Brett Kavanaugh's Anger Should Surprise No One

If he's innocent, he's been falsely accused and dragged through the mud. If he's guilty, he'll try to appear innocent.

Joshua Roberts/REUTERS/Newscom

Many in the media were astonished that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh seemed so furious during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Soledad O'Brien, for instance, criticized Kavanaugh's "arrogance" for defying Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.), answering her question with another question. On CNN, a guest whose name I did not catch said that Kavanaugh had gone "full Trump" during the hearing. I saw similar reactions all over Twitter.

But if Kavanaugh is telling the truth, and he is innocent of what Christine Blasey Ford alleges, he has every right to be thunderously angry—his name and his family have been dragged through the mud because of a vicious smear. If Kavanaugh is guilty, his goal is to appear innocent, and thus it would not be out of place for him to sound angry. Either way, Kavanaugh's anger is really no indication of guilt or innocence.

I have interviewed men who were falsely accused of sexual assault. They are not always angry—one young man, a black athlete who had been expelled for sexual assault, told me he would not wish what he went through on his worst enemy. But anger is a perfectly understandable emotion, especially when the accusation is fresh.

Anger doesn't tell us what to think about the truth of Kavanaugh's testimony, and in any case, a determination of guilt or innocence really shouldn't rest on a subjective evaluation of his temperament.

Comments

[EscherEnigma]

Anger doesn’t tell us what to think about the truth of Kavanaugh’s testimony, and in any case, a determination of guilt or innocence really shouldn’t rest on a subjective evaluation of his temperament.

And yet, in the process that the Senate has decided to proceed with, emotion is the only basis they have.

Logic and reason have no place here. Just optics and emotion.

[Get To Da Chippah]

optics and emotion

And for those reasons Kavanaugh should withdraw from the nomination process. Plus, an accuser who can only remember the full name of the accused is totes credible.

/Soave

[Quixote]

One way or another, the honorable judge is right to be angry, and especially at his accuser. Such “accusations” against a respectable public official are by their very nature highly inappropriate?and, accordingly, false?even if something did “happen.” They certainly don’t merit any form of “investigation.” On the other hand, the proper authorities should rapidly investigate whether the good gentleman has been the victim of any untoward efforts to impugn his reputation through “parody” confessions or other similarly illegal means. See the documentation of our nation’s leading criminal “satire” case at:

https://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/

[Snorkle]

For those of us who can reason, I think it is clear after today that he’s just too emotional to be placed on the highest court in the land. Anyone that unable to control themselves clearly lacks the maturity.

Or was it pure optics? Did he think this performance would thread the needle for his dream job?

[A Thinking Mind]

Clearly, a man whose 10 year old daughter may have had to hear accusations that her father was orchestrating gang rapes in high school, clearly that man is unfit for office if he can’t remain composed when talking about the accusations.

[Truthteller1]

You would think this would be obvious to any rational person.

[DrZ]

“Some people regard rape as so heinous an offense that they would not even regard innocence as a defense.”

[DarrenM]

Because SCOTUS justices have to go through this kind of thing all the time.

[MarkLastname]

Great, another retard commenting here.

[Truthteller1]

You are either a shill or an idiot. Neither is a good look. Pay attention and maybe gain some perspective. Supreme Court Justices are not required to be emotionless bots, in fact many have had firey tempers.

[BunnyFaber]

Is there such a thing as “too emotional” nowadays? Are we not now living in the Golden Age of Feels (trademark pending)?

[BYODB]

For once we’re in total agreement on this one.

[MatthewSlyfield]

“And yet, in the process that the Senate has decided to proceed with, emotion is the only basis they have.”

There exists no possible process that the Senate Judiciary Committee could have followed that would have resulted in any other basis for making the decision. There are no facts, only his word and her word.

[Brett Bellmore]

Her word identified multiple witnesses who denied it had happened. So, technically it’s her word vs the word of him and her own chosen witnesses.

One of whom was her life-long best friend.

[A Thinking Mind]

There’s no reason any of them should really remember that, especially if they were partying as much as it seems during high school. According to Ford, she told no one, so there’s reason to think that party was any different than any other party they attended. Their lack of recollection doesn’t disprove her allegation.

But it does deny the opportunity to provide any element of corroborating evidence. Absent that there’s no reason to believe what Ford says, no matter how sympathetic we find her.

[Sevo]

As it happens, I was in a waiting room today where the TV was tuned to CNN. I saw a replay of her testimony.
From that I am convinced she is sincerely telling us her memory. But the holes in her remembrance are sufficient to suggest her memory does not correspond to reality.
She’s not alone, if that is the case. I’ve had people point to clear evidence that my memory of something years back was ‘shaded’ for one reason or another.

[A Thinking Mind]

I agree.

My guess is that there was an incident at some party that was relatively minor-perhaps she was groped. It was minor enough that she mostly forgot about it, but then remembered it later on (which is why can’t tell us a date or location). This would also explain why she never told anyone-it was minor enough that it didn’t matter.

When she started recalling it, suspiciously during therapy, it became heavily embellished, partly because our definition of rape and sexual assault has expanded. Since she began recalling it as this traumatic event, her mind started filling in details.

[Sevo]

Had a book and sat off to the side in the hopes of reading, but the volume was too high. Regardless, I heard rather than saw her testimony and also the talking heads, whoever they were.
They were back-slapping one another for their oh-so-woke sensibilities; his guilt or innocence seemed irrelevant since ‘we are a changed nation since Clarence Thomas!’, followed up with claims that only some tiny percent of ‘these things’ are reported.
I guess they know of all the unreported ones through some Jedi mind-trick.

[Sevo]

“When she started recalling it, suspiciously during therapy, it became heavily embellished,..”
There are incentives in most any activity; some from internal prompts, others from external.
‘Therapists’ have a scientific standing just a bit under ‘lie detector mechanics’ for goo reason; neither one can point to a shred of evidence that they produce better results than doing nothing at all.
What they can, and often do, is promote bullshit:
‘Perhaps you can remember a name here; does Craig ring a bell? Bob? Brett?’

[loveconstitution1789]

Ford kept being asked about her nervousness being evident during testimony.

She is terrified because she is lying. She is a useful idiot.

Her friend refuted what she said. People she claims where at the house party refute what she said.

Kavanaugh, the virgin, has a calendar/ diary of his social events since he was 9 years old.

[Generalissimo]

Spot on.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

This is actually highly plausible. Something probably happened to her, but she herself was probably too drunk off her ass to have real valid memories of it, though it no doubt has probably been a vague “bad memory” (with lots of holes) for her ever since.

And what most likely happened then is a few years ago, as Brett Kavanaugh started to first become nationally prominent, she suddenly sees his name in the news one day and goes “Oh my God, I think I know this dude, we met at some point back in our high school days?” She starts doing a bunch of internet research on him, confirms that he is who she thought, but then she also quickly discovers that he’s a “bad guy” and she hates him because he’s a rightie who worked for Ken Starr and Bush, and she’s a die-hard lefty.

Suddenly, next thing you know she undergoes a little hypnosis here, a little “recovered memory therapy” there, a little dash of free association bullshit thrown in for good measure, and BOOM, this mean republican bastard is the one, he did it!!!

[MichaelL]

I thought recovered memories were responsible for a woman testifying her father abused her when she was young,. Then, she recanted later. The psychologists were responsible for that fiasco. No doubt this lady “doctor” seems to be ignoring the fact that so many of the “recovered memories” turnout to be false impressions. At least, we seem to have seen it in so many instances, reported in the news.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

There’s no reason any of them should really remember that

WTF Her friend was left alone with a bunch of rapists as Ford disappeared into the night. Seems pretty memorable to me.

[A Thinking Mind]

Her friend was partying and her other friend wandered off for a while, and then at some point came back. She never knew anything happened in the interim. This was at one party she had among several she may have gone to during her time in high school 36 years ago.

It’s just not very memorable.

[Bedonkedonk]

That’s simply not true.
Her friend didn’t just say she didn’t remember that night. She said she didn’t recall ever being at any party with Kavenaugh. Ever.
Not exactly the end all be all, but notably different than she doesn’t recall that night.

And you don’t know that Ford went back and joined her friend, and so it wouldn’t be noteworthy. We don’t know if she disappeared into the night and so it would’ve been noteworthy. We don’t know that because Ford herself seems to have no idea.
You’re making up that part of the story in your head to fit your narrative in a way that the story will still make sense.
Or “head canon” as we Star Wars fans call it.

[Bedonkedonk]

(That was meant to be a reply to A Thinking Mind, by the way.)

[A Thinking Mind]

My point with constructing the narrative is to demonstrate that her friend’s lack of memory doesn’t disprove this. It’s entirely possible something happened and people just have no recollection because it wasn’t memorable to them, especially when Ford herself states she didn’t speak of it for 30 years.

That’s actually why her allegation does not matter. There’s no way to corroborate it, no way to disprove it. It should not be considered at all, should not be an issue. We can’t let an allegation of sexual abuse operate any differently than any other criminal allegation.

[ThomasD]

” her friend’s lack of memory doesn’t disprove this. ”

Congratulations you have just established that you cannot prove this particular negative.

Your parents will be so proud.

What this does prove is that Blasey Ford’s own specific recollections (she being the one who named her ‘friend’ as a witness) is unreliable.

And based on Blasey Ford’s subsequent testimony, also subject to modification.

[wreckinball]

Moral of the story is don’t wait 36 years and at the most politically motivated moment spring an unsubstantiated sexual assault claim?

That is if you want anyone to believe you.

Captain Obvious

[SteveMG]

No, her friend says she never heard about or remembers such a party. Not remembering or being told is not the same as saying it didn’t happen.

I do find it very strange that Ford runs from the room in shock and fear and doesn’t inform her best friend about the matter? She leaves her friend behind? With two rapists? And then for the next 35 years never tells her about the matter? She doesn’t tell her friend the next day – or soon afterwards – “You need to stay away from those boys, they’re monster!”?

