SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"What's the point of electing Dems to swing districts (if that's the excuse) if they don't vote with Dems?" asked progressive activist Nomiki Konst. (Photo: Texas Tribune Festival/Screengrab)
Sparking Progressive Fury, Tom Perez Says DNC Would Continue to Back Any Democrat Who Votes for Kavanaugh
"The invisible chokehold of big money vs. people, vs. the testimony of women on gruesome display. Again."
Sep 29, 2018
Even as he continues to denounce Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as an enormous threat to women and declare that the judge's sham confirmation process is a "vivid illustration" of why it's crucial for Democrats to retake the Senate in November, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez outraged progressives on Friday by suggesting that the DNC would continue to stand behind any Democrat who decides to vote yes on Kavanaugh.
Asked by Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein if the DNC would "continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote" for Kavanaugh, Perez briefly ducked and dodged before finally answering, "Of course we're going to continue."
While several red-state Democrats who were previously viewed as possible yes votes for Kavanaugh--such as Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.)--vowed to vote against his confirmation after hearing the compelling testimony of his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) are still undecided.
Watch Perez's comment, which came during an on-stage interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday:
Perez's remarks were quickly denounced by progressives as both an egregious political mistake and a betrayal of the millions of women and allies who have been working tirelessly to defeat Kavanaugh, who has been credibly accused of sexual assault.
"Basically that gives them a pass. Not smart. This is why we lose so much ground to the GOP," James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, wrote on Twitter. "They're carnivores and we play too nice. This isn't just any issue, it's a defining issue for what kind of country we will be."
"When you say that it's fine for Democrats to back [Kavanaugh], you are saying that the rage and anguish and fear that people--especially women--feel about his potential confirmation is meaningless to you!" wrote Splinter's Jack Mirkinson. "This is not complicated."
"At this point," Mirkinson concluded, "voting against Brett Kavanaugh should be the most basic thing possible for anyone calling themselves a Democrat!"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
brett kavanaughchristine blasey forddemocratic partyjoe manchinsexual assaulttom perezus supreme court
Even as he continues to denounce Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as an enormous threat to women and declare that the judge's sham confirmation process is a "vivid illustration" of why it's crucial for Democrats to retake the Senate in November, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez outraged progressives on Friday by suggesting that the DNC would continue to stand behind any Democrat who decides to vote yes on Kavanaugh.
Asked by Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein if the DNC would "continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote" for Kavanaugh, Perez briefly ducked and dodged before finally answering, "Of course we're going to continue."
While several red-state Democrats who were previously viewed as possible yes votes for Kavanaugh--such as Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.)--vowed to vote against his confirmation after hearing the compelling testimony of his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) are still undecided.
Watch Perez's comment, which came during an on-stage interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday:
Perez's remarks were quickly denounced by progressives as both an egregious political mistake and a betrayal of the millions of women and allies who have been working tirelessly to defeat Kavanaugh, who has been credibly accused of sexual assault.
"Basically that gives them a pass. Not smart. This is why we lose so much ground to the GOP," James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, wrote on Twitter. "They're carnivores and we play too nice. This isn't just any issue, it's a defining issue for what kind of country we will be."
"When you say that it's fine for Democrats to back [Kavanaugh], you are saying that the rage and anguish and fear that people--especially women--feel about his potential confirmation is meaningless to you!" wrote Splinter's Jack Mirkinson. "This is not complicated."
"At this point," Mirkinson concluded, "voting against Brett Kavanaugh should be the most basic thing possible for anyone calling themselves a Democrat!"
Even as he continues to denounce Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as an enormous threat to women and declare that the judge's sham confirmation process is a "vivid illustration" of why it's crucial for Democrats to retake the Senate in November, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez outraged progressives on Friday by suggesting that the DNC would continue to stand behind any Democrat who decides to vote yes on Kavanaugh.
Asked by Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein if the DNC would "continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote" for Kavanaugh, Perez briefly ducked and dodged before finally answering, "Of course we're going to continue."
While several red-state Democrats who were previously viewed as possible yes votes for Kavanaugh--such as Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.)--vowed to vote against his confirmation after hearing the compelling testimony of his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) are still undecided.
Watch Perez's comment, which came during an on-stage interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday:
Perez's remarks were quickly denounced by progressives as both an egregious political mistake and a betrayal of the millions of women and allies who have been working tirelessly to defeat Kavanaugh, who has been credibly accused of sexual assault.
"Basically that gives them a pass. Not smart. This is why we lose so much ground to the GOP," James Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute, wrote on Twitter. "They're carnivores and we play too nice. This isn't just any issue, it's a defining issue for what kind of country we will be."
"When you say that it's fine for Democrats to back [Kavanaugh], you are saying that the rage and anguish and fear that people--especially women--feel about his potential confirmation is meaningless to you!" wrote Splinter's Jack Mirkinson. "This is not complicated."
"At this point," Mirkinson concluded, "voting against Brett Kavanaugh should be the most basic thing possible for anyone calling themselves a Democrat!"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.