McGrath now says she would've opposed Kavanaugh after left-wing backlash
Cream of the crop Democrat :-)
Amy McGrath
said late Wednesday that she would not have voted to confirm Brett
Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after all -- just hours after she told a
Kentucky newspaper that she "probably" would have supported Kavanaugh's
contentious nomination because there was nothing to "disqualify" him. McGrath's
initial support for Kavanaugh, and her ensuing flip-flop, sparked a
fierce backlash from progressive activists supporting her bid to
unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Because McGrath had
condemned Kavanaugh last year, some observers accused her of committing a
rare "double flip-flop." The dramatic public stumble blunted
McGrath's momentum on the same day she announced her campaign had raised
$2.5 million in its first 24 hours. It also fueled criticisms from both
Republicans and Democrats that the Marine combat aviator may not be a
winner in congressional politics. McGrath was already being widely criticized for her claim in
a televised interview earlier on Tuesday that President Trump's
election was similar to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and her close defeat
in a House race last year disappointed national Democrats. "You know, I think that with Judge Kavanaugh, yeah, I probably would have voted for him," McGrath told The Louisville Courier-Journal on Wednesday. She also said that it was a "good question" to ask. "I
didn't listen to all of the hearings. I don't think there was anything,
and I'm not a lawyer or a senator on the Judiciary Committee, so I
don't know the criteria," McGrath offered. "But I was very concerned
about Judge Kavanaugh, what I felt like were the far-right stances that
he had. However, there was nothing in his record that I think would
disqualify him in any way. And the fact is when you have the president
and the Senate, this is our system and so I don't think there was
anything that would have disqualified him in my mind."
Although McGrath called Christine Blasey Ford's accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh in high school "credible," she reiterated that she did not view them as "disqualifying." "Well,
I mean I think again, I think it's credible but given the amount of
time that lapsed in between and from a judicial standpoint, I don't
think it would really disqualify him," McGrath said. Four hours
after her remarks were published, McGrath tweeted a mea culpa that
immediately drew scorn from both Democrats and Republicans. "I was
asked earlier today about Judge Brett Kavanaugh and I answered based
upon his qualifications to be on the Supreme Court. But upon further
reflection and further understanding of his record, I would have voted
no," McGrath wrote. She continued: "I know I disappointed many
today with my initial answer on how I would have voted on Brett
Kavanaugh. I will make mistakes and always own up to them. The priority
is defeating Mitch McConnell." Reaction on social media was unsparing. "This, my friends, is what we call an unforced error," journalist Yashar Ali observed. "Take
your third position on this later, the night is young," said Jake
Wilkins, the communications director for North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer. Read the headline of an article on the left-wing blog Jezebel: "Unfortunately, the Woman Trying to Unseat Mitch McConnell Also Kind of Sucks." McGrath narrowly lost a House race to
an incumbent Republican in Kentucky last year. During that race,
McGrath slammed Kavanaugh and suggested she would not support his
confirmation -- leading some prominent commentators on social media to
charge that McGrath's flip-flop was actually multi-layered. "I
echo so many of the concerns that others have articulated over the
nomination of Judge (Brett) Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court," McGrath
wrote July 2018 on Facebook. "He
has shown himself to be against women’s reproductive rights, workers'
rights, consumer protections and will be among the most partisan people
ever considered for the court." In a tweet on Wednesday, McGrath
added: "I echo the concerns over the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh. He's
been against women’s reproductive rights, workers' rights, consumer
protections, and is a hard-core partisan. But we are reminded, again,
that elections have consequences, and this will be with us for a
generation."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in D.C. back in January. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
And after Ford's accusation against Kavanaugh came to light, McGrath said she found her to be "compelling." "That
really stands out for me, not to mention the vast disparity in their
temperaments and demeanors while testifying," McGrath wrote in a September 2018 Facebook post. "Dr. Ford's testimony was quite compelling." McGrath's
campaign launch Tuesday was aided by a breathless NBC News report hours
earlier that McConnell's distant ancestors owned slaves -- a revelation
blunted by McConnell pointing out that President Barack Obama's ancestors did as well. In
another striking moment, an eager MSNBC anchor also urged McGrath to
tell viewers how they could easily donate to her campaign online. For
her part, despite the apparent assistance from NBC, McGrath
acknowledged Tuesday she has a tough task in trying to defeat one of the
most entrenched officials in Washington. But she said she sees him as
vulnerable because of his lengthy tenure in Washington and his stance on
health care. Her decision to enter the race represented a rare
victory for Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who has had
difficulty persuading top-tier candidates in other states to take on
incumbent Republicans with control of the Senate at stake. The
contest will also test the power of incumbency against a call for
generational change, and hint at Trump's popularity is transferable. McGrath
will almost certainly be able to raise enough money to mount a serious
challenge to McConnell, 77, but she is still a decided underdog in a
state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford
in 1992. "I've been always somebody who stepped up to the plate
when asked, when I felt like my country needed me, and this is one of
those times," McGrath said in an interview. She has said that
Kentucky voters are not fans of either political party and they
supported Trump in part because of his promise to "drain the swamp" in
Washington, lower drug prices and deliver a more effective alternative
to the Affordable Care Act. "Those things haven't happened because of guys like Senator McConnell," she said. McConnell
struck back quickly in a Twitter message that presaged what a race
between him and McGrath would look like. The tweet strung together a
series of quotes from McGrath that depicts her as an out-of-touch
liberal who also opposes Trump, and notably his call for a U.S.-Mexico
border wall. McConnell campaign manager Kevin Golden said McGrath
lost in 2018 "in a Democratic-wave election because she is an extreme
liberal who is far out of touch with Kentuckians." The
Senate majority leader's tone was more sanguine. "It'll be a spirited
race," he said Tuesday at the Capitol. He says unlike others, "I
actually enjoy campaigns." Fox News' Sam Dorman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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