Right. I am going to be objective. And what does he say . People on the court dont sit on separate sides of the aisle. He could have said that. Listen, i am not guilty of any of this. But let me tell you, if i have the honor of being confirmed for this particular seat, here is how i will conduct myself. I am open to every investigation that you can bring. Open up to an fbi investigation because i am completely innocent. But this is how i will conduct myself as a judge. And he would not have had to go into all that partisan rhetoric that people say he doesnt have the temperament now criticizing him for not having the temperament to be confirmed. Yes and no. Im part of the way with you. Early on he did talk that way. It was only after the allegations came up. The early part of the confirmation hearing he comported himself exactly the way youre suggesting he should have. He did. But once the allegations came he needed to maintain that poise because thats what you do if you want to be a Supreme Court justice. I get that youd be pissed off if you were falsely accused. So would i. Id go nuts. Id fight it every possible way if it was something i didnt do. But im not up for Supreme Court either. And im not trying to exercise the demeanor and the manner for that. Id be fighting for what people say he was doing. He was fighting to his life in there. No, he wasnt. He wasnt fighting for his life. He was fighting for a reward. He was fighting to be a Supreme Court justice. He could have just walked away and it would have been over. Im not answering this stuff, ill go back. You want to impeach me at the Circuit Court . Bring it on. He didnt do that. He wanted the brass ring, so he should have acted the part. I think thats fair criticism. What will it mean to the senators . I dont know. I think were saying the same thing. There is a difference, if youre fighting for your life, theres a difference between fighting for your life or what have you or your reputation or your name if youre accused of something as a private citizen. If youre accused of something as a studio executive. If youre accused of something even as a City Council Member or leader or president or a mayor. Its different. When youre sitting in the Supreme Court you have to be superb. You have to conduct yourself in a manner you have befitting of that particular office. Same as the presidency. There are unfortunate ly the reality is there are different rules for different positions in this society and during those hearings he did not conduct himself in a manner befitting the role of the Supreme Court justice. You could make that argument. And you could also give yourself political cover. And reasonably so and say look, i would have done the same thing. Hes a great judge. They proved nothing. Theres no corroboration. I want the generation of jurisprudence and he will give it to me. I like what hes about as a judge. You can do that. And i think thats what well see. That part, the evidence, no corroborating evidence, what do you do . What do you do . You have to go where the evidence in this forum its over. But that was my problem from the beginning. I hate the way this was done. The confirmation is about nondisclosure. Its a fugaze process. And to avail ourselves of the most difficult cultural question we have. How we deal with these types of noncriminal setting allegations of wrongdoing and do it in the worst place where its all about politics and advantage where my metaphor today was these cases are like babies. Theyre sensitive, theyre vulnerable, they need attention and care. And we put forward on top of a stake in the middle of a cage with lions on one side and tigers on the other. We hope theyll be fair to the baby. They were never going to be fair to the baby. The baby was in the way of what they wanted. This is the worst place to deal with something so sensitive. That was my regret. I knew we would wind up here. Fugazi. Ive got to go, my italian brother. Ill see you tonight after the show at the bada bing. See you, chris. See you, buddy. Have a good one. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. And man, you could cut the tension with a knife on capitol hill. The clock ticking to a preliminary vote on judge Brett Kavanaugh set for tomorrow morning at 10 30. Just really over 12 hours from now. The final vote on his nomination is scheduled for saturday. Though all of this could change. If gop leaders dont think they have the votes. All eyes are on three republican senators. Susan collins, lisa murkowski, jeff flake. Look there on your screen right now. Who along with with red state democrat joe manchin could decide this whole thing. So if the nomination is anything, right . If this nomination, i should say, nothing is certain. So which is probably why judge kavanaugh has written an 11th hour oped in the wall street journal making what you could call his Closing Argument. Okay . Heres a quote from it. I was very emotional last thursday. More so than i have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp and i said a few things i should not have said. That, by the way, was testimony that he wrote. And it comes as protests against kavanaughs nomination spread in the capital and across this country. Hey hey, ho ho, kavanaugh has got to go. Cancel kavanaugh its been a day of drama with senators taking shifts in whats called the sensitive compartmented information facility, or scif, as they call