If I’m with my best friend and I’m in danger, I tell him/her about it. So that they too can leave. At least tell them afterwards not to be around those people since they might hurt you.

[Aloysious]

Great. Another Soave-icle.

[ThomasD]

We now know that multiple parties, and multiple organizations have known about Blasey Ford’s accusations for at least two months.

We can reason a lot from that fact alone.

Those people either believed her or the did not.

If they did believe her to be credible, then what possible purpose was served by quietly sitting on them until the last possible moment? Didn’t they want to help her get justice?

Because yesterday was clearly not about justice. It was obvious the only goal was to obtain further delay.

[John C. Randolph]

I’ve been saying for some time that Kavanaugh’s not in my top thousand choices for the court, but the Democrats are certainly pulling out all the stops to make my sympathy.

My biggest surprise out of this fracas is that I could think even less of FineSwine, Booker, and Willie Brown’s whore.

-jcr

[Last of the Shitlords]

Should put all the democrats leaders in GitMo.

[perlchpr]

I’d be concerned at placing them that close to a position of their power.

[Overt]

This was always a trap. No matter what, whatever temperament he came out with, or whatever he said, people were ready to say that he should not be a Supreme Court Justice.

[Eman]

I can very easily imagine him being [criticized for being] too aloof, or for not taking the situation seriously enough, or for having the temerity to doubt his accusers (Ive heard that women wouldnt lie about that kind of thing)

[Marcus Aurelius]

Crocodile tears gets to do whatever she wants, but he can’t show emotion?

[Paloma]

So why are people saying what courage she has. And that she must be believed because she has so much courage?

I guess it does take a lot of guts to accuse a guy after 30 or so years of a heinous crime with no evidence. Cui bono?

[Ed in North Texas]

Qui bono? As I posted on another thread, I learned this evening that she has a GoFundMe page, apparently set up by her lawyers to pay for her “security” with $200,000.00 and another GoFundMe page set up by “friends and neighbors” which stopped taking donations @ a bit over $528,000.00. $728 grand is a pretty good “benefit” when the lawyers claimed to be working pro bono.

[Juice]

It was a high tech lynching!

[CDRSchafer]

Feinstein Booker and Harris should not be in the Senate. Or in the counry, unless they’re locked up for being idiots.

[Bronze Khopesh]

You think he’s mad now wait til he sees the Halloween costume that’s going to be at Wal-Mart, Spirit etc!

You’ve heard of Slutty Nurse, Slutty Librarian, Slutty Viking and all those others? Well get ready for Kavanaughty! It’s a popped collar polo, an extra large bottle of ludes, and a pair of chinos with the fly undone.

[JonBlack]

That’s crazy. I wore the same outfit to the office today.

[John C. Randolph]

Fineswine just lied her ass off by claiming that the leak didn’t come from her staff. What a scumbag.

-jcr

[damikesc]

Didnt her staff ALONE have it?

[Dalben]

And the FBI.

The first leak was that Feinstein sent a letter about an accusation to the FBI.

It wouldn’t be the first time they did a malicious leak so they they could get Congress to demand an investigation into a Trump associate when they didn’t have enough evidence to justify the investigation on its own merits.

[Seamus]

Her chauffeur leaked it to the Red Chinese intelligence service, and *they* leaked it.

[Longtobefree]

via Russia, of course – – – – – –

[Last of the Shitlords]

The democrats have always been the true servants of Soviet Russia……..

http://www.bostonherald.com/ne…..w_s_bestie

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I didn’t hear his remarks, and may never, was his anger more forceful than this?

[A Thinking Mind]

Thomas was much more composed. Kavanaugh was spitting fire and directly talked about the Democratic members of the committee. Kavanaugh was visibly shaken by the end of it, and his sniffling was picked up by the microphone toward the end and for several minutes afterward.

[Last of the Shitlords]

He should have dueled several of those Treason Party senators to the death on the capitol steps like in the old days

Can you imagine? I picture a gutless turd like Cory Booker sobbing like,a little girl to get out of it.

[JoeBlow123]

I would probably want to murder the committe members if it was not true. No joke. Legitimately murder them. Duel would be ok, but murder preferred.

The video of Clarenece Thomas wrecking Biden and his butt budies was pretty grand. Thanks for sharing Diane Reynolds (Paul).

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

The weepy and whimpering one was Kavanaugh, you bigoted rube. Hiding behind the skirts of his 10-year-old, to whom he will lie in his practiced manner when she asks about the Devil’s Triangle, FFFF, etc.

[CDRSchafer]

Dr. Fraud is a liar and your beloved piece of shit semi-literate Senator Spartacus would be spitting his pretty teeth if he accused me of a lie like this.

[Square = Circle]

was his anger more forceful than this?

Considerably. There are points where his tone waxes pretty deep into “how dare you” territory, but then the accusations against Kavanaugh are considerably more heinous than the ones against Thomas were. He also started out openly weeping, which I notice hasn’t gotten as much coverage.

[esteve7]

Imagine yourself being slandered after 30 year career of being a professional and honest person, and by all accounts a good family man. Slandered by hacks who want to destroy you only for their own political power.

IF that were me I would have spoke all day and dropped 1,000 F-Bombs. Fuck these evil social justice tyrants. They are literally advocating for a Stalinist show trial.

[JoeBlow123]

“They are literally advocating for a Stalinist show trial.”

This.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

If you think “social justice” is a slur, you might be a half-educated, gullible, stale-thinking, disaffected, right-wing bigot.

Carry on, clingers. So far and so long as your betters permit.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

No one cares if a gang-rapist cries.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Hey. I do.

[AlmightyJB]

He is innocent because no one has proved him guilty by even the lowest standards.

[A Thinking Mind]

It wouldn’t even pass the standards of a civil trial, which is a preponderance of evidence. She has no evidence, and he has exculpatory evidence.

[Snorkle]

Good thing this just was a job interview, then.

[A Thinking Mind]

Right. A job interview that’s looking into whether or not he committed a serious crime, and in which he could be jailed if he’s found to lie.

But it’s just a job interview.

[A Thinking Mind]

But, feel free to tell me what standards we should be using, since this not a criminal trial nor a civil trial.

I’d be happy to discuss objectively what should be the required standards for use by the committee regarding allegations leveled against candidates. Something that can be clearly defined and used in future proceedings. Something better and more reasonable than “Fuck it, we’ll hinge our beliefs based on tribal membership.”

[Last of the Shitlords]

Taking all the democrat members of the committee and putting them to a swift death would be a good start.

[Generalissimo]

That’s easy, any specious argument provided after hearings that is uncorroborated is thrown out and does not delay a vote.

[Bubba Jones]

The same standards they always use. Will this guy vote the way I want?

[BYODB]

It is a job interview of a sort. I actually agree that’s more or less what it is.

A job interview that includes an accusation of a crime without evidence. An interview where he has witnesses that back up his story. An interview where the crime in question is past the statute of limitations and couldn’t be prosecuted even if he admitted it. An interview that happens to involve the political power of the party blocking the nomination. The nomination that they don’t have the actual political power to stop.

We’re beyond the looking glass.

[esteve7]

Fuck off Smorkie, this is not a job interview. He has been slandered on national media and everything about his past exposed to everyone. That sound like a job interview to you?

That is life may be permanently ruined for this and you couldn’t fucking care less. What are the chances he gets to keep coaching girls basketball, or is able to participate in all his community activities.

The fact that you don’t fucking care a person’s life is ruined on an evidence-less accusation is evil.

[Brett Bellmore]

I think the Republicans’ best revenge would be to repeal the “public person” exception for libel law.

[Last of the Shitlords]

All progressives are evil. All of them. And they aren’t going away on their own. We’re also just about past the time where talking makes sense.

[perlchpr]

I keep thinking that we don’t actually need to kill them, we just need them to give up, and stop seeking, political power.

Sadly, they probably aren’t going to do that on their own.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Losing the culture war and being rendered increasingly irrelevant by a modern, successful America seems to bother the poorly educated, intolerant, economically inadequate right-wing losers from our gullible, superstitious, can’t-keep-up backwaters.

It’s almost as if they recognize that voter suppression, gerrymandering, homeschooling, revival meetings, militia membership. and faux libertarianism aren’t going to send America back to the illusory “good old days” for which they pine.

[JoeBlow123]

“The fact that you don’t fucking care a person’s life is ruined on an evidence-less accusation is evil.”

Boom. This. Honor and name and integrity are not worth what they used to be in America anymore though so little surprise the hack class does not give two fucks about this either.

[Sevo]

Snorkle|9.27.18 @ 7:28PM|#
“Good thing this just was a job interview, then.”

Let me know the next time you interview; I’ll scare up all sorts of people who can testify to your imbecility from your postings here.
Keep us in the loop; we’re really looking forward to ‘helping’ you in your search for gainful employment, asshole.

[Brendan]

If these sort of thing was done at job interviews, I have no doubt that there would be calls for new laws to outlaw it.

[Nardz]

I don’t know what exculpatory means…

/Stanford professor

[BigT]

Yes, that was telling.

That moron woman the Heffalumps used was horribly incompetent. A demented ape could have done better. They really shot themselves in the foot.

[damikesc]

I love that the same assholes who claim his anger indicates he cannot be a judge (because false accusations of gang rape aren’t a big deal after all) would be the same ones saying that him not reacting to it angrily is proof he is guilty.

[Cynical Asshole]

This. He was screwed in the eyes of the Democraps no matter he said or how he acted. As I’ve said before, this hearing was guaranteed to be a clusterfuck from the start. It didn’t change anyone’s mind, and didn’t accomplish anything useful. What a farce.

[Alcibiades]

I think it changed a lot of minds, in Kavanaughs favor.

