Phil Bredesen Probably Should Have Kept His Mouth Shut About Kavanaugh

Watch that lead disappear now

In 2016, Priorities USA raised $192,065,768, most of it from mega-donors like Donald Sussman ($15 million), the Sabans (over $12 million), George Soros (over $10 million). James Simons (over ($10 million), Fred Eychaner ($9 million), the Pritzkers ($6 million), Daniel Abraham ($5 million)... They gave EMILY's List over $14 million, VoteVets over $3 million, Planned Parenthood 2 million and millions more to other PACs. But their biggest expenditures were for Independent Expenditures against Trump ($126,049,815) and for Hillary ($6,455,293).

This cycle they're playing in congressional and gubernatorial politics. So far they've raised $18,212,305 (mostly from Soros and Sussman) and, as of August 31, had put $13,756,885 into Independent Expenditures. Their biggest expenditures were to help conservative Senate candidates Claire McCaskill ($2,732,707), Joe Donnelly ($2,206,454), Kyrsten Sinema ($2,062,863), and Bill Nelson ($1,146,503). They haven't spent anything to help progressives like Tammy Baldwin or Beto O'Rourke.

But there are a couple of other conservative Democrats they've been getting ready to jump in for-- until yesterday. They decided there would be no money to help Tennessee's Phil Bredesen and warned Joe Manchin that he's on shaky ground too. The ground is no longer shaky; he sold out again today. Disenchantment in both cases is because of the Kavanaugh confirmation battle. Bredesen said he would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh-- which will likely lose him the Senate race and Tennessee women abandon him in droves. They "also said it would steer clear of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s reelection fight in West Virginia should he vote to confirm Kavanaugh on final passage this Saturday. On Friday, Manchin was the sole Democrat to vote to proceed with the nomination." It isn't likely Manchin needs their help.

The lack of help from Priorities USA won’t have much of a practical impact, in part because other Democratic-affiliated political outfits are heavily invested in the race. Majority Forward, a Democratic dark money group, has spent nearly $6.5 million backing Bredesen and attacking Blackburn. Bredesen has also received some air cover from a PAC affiliated with the United Steelworkers union.

Last week Bredesen issued a statement saying "This confirmation process has been abused by both parties, but some voices of sanity have finally appeared and this FBI investigation is an opportunity for the Senate to regain some of its self-respect. I cannot understand why any Senator, or Judge Kavanaugh himself, would not want the FBI to research these allegations. If they are unfounded, as the Judge claims, the FBI can erase a permanent stain on his appointment and on him personally. If the allegations have substance, any Senator of either party should want to take them into consideration before deciding on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. I would feel exactly the same if it were a Democratic appointment under consideration."

That was a smart approach for him. Yesterday he announced he would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh. Bad decision. But no one should have expected otherwise from him. He's a conservative. That's how conservatives role. Schumer knew it when he recruited him. Now it's just a matter of which will mean more in the election: conservative-leaning independents voting for him because he backed Kavanaugh or independent women and progressives not voting for him for the same reason.

Texas looks much better than Tennessee... and with no help from Schumer or the DSCC. Beto will owe them NOTHING if he gets into the Senate: