The Gipper: “It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, ‘We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.’ This idea that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power, is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man.”

Braying Jenny: “I think [Donald Trump is] the most deplorable, the most despicable human being I’ve ever encountered. He’s a liar. He’s dangerous. He’s alienated all our allies. And he’s in bed with [Vladimir] Putin, the oligarchs, and the Kremlin of Russia.” —Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Braying Jackass I: “You will read quotes from Republicans saying, ‘Wow, this is messed up.’ Well, why aren’t you doing something about it? ‘Well, we can’t, because we really like these tax cuts for the wealthy. … So we’ll put up with crazy.’” —Barack Obama

Braying Jackass II: “What happened to all this concern about deficits? You weren’t concerned when you gave me a tax cut I didn’t need and didn’t ask for. None of this is conservative. This is not normal, what we’re seeing. It is radical.” —Barack Obama

Belly laugh of the week: “President Clinton … ushered in transformative progress to protect women from violence and abuse.” —House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) praising legislation signed by an accused rapist

Non Compos Mentis: “Donald Trump has killed those [Puerto Rican] people twice — once through neglect in oversight, and secondly, disgracing [sic] that they died at all. And that’s what death denial, that’s what Holocaust denial, that’s what all these denial syndromes are all about, is killing the person twice. … And the reason they’re doing such a bang-up job … in North Carolina and South Carolina is because those are Trump voters, just like they were in Texas. If they’re not voters, and they’re not white, he doesn’t give a darn.” —MSNBC’s Jennifer Rubin on the inane Hurricane Maria death-toll dispute

And last… “If the GOP does not stand up to this character assassination attempt on Kavanaugh, every judicial nominee moving forward is going to suffer last minute sexual assault allegations.” —Erick Erickson