[Cynical Asshole]

Among rational members of the public who hadn’t already formed an opinion based on their own partisan leanings, perhaps. Among Senate Democrats and irrational progressives, not so much. But they were never going to be in favor of Kavanaugh anyway. Wrong letter after his name.

[BYODB]

Not really, I still don’t really like him. It just turns out that I dislike the Democrats on the committee even more at this point, which is something an accomplishment given Kavanaugh’s seeming opinions on the PATRIOT act.

The Judge on Kavanaugh Before the Madness.

[A Thinking Mind]

I’m with you, I’m not really a huge fan of Kavanaugh and I really don’t like him any more after today. He wouldn’t be my preference for a Supreme Court justice.

I want to see him confirmed because this is becoming about baseless allegations and I don’t want that to become the new standard, and I’ve found the Democrats on the committee much more unlikable than him.

[BYODB]

It’s true that it’s a weighing of principles in this case, and it seems that in this case we have to actually uphold innocence until proven guilty as a base concept over the 4th. Truly a terrible day for all Americans of conscience.

[KKCE967]

Agree. I disliked the progs before. Now I find them so detestable I wouldn’t consider voting one in for dog catcher even if that were the only candidate on the ballot. I’d vote for the oak tree on elm street before any of them.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Harden up then. I’ve been writing in nonsense since I turned 18. If you only realized the shit now it’s because you’re not paying attention.

[KKCE967]

Agree. I disliked the progs before. Now I find them so detestable I wouldn’t consider voting one in for dog catcher even if that were the only candidate on the ballot. I’d vote for the oak tree on elm street before any of them.

[Last of the Shitlords]

Get him confirmed, and then he can set about taking away women’s tampons just as the progtards fear.

[perlchpr]

I want to see him confirmed because this is becoming about baseless allegations

Yeah. There’s really no way at this point that I can not support him, unless there is some actual evidence that turns up, given the corner the Ds have pushed me into on this subject. Because this sort of bullshit cannot be allowed to prosper.

[Steve-O]

What are the chances that he walks away from this with a different view about the government’s authority to pry into citizens’ personal lives?

[BigT]

Great point. You win the Hit and Run tire print.

[VOTE MILES]

What are the chances that he walks away from this with a different view about the government’s authority to pry into citizens’ personal lives?

I hadn’t thought of this. Perhaps the right lessons will have been learned to everyone’s benefit.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

I think it changed a lot of minds, in Kavanaughs favor.

The incel perspective is always interesting.

[esteve7]

You can apply this to every Social Justice viewpoint, because it is a failed ideology.

If Kav shows too much emotion, he’s being angry white man, if he doesn’t show emotion, it’s being insensitive.

Ex: when white people move out of an area, it’s ‘white flight’, when they move back, it’s ‘gentrification’. See, you get to complain about it no matter what!

God that is an evil ideology.

[dchang0]

The social justice fanatics would say that Kavanaugh would be a rape apologist if he weren’t displaying enough outward compassion towards Ford.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Failed?

Ask a college graduate to explain how the culture war is going to you.

[A Thinking Mind]

I won’t actually claim what actions assholes would or would not have taken. I do find them disingenuous, however, since their reactions sound entirely like confirmation bias.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

The list of logical fallacies on display during this Kav drama could fill a book.

[damikesc]

And I mock my state’s senior Senator a lot — but damn did Graham bring the fucking fire. I don’t think I’ve seen him that angry about much of anything.

[A Thinking Mind]

I dislike him thoroughly and yet found myself strongly agreeing with him, and wondering what world we live in.

[damikesc]

They cannot claim he is a firebrand or far right. But fuck did he go off on Feinstein rightly. And the Republicans need to realize that his warnings about THIS being the new norm is destructive as all royal hell.

[Inigo Montoya]

I think it will be the new norm. I think the Dems have been so bamboozled by their #resist propaganda, they have resorted to scorched earth warfare. I’d bet a hundred bucks even Feinstein herself doesn’t actually believe the “he was a teenage serial rapist but then he got better” crap she’s dishing out?but she would claim he eats babies if it keeps a Trump pick off the Court.

What the Dems don’t seem to understand is that the other side will use the same tactics next time the tables are turned. How would we expect them not to?

Some of us have ethical standards that would prevent us from knowingly falsely accusing even someone we found completely reprehensible, but we’re talking politicians here. Most of those people have barely any more ethics than the average serial killer, and are equally sociopathic.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

And the stakes are sky high here. The red and blue teams are no longer two sides of the same republican (small r) system of government, but two different systems. Out and out socialism on one and weak sauce republicanism on the other. A red dominated Supreme Court would slow the Dems down for too long to palate.

[Johnny B]

I have seen a number of commenters (some here, mostly elsewhere) saying that what the GOP did to Obama’s pick Garland is of the same level as what they are doing to Kavanaugh. It is a laughable comparison, because not one GOP tried to slander Garland or destroy his reputation. So far, this has been a war fought with no thoughts of the Geneva Convention by the Dems (Bork, Thomas, Kavanaugh), with no like behavior by the GOP. So fuck the Democrats, they are acting like the totalitarian asshats they are becoming.

[BigT]

As one Donkey apologist said: They hit with pillows, we take headshots.”

[antiestablismentarianism]

The only comparison is what the Dems are attempting to do in the next few months. This is my prediction. The FBI report will come back with no new information as everyone is expecting. The Dems will cry that the FBI didn’t have enough time to do a thorough investigation and push for more time while attempting to block a vote from key Reps in the process. If they succeed in delaying the vote until after the midterm elections, it will be hinged on the results of the elections. If, by some anti-miracle, the Dems gain control of the Senate during elections (campaigns will reference this case assuredly), there will be a vacant spot on the court for the next two years, possibly six in response to the refusal of Garland’s nomination. I would bet money on it.

[Last of the Shitlords]

Lindsey Graham is a shitty Senator, but he is capable of being right about a number of things. And thins thing was beyond the pale. No democrat nominee has ever been treated anywhere near this unprofessionally, ever.

Progressive democrats are the worst people in all of time and space.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Sen. Graham is a representative, and he represents a shitty state — an economic laggard, a moral bankrupt, a political drain, an educational wasteland. A shitty senator is what a shitty state deserves.

[Brett Bellmore]

He has a very finely tuned sense of when the voters are actually paying attention, and when it tingles, he does an amazing impression of a principled conservative. The problem is, eventually we have to blink, and he sneaks that knife into our kidneys.

There’s no answer to Senator Graham except getting rid of the open primary system here in SC. He’d be toast without those crossover votes.

[damikesc]

We kept Thurmond in office forever. And he doesnt really get major primary opposition.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

How did Sen. Graham, who appears to be a decent person, get elected in the bigoted backwater that is South Carolina? Did the illiterate racists figure Strom Thurmond was still on the ballot?

[antiestablismentarianism]

What’s wrong with an open primary system? That is the best way to get more moderate candidates on the ballot rather than partisan hacks. I would go further though. If you vote in a primary for a candidate and said candidate becomes the nominee, you should not be permitted to vote again. This would eliminate the “Operation Chaos” mentality many people employ during primaries. I am guilty of it myself. Had the system I’m proposing been in place, I would have voted quite differently.

[LeaveTrumpAloneLiberal-tarian]

@JuannitaBroaderick: if there’s one thing i’ve learned in life, lady, it’s important to be careful about decades old accusations of sexual assault. Surely we can agree on that!

[Alcibiades]

Kavanaugh has just saved the GOP from itself.

[John]

Pretty much. In a year when the GOP base did everything it could to get their base to stay home on Election Day, this idiocy just motivated the GOP base more than anything I have ever seen.

[Ecoli]

I am not a Republican.

I plan to vote straight R in November.

[livelikearefugee]

I had exactly the same impulse today. I think it will probably last through the elections.

[Juggernaut]

You’re so full of shit.

[TuIpa]

Hi shreek.

[Alcibiades]

It’s true and Graham’s moral outrage was fully justified and well deserved.
The Dems set out to destroy and crucify a man, his wife, family, life and honor on the basis of zero evidence for nothing more than political revenge.
The nation can judge the Dems accordingly.

As for Ford, she clearly believes something happened to her but sure as hell nothing links that event to Kavanaugh.

[Brett Bellmore]

The “afraid of flying because of Kavanaugh traumatizing her to the point where she can’t stand to be in a small space she can’t exit” BS has em convinced it’s lies all the way down.

She didn’t have to pull that crap. But she did, because she’s a liar.

[Last of the Shitlords]

It was ridiculous to the point of being farcical.

[loveconstitution1789]

She had a lawyer on each side to prop her up.

Kavanaugh, being accused of a serious sexual crime, had no lawyers present.

[BigT]

Kavanaugh IS a lawyer.

[antiestablismentarianism]

This struck me as very odd as well. Why would a victim need or even want a lawyer?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Don McGahn, official lawyer for the Bigot Party, was within reach of Kavanaugh. He might have been the one handing tissues to Kavanaugh whenever the Republican got all weepy.

[esteve7]

I’ve said this before – I did not vote for Trump but damn if I don’t in 2020. The leftists have completely lost their fucking minds since 2016 and will do anything for power. They care nothing about basic decency or principals, it’s all a war and ‘resist by any means necessary’ in their minds. These people should be no where near power.

Social Justice is actually evil, evidenced by this. So what if you railroad an individual for your own sick goals, you have to break a few eggs….

[Gaear Grimsrud]

I haven’t voted R or D since I voted for Bill Clinton in his 1st election. I’ve had to live with the shame of that decision ever since. Voting for Trump is not a bridge I want to cross but, barring a new war, I think I may have to.

[Longtobefree]

“but, barring a new war . . . . . . ”

You just spent the first two weeks of the new war.
It is a civil war in that it is fought between two groups residing in the same geographical area, but there will never be anything civil about it. To date, only character assassination has been used, but if that fails, violence will be expanded from the trial groups of antifa to all of the left. And the right is totally unaware of what is happening and of what is at stake.