it, reviewing the fbis information, investigation, findings in secret. But if you listen to President Trump, this is not about a search for the truth if you listen to this president. Its not about what Christine Blasey ford says Brett Kavanaugh did to her when they were teenagers. Its not even about whether or not judge kavanaugh is qualified for a seat on the Supreme Court. Its about for him a political hit job by democrats who want to stop a conservative at all costs. Democrats have been trying to destroy judge Brett Kavanaugh. [ boos ] since the very first second he was announced people see whats happening. And they dont like it. The people of minnesota and the people of america are going to reject the democrat politics of anger and destruction and they are going to vote to keep making America Great again, greater than ever before. So its a theme. A theme that this president is returning to again and again. A real crowd pleater at all of his rallies. No one under any circumstances is allowed to speak up if youre on this side of the equation. But guess what . Were speaking up like nobody has ever spoken up before. They want to get the power that they so desperately crave, that was taken away from them. All of the democrats know and all they really know how to do is obstruct, resist, demolish, destroy, and delay. Theyve been trying to destroy judge kavanaugh since the very first second he was announced. The president s strategy, blame. Blame democrats for a socalled attack on conservatives. Its working. You heard the boos. The crowd was eating it up. And its no accident that judge kavanaugh used the same talking point in his testimony last week. The very same testimony he is trying to explain away in his oped tonight. This whole twoweek effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pentup anger about President Trump and the 2016 election. Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the clintons. And millions of dollars in money from outside leftwing opposition groups. Hmm. What does he say . I am an independent, impartial judge. Thats his oped. But this is not politics as usual. Its not just republicans versus democrat. There is a not at all subtle undercurrent to all of this. So listen to me closely. Lindsey graham spelled it out. Lindsey graham spelled tout. This is not just an attack on conservatives. Its an attack on white men. I know im a single white male from South Carolina and im told i should shut up, but i will not shut up if thats okay. Okay . Oh, don, what are you talking about . So here you go. If thats not blatant enough for you what Lindsey Graham said. Theres this. And its from congressman steve king. And he tweeted this. He said, old white men, thats a quote, are relentlessly being racially and generationally profiled by the tolerant, again in quote, left. Leftist Media Outlets and politicians almost universally profiled and stigmatized republican senators. Looks like racial profiling is back in style if you are a leftist. More . Okay. Rush limbaugh, come on down. These women are angry. Something has happened to them in their lives. And their rage and their anger they take it out now on the country or on all men or men in the powerful majority which are White Christian men and so forth. Hmm. He said it. They all said it. Im just playing their sound bites. So dont get mad at me and say oh, don lemon, everythings about race. They said it. I just put their sound bites on tv. If youre going to vote to confirm judge kavanaugh, youve got to ignore what Christine Blasey ford said. Ive said it before. You cant believe both of them. So rather than searching for the truth, the president and his party, theyre appealing to their base. People who feel victimized, who fear the world is passing them by, feel, fear. People who see all of this as a zero sum game. If women or people of color or lgbt people advance, it must be at someone elses expense. A recent pew poll lays it out pretty clearly. Republican men were the least likely to say discrimination kept women out of highprofile Political Office or Top Executive positions. And theres also the study that came out a couple months ago, reported in the new york times, that found that white male voters supported President Trump not because everybody as they like to say because of fears about the economy, economic anxiety. No. But because they feared losing status. Facts. Now, its no surprise that President Trump and republicans would turn to an us versus them strategy here. They have used it before. Donald trump built his candidacy on that old racist birther lie that barack obama was not born in this country. It worked. It resonated with people who saw the 44th president not just as a political opponent but as a usurper who couldnt have won the white house fair and square. It is a strategy that worked for President Trump before. The question is will it work again . Will it work this time . So lets get to it now. Lets get to our breaking news. Judge kavanaugh is out with an oped in the wall street journal titled i am an independent impartial judge. Heres kaitlan collins. Kaitlan, good evening to you. Lets start with this incredible unprecedented oped. Whats behind this . Reporter well, clearly, don, we know whats going on right now. Those key senators are still weighing whether or not theyre going to support judge kavanaugh, and a big thing that democrats and critics of his have raised in recent days, not just the Sexual Assault allegations, not just whether he misled congress on his drinking habits, but if he has the right conduct and temperament to even be on the Supreme Court. That is something that theyre considering. Clearly hes heard those criticisms. And that is why he came out to write this oped, publishing it just hours before they are set to vote potentially on whether or not to confirm him. Now, were told by sources inside the white house, don, that this was his idea. He wanted to come out and apologize for his demeanor last thursday during that hearing that got very tense at times. But if you look at, this he apologizes for being too emotional but he offers an excuse for that. He says its the nature of the allegations made against him and he says its because his family, his daughters, his wife, his parents were seated in that room. But don, he doesnt apologize for the specific instances that caused so much attention last week. That one with senator Amy Klobuchar when he turned around the question on her, asking her if she had ever blacked out. When he asked one democratic senator what kind of beer he liked to drink. When he asked another if they like to play quarters. Several of those instances that werent specifically named in this oped, instead it was more of a broadbrush apology, denial, whatever youd like to call, it really trying to ease those fears of the people he knows are about to determine the fate of the rest of his life, essentially. So he judge kavanaugh writes in this oped that he is an independent impartial judge. And then you hear the testimony, what he says. This is revenge, and im paraphrasing, for the clintons. And because donald trump was elected president. But then he goes on fox news, which is a partisan political place. And now he has gone back to the murdoch fox tent again to say what he said in the journal. Whats the reaction inside the white house now . Reporter well, they are fully standing behind this because they actually stood behind the fact that he got so emotional last week, and they were the ones pushing him to be so emotional when he came out. Because after President Trump watched that interview he did on monday night on fox news he said he seemed wooden and that he wasnt aggressive enough and didnt push back hard enough on these denials. So President Trump, several key senators, several political or several top aides in the white house and including White House Counsel Don Mcgahn advised him to come out and come out swinging during that testimony. So that is why were seeing him apologize now. But youve got to remember, don, when he came out and he said i wrote this myself last night and yesterday afternoon. So clearly he spent a lot of time on that Opening Statement where he said this is a political hit job in revenge for working on ken starrs team during the clinton presidency. Thats something he wrote himself and he put a lot of thought into before he came forward and testified. But in the white houses view and in most of his supporters view they stand by this and they even stand by his behavior last week because they believe hes just simply defending himself against the nature of these allegations made against him. But don, thats certainly not the way his critics see it. Thats certainly not the way democrats see it. But the question and the only thing that really matters here tonight is how susan collins, lisa murkowski, jeff flake, and those other key votes see this apology and if they think its genuine or if they think its a little too late. We shall see very soon. Kaitlan, thank you. I appreciate your reporting. So the senate is locked in a battle for every last vote tonight. You heard what kaitlan said. With a final vote on judge kavanaugh looming on saturday. But heres one more unexpected twist in this high drama. Republican senator steve danes says gop leaders may be forced to hold open the confirmation vote overnight as he returns to washington from his home state of montana, where his daughter is getting married on saturday. So lets discuss all of it. Democratic senator cory booker is here. Senator, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Listen, between the timing and the oped have you ever seen anything like this before . What is going on . Look, this i think has really been a painful experience for all of america. I was in a caucus meeting today, which is no cameras around, nobodys performing. Where senator after senator, male senators were standing up and telling the gutwrenching stories of the constituents of theirs who are reaching out to them, people that they dont know who are telling for the first time about their Sexual Assaults, confronting the senators with painful details. I think that this is one of those moments in American History where the dark corner, one of the dark corners of our culture, and most americans dont realize, according to the centers for Disease Control one out of every three women will be a survivor of a Sexual Assault. Most of those dont come forward. Well, this is one of those moments where you have a credible witness who has told people about it back in 2012, told people about it years before kavanaugh was selected, who came forward on her own volition to her congressperson trying to do what she called her civic duty. I think this is one of those moments that really touches most americans in the heart and to see how were going to deal with