Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) — a red-state Democrat who crossed party lines to vote for President Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch — announced on Friday that he would vote for Brett Kavanaugh, a statement that all but cleared Kavanaugh’s path to the Court.
Manchin’s statement was released shortly after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — another closely watched swing senator — announced her support for the nominee.
All of the lawmakers viewed as pivotal swing votes have now announced how they plan to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination. And unless there’s a surprise defection in the rest of the Republican caucus, it appears he will be confirmed.
“I have reservations about this vote given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he displayed in the hearing,” Manchin said in a statement explaining his decision. “I believe he will rule in a manner consistent with our Constitution.”
Manchin was the last Democratic holdout to announce his position. As recently as Thursday afternoon, he remained undecided on the nomination after reviewing an FBI report scrutinizing sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh.
Also there’s this:
DNC Chair Gives the Thumbs-Up to Any Democrats Who Might Vote for Kavanaugh
There is absolutely no reason—political, moral, strategic, you name it—for any Democrat to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. There are plenty of good reasons for Democrats to vote against Kavanaugh, starting with the very basic one that a far-right partisan who has been credibly accused of multiple incidents of sexual assault should not be let anywhere near the Supreme Court. It’s also pretty stupid, when your party is trying to harness the energy of a hyper-mobilized base fueled by women and people of color, to have members of your party stick their necks out for a man who has become the ultimate symbol of elite, white, patriarchal anger and entitlement.
But don’t tell that to Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez! In an onstage interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Friday, Perez was asked whether he thought it was acceptable for a Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. After some hemming and hawing, he finally gave his answer: sure!
From the exchange, which was first flagged by The Intercept’s Ryan Grim:
PEREZ: There were Democratic senators who voted for Justice Gorsuch....there were Democratic senators who did that, and that is a fact. And those are Democratic senators that I have worked very closely with, continue to work very closely with, and are working to help get reelected. And so that is a fact, that’s the reality of what we see now.
EPSTEIN: And you would continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote [for Kavanaugh]?
PEREZ: Of course we’re going to continue!
Watching the DNC helping to reelect Joe Manchin will be an absolutely revolting sight to behold.
xAll those Democrats who scream "but Bernie's not a Democrat!" -- well, here's a "real" Democrat for you. Happy? https://t.co/0IZTgGXUs8
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) October 5, 2018I’m going to stop there.