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7 Things: Kavanaugh defends himself ahead of the Senate vote, Alabama Republicans decry this entire mess, Jones defends his ‘no’ vote and more …

7. The Ethics Commision obviously drops the case against the Etowah County “Beach House” sheriff because he followed the law

— The Alabama Ethics Commission voted to drop an ethics case against Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin, who was accused of misusing public funds “related to food accounts.”

— As much as Alabama residents may not like this law, the man followed the law, which must be changed if this is to stop.

6. Alabama Senator Doug Jones will still be a ‘no,’ even though the process was full of “hate and ugliness.” Now, one prognosticator thinks he can run for president

— Senator Jones lamented how Republicans and Democrats were both treated during the process, declaring his hope that this “does not reflect who we really are as Americans.”

— Jones is clearly a long-shot to keep his Senate seat in 2020, but fivethirtyeight.com‘s Nate Silver believes Jones could be a 2020 presidential nominee. This might explain why he is running around red states trying to get Democrats elected.

5. If there isn’t a Judge Roy Moore isn’t on the ballot, try to create one

— Democratic nominee for Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Vance is running an attack ad against his Republican opponent, and Moore ally, Associate Justice Tom Parker, comparing him to Moore because Vance almost beat the former judge in 2012.

— Vance is outraising Parker, a rarity for Alabama Democrats, but he is still polling far behind in the race with a little more than 30 days left before the general election.

4. Congressmen Bradley Byrne and Gary Palmer denounce how the Supreme Court nomination was handled

— Byrne says this process is bad for the country. He stated, “It hurts the country.” Palmer said he believes people will look at how this was handled and worry, “This could be your father, your brother, it could be your husband, it could be your son.” He added, “I think that really resonates with a lot of people.”

— Republican enthusiasm is boosted by the confirmation battle as the FBI investigation failed to turn up corroboration of any wrongdoing. Republicans feel like they can rally behind Kavanaugh and fire up their base.

3. The votes appear to be in order for a Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmation vote. Democrats say this is a “coverup”

— The Senate is ready for a critical vote this morning on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination as they hope to move it forward, but one member may hold up the final vote because Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) says he will be in Montana for his daughter’s wedding.

— Democrats are still trying everything to stall the process. They have said there is a coverup, a secret sexual misconduct or alcohol abuse and they think Kavanaugh being frustrated about being called a gang rapist is disqualifying.

2. This whole issue is far more than “Republicans said, Democrats said

— The premise that this is a partisan issue with wrongs on both side is an angle the traditional media is pushing, in spite of the fact that the FBI investigation turned up nothing close to corroborating evidence of any of the claims against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

— So, the media and their Democrats can not pretend this hasn’t been investigated. Democrats threw every dirty trick in the book at this man and still came up empty. Confirmed or not, it will be clear that Brett Kavanaugh was subjected to a level of unfairness, anger and dishonesty that should terrify fair-minded Americans.

1. Judge Brett Kavanaugh himself pens an op-ed defending his behavior at the confirmation hearing

— Kavanaugh’s piece titled “I Am an Independent, Impartial Judge” which ended with an apology for some words spoke at his hearing, read, “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. I hope everyone can understand that 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.”

— The purpose of this op-ed is to explain to some Republicans why he was so angry at his hearing, ” I was subjected to wrongful and sometimes vicious allegations. My time in high school and college, more than 30 years ago, has been ridiculously distorted. My wife and daughters have faced vile and violent threats.”

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