this, to put somebody as youve already said to the highest court in the land for a lifetime appointment. Its not an entitlement for him. Is this somebody we really want on the court . Listen, i have a lot i want to cover with you, but i have to ask you before we move on, usually more upbeat with this, this has really this has affected you. This is weighing on you. Why . You know, since the time i was in college working at a hotline, i think it was my early, sort of late teenage years, and start hearing about what happens on college cam p z campuses, my college campus, stanford university, and just remember how shaken i was when i first woke up to what is a reality for so many americans. From the women in my office to friends. I had a person that worked with me for years come forward this week. Shed never told me about her Sexual Assault. This hurts very deeply, to see the way were treating dr. Ford. All the sympathy im seeing right now for Brett Kavanaugh while shes being mocked, while shes being demeaned. The message were sending to folks in this country, men and women, boys and girls, is just to me outrageous. This whole process has been unfortunate. Yeah. So listen, i have to ask you about you were there for the kavanaugh testimony. And then in his oped he said he may have been too emotional, he might have said things that he shouldnt have said. And hes trying to drive home the point that he is impartial tonight. Is he trying to have it both ways . What do you think of that . I think he surrendered all aspects of impartiality during his testimony. He demonstrated quite clearly, with a venom toward the left, wielding out troepz, sort of clinton blames, invoking her name or the clintons name. The whole thing was i think something where he surrendered that ground. He does not have the temperament to be a judge. And i think he wrote that article today in the wall street journal, or editorial, because he understands that people of good conscience are looking at the way he performed. You have a former Supreme Court justice today, they rarely he actually was a supporter of kavanau kavanaughs. Different political judicial philosophies. But this is something you rarely have ever seen. A former Supreme Court justice coming out and not on judicial philosophy, not on the allegation, the credible allegation from dr. Ford, but just on the temperament issue alone said he shouldnt be on the bench. The Washington Post, and granted, that is a leftleaning newspaper, but they have never come out actually, since bork, since 1987, never come out against a Supreme Court justice. And again, it was on the temperament issue and the veracity issue was he really telling the trurkts was he really being forthcoming. So this is not usual. Americans should realize that there are a lot of folks who are not in the partisan politics of our country who are coming forward and saying its just wrong for him to ascend to the court because of his temperament, because of the way he talked about things that at best were misleading, at worst were outright lies to the senate. And so im one of these folks in the scrum right now texting with colleagues, talking to colleagues on both sides of the aisle what are you saying to joe manchin . You know, joe is a dear has become a dear friend. I mean, he and i have a really good relationship. And you know, you talk to the heart as much as you can and have trust and faith that he will that he will make the right decision. And the reason i ask is because joe manchin is undecided. So thats why i ask that. But listen, before i let you go, i know you probably dont want to show your hand or show your cards here. But do you think that by saturday evening well be saying Justice Kavanaugh . You know, im a prisoner of hope. I really am. And ive seen this moment, this feel ive had. I felt it on the eve of the health care vote, where all signs were that we were going to lose that. But god, there were tens of thousands of people down here on washington pushing and pressing and i was praying. And what happened, lisa murkowski, susan collins, and the late john mccain shifted. Were here right now because a republican, a guy named jeff flake, put us into this pause period because of good conscience, and im hoping that that prevails. And the last thing i want to say to you, don, watching the president mock women, watching the president not believe women, the one collateral benefit of all this is that a whole bunch of people are going to be voting for women and hes going to have to deal with new women senators, new women congresspeople, and no matter what, america, this is not the last word. That vote will not be the last word on a lot of these issues. And i think that youre going to see folk continue to rise up and have more power, more control to change what is unacceptable right now in our country and the institutions, one of which im a member of. Senator cory booker, appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Thank you, don. So coming up, do they have the votes . Im going to talk to two women also about what cory booker just said. Women are watching, and they will be voting. Coming up in november. Well be right back. Only fidelity offers four zero Expense Ratio index funds directly to investors. 