[Hank Phillips]

Note to foreign readers: The GG-GOP sockpuppet expects Reason subscribers to believe it is a libertarian voter.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Yeah no kidding.

I’m getting kind of a laugh out of all these people claiming they’re not libertarians but they are going to vote straight R in the next election. They’re actually just Republicans.

[JoeBlow123]

Thank goodness we have Jesus-like chemjeff and his perfection to pass moral judgement on us all for our past sins.

Fuck off.

[Azathoth!!]

Hey–your sputtering ruined your declaration of idiocy.

It’s not–

I’m getting kind of a laugh out of all these people claiming they’re not libertarians but they are going to vote straight R in the next election. They’re actually just Republicans.

it’s–

I’m getting kind of a laugh out of all these people claiming they’re libertarians but they are going to vote straight R in the next election. They’re actually just Republicans.

And you have clearly missed the whole ‘#walkaway’ thing.

Trump is president because disgusted Obama voters voted for him. There will be no ‘bluewave’ because the left has decided to continue to disgust those disgruntled Obama voters. Trump will be re-elected because the left, when faced with that utter disgust, has chosen to double down again and again.

[Social Justice is neither]

We get if jeffy, you find nothing wrong with the actions taken by the Democrat operatives & senators. Assaults, harrassment, riots and assassination attempts (character & physical) are perfectly acceptable to you and the rest of the social justice crowd.

[BikeRider]

Ditto – There was no way I was voting for Clinton but, for several reasons, I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Trump either. However, Trump Derangement Syndrome is pushing me to hold my nose and vote for him in 2020.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

A few faux libertarians will always vote for Trump, but there just aren’t enough poorly educated, disaffected, diffusely intolerant, superstitious rubes to enable the Republicans to pull off another three-cushion shot.

America’s electorate becomes less rural, less intolerant, less white, less religious, and less backward daily. National elections get tougher for Republicans with each publication of obituaries as conservatives take their stale thinking to the grave and are replaced by younger, better Americans.

[DiegoF]

Not yet. They have to take the open layup.

They do this quickly and decisively, I have the most confidence for them this fall since…well, since the last interregnum before my latest round of pessimistic freakouts. Do I trust them to do it? Fuck no!

If they cannot do this, then all of you will probably start to agree with me–not just about how they’re headed for fiasco this November, but may not have it in them to be smart enough to ever not trip over their own feet!

Even more than being simply believable, Kavanaugh’s biggest gift is making it clear that he is not going anywhere. Trump sure as fuck has gotten that message, and will not be pulling it for all the piss film negatives in the world. I think even the Senate Republicans are smart enough to pick up on the same thing.

[Rockabilly]

Fuck off slaver

[Fist of Etiquette]

His anger is credible?

[A Thinking Mind]

I’d say he credibly established his credibility.

[Don't look at me!]

I missed it. Was there any discussion about his penis? That’s where the real story is.

[DiegoF]

I bet Ms. Ramirez can give a definitive ID on that. “It was blurry. Really, really blurry. Also there were two of them, phasing in and out with each other. You know, like all penises you see.”

[SIV]

Remember, Robby told us Kavanaugh’s nomination was toast as the allegator-whores were oh so credible.

He gets confirmed tomorrow.

[SIV]

Despite his insinuation that Amy Klochubar used to blackout when she got loaded and pulled a train.

[John]

He said Kavanaugh should just withdraw even if he is innocent. Soave’s tears when Kavanaugh is confirmed are going to be lovely

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Kavanaugh should have withdrawn even before his #MeToo problem. I mean, a young woman sitting behind him was literally making white power gestures. On TV. During the Supreme Court confirmation process. That’s immediately disqualifying.

[Last of the Shitlords]

You’re right! Unfortunately, that young woman is not the nominee so she isn’t relevant.

[esteve7]

Withdraw if you are innocent. So you should be punished if you’ve done nothing wrong? And by all accounts, Kav has done nothing wrong. So fuck that entire statement Robbie.

[DiegoF]

Even he is not ridiculous enough to hold to that line at this point.

[OpenBordersLiberal-tarian]

Wrong. He’s not getting confirmed, and neither is any other Drumpf-nominated extremist.

[Last of the Shitlords]

He is getting confirmed! Trump is using his Trump Mind Comtrol Devoce to force the votes! If only Super Hag could save us!

[antiestablismentarianism]

Thanks for confirming the Dem’s playbook all along. 1. Stall this vote until after the midterm 2. Gain control of Senate using this case as a reason Reps shouldn’t be voted in 3. Refuse to confirm any other nominee for the next two years 4. Use the vacant seat argument during campaigns for 2020 presidential election.

This plan will backfire just like the plan Dems had to push Hillary into the nomination even though Bernie had much more support.

[JSinAZ]

Alligator whores. I swear I read this.

[Ecoli]

He is innocent.

Confirm him.

Punish Democrats in November.

[esteve7]

This entire process shows how despicable the left is, how they care nothing about fairness, justice, or basic decency. Everything in their book is a power play and Marxist power dynamics. So what if you have to break a few eggs….

The left talks so much crap about empathy; can no one put themselves in Kav’s shows and see your life ruined over evidence-less accusations.

I’m not so much mad at the press or democratic senators. I expect them to be dishonest, hack smear-merchants with no principles. I’m deeply disguised at the slew of left-wing blue checkmarks and others who buy up every ludicrous talking point from the left that only takes an ounce of critical thought to disprove. These are the same useful idiots that led to the Salem witch trials. If they were in Russia, they would cheer at the Stalinist show-trials. What disgusting people.

[A Thinking Mind]

Kamala Harris was my personal favorite. “Would you ask the FBI to open a fresh investigation into these allegations, please answer yes or no.”

Yeah, real fucking clever. “Are you still raping your wife, please answer yes or no.”

[esteve7]

The fact that my leftist friends think Kamala Harris is clever is a fucking joke. Nothing more than a political hack who cares only about power, not fairness or justice or decency.

Just fucking be honest and say you are behaving terribly because you don’t like how he will vote on abortion. Well too fucking bad, you lost. Maybe Hillary should have taken a plane trip to Michigan then.

[DiegoF]

Every Dem turned out to be a disappointment.

Harris was supposed to be this ballbuster who was going to rip him to shreds. Even the Hawaiian lady, who was never supposed to be anything but shrill, was not even entertaining but just ended up being kind of boring. Everyone just kept repeating the same boring shit. The Dems repeated themselves more often than Kavanaugh recited his resume!

Booker was kind of fun in a self-caricaturing way as usual. He did not disappoint.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

But they’re all morons. Harris was supposedly a prosecutor who doesn’t even understand basic procedure. I liked Booker in Key and Pele but put a suit on him and he turns into a dipshit. Blumenthal (or was it Coons?–nevermind, accurate recollections don’t matter) doesn’t understand that people fart. Perhaps he thinks that is just talking out your other mouth.

[Nardz]

Blumenthal was hilarious.
His line of questioning got torn apart.
Embarrassed, he lashed out with perhaps the most pathetic line of the afternoon:
“do you believe Anita Hill?”
Umm… what?

[Nardz]

Yeah, I enjoy Booker.

Spartacus the Clown!

[Longtobefree]

My happiest part of Booker as Spartacus is remembering that Spartacus was (literally) crucified..

[DarrenM]

She a freshman Senator, so she gets to ask all the stupid questions.

[TGoodchild]

Kavanaugh did well. Ford didn’t do that badly, either, but Kavanaugh’s competency and our collective interest in functional government outweigh her moral negligence, and the Democrats’ transparent shenanigans cannot be rewarded. Hillary lost, the country is doing well be many standards, and they need to get over it.

I’m going to have a fresh beer to toast our new Associate Justice. He certainly deserves (another) one.

[A Thinking Mind]

I don’t know that Kavanaugh even did that well. It was a difficult position, surely.

Most of the Democratic Senators made themselves look like buffoons.

[Alcibiades]

No, he did well.

[perlchpr]

Given that I’d have been completely apoplectic with rage, he certainly did better than I would have.

[LarryA]

You do have to give the Democrats, and the msm, credit for being right about the 2016 election.

They predicted there would be chaos afterward when the losers refused to accept the results.

[Ama-Gi Anarchist]

I saw it earlier and I (who cannot countenance Kavanaugh’s stance on the 4th Amendment) think Kavanaugh didn’t show ENOUGH anger. He should have shown utter contempt and called out those Senators by name who smeared him.

[jdd6y]

Lol. He should have told Blumenthal to go fuck himself and then shotgunned a bud light.

[Alcibiades]

Booker, Feinstein and Blumenthal are disgusting human beings.

[A Thinking Mind]

Please don’t let Dick Durbin off the hook, he was by the worst, in my opinion.

[A Thinking Mind]

Please don’t let Dick Durbin off the hook, he was by the worst, in my opinion.

[A Thinking Mind]

Damned squirrels.

[Alcibiades]

True and I’ll add Harris to that bunch.

[Nardz]

And Hirono (though I say this because of her previous comments about men needing to “shut the hell up”)

[jdd6y]

Hawaii must be really proud of that impressive Senator of theirs. And if Booker thinks he is gonna be president, lol. Man, what a lightweight.

Mike Dukakis could come out of retirement and beat all of these losers for the nomination.

[DiegoF]

Meant to be a joke but I seriously think if Dukakis wanted to come out of retirement they’d be fools to pick any of the candidates currently mentioned over him. They really are a sorry bunch. And this is me talking, hardly Mr. Optimist for the Republicans!

[NotAnotherSkippy]

My Japanese sucks, but I’m 100% certain that the proper response to her is, “kutabare.”

[Hank Phillips]

Note to foreign readers: small minds talk about other people.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

What’s Kamala Harris?

