cmsellers wrote:This Atlantic piece is interesting, and could explain why male Republican Senators' determination to rush him through, though not why Collins seems to be on board with him.
I will note though that "what Kavanaugh did is not a big deal anyways" is not an argument I've seen from conservative pundits. I've seen it from people who claim to be conflicted about this, and from some red state "person on the street" interviews I've seen. This suggests to me that maybe the pundits arguing for Kavanaugh know that it is a bad look and are trying the other tacks I've seen (though it is interesting that the liberal tears people don't seem to be using it) but it may still reflect what they and a lot of GOP politicians are thinking.
Also, @Windy: Trump is only become president for life because he gets re-elected and dies from a contaminated taco bowl right at the end of his second term.
I've seen the "not a big deal" argument explicitly raised here and there by pundits and the occasional politician, but it's mostly a factor in comment sections and social media and such, where it's everywhere. Available polling tends to support the idea that this is exactly what much of the GOP base believes, even if their leaders mostly aren't saying it.
What the folks at the top are doing is subtly feeding that sentiment (e.g. not taking the investigation seriously, sending the message that even if true the allegations aren't very important), but it's not clear to me that they understand that.