Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote is coming, and our rights and freedoms depend on two Republican senators, any two, voting the right way.
Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski aren’t the only moderate Republicans who should bear the responsibility and the blame if they vote wrongly. Senators Bob Corker (TN), Jeff Flake (AZ), and Ben Sasse (NE): The country is looking at you.
Corker, Flake, and Sasse regularly make clear that they know just how out of control, corrupt, and authoritarian President Trump is:
- Flake: “Our presidency has been debased by a figure who has a seemingly bottomless appetite for destruction and division, and only a passing familiarity with how the Constitution works.”
- Sasse, on whether Trump has made him consider switching parties: “I probably think about it every morning.”
Recognition of reality is always welcome, but not once have any of those senators actually used their power as an elected official to stand in Trump’s way.
Now, these Senators have a chance—a responsibility—to help safeguard America against both a criminally-implicated President and a Supreme Court nominee who would ensure Trump is placed above the law.
If they won’t denounce Kavanaugh for the clear threats he poses to the American public, then the very least they can do is exercise their power as members of a small majority and demand Kavanaugh recuse himself from any matters related to Trump and Russia.
Of course, the country’s eyes are also on Senators Collins and Murkowski to protect the reproductive rights of tens of millions of American women by voting No on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Collins in particular is facing strong backlash from her constituents over her unwillingness to denounce Kavanaugh, especially after the revelation that he has questioned whether or not Roe v. Wade is settled law—exactly the test she said would matter.
All five of these senators need to ask themselves the question that Flake has raised before:
“When the next generation asks us, why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up? What are we going to say?”
THIS HURRICANE SURVIVOR BECAME A #CLIMATEVOTER.
When Keren’s village in Puerto Rico was destroyed during Hurricane Maria, she made the difficult decision to move to Miami. Keren enrolled in college, found a job, and is now taking care of her two younger sisters far from their family back home. The devastation of Hurricane Maria opened her eyes to the impacts of climate change, and now she’s sharing her story to urge others to vote for leaders who will take climate action.
A year after Maria, Puerto Rico is still struggling to rebuild, and this week the island is on alert as Hurricanes Florence and Isaac approach. With these storms threatening millions of Americans throughout the South and Caribbean this week—and an administration determined to ignore climate change entirely—now is the time to join Keren and pledge to be a #ClimateVoter.