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No Spin News Summary – October 4, 2018

 Senators Review FBI Report on Kavanaugh Allegations Ahead of Friday Vote

 Senators are reviewing the FBI's supplemental background check about allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after it arrived in the chamber early Thursday morning. Only one copy of the report is being made available.

Senators and a few Republican and Democratic aides with proper clearances will be allowed to read the report in a secure room at the Capitol in alternating one-hour shifts, starting with GOP staff from 8 to 9 a.m. on Thursday, followed by Democrats from 9 to 10a.m, and so on through the day.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said that regardless of the findings of the FBI investigation, the Senate will vote this week on whether to end debate on Kavanaugh. That is expected Friday morning. If that vote passes and the Senate agrees to close the discussion about Kavanaugh, it starts a 30-hour clock that would end with another vote on whether he should take the open seat on the Supreme Court. That final vote is expected to take place sometime over the weekend.

White House Defends FBI Kavanaugh Investigation Against Democratic Criticism

The White House on Thursday defended the FBI's investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, which Democrats have said did not take a close enough look at the Supreme Court nominee. 

In a Fox News interview, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused Democrats of making the confirmation process "a total disgrace" and said the FBI "did exactly what they do best" by looking into Kavanaugh's background. 

"They have that information. It's time for the Senate to vote and it’s time to confirm Judge Kavanaugh," she said, referring to senators. Those comments echoed remarks from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who said the investigation turned up "no hint of misconduct" by Kavanaugh and called for a speedy confirmation vote. "The most notable part of this report is what's not in it," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel. 

 Sanders pushed back on those comments, saying the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, testified under oath for hours last week before the Senate committee. 

 "The White House accommodated the Senate's request," Sanders later told reporters on the White House driveway. "Anybody who pushes back on the fact that Dr. Ford wasn't given ample opportunity to make her case and state her case has been living in a cave." 

Connie Chung Claims She Was Sexually Assaulted During College

 Veteran journalist Connie Chung on Wednesday revealed her own decades-old sexual assault allegation in an opinion piece addressed directly to Christine Blasey Ford, who has leveled accusations at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. And while Chung doesn’t remember some specifics of the roughly 50-year-old alleged incident, she said other details remain very clear.

 “I, too, was sexually assaulted — not 36 years ago but about 50 years ago. I have kept my dirty little secret to myself. Silence for five decades. The molester was our trusted family doctor,” Chung, 72, wrote in the piece published by The Washington Post.

“It was the 1960s. I was in college. The sexual revolution was in full swing. The exact date and year are fuzzy. But details of the event are vivid — forever seared in my memory,” she said. “Am I sure who did it? Oh yes, 100 percent.”

She offered a detailed description of the “classic Georgetown 19th-century house” where she said her doctor’s office was located. Chung then went on to give a detailed recollection of what the physician allegedly did to her.

 After the alleged encounter, Chung said she returned home, adding that it’s possible she told her sister of the appointment, but never her parents or the police. Eventually, she said she told her husband. After the spark of the #MeToo movement, she said, her “dirty little secret reared its ugly head.”

Fox News Poll: Republicans Make Gains in Top Senate Races

 A new round of Fox News battleground polls shows a Republican trend in the fight for the U.S. Senate. The GOP candidates are helped by increased interest in the election among Republicans and pro-Donald Trump sentiment. There’s been an uptick in GOP interest the states surveyed.

• Indiana 2018 Senate Vote Preference:
  • Joe Donnelly (Democrat/Incumbent):                         43%
  • Mike Braun (Republican):                              41%
  • Lucy Brenton (Libertarian):                            6%
• Missouri 2018 Senate Vote Preference:
  • Claire McCaskill (Democrat/Incumbent):       43%
  • Josh Hawley (Republican):                             43%
  • Another candidate:                                          8%
• North Dakota 2018 Senate Vote Preference:
  • Heidi Heitkamp (Democrat/Incumbent):         41%
  • Kevin Cramer (Republican):                           53%

An October Surprise: The Brett Bounce

Top Republicans tell Axios that they're seeing a surprising and widespread surge in GOP voter enthusiasm, powered largely by support for Brett Kavanaugh and his Supreme Court nomination.