Chopped liver?

[Ama-Gi Anarchist]

What’s Kamala Harris?

Chopped liver?

You misspelled insufferable cuntbag whore….

[jdd6y]

Had BK not come through like that, the whole system would have been fucked. No man would ever accept a republican nomination to SCOTUS if shit this flimsy bonged you and the bullshit smears were to be taken seriously. As it is, this was bad. I was very happy to see him pissed off and go right after the democrats. They were not prepared for that and it showed. Just stammering on about a pointless FBI investigation and high school parties. As if any one of them had Ford not come forward would even consider voting for BK or any other nominee. They know they are staring at 5-4 losses for 10-15 years and if Trump wins term 2 w/ 50 senators then Thomas might retire and get reupped while Ginsburg croaks at it goes 6-3 for 30 years.

[Nardz]

I can’t wait for Ginsburg to pass. It’s going to be amazing.
Of course when that happens, there will be blood

[Brett Bellmore]

When Ginsberg passes, they’ll hand Trump’s short list to hit men, and challenge him to nominate corpses.

I’m only half joking, even a few years ago they’d have hesitated at what they did to Kavanaugh. They’re losing their moral limits at a terrifying rate.

[Nardz]

Oh, I’m not kidding at all.
They will, at the very least, try to kill the nominee (and perhaps the entire list as you mention).
We haven’t even seen ugly yet.

[DajjaI]

I agree he has every right to be angry. However first of all, I think he felt abandoned by his own side, who failed to defend him adequately and so he had to do much of the heavy lifting. He would be resentful of this, and thus his anger may have been somewhat misdirected. Also I suspect a little adderal because this can make you weepy when you get emotional. Generally it’s a bad idea to take a strong stimulant in a situation like this because while it might be fun for you it’s generally not for everyone else and you end up looking back in embarrassment.

[Alcibiades]

Do you have some weird pharmaceutical fetish you need to come clean about?

[TuIpa]

Yes, it’s was his schtick when he was a different sock.

[Bedonkedonk]

This made me lol

[Hank Phillips]

All Kavanaugh has to do is assure women he is not with the Dixiecrat Klan that uses the GOP to force women to reproduce because race suicide. What would he lose? God’s Own Prohibitionists would not at this stage cancel his nomination the way they did when Judge Bork fired up a joint instead of burning the Bill of Rights.

[Last of the Shitlords]

Yep, it’s all about killin’ those babies, isn’t it you infanticidal idiot?

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Anger doesn’t tell us what to think about the truth of Kavanaugh’s testimony, and in any case, a determination of guilt or innocence really shouldn’t rest on a subjective evaluation of his temperament.

No, it should rest on some other subjective evaluations of what you want. No, I’m not talking about the qualities of the candidate–you have no comprehension of that. I’m talking about your naked lust for power and that justifies everything. And you have the gall to moralize about what is right and proper? Tony has more integrity than you do.

Disgusting.

[DiegoF]

Wait, Robby has a lust for power? Not social affirmation or whatever? What sort of power does he lust after? Is he plotting a palace coup against the president of the Yorkshire Terrier Fanciers Association?

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Well first it will be the staff job at Vox but we hope that Wapo won’t be far behind. But more accurately it’s in the same vein as Tony. He is a progressive and he wants what progressives want. That is the power that I’m talking about. Roe is under threat (I doubt it, but maybe) and that is all the excuse he needs.

[BYODB]

These are the fools who will openly wonder wonder why they’re up against the wall. They choose Roe vs. Wade over presumption of innocence, and I genuinely don’t know if they can shake that stink.

[JSinAZ]

Shh.. let him stir it up. A few sudden “staff vacancies” at Reason because of a really strong lust for power might actually be an improvement.

[Dace Highlander]

God DAMMIT!!! I just joined the Yorkshire Terrier Fanciers Association after I adopted my wittle Miss Powder Puff. I was going to use the Association as my stepping stone to world domination! And I already paid my $12.95 non-refundable dues for the year! (cries)

[majil]

Soave ,
He was not just accused once, but four times and the press has been acting like rabid dogs and being idiots and putting out bullshit stories. I would be more than pissed

[Ken Shultz]

Kavanaugh made an excellent showing for himself.

The fact that of the four people Ford said were there, precisely none of them remember the events in question and at least one of them denies ever knowing or meeting Kavanaugh, and that is at least as credible as Ford’s allegation. While it’s true that no one should be disqualified from public office on the basis of uncorroborated and unsubstantiated allegations, Ford’s allegations are even worse than uncorroborated. Now Ford’s allegations have been fundamentally contradicted under oath by four different people.

It would have been alright to see Kavanaugh’s nomination rejected over some constitutional issue like the Fourth Amendment. If Kavanaugh isn’t confirmed over these allegations–after they’ve been fundamentally contradicted by four witnesses–it’ll be a travesty.

[Alcibiades]

^ ^ ^ ^

This.

The Dems set out to destroy a man’s life for nothing more than political revenge and power, those responsible should be held accountable at the ballot box.

Just recall who made this process all power politics, it wasn’t the GOP.

There never was any evidence at all for these allegations being true, quite the opposite.

The mainstream press has also behaved abominably.

[Ken Shultz]

“The mainstream press has also behaved abominably.”

Just a couple of weeks before the presidential election in 2016, Gallup released survey data showing that America’s faith in the press had sunk to a new low.

“WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. This is down eight percentage points from last year.”

—-Gallup, September 14, 2016

http://news.gallup.com/poll/19…..w-low.aspx

We didn’t realize at the time that was a harbinger of what was to come. I maintain that Trump didn’t only win in spite of his coverage in the press. To some extent, he won because of the way he was covered in the press.

I don’t think anything has changed since Trump was elected. Things may be worse now than they were then. If anyone is living in a bubble, surely it’s the journalists. I suspect they imagine themselves doing the work of Woodward and Bernstein and lighting the way of truth for us mere mortals to follow where they lead. In reality, they’re among the most hated people in America. As bad as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s approval numbers were in September of 2016, America may have had a lower opinion of the press.

[Comrade Cosmoturf]

Hate him or love him, Trump went after the media industry entirely on his own. And what most assumed would be a political suicide mission.

Trump’s not the hero we want, but he’s the hero we deserve.

Trump 2020
Make America Slightly Less Democrat Again

[NotAnotherSkippy]

There never was any evidence at all for these allegations being true, quite the opposite.

Not in Robby’s eyes. They were credible.

[mtrueman]

“contradicted by four witnesses”

Witnesses to what? You don’t seem to know the meaning of the word.

[TuIpa]

Ask Ford she’s the one who claimed they were witnesses.

You don’t seem to know what the fuck is going on here.

[mtrueman]

I was asking Ken what these ‘witnesses’ of his were witness to. It’s evidently something Ken thinks is important enough to comment on, but he doesn’t say what it is.

[perlchpr]

It was clearly verbal shorthand for “contradicted by the four people Ford listed as witnesses”. Next.

[mtrueman]

Thanks for your input. I’m not following the story as closely as others here are. What’s clear to you was not so clear to me.

[Hank Phillips]

I never saw judge Bork fire up a reefer. What I did see was T-shirts blaring “I Got Stoned With Robert Bork” all over campus.

[mtrueman]

“I never saw judge Bork fire up a reefer.”

Neither did I. That apparently makes us witnesses in Ken’s eyes.

[Inigo Montoya]

I would have liked to have seen BK taken to task about the Patriot Act, or the 4th amendment more generally. I get that neither the D senators or the R ones care about that (other than wanting to continue spying on everyone), so instead fully expected a lot of demagoguery about abortion.

Dare I say it here, but abortion is not an issue I care about. It’s just a find-raising opportunity for both lefties and so-cons. The reality is that Row v Wade has been settled law for like 45 years. People with some critical thinking skills realize that abortion stands about as much chance of being banned as Prohibition foes of coming back. But it DOES raise money for Ds and Ra, I’m sure!

But did they address any of this, noooo. They instead smeared the guy on the flimsiest of accusations. As if I would believe that someone who drugged and raped women as a teenager wouldn’t keep getting worse once he actually gained power (federal judges have some serious power). That is not the way psychology works. You take a wealthy and privileged but insignificant asshole teen and he grows up to gain not only wealth but real power, and he just becomes a docile family man who passes multiple FBI background checks?

Fuck the Dems for making feel bad for someone whose stances on issues that matter to me I strongly disagreed with. The whole process has been slightly less gross than the toilet scene in Trainspotting.
It

[Inigo Montoya]

Damn the lack of an edit button!

[Nardz]

No edit button until you sacrifice more to Ra!

[Comrade Cosmoturf]

You feel gross because your convictions are strong enough, that you will only cross them for extreme emergency circumstances.

But you still use way too much aftershave. Seriously bro, very little goes a long way.

[Ken Shultz]

“I would have liked to have seen BK taken to task about the Patriot Act, or the 4th amendment more generally.”

—-Inigo Montoya

It would have been alright to see Kavanaugh’s nomination rejected over some constitutional issue like the Fourth Amendment.

—-Ken Shultz

I won’t say that great minds think alike, but they do sometimes come to the same conclusions for the same reasons.

This nomination just isn’t about the Fourth Amendment or the Constitution anymore. It’s about whether the left can disrupt civil society with unsubstantiated allegations, but it’s about whether anyone is disqualified from being in any position of authority–for offending social justice sensibilities at any time during our lives up to and including the things we said and did as minors.

[BYODB]

I have to agree, I decided to go looking for actual information on Kavanaugh and I didn’t much like what I found. Domestic spying is probably my #1 pet issue, and The Kavenator would appear to be terrible but I’m also not sure how much to trust Mises anymore.

Still, somehow Democrats have managed to make me think even less of them.

[Inigo Montoya]

This.