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But don, theres nothing about this process that has been usual. I dont think that individual action thats unusual should garner our attention any more than any other part of this entire process. I mean, this has been not only a deeply emotional process for dr. Ford, for Brett Kavanaugh, for his family, for the senate. Its been emotional for the country. And it has been its demonstrated the cultural shift. Its hit with this social change that were seeing that many would argue has come way too late and isnt complete. All of this, all these forces i think are together in a crucible that make none of this normal, and i dont think you can take any one incident and say gosh, this is odd, maybe we shouldnt do it that way. I just want to get to some of what he said. Tonight in his oped he says, i do not decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro plaintiff or pro defendant judge. Im not a pro prosecution or pro defense judge. I am a prolaw judge. So my question is can he really say that and can we believe it after he said that the left was taking revenge on what happened with the clintons and it was all animosity toward President Trump . He also said what goes around comes around. Sew said a lot of things that i think were very concerning. The thing thats particularly concerning about this claim about retribution for what happened to the clintons is that its just totally nuts. Theres just nobody whos thinking about that. Thats just not even a factor for anybody that ive ever spoken to that people felt thats whats front of mind, that people are mad at him about what he did to the clintons. And so i think this is him trying to clean up what was a very concerning testimony. He is saying he did it for his wife and children and his parents. But the wall street journal had reported a few days ago that don mcgahn, the white house counsel, had actually pulled him aside and pretty much told him to be emotional. So you know, i dont know whats true exactly. And the other thing i would say is i dont even understand how that would be reassuring to children. If i saw my father behaving that way, i would be horrified and embarrassed. So i get that hes upset. I totally get that. But if you want to be on the Supreme Court, were going to judge you based on how you act not just when youre not under pressure but how you act when youre also under pressure. And he is held to a higher standard than almost any other person in this country because hes going to be put on the Supreme Court, which is one of the most revered institutions in the country. Go ahead, margaret. Hes also i think to be fair had a lifetime of working in High Pressure jobs. Hes had 12 years on the court where hes had over 300 opinions, where i think what he did say in that oped that i think is true and hard to deny is hes often ruled in favor of republican causes and not in favor of republican causes. Hes not been a partisan. Right . Hes demonstrated its this temperament question we keep talking about. People are talking about judicial temperament and how he has ruled and his history on the court has demonstrated and his peers have said, more than 100 of his peers have weighed in and said this is a man whos demonstrated excellent judicial temperament. When youre dealing with defending your integrity in front of a political process that you feel has slandered you and is unfair, youre dealing maybe with a temper in that moment about yourself. But that is not your professional temperament with which you have demonstrated and conducted yourself in a professional sphere for your entire life. And by the way, youre not going to be weighing in on cases that deal with yourself. Otherwise you recuse yourself as a judge. Can i just ask a question about that, though, margaret . I guess i totally take everything that you just said. But if he goes onto the Supreme Court this will now be part of his history, that he has expressed this kind of anger at democrats and liberals and people who he is clearly very angry with. So do you think its unfair for people to feel that if a liberal group came before him, for example, that they might be concerned that he cant treat them fairly because this has happened . Hold on. Ill let you get to that but i want to put Something Else in there. And if he himself did not think there was something wrong with what he said and how he testified, he would not be writing this apology. One of the worst parts about that testimony and that sort of testimony of his is that he was in this really untenable position of having to defend his integrity and the political strategy that was thrust upon him. And to answer your question, kirsten, i think that he said things that were exceedingly political there, that i think he regretted. And i think you have to take that in the context of an entire career of both serving as a judge and being political and weigh it against each other. That was a moment, a very intense and incendiary moment in ones life. So i dont know if hes the kind of person or anybody is the kind of person where one moment changes how they view the rest are like especially with 12 years of history of seeing both liberal and conservative causes come before him and weighing those things and determining the outcomes of those cases impartially. Do you get to write a ruling when youre a Supreme Court justice and then the next day say after it has been ruled upon, do you get to say you know what, that ruling i did, im sorry, i did it the wrong way. This was about himself. He was implicated here. Hes not ruling