Republicans are saying, "The Kavanaugh debate has dropped a political grenade into the middle of an electorate that had been largely locked in Democrats' favor for the past six months," said Josh Holmes, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Pointing to Montana, Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri and Tennessee, Holmes added: "[P]rivate polling shows the enthusiasm shift is ... unmistakable in the red states that will determine control of the Senate."

 An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released yesterday found that the "wide Democratic enthusiasm advantage that has defined the 2018 campaign up to this point has disappeared," NPR reported. Democrats' enthusiasm advantage dissipated since the Kavanaugh-Ford hearing. Before that, he said, GOP lassitude was "very scary."

 GoFundMe Pages for Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh

 Christine Blasey Ford’s GoFundMe page has raised $528,500 of $150,000 goal.  It is no longer accepting donations. Brett Kavanaugh’s GoFundMe page has raised $577,798 of $600,000 goal.  It is still accepting donations.

 GoFundMe is a for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. GoFundMe allows users to create their own website with which they raise money.During this process, members can describe their fundraising cause and the amount they hope to raise, and upload photos or video. Once the website is created, GoFundMe allows users to share their project with people through integrated social network links (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and email. People can then donate to a user's cause through the website using a debit card or credit card. If the user receives no donations, then no charge is made. GoFundMe collects 2.9% and $.30 from each GoFundMe transaction.

'We Believe Survivors!': Protesters Clash with Kavanaugh Supporters, Rip Up Signs at U. of Texas

 On Tuesday, protesters at the University of Texas were caught on camera ripping apart signs made by supporters of Brett Kavanaugh during an on-campus clash. The Daily Caller reported that the Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Texas (YCTUT) were rallying on Tuesday in support of the Supreme Court nominee.

The Young Conservatives of Texas at the University of Texas (YCTUT) held a rally at their Austin, Texas campus to support Kavanaugh. Some of the signs YCTUT members held included “Confirm Kavanaugh,” “Kavanaugh for Justice” and “Witch Hunt!” according to a picture the group provided to The Daily Caller News Foundation. Saurabh Sharma, YCTUT's chairman, said that his group is sympathetic to accuser Christine Blasey Ford but believes in a just legal process.

"In order for justice to exist in this country, a culture of innocent until proven guilty is just as important as a legal process that holds that principle," he said. 

 Video from the YCTUT's Facebook page shows a contentious encounter, as a large crowd formed around Kavanaugh's supporters. Protesters shouted, "We believe survivors!" and conversely held up expletive-laden signs of their own. Protesters also ripped signs that supported Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and snatched a Make American Great Again hat from Texas college student. No police action was taken in response to the protests.

1-in-3 pass ‘US Citizenship test,’ just 19% for Americans 45 and younger

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation conducted a multiple-choice poll using questions roughly based on the test administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and found a shocking lack of knowledge. The results were published on October 3 and the pollsters randomly surveyed 1,000 Americans.

Passing the citizenship test requires a score of at least 60 percent. The foundation said just 36% of the 1,000 citizens they surveyed achieved that score. The poll found older Americans did better, with 74 percent of seniors answering enough questions correctly to have passed. Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans under 45 cleared the threshold.  

Among the Results:

• 60% didn’t know which countries the United States fought in World War II
• 57% didn't know how many justices serve on the U.S. Supreme Court
• 72% of respondents didn't know or misidentified which states were part of the 13 original states
• 24% knew why the colonists fought the British
• 2% said climate change was the cause of the Cold War

Mail Time!

• Bill, I'm very disappointed, Trump states the absolute truth about Ford's testimony and you trash him for it. Also, the polygraph testing information is taught at the 200 level courses in the psychology curriculum, so Ford is either a simpleton or very disturbed. No one would ever have a test near the time of TYCB means telling the truth. Please stop being soft on Ford.

• Bill, after almost 30 years in construction I can say that the #MeToo movement has made my struggle as a woman the hardest it's ever been. I'm ostracized, and why wouldn't I be? I am a lethal weapon able to destroy a man's life with nothing more than an accusation. In the "which one of these is not like the other" game. I have always been the odd one out, but it didn't matter that much to most guys. Now, it matters a great deal, because I am all powerful and they just can't risk losing everything. They know that some women lie--even good ones, sometimes.

• Hey Bill, my husband I watch your show, glad to see you back.
My question is, has Dianne Feinstein ever said why she held onto the Ford letter so long before turning it over to the FBI?
I think I must have missed the answer somewhere along the line to such an obvious question. Refresh my mind please. Thank you.

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