I’m often very harsh in my criticism of both Republicans and Democrats, but it’s for very concrete reasons. Neither one represents my views at all. I refuse to choose between different varieties of war-mongering spendthrifts who spend their days thinking of new ways to curtail people’s few remaining liberties.

But that said, the Dems lately have upped the nausea-inducing quotient. I suppose it stems from their severe TDS (and I think Trump generally sucks, but TDS is still a brain-destroying disease) but their antics of late would embarrass anyone with even a shred of diginity or ethics.

I get that they don’t care to try to win over any actual Trump supporters, but it’s as if they also continually give the finger to every independent. It seems they now play to the most extreme parts of their base all the time and don’t care about the optics of that to the 75% + who are neither rabid antifas or brain-fogged SJWs barely old enough to vote.

[Ed in North Texas]

Next will come Judge Barrett, should the notorious RBG fail in her requirement that God stick to her timetable.

The Democrats will seek out letters alleging that she threw fits and spit her binkie out and wagged it in the other children’s faces.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I would have liked to have seen BK taken to task about the Patriot Act, or the 4th amendment more generally.

Let’s agree to disagree. I’d rather hear vivid descriptions of a gang rape.

[BestUsedCarSales]

Really, the big issue here is that the details aren’t vivid enough.

[Red Tony]

This is going to sound off-topic, but it’s relevant.

Prediction markets are good for seeing how things will shake out. They’re generally considered the best at predicting the future (not that anything is perfectly accurate, but they’re better than lone expert prognosticators or polls; the wisdom of crowds/the marketplace is quite often right). Stossel has PredictIt. There, you can buy predictions on politics (especially American politics). The lines work this way: each prediction you purchase that comes true pays out with a dollar. So if you purchase a prediction at 50? and it pays off, you’ll make 50? (there may be a transaction cost…I don’t know how they make their money).

Players can also sell their predictions, so if you buy a prediction at 50? and a lot of people want to buy it, the price will climb. If you sell it at 60?, you make 10? on the prediction.

When you go to the home page (predictit.org), the first thing that pops up is a bet on how many votes Kavanaugh will get. The options for betting are 49 or less, 50, 51, 52…etc. up until you get to 60 or more. 49 or less has constantly trended as the highest option (because it’s the most plausible). This morning, I believe 49 or less was sitting at 63?.

At the moment? 32? and dropping.

[Ecoli]

I agree: relevant.

Thanks.

I think K will be confirmed. I think a couple of Dems will vote to confirm. I would pick 52.

[DarrenM]

I can’t imagine any Democrats voting to confirm.

[Finrod]

Donnelly (D-IN) and Manchin (D-WV) are rumored to be YES votes.

[DiegoF]

By George you are right! These are probably better than the polls in any case.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

What did they say about Hillary getting elected?

[SIV]

All the smart money was on her to win. I think it was 80-20 on election morning. Prediction markets are shit.

[Ecoli]

Reason published the response of all of its editors and journalists to the question: “who did you vote for in the (2008, I think) presidential election, and why?”

One of the staff, I don’t remember which one, said “Barak Obama”, and the reason was “I felt the Republicans must be punished”. I presume the punishment was for Iraq.

I am voting straight Republican in 2018, and probably 2020 as well, for the same reason. The Democrats must be punished for their disregard of the constitution, for their disregard of the well being of Americans, and for their despicable handling of the Kavanaugh hearing.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

One of the staff, I don’t remember which one, said “Barak Obama”, and the reason was “I felt the Republicans must be punished”. I presume the punishment was for Iraq.

Bailey.

[Juggernaut]

No one believes you.

[TuIpa]

Hi shreek.

[Ecoli]

Your mom does.

[JSinAZ]

The least violent thing I would like to have happen is a 90 mph fastball with a big fat rotten beefsteak tomato right to the center of Dickey Durbin’s smug, shitty face. He would likely survive this. More violent and satisfying is the image of the same tomato at a somewhat higher velocity punching a clean hole through Durbin’s face, and then impacting Feinstein’s lich-like moosh such that each individual bone was shattered into the most painful possible configuration – and that her doctors only prescribe Advil because of a lack of medical necessity. All of that, plus lemon juice.

If the Democrats thought that most people could not hate them more, they were wrong. They are a despicable mess.

[perlchpr]

I live in NM, so chances are pretty goddamn high that I’ll be voting for Johnson, but for the rest of the ballot…

Yeah. The Ds need to lose every seat possible.

[Ken Shultz]

Oh, and any man who doesn’t get angry after people make violent threats against his wife or children isn’t a real man.

[Alcibiades]

^ ^ ^ ^

Also this.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Yup.

[DarrenM]

You mean getting all emotional is a masculine trait.

[lap83]

having a normal reaction to a real threat against people you care about is “getting all emotional”?

[JSinAZ]

Probably a better reaction than beating the snot out of a Senator because their intrinsic shittiness. As public spirited as this would be, I am informed that it would set a bad precedent as some are worthy of decapitation instead.

[BigT]

He gave them a verbal beating they won’t soon forget.

[Kivlor]

You mean getting all emotional is a masculine trait.

Historically, getting emotional about things that are worthy of emotion has always been a masculine trait.

[Last of the Shitlords]

I would have been just fine with BK beating the ever loving shit out of Booker, or any of those other democrat fagus.

[DiegoF]

Uh-oh guys, bad news from CNN: Kavanaugh is in trouble now! Four Republican governors have urged a delay in the vote for an FBI investigation. And you will never guess which four those are, not in a million years!

It takes some doing to get me to laugh off something that’s supposed to be bad news for my side. But I guess they manage.

[A Thinking Mind]

Actually I’ll admit to being surprised seeing Kasich on that list. Not sure if he’s still carrying the #NeverTrump torch, though.

[DiegoF]

Good Lord. He’s the absolute worst of them all. He tweets out support for gun control now. (So, with just a bit less shamelessness, did Evan McMullan on at least one occasion. They are all jive-shufflers for an imaginary adoring audience. They think they’ll be raised on the shields of the public in two years as the new centrist Messiah.

[Nardz]

Kasich is a whiny dbag.
I think he’s angling for the 2020 D nomination

[esteve7]

Leftists will do anything and say anything for power. The fact that this has dragged on this long is a disgrace. They should have told Feinstein to go fuck herself after her 11th hour disgrace

[LarryA]

Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont? The only surprise is that their governors are “Republican.”

Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican, has urged the Senate to slow down its confirmation process and said he would not support Kavanaugh’s nomination unless a full investigation is carried out.
Um, governors don’t get a vote.

And just what is the FBI supposed to investigate? They already have everything on Kavanaugh. Ford is on record. The other witnesses have made their statements. Ford doesn’t know where the crime scene was, nobody else involved even thinks there was one, and if the FBI did locate the house no evidence would be left.

And you know that the Democrats have already had people turn over every rock that exists.

[BigT]

The FBI can investigate AFTER he is confirmed, and if the allegations are proven, he can and should be impeached.

[Bubba Jones]

the allegations are that he groped her at a high school party in the 80s.

She was afraid he was going to rape her. But he didn’t. And there is no actual evidence that he intended to.

This is all entirely consistent with him being a virgin who thought about sex a lot.

This all sounds pretty typical 80s to those of us who were high school kids at the time.

[A Thinking Mind]

Legit question for the commentariat: Was there a single Democrat sitting on the committee who came out of this with any dignity? I feel like most of them embarrassed themselves.

[Marcus Aurelius]

When you’re starting out with nothing…

(To be sure, there are only 2-3 Repubs I credit with dignity)

[A Thinking Mind]

I thought Graham and Grassley at least came out of this very well. Maybe one or two others actually looked good today (I think Tillis or Lee had some good remarks, can’t remember which).

I’m trying to figure out if any Democrats did anything that was appealing to people who aren’t purely in the Democratic partisan bag. Maybe Klobuchar, maybe Coons? Harris and Booker embarassed themselves, Blumenthal embarassed everyone, Dick Durbin was just disturbing unethical, Hirono was boring and bland.

[BigT]

Klubucher was at least civil.

[esteve7]

Remember the left only cares about Marxist power-politics, it’s getting what you want ‘by any means necessary’. Even if it means destroying a man’s career and reputation and dragging his family through the mud for no other reason than political revenge and power.

What an evil ideology. How quickly people buy into their ridiculous talking points is how you get the Stalinist show trials.

[PTSD]

You seem to think this is a choice between Marxists and non-Marxists. Who are the non-Marxists? Seriously. The GOP are Marxists. The Dems are Marxists. Who the fuck else is up there?

[Eddy]

His contemptuous references to “democrats” and “the left” are spot on, and reassure me that he’s not going to turn into an Anthony Kennedy or David Souter.

We need a destroyer. Leftism needs to die.

How better than at the hands of someone the leftists tried to destroy.

Put him on the Supreme Court. Put him in.

PUT HIM IN!

[Tony]

Seek professional help for what their propaganda machine has done to your brain.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

Physician heal thyself.

[TuIpa]

This from the admitted idiot partisan who is only about winning.

You have no fucking idea how stupid you look right now Tony, nearly as stupid as when you offered a 10k bet, I accepted and asked for the escrow, and you ghosted.

[Hank Phillips]

I have not watched a single minute of the faeces-flinging looterfest, and am completely untroubled by the lynch mob Republican fascination with Comstock, Teedy Rosenfeld and Ceausescu’s laws declaring forced labor for women has stirred up. My schadenfreude goes out equally to both simian hordes. May they feel on their hides the initiation of force they so passionately worship!

[Hank Phillips]

I have not watched a single minute of the faeces-flinging looterfest, and am completely untroubled by the lynch mob Republican fascination with Comstock, Teedy Rosenfeld and Ceausescu’s laws declaring forced labor for women has stirred up. My schadenfreude goes out equally to both simian hordes. May they feel on their hides the initiation of force they so passionately worship!