on things that involve himself. Right . Thirdparty arbiter you cant remove him from the process and who he is. Independent adjudicator. Youre a third party between varying parties who are contested. Youre not ruling on your own cases. He is there talking about his own integrity. So you can understand why that would be a bit more emotional than being an independent thirdparty judge i understand what youre saying, but i dont understand what his integrity has to do with being partisan and political. What does his integrity have to do with that . I know were over, producers, im sorry. But what does his integrity have to do with being partisan and political . I guess i dont understand the question. Him saying this is retribution for the clintons. That is definitely partisan. There is no doubt he sat around and had days to write and think about. He said i didnt show this to anybody else, i wrote this myself. This is how i feel. Not so sure he had days to write it. He wrote it in response. Because he saw Christine Blasey fords testimony no, he said he didnt see it. He said he didnt watch the testimony. I think what im saying is and he acknowledges and we all admit it seems to me that that was a low moment for him that didnt reflect the impartiality that he has demonstrated throughout the course of his career. Okay. Im sorry. Ive got to go. Thank you both. As a judge, that is. Thank you. Well be right back. Here we go. Discover. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Should happen everydred five hundred years, right . Fact is, there have been twentysix in the last decade. Allstate is adapting. With drones to assess home damage sooner. And if a flying object damages your car, you can snap a photo and get your claim processed in hours, not days. Plus, allstate can pay your claim in minutes. Now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . Judge Brett Kavanaugh fighting for his nomination tonight with a lastminute oped in the wall street journal saying he may have been too emotional in his testimony last week. That as attorneys for Christine Blasey ford, well, they are slamming the fbis investigation in a letter to director christopher wray. Lets discuss now with general michael hayden. Hes the author of the assault on intelligence. General, i appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much. Sure, don. What do you think of this . Christine blasey fords attorney saying hey, look, this investigation, basically saying it was a sham. The republicans saying weve done everything, hes been investigated seven times. What do you think . Well, being of my background, i immediately thought of similar circumstances for the agencies i was a part of. Do you remember the benghazi talking points, don . Where cia was pushed into a point of high political torque because the white house did not want to handle it itself. And frankly, the only right answer there for the agency was to say we dont write talking points, you write them, well check the spelling. Now, the fbi cant do that. They do do investigations. They do background investigations. And so when this is thrust on them theyve got to do it. But they are in this moment of high political torque because the senate didnt have either the wisdom or the courage to decide this on its own. And frankly, don, you follow this closely, i follow this closely. I really want to know what the bureau was told to do. What were their instructions . And you know, theres no National Security implications of those instructions. So i think the bureau in its own selfdefense one way or another is going to push that out the door so that the rest of us can see what they were told to do and not do. While i have you can we talk about the fbis reputation . Its really taken some hits lately. Some conservatives have hammered them over peter strzok, lisa page, that scandal. Accusations of improper surveillance on trump tower excuse me, the trump campaign. Democrats are mad as hell. What will this kavanaugh saga do to the fbis reputation, do you think . Well, it does put it somewhat in jeopardy because theyve been pushed into this political environment where they should not be and hence the selfdefense mechanism to put the instructions out there. But don, theres another aspect to this too. I mean, after all, weve been hearing from the administration and many republicans on the hill that we really cant trust the bureau. And now the bureau is their life preserver. Theyve thrown this to the bureau and say, well, whatever the bureau said, thatll be fine. Thats at least inconsistent if not fundamentally dishonest. Should the bureau come out and explain what the parameters were on the investigation . I think there will be a cost for the bureau within the administration for doing that. But like i said, don, theres no National Security implication. This is not an american secret. And i think the bureau for its own selfdefense will and should put that out. General hayden, thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you. Weve got much more on judge kavanaughs 11th hour defense with the senate vote looming. Will his oped actually change any minds . Mitzi Psoriatic Arthritis tries to get in my way . Watch me. mike ive tried lots of things for my joint pain. Now . Watch me. joni think id give up showing these guys how its done . Please. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are changing the way they fight it. Theyre moving forward with cosentyx. Its a different kind of targeted biologic. Its proven to help people find less joint pain and clearer skin. Dont use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting cosentyx you should be checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of an infection. Or if you have received a vaccine, or plan to. If you have inflammatory bowel disease tell your doctor if symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Mitzi with less joint pain, watch me. For less joint pain and clearer skin, ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. Ask your rheumatologist minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. Proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain oncall during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. Vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 Emergency Care is there when you or your love one need it. Judge Brett Kavanaugh taking a pretty unheard of step tonight defending his Supreme Court nomination with a newspaper oped that senators pored over a highly anticipated fbi report on accusations against the judge by Christine Blasey ford. And other women all day today they did that. But did that report change anybodys mind . Lets discuss. Frank brunis here, David Axelrod as well. Gentlemen, good evening to you. So david, we have to start with judge kavanaughs oped in the wall street journal tonight. Why do you think the judge made this unprecedented lastminute pitch saying i am an independent, impartial judge . Well, because i think he knows one of the principal arguments that has arisen out of his testimony is that he doesnt have the temperament or the impartiality to serve on the Supreme Court. That was an appalling display last week. And you can be sympathetic i guess to the argument that he was emotional because he was being attacked in a way that was deeply disturbing to him and his family. But as has been pointed out by you and everyone else whos spoken tonight, some of these most egregious things that he said were written and contemplated and part of the testimony that he says he himself, he himself composed. And so you know, those, the calling it a calculated political hit and attaching it to the clintons and saying it was all about President Trump, that was something that he considered in advance. That wasnt a spontaneous display of anger and emotion. And i will say this, don. It was also part of a strategy that i think republican members of the committee were involved in to go tribal because they understood that she was compelling as a witness and they wanted to make it as political as possible because they wanted to rally the base behind judge kavanaugh. So if you want to claim, right frank, that youre impartial and you first go to fox news no, im being honest. Its not a criticism of fox news. Thats what they do. Theyre conservative. Theyre partisan. They tell you that. Its baked into the cake. So you go there and then you go in front of the Senate Judiciary committee and the country and say oh, well, its a clinton hit or revenge and donald trump and all of that. And then again you go to another Rupert Murdochowned entity to make your case but then youre saying youre impartial and nonpolitical. How does that make sense . David used the key word, which is tribal. Hes saying that hes impartial and not political and all the nonhyperpartisans are saying hes behaving in precisely that fashion. Hes playing solely to a conservative republican audience. For fox news, with his behavior and with the text that he wrote out during that Senate JudiciaryCommittee Hearing and then now by placing this in the wall street journal. You know, i find this oped really distressing, don. He says in it that were to understand his demeanor when he testified as the demeanor of a husband and a father and a son who was kind of speaking to his parents, his children, his wife, et cetera. He wasnt there to tell them who he was. They know who he is. He was there to talk to the members of the Senate Judiciary committee and to talk to the american people. And theres something, again, this word keeps coming up with Brett Kavanaugh. Theres something very disingenuous about saying well, what you saw there was a husband, father and parent. He keeps trotting out these labels that are supposed to tell us he must be one kind of good person. When theyre not even appropriate in those contexts. The key voting bloc is going to really help decide the midterms. And thats women. And so where does Brett Kavanaugh stand there . How does he affect the midterm elections . Well talk about that coming up. Ignition sequence starts. 10. 9. Guidance is internal. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Hi, kids im carl and im a broker. Do you offer 4. 95 online equity trades . Great question. See, for a full Service Brokerage like ours, thats tough to do. Schwab does it. Next question. Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee . A what now . A satisfaction guarantee. Like schwab does. Man scoffing what are you teaching these kids . 