. n/t

[stopdiggin]

4. agree. with the exception

of keeping a spotlight on the complete hypocrisy of the Republican apparatus. But -- the more balanced and sane the Ds appear right now the better.

[AZ8theist]

5. That fucking psycho Barrett will be lightning rod for sane voters...

BARRETT WILL END ALL ABORTION RIGHTS
BARRETT WILL END SOCIAL SECURITY
BARRETT WILL END MEDICARE
BARRETT WILL ENDORSE EXECUTION FOR HOMOSEXUALS
BARRETT WILL REPEAL WOMENS VOTE
BARRETT WILL END THE PROHIBITION ON CHILD LABOR

This shit almost writes itself...