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Miles Archer

(18,837 posts)
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 06:24 PM Sep 2019

WaPo: Calls for Justice Kavanaugh's impeachment are mounting. Here's how it could work.

Calls for Justice Kavanaugh’s impeachment are mounting. Here’s how it could work.

https://beta.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/15/calls-justice-kavanaughs-impeachment-are-mounting-heres-how-it-could-work/

Now, as the Oct. 8 anniversary of his confirmation nears, the New York Times reports it has uncovered and corroborated a previously unreported claim of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, and that it found the FBI interviewed none of the potential witnesses. The story, published Saturday evening, compelled several Democrats to demand a new investigation into the Supreme Court Justice.

Even before the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations, murmurs among Kavanaugh opponents fixated on whether he had lied under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Saturday’s story from the Times quickly raised new questions about whether Kavanaugh perjured himself and reignited calls for his impeachment.

Impeachment proceedings are contingent on Democrats controlling the House, the only body that can bring an article of impeachment. The current House breakdown is 235 Democrats, 198 Republicans, one Independent and one vacancy, according to the Cook Political Report, which puts impeachment in the realm of political possibility.

Yet Kavanaugh’s removal is exceedingly unlikely, given the supermajority threshold in the Senate, where there are 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats. The “supermajority” threshold for removal is exceedingly high by design: The delegates crafted it to prevent politics from driving the outcome, instead ensuring any misconduct was offensive enough to have bipartisan support for removal.
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WaPo: Calls for Justice Kavanaugh's impeachment are mounting. Here's how it could work. (Original Post) Miles Archer Sep 2019 OP
WAPO error here leftieNanner Sep 2019 #1
This is silly... and a few senators are putting themselves out on a limb FBaggins Sep 2019 #2
Agreed, not worth it, no upside to rehashing this Baked Potato Sep 2019 #6
He should be impeached, but if we don't impeach Trump first standingtall Sep 2019 #3
kavanaugh and gorsuch could be remoed but it would have to happen in this order......... Takket Sep 2019 #4
Gorsuch will not be removed Polybius Sep 2019 #7
Your theory fails brooklynite Sep 2019 #10
Funny how the supermajority threshold only works if congresspeople have integrity elias7 Sep 2019 #5
The framers were clearly naive. triron Sep 2019 #8
Conversely, had it taken a simple majority... Drunken Irishman Sep 2019 #12
The NYT had to add an editors note last night to the story from this weekend madville Sep 2019 #9
Well, this just helps the fake news meme! Nt USALiberal Sep 2019 #11
I mean, that's a pretty big editor's note. Drunken Irishman Sep 2019 #13
"the Senate, where there are 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats" jcgoldie Sep 2019 #14
knr triron Sep 2019 #15

leftieNanner

(15,144 posts)
1. WAPO error here
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 06:29 PM
Sep 2019

There are currently 47 Democrats and 53 Republicans, so the threshold is even higher.
And even if we had video of Kavanaugh's behavior, and solid gold evidence of his purjury, the Republicans will never vote to throw him off the court.

What a very sad state of affairs we have here. SMH

FBaggins

(26,757 posts)
2. This is silly... and a few senators are putting themselves out on a limb
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 06:44 PM
Sep 2019

There were several allegations during the hearings (some more credible than others) and he was still confirmed. An additional claim that can’t possibly be proven is not suddenly going to result in a ground shift of that magnitude.

It’s a PR play to sell a book... and if recent sources (all RW at this point) are even close to true... we’re more likely to be harmed by pushing it.

Baked Potato

(7,733 posts)
6. Agreed, not worth it, no upside to rehashing this
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 10:28 PM
Sep 2019

... “They want to take away our guns!”

... “Now they want to take away our beloved Justice!”

standingtall

(2,787 posts)
3. He should be impeached, but if we don't impeach Trump first
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 07:11 PM
Sep 2019

We will look cowardly. The republican senate wont vote to convict Kavanaugh either so we can't use that as an excuse for not impeaching Trump. If we impeach Kavanaugh.

Takket

(21,620 posts)
4. kavanaugh and gorsuch could be remoed but it would have to happen in this order.........
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 07:23 PM
Sep 2019

1. Impeachment of drumpf and his acquittal in the Senate (which is a given) leads to a blue wave in the Senate. Make no mistake, this is the prize Pelosi is playing for in her build up to impeachment. leaving the 2020 voter with absolutely NO DOUBT that the GOP Senate has betrayed America by allowing a traitor to stay in power. drumpf's trial is about winning the Senate, because removing him from office is impossible.

2. In 2021, a (hopefully) Dem DOJ, white house and congress see the arrest and conviction of drumpf and his cohorts.

3. also during 2021, an investigation of Kavanaugh actually takes place (not a sham one that investigates nothing)

4. Sometime around 2022 Kavanaugh is impeached and survives the trial in the Senate.

5. Last step... this is where Democrats and the People step in. The call should come out that it is unjust for drumpf, a convicted criminal, to have placed two lifetime appointees on SCOTUS. Especially one that the public sees as a serial sexual assaulter (again we are hoping here that the public sees him as guilty and only surviving the trial because of the Senate rethugs). Protests and sit ins will need to be organized, SCOTUS will need to be occupied and shut down. The People must refuse to allow SCOTUS to hold hearings and demand the resignation of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh. This is the hardest part but with public sentiment on our side it could be done.

Polybius

(15,469 posts)
7. Gorsuch will not be removed
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 10:56 PM
Sep 2019

He hasn't done anything impeachable (not that you said he would be impeached). As for him resigning in point 5:

There won't be sit-ins. If we were to get a Democratic President and Senate, the will to protest greatly diminishes because many would be happy. We can't even get people to protect in massive numbers now.

brooklynite

(94,713 posts)
10. Your theory fails
Mon Sep 16, 2019, 08:45 AM
Sep 2019

Even a blue wave won't win back the Senate with enough votes to convict Trump or Kavanaugh. Assuming that Doug Jones loses (a strong possibility in Alabama), we need net four pickups, and there are only three likely: Arizona, Colorado and Maine. The remaining Senators up for re-election are in solid Red States.

elias7

(4,026 posts)
5. Funny how the supermajority threshold only works if congresspeople have integrity
Sun Sep 15, 2019, 09:21 PM
Sep 2019

"The “supermajority” threshold for removal is exceedingly high by design: The delegates crafted it to prevent politics from driving the outcome", yet it is precisely that which allows one party to NOT do the right thing.

 

Drunken Irishman

(34,857 posts)
12. Conversely, had it taken a simple majority...
Mon Sep 16, 2019, 08:58 AM
Sep 2019

The probability of, say, Bill Clinton being removed from office increases. On obstruction of justice charges, they were defeated at 50/50. In that instance, all it would have taken was one additional 'guilty' vote and Bill Clinton would have been removed from office.

madville

(7,412 posts)
9. The NYT had to add an editors note last night to the story from this weekend
Mon Sep 16, 2019, 08:13 AM
Sep 2019

Editors' Note: An earlier version of this article, which was adapted from a forthcoming book, did not include one element of the book's account regarding an assertion by a Yale classmate that friends of Brett Kavanaugh pushed his penis into the hand of a female student at a drunken dorm party. The book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article."

jcgoldie

(11,639 posts)
14. "the Senate, where there are 51 Republicans and 49 Democrats"
Mon Sep 16, 2019, 09:07 AM
Sep 2019

I think someone forgot to proofread this.

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