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High cholesterol and weight gain; high blood sugar, which can lead to coma or death decreased white blood cells, which can be fatal; dizziness upon standing; falls; seizures; impaired judgement; heat sensitivity; and trouble swallowing may occur. Youre more than just your bipolar i. Ask about vraylar. Janice, mom told me you bought a house. Okay. [ buttons clicking ] [ camera shutter clicks ] so, now that you have a house, you can use homequote explorer. Quiet. Im blasting my quads. Janice, look. Im in a meeting. Janice, look. [ chuckles ] look, look. Im looking. Its easy. You just answer some simple questions online, and you get Coverage Options to choose from. Youre ruining my workout. Cycling is my passion. So back with me now, frank bruni and David Axelrod. Etch senator Heidi Heitkamp fighting to keep her seat in november today said this. Its a lifetime appointment. This isnt a political decision. If this were a political decision for me, i certainly would be deciding this the other way. But you know, theres an old saying history will judge you but most importantly, youll judge yourself. And thats really what im say. I cant get up in the morning and look at the Life Experience that ive had and say, yes to judge kavanaugh. Wow. So shes one of the most vulnerable democrats by the way, david, up for reelection. One could say she has a conscience. You could see she was emotional there. Is this going to hurt or help her . Yes, i think donald trump carried that state by i think 36 points. What weve seen i said earlier that they sort of triballized this issue of kavanaugh. If you look now, 40 of americans think he should be confirmed. 52 say no. The gender gap is there, as well. In red states like Heidi Heitkamps state, im sure the opinion is much lopsided in favor of judge kavanaugh. And she understood that when he shoo he made that decision. I think republicans may benefit at least in the short run from this in the polling in red states but in the congressional districts in the suburbs which will tell the story about who controls the house, i think this is going to be a major negative for them. Largely because of how women react there. Im glad you mentioned polling. Theres a new poll out, quinnipiac that shows kavanaugh losing support among women. 55 now say they oppose his confirmation. That is up from 47 just a few weeks ago. And then President Trumps handling of the situation has approval of 42 of voters while 49 disapprove. You say House Republicans be the most impacted by this. Why is that . Well, i mean in many of the most competitive house races house districts, you have suburbs and you have a lot of women voters. So Heidi Heitkamp might not benefit in a statewide race in north dakota but the competitive house districts tend to have a lot of suburban female votes are. Theyre the one that are very turned off by this process. The question is whether that will last till november 6th and whether they will turn out and vote. I think they will. As judge kavanaugh is defending his emotional testimony, what about the words of Christine Blasey ford . Here we go. Discover. I like your card, but im absolutely not paying an annual fee. Discover has no annual fees. Really . Yeah. We just dont believe in them. Oh nice. You would not believe how long ive been rehearsing that. No annual fee on any card. Only from discover. Thats it get him, wooh yes mom my game is over. whistle blows parents arent perfect. But then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese shapes and everything is good again. But then they make us Kraft Mac Cheese shapes so, howell. Going . We had a vacation early in our marriage that kinda put us in a hole. Go someplace exotic . Yeah, bermuda. A hospital in bermuda. A hospital in bermuda. What . What happened . I got a little overconfident on a moped. Even with insurance, we had to dip into our 401 k so it set us back a little bit. Sometimes you dont have a choice. But it doesnt mean you cant get back on track. Great. Yeah, great. Id like to go back to bermuda. I hear its nice. Yeah, id like to see it. No judgment. Just guidance. Td ameritrade. Minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Proposition 11 saves lives by ensuring medical care is not delayed in an emergency. Proposition 11 establishes into law the longstanding industry practice of paying emts and paramedics to remain oncall during breaks and requires they receive fema level training and active shooters and natural disasters. Vote yes on 11 to ensure 911 Emergency Care is there when you or your love one need it. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. Judge Brett Kavanaugh taking his Supreme Court nomination into his own hands tonight, writing a lastminute oped in the wall street journal with the vote looming. He says at times my testimony both in my Opening Statement and in response to questions reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused without corroboration of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character. My statement andses also reflected my deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled. I was very emotional last thursday, more so than i have ever been. I might have been to know emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp and i said a few things i should not have said. I hope everyone can understand i was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind, my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all, my daughters. Kavanaughs defense comes hours before a vote to move his nomination to the senate floor. Senators combing through the fbi report all day and well into the night. Whats in it depends on who you ask. This is what republicans say. What we know for sure is the