GOP/NOMINATION/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP PEOPLE/WOMEN: “Republicans aren’t waiting for Brett Kavanaugh’s main accuser to have her say. With a generational conservative goal of a Supreme Court majority in sight, Senate GOP leaders are sketching a voting timetable that could see him confirmed within days even as they brace for a crucial hearing on Thursday [9-27-18] on which the judge’s fate rests. In another bold move, the party hired a female prosecutor experienced in sex crime cases to question Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers in the 1980s. Kavanaugh denies all the allegations against him. The GOP power play could see the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination as soon as Friday [9-28-18], procedural votes at the weekend and a final Senate decision by early next week, assuming there are no more complications. The choice of veteran attorney Rachel Mitchell to ask the questions represents a stiff challenge to Ford, who will be stepping into a global spotlight to tell her story at a quintessential moment of American history. She had hoped to be fielding the less-focused queries of a male-only bench of Republican senators.”
–Stephen Collinson, “Republicans flex muscle ahead of Kavanaugh hearing,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Septemebr 25, 2018 8:05 am