During each short break in the Kavanaugh show trial in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the liberal media let loose a flood of condemnation for the conservative nominee. In the middle of a break during the 5:00 p.m. Eastern hour, a gaggle of CNN liberals ripped into Kavanaugh for becoming Trumpian in his forceful defense of himself, his reputation, and family.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin reiterated his prior whining about Kavanaugh calling out underhanded Democrats for smearing him over Hillary’s loss in 2016 and his role in the Whitewater case. But this time, he took it farther and suggested that the nominee would attack Democratic lawyers and litigants from the bench if he was confirmed.
“The first time a Democratic lawyer gets up there or a Democratic litigant gets up there after this performance in this committee,” he huffed. “Good luck to those lawyers, that's all I can say.”
CNN Supreme Court reporter Ariane de Vogue tagged in and opined about how Kavanaugh was going against his promise to not be political as a justice:
That's a real indication because you remember, he kept saying during his first hearing, “Oh, I'm going to stay three zip codes away from politics” and then on Fox he said “I'm going to stay away”. Today, he really did take over. He wrote this himself. He did not clear it with the White House. That he's mad at some officials in the White House and some on the Hill and how this was handled. He thinks that they waited too long and he took over and that's -- and we are really seeing those politics that we did not see before.
“His survival depends on holding those Republicans and so he went all Trump Republican. He went from a Bush Republican to a Trump Republican today in a snap,” declared CNN host John King as he actually snapped his fingers.
Next up were political reporter Nia-Malika Henderson and host Wolf Blitzer, who were flabbergasted that Kavanaugh would somehow think that what the Democrats (and by extension, the media) were doing was political. “There was all this sort of Trump red meat: ‘This is a Clinton plot to destroy me and I'm a good man and look what this has done’”, she said.
Blitzer seemed like he couldn’t make heads or tails of it and seemed to suggest Kavanaugh fabricated a conspiracy theory:
He was suggesting it was revenge because Brett Kavanaugh worked for Ken Starr and the whole Whitewater investigation, the impeachment process, and all of a sudden in the middle of his opening statement he’s saying the Clintons are seeking revenge and their allies have created this conspiracy to get me, release this information only at this last minute.
But meanwhile, in reality, the media had noted for months that the Democrats wanted revenge for Judge Merrick Garland and taking away Hillary’s pick.
This is CNN.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN's The Situation Room
September 27, 2018
5:14 p.m. Eastern(…)
JEFFREY TOOBIN: Can we just imagine what it's going to be like if he's confirmed to the United States Supreme Court. The first time a Democratic lawyer gets up there or a Democratic litigant gets up there after this performance in this committee. This is the most partisan I have ever heard a judicial nominee talking about the revenge of the Clintons. Talking about you people on the Democratic side. I mean, you know, yes, he is entitled to defend himself. But to talk about this drama, not in terms of whether he did this -- what he's accused of, but asserting a conspiracy of the Democratic Party to destroy his life and then he was supposed to be a case of judge for cases brought by the Democratic Party. Good luck to those lawyers, that's all I can say.
ARIANE DE VOGUE: That's a real indication because you remember, he kept saying during his first hearing, “Oh, I'm going to stay three zip codes away from politics” and then on Fox he said “I'm going to stay away”. Today, he really did take over. He wrote this himself. He did not clear it with the White House. That he's mad at some officials in the White House and some on the Hill and how this was handled. He thinks that they waited too long and he took over and that's -- and we are really seeing those politics that we did not see before.
JOHN KING: His survival depends on holding those Republicans and so he went all Trump Republican. He went from a Bush Republican to a Trump Republican today in a snap.
[Crosstalk]
GLORIA BORGER: He also raised the politics of personal destruction. That's what he was talking about today, because he clearly believes that that's what this is, that the Democrats have conspired against him to destroy his life at all costs because they don't want this -- they don't want this seat.
(…)
NIA MALIAKA HENDERSON: I think what was fascinating about the opening statement is, you're right. There was all this sort of Trump red meat. “This is a Clinton plot to destroy me and I'm a good man and look what this has done.”
BLITZER: He was suggesting it was revenge because Brett Kavanaugh worked for Ken Starr and the whole Whitewater investigation, the impeachment process, and all of a sudden in the middle of his opening statement he’s saying the Clintons are seeking revenge and their allies have created this conspiracy to get me, release this information only at this last minute.
HENDERSON: And certainly music to Trump's ears, music to the sort of red meat base that Trump obviously is allied with, but he also reached out to Susan Collins, sort of the Bush-wing of the White House too saying he was a press secretary or a staff secretary, with Bush, traveled with him, talked about his hiring clerks.
(…)
