17. James Pindell, “With Brett Kavanaugh vote, Susan Collins is in middle of a firestorm,” Boston Globe, September 18, 2018, https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/18/angry-calls-threats-thousands-hangers-susan-collins-middle-political-firestorm/EO1XqIK0cUCyYV8jbxhf5J/story.html.
18. Collins’s floor speech will be quoted throughout this section. Susan Collins, “Senate Floor Speech in Support of Brett Kavanaugh,” C-SPAN via American Rhetoric website, October 5, 2018, https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/susancollinssenatefloorbrettkavanaugh.htm.
19. “Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Senate speech on why she opposed Kavanaugh,” Anchorage Daily News, October 8, 2018, https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/10/05/sen-lisa-murkowskis-full-senate-speech-on-why-shes-not-supporting-kavanaugh/.
20. Quin Hillyer, “Lisa Murkowski Should ‘Pair No’ with Steve Daines’s ‘Paired Yes,’ ” National Review, October 5, 2018, https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/lisa-murkowski-steve-dainess-brett-kavanaugh-vote/.
21. “Remarks by President Trump at Swearing-in Ceremony of the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,” White House website, October 8, 2018, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-swearing-ceremony-honorable-brett-m-kavanaugh-associate-justice-supreme-court-united-states/.
Chapter Twelve: Legitimacy
1. Jonathan Martin, “Kavanaugh Was Supposed to Be a Midterm Boon for G.O.P. Not Anymore,” New York Times, September 23, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/us/politics/kavanaugh-senate-republicans-elections.html.
2. Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, “Dems plot massive campaign if Kavanaugh falls,” Axios, September 20, 2018, https://www.axios.com/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-democrats-2018-midterm-elections-3ce55ebf-dc62-46b9-8ffa-bb1a7fe7cb18.html.
3. Domenico Montanaro, “Poll: Amid Kavanaugh Confirmation Battle, Democratic Enthusiasm Edge Evaporates,” NPR, October 3, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/10/03/654015874/poll-amid-kavanaugh-confirmation-battle-democratic-enthusiasm-edge-evaporates.
4. Katie Glueck and Adam Wollner, “Republican enthusiasm surges amid Supreme Court battle,” McClatchy DC Bureau, October 4, 2018, https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/midterms/article219488090.html.
5. Eliza Collins, “McConnell predicts Republican ‘surge’ from Kavanaugh confirmation heading into midterms,” USA Today, October 6, 2018, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/10/06/brett-kavanaugh-mcconnell-confirmation-gop-surge/1549762002/.
6. Tal Axelrod, “Trump says midterms about ‘Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order and common sense,’ ” The Hill, October 18, 2018, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/412172-trump-midterms-a-referendum-on-kavanaugh-the-caravan-law-and-order.
7. Will Schmitt, “President Trump joins Josh Hawley to urge Missouri Republicans to get out and vote,” Springfield News-Leader, September 21, 2018, https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/21/trump-rally-springfield-missouri-hawley-defends-kavanaugh/1346171002/.
8. On October 6 Morrisey tweeted, “Thanks to @realDonaldTrump & Republicans in the Senate who confirmed Kavanaugh. Remember, Manchin refused to commit to Kavanaugh until AFTER the Senate had the votes. Manchin piled on—he had no courage and empowered the Schumer circus. #wvsen #wvpol.” AG Patrick Morrisey (@MorriseyWV), Twitter, October 6, 2018, 1:36 p.m., https://twitter.com/MorriseyWV/status/1048673350220963841. It took PolitiFact over a month to fact-check this claim, releasing its assessment of “True” a week after the election, too late to be helpful to West Virginia voters. Kristen Mohammadi, “How late did Joe Manchin decide on Kavanaugh vote?” PolitiFact, November 15, 2018, https://www.politifact.com/west-virginia/statements/2018/nov/15/patrick-morrisey/how-late-did-joe-manchin-decide-kavanaugh-vote/.
9. “Tennessee Senate–Blackburn vs. Bredesen,” RealClearPolitics, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/senate/tn/tennessee_senate_blackburn_vs_bredesen-6308.html#polls.
10. Joel Ebert, “Brett Kavanaugh vote: Phil Bredesen says he supports Supreme Court nominee,” Tennessean, October 5, 2018, https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/10/05/key-kavanaugh-vote-u-s-senate-begins-bredesen-says-he-supports-nominee/1524565002/.
11. Manchin was an exception, as he voted in favor of Kavanaugh. But 40 percent of West Virginia voters called the Kavanaugh vote a key issue, and those broke for Manchin, although Morrissey would also have voted to confirm Kavanaugh. Gary Langer and Benjamin Siu, “Election 2018 exit poll analysis: Voter turnout soars, Democrats take back the House, ABC News projects,” ABC News, November 7, 2018, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/election-2018-exit-poll-analysis-56-percent-country/story?id=59006586.
12. Mollie Hemmingway, “Incoming Democrat Chairman: Dems Will Go ‘All-In’ On Russia, Impeach Kavanaugh For ‘Perjury,’ ” The Federalist, November 7, 2018, https://thefederalist.com/2018/11/07/incoming-democrat-chairman-dems-will-go-all-in-on-russia-impeach-kavanaugh-for-perjury/