[BigT]

No TV in the loony bin?

[DiegoF]

I do like him a shitload more than I did before in every way possible.

Actually so God help me at this point I would not even want the nomination pulled even if I knew the result would somehow be a Justice Coney Barrett. The damage to the system, even to society, would be too great to give them the W (which they may well get; I’m certainly not getting cocky here). Let her get next.

[Eddy]

I was and am disappointed that Trump nominated K rather than Barrett.

I said several times that I’d only oppose his confirmation if I could be convinced (a) that he perjured himself in 2018 about rape and other crimes, and (b) that his perjury is worse than that of a judge who promises to uphold the constitution and then undermines it.

But now I’m at another level.

Listening to his statement, not only did I become very angry at the left, but I became confident that unlike Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh will be immune from the desire to suck up the left.

He’s like a character in a movie who is in a magic cave and a beautiful woman tries to seduce him, then turns into an ugly hag and tries to kill him.

That ugly hag is the same hag who seduced Anthony Kennedy and David Souter. Kavanaugh is now immune from her charms. Thank God.

Put him on the court now.

[Inigo Montoya]

“He’s like a character in a movie who is in a magic cave and a beautiful woman tries to seduce him, then turns into an ugly hag and tries to kill him.”

This immediately made me think of that scene in Conan where Arnold gets invited into that yurt by some babe in a fur bikini, and she climbs on top of him and that’s when her fangs come out and she transforms into a vampire demon or something? and his response is to kick her into the fireplace.

I will say this: if Kavanaugh quotes any lines from that movie, even if it’s just the famous one about what is best in life, I may start to like him.

If he says the prayer to Crom, including the “Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to hell with you!” I will forgive all the 4A stuff completely.

[LarryA]

I don’t suppose you noticed that when Kavanaugh swears in, his raised hand is Spock’s.

“Live long, and prosper.”

[chemjeff radical individualist]

So your anger at The Left is stronger than your desire to have a judge to actually do libertarian things.

You know full well Kavanaugh will endorse spying on you and all sorts of government overreach. But you’re having an emotional temper tantrum hating on the Left that all of these substantial issues just go by the wayside.

THIS is the PDS (Progressive Derangement Syndrome) that I see too much here at Reason and elsewhere. You hate The Left so much that you throw every principled position overboard just to see them punished. Don’t you see how absurd this is?

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Not any more absurd than Kavanaugh having his nomination Borked not for those legal positions, but for allegations of sexual assault that are, so far, completely baseless.

I realize you’ll happily let the left march you to the gallows while sniffing that, “At least I kept MUH PRINCIPLES,” but most people have a greater sense of self-preservation.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

let the left march you to the gallows

lol

There’s not going to be any marching to any gallows.

[Finrod]

“If only Comrade Stalin knew what was going on here!”

[JoeBlow123]

“You know full well Kavanaugh will endorse spying on you and all sorts of government overreach. But you’re having an emotional temper tantrum hating on the Left that all of these substantial issues just go by the wayside.”

Thank goodness chemjeff, in all his holy goodness, is above the fray.

Fuck off you pretentious shitbag.

[Comrade Cosmoturf]

I think the instant-bake phony gang rapist accusations were kind of a red line for many.

Dear left, challenge accepted.

[Eddy]

Moron, government spying is bipartisan. The left has cheerfully gone along with all sorts of government abuses.

But as I suspect you’re aware, it’s not the issue of government spying which is rallying the Left against Kavanaugh.

First and foremost, they’re worried he’ll tamper with their sacred right of abortion.

Also, they’re worried about their precious administrative state.

In general, they want to just make shit up (mostly bad shit) and put it in the Constitution, and pressure “moderate” judges like Kennedy to go along.

These are the points on which the Left is willing to stand its ground.

These are the issues for whose sake the party of Edward Kennedy is willing to attack a judicial nominee.

If they win, they may be able to foist a “moderate” on the country who unlike Kavanaugh will be willing to reach out to the the Left – not to limit surveillance as you pretend, but to kill children, strengthen the administrative state, and otherwise attack the Constitution..

Kavanaugh’s experience will make him less likely to play nice with the Left in this way.

Another reason to support his nomination.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Oh cut the baloney. What you just wrote is a mere rationalization. The real reason you now are zealously pro-Kavanaugh is because of what you wrote above – he will “fight the left”. You don’t want a libertarian judge or a conservative judge, you want an activist anti-progressive judge. Because you suffer from PDS, like a great many people here on these forums.

[Azathoth!!]

An ‘activist anti-progressive judge’ IS a libertarian or conservative judge.

Any form of leftism is evil and should be destroyed.

It reduces people to things. Nothing good can come of it. Ever.

[loveconstitution1789]

+1 Eddy

[BYODB]

I know I’m splitting hairs, but don’t lump all leftists into this batshit madness. It’s the Progressives in both parties. I know they’ve mostly killed classical liberalism, but there are a few that come here and they’re good people.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

There are extremely few sane ones left. Dershowitz, Manchin (we’ll see what he does), maybe Greenwald. The rest are just “evolving” into their final, socialist form.

[DiegoF]

You gotta like Dershy. Even Greenwald. And I share Just Say’n’s affection for that batshit insane little elf Denny Kucinich. All of them only agree with me on a tiny sliver of my opinions, and I’d be petrified of an America run by any of them, but you have to admire their integrity.

[BigT]

Not Kucinich. Medicare for all. Tax businesses into bankruptcy. Gut the military. Ugh!!

[SIV]

The only left politician I have a scintilla or respect for is Tulsi Gabbard. She’s as anti-interventionist as anyone in Congress and she’ll never be a Reason liberaltarian Jackalope pin-up. That’s two things in her favor

[Eddy]

Leftism needs to die. I hate the ism, but I love plenty of the “ists.”

[Eddy]

I’d go further than this – I’d say that on an issue which doesn’t involve insane wokeness, you may even be able to make a fruitful alliance with a left-wing person.

[Inigo Montoya]

I used to admire a lot of them, and even considered myself one in my youth. It was a bit before my time, but the whole 1960s anti-war, anti-establishmet, pro-drug, live and let live/do your own thing as long as you’re not hurting anyone else thing they had going on was not only appealing to me, it sort of informed my earliest libertarian impulses.

But those people disappeared sometime between the popularity of The Dude from The Big Lebowski and the death of Hunter S Thompson. What passes for a liberal these days is simply depressing.

[LarryA]

Yeah, but I remember the 60s. (High school graduate in 1965.)

The rhetoric was “Do your own thing,” but the reality was “Don’t trust anyone over 30, and your thing better be like our thing.”

[loveconstitution1789]

It was a fallacy. They wanted you to conform just with them, not the Greatest generation and parents in the 1960s.

[Azathoth!!]

You WANT to split hairs. You WANT there to be some ‘good ones’.

There aren’t. This is what leftism does.

The ‘good ones’ are only ‘good’ to the degree with which they reject leftist tenets.

[Bubba Jones]

But now we must vote against him because he is biased against democrats!

[Tony]

Any passing familiarity with human psychology saw a man in just enough denial to be angry that his chance at a sweet gig is being threatened by being a rapey douchefuck as a youth. He’s also clearly an alcoholic and was probably a few drinks in before he began ranting. That man is an angry drunk, no doubt about it. And he lied about never having blacked out, because no one who drinks like that has avoided ever blacking out. Some GOP suckup please deny that.

The most disturbing thing besides the obvious fact that he’s a sexually violent drunk is that he’s a FOX News junkie. He actually blamed the Clintons. Not qualified to be an ambulance chaser, but that’s what you get when you seek out Christianist ideologues from the elitist white conservative conveyor belt to pack the courts.

[NotAnotherSkippy]

OK, fascist.

[esteve7]

Fuck off Tony. If you want a Stanlist show trial go to North Korea.

And yes this is about the Clintons. This is about the left being giant sore-fucking-losers and losing their damn minds since 2016. It’s revenge for Garland, pure and simple.

All Republicans did was not vote on Garland, they didn’t slander him and try to ruin is life over an evidence-less accusation. All the evidence is that the judge Did Nothing Wrong. You want to ruin a person who did nothing wrong just because you want political power and revenge

[esteve7]

Fuck off Tony. If you want a Stanlist show trial go to North Korea.

And yes this is about the Clintons. This is about the left being giant sore-fucking-losers and losing their damn minds since 2016. It’s revenge for Garland, pure and simple.

All Republicans did was not vote on Garland, they didn’t slander him and try to ruin is life over an evidence-less accusation. All the evidence is that the judge Did Nothing Wrong. You want to ruin a person who did nothing wrong just because you want political power and revenge

[Don't look at me!]

You’re going to pop a blood vessel son. Ease off a bit.

[Eddy]

People like you are the reason my commitment to supporting Kavanaugh’s confirmation has been reinforced.

[Tony]

What do I have to do with fucking anything? You people are hopeless.

[TuIpa]

So leave bitch.

[BigT]

“What do I have to do with fucking anything?”

You exemplify the worst of the progressive mindset. Your irrational, immoral diatribes here showcase for us the evil within the left. People recoil into conservatism as a result. You hurt your own cause.

[Tony]

People are fucking stupid.

[Finrod]

Yes, you are, Tony. You and Rev. Fuckhead both.

[loveconstitution1789]

Nobody believes your lies Tony.

Nobody believes Ford’s lies.

You Lefties are liars and useful idiots.

We humor you here because some of us value freedom of speech and Reason still allows that. That is why you are here. To destroy the idea that protects you being able to spout your Lefty nonsnense.

[Comrade Cosmoturf]

Ok ok ok, we get it! But you’re fucking spilling your beer all over the rug and putting your sticky BBQ sauce fingers all over the furniture.

If we’re going be allies with your Rs, you’re going to have to tone down the NASCAR vibe about 15%.

[ohdelilah]

Agree 100%. His performance was straight from the abusers’ handbook. He threw a temper tantrum, for Christ’s sake.
If he were an honorable man, or, as his supporters claim, “not that guy any more,” he’d admit that in the fog of his wasted youth he may have said or done things that he now realizes were inappropriate and/or hurtful. He’d apologize to those he may have hurt. He’d say he knows better now. Except he doesn’t know better now. He’s still the same entitled jerk he was in high school.

[DiegoF]

I like beer.

[esteve7]

I like turtles

[Marcus Aurelius]

The future is female, and it is a cold, Kafkaesque place

[DiegoF]

I remain a pessimist, even possibly about this nomination. But in my more optimistic moments, shining through every now and then–that part of me is really starting to believe this.

[esteve7]

As I’ve said I did not vote for Trump but fuck if I will ever vote for these leftist scumbags. How casually they try to ruin a man’s life when there’s nothing there to support it but sold wild accusations. And the lefty-check marks buy into every ridiculous god damned talking point without a critical thought at all.

That is who these people are. they are despicable. They care nothing about justice or decency, or about the individuals. It’s all a power play for them. So what if a guy’s career is ended and his reputation destroyed. I mean, he will vote against Abortion! The ends justify it. RESIST, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

Fucking shit ideology. Leftism needs to die.

[Don't look at me!]

I don’t use Twitter, but it looks like a hellhole.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You know, I would like to see a full FBI investigation. Serious questioning of every witness, using all the normal criminal investigation techniques and rules for evidence and admissibility.

Seriously. Delay the confirmation. Let’s see if the Democrats blink.

[esteve7]

What is there to investigate? The FBI does investigate state crimes 35 years ago with no evidence that lack basic details like time and place.

[esteve7]

* does not

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

The Democrats are demanding it, so again, let’s see if they blink.

[Dan Bongard]

“Democrats demanded it” is not actually grounds for a *criminal* investigation by the FBI. There also has to be an underlying allegation of federal crime.

They could, I suppose, launch a perjury investigation against Kavanaugh and/or Ford, but that would be kind of insane.

[DiegoF]

They are putting a stop to it now because they know the Democrats are playing for time, and can do so almost indefinitely if the Republicans set a precedent of treating their demans as reasonable. They figure they will have the energy and the Republicans’ voters demoralized and angry if they cannot pull this off. Plus they will not have a general election hanging over some key heads. And they are probably right about all of this.

[Get To Da Chippah]

Why would the Democrats blink? They get the delayed nomination they wanted. They won’t bat an eye if Ford winds up convicted of perjury. They’ll find some other lamb to sacrifice for the next nominee, male or female. They will gladly ruin anyone’s life they can in order to regain power.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Because based on what I’ve heard, I’m betting that the FBI would find nothing of substance.

It’s not unlike how historically both the NRA and gun control groups were reluctant to take anything to the supreme court. Both were afraid they’d lose.

But what Ford (and the other woman) is claiming is very serious. Serious enough where if the allegations were true, Kavanaugh should be rotting in a prison cell.

I don’t believe the Democrats believe the allegations themselves. Who cares of the nomination is delayed. So it gets delayed. What’s going to be the reaction of the FBI finds the allegations laughable.

[Get To Da Chippah]

If the FBI finds nothing actionable, do you think the Democrats will be contrite and apologetic to Kavanaugh? Hell no, their objective will have been accomplished. Like I said, they won’t shed a single tear of it’s Ford getting convicted of perjury so long as they keep the seat empty until Hillary can fill it.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Serious enough where if the allegations were true, Kavanaugh should be rotting in a prison cell.

For the Ford thing? Half the country would be in prison if that was the standard.

[lap83]

I think he’s confusing Ford with Swetnick

[Longtobefree]

How will the seventh differ from the first six?

How do you interview witnesses about an alleged event that took place at an unknown location ,in an unknown year, on an unknown date, at an unknown time? How many witness do you interview? the two, the four, the three?

The political crucifixion of Dr. Ford by the Democrats for cold political purpose of delaying the vote can only be answered by NOT delaying the vote.
If this was about the accusation, we would be in the second month, not the second week.

[Tony]

If there’s nothing to lose, what’s the problem?

[TuIpa]

The Democrats wasting enormous amounts of time and money because they lost and can’t stand it.

[DarrenM]

Since when would anyone in Washington care about wasting money?

[loveconstitution1789]

Lefties wont win.

The Lefty gamble failed.

[Azathoth!!]

If there’s nothing to lose, what’s the problem?

It’s not that there’s nothing to lose, you ignoramus. There’s nothing to gain.

Yesterday, the thing that got most people was that they learned nothing new. Because there was nothing new to learn.

We are still at “an alleged event that took place at an unknown location ,in an unknown year, on an unknown date, at an unknown time”.

And there’s no way to move from that because there is no evidence AT ALL. None.

We could investigate until the end of Trump’s fourth term and still not know anything we do not know today.

[Tony]

That’s all anyone is asking for, and there has yet to be a response to that request that isn’t a dodge. You saw it.

[TuIpa]

If you don’t believe the first 6 a 7th won’t change your mind.

But you’re right, all your answers have been dodges.

[SIV]

using all the normal criminal investigation techniques

Hitting them with phone books? Hooking them up to a hand crank telephone generator?

[SimonP]

Reading the comments here helped me to understand Kavanaugh’s incredible actions over the past week – first by appearing on FoxNews, where he lied through his teeth, and then conducting himself in such a blatantly partisan, non-judicial manner before the senators today.

You all think this is a damned reality TV show. You don’t care if we’re about to give a lifetime appointment to this preeminent douchenozzle, who will share the bench with at least three women over his tenure, one of which made a name for herself fighting for women’s civil rights. You don’t care if his conduct over the past week betrayed everything he might have previously said about being an apolitical, careful justice. You’re even so excited by his contempt for women that you can’t imagine how his performance will play for the millions of women watching today! You just want to ram him through, get him on the Court, to own the libs.

This needn’t have resulted in Kavanaugh going down in flames. Kavanaugh could have said that he didn’t remember assaulting Ford, but express his sincere apologies for any harm he may have caused her. He could have spoken with sensitivity and candor about his poor behavior as a teen, and the Republican senators could have conducted themselves with decorum. Instead, the GOP has embraced misogyny as a platform plank.

[Get To Da Chippah]

When did OBL get a new handle?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

that’s not obl.

[DiegoF]

You’re even so excited by his contempt for women…You just want to ram him through, get him on the Court

Hmmm, I wonder what he might mean by this…

[Eddy]

“Kavanaugh could have said that he didn’t remember assaulting Ford, but express his sincere apologies for any harm he may have caused her. He could have spoken with sensitivity and candor about his poor behavior as a teen”

He could have said he doesn’t remember hexing Goody Prudence’s cow so that it stopped giving milk, but he’s sorry for any wizardry he may have committed against her.

He could have kneeled in front of the committee wearing a placard denouncing his crimes, while a cadre of Red Guards taunted him for his bourgeois deviationism.

Too bad for you he didn’t do either of these things.

“share the bench with at least three women over his tenure, one of which made a name for herself fighting for women’s civil rights”

If you’re referring to RBG, who swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and then proceeded to declare millions of unborn children (including female ones) outside the protection of the law, and also declared that the government could steal the home of Suzette Kelo – a woman, by the way – then I note that serving alongside the perjuring hag would be one of the unpleasant parts of a constitutionalist Supreme Court justice’s job. Unless he’s like Scalia, believes in loving one’s enemies, and develops a human relationship with her while not sugarcoating her misconduct.

[Get To Da Chippah]

He could have walked naked down the steps of the Capitol Building with all the senate Democrats chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” behind him. Instead he had to go and be a misogynist and pretend as if he didn’t grope Ford between planning and participating in another gang rape and dickslapping random women! HARRUMPH!

[TuIpa]

Awww cry more about Kav owning you and the assholes who tried to smear him.

“I know she baselessly accused you of rape, but BE NICE!!!”

Ahahhah no bitch fuck you, war.

[JTNash]

What you’re saying only makes sense if we are certain that he’s guilty. I personally am still not convinced that he is. His testimony would be very understandable if he was indeed innocent.

Something that Robby Soave left out of this article ? BK wasn’t merely angry ? he was emotional. A person who is merely angry doesn’t get choked up talking about his daughter wanting to pray for his accuser, and then affirms it to everyone as “wisdom.” That, in my view, is an indication that he may very well be telling the truth. And if he is, everyone standing in judgement against him needs to take a good long look in the mirror.

[BigT]

His calendar/diary is the ONLY solid evidence in this shitshow. And it completely backs up his testimony.

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

Literally nothing in this shitlib screed is accurate.

[Juggernaut]

The good news is Republicans are fucked no matter how they proceed.

[TuIpa]

Except on the supreme court which they now own.

Cry more shreek.

[Hank Phillips]

Republicans are the monkey with its hand stuck in the gourd. Inside the gourd is a fistful of amendment to force liberal bitches to squeeze out cannon fodder for God and the Reich as the penalty and duty for having sex. Naturally we would need to shoot a few doctors–just like Treasury agents shot thousands of wets and bootleggers–to make it stick. But any monkey that superstitious and dumb is better off roasting on a spit. Americans meanwhile will improve their lot by voting for the same Libertarian Party that WROTE the Roe v. Wade decision 46 years ago and handed it to the Suprema Corte.

[Finrod]

I’m sure that shit sounded meaningful to you when you wrote it.

[loveconstitution1789]

Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

The GOP will be fine.

[DiegoF]

I think I mentioned this before, but it turned out to have been a stroke of genius to nominate an establishment guy. A clear line has been drawn, perhaps the last gasp of the outgoing party system. The conservative establishment is rallying around this guy, drawing a clear line once more between them and the wokeness-performing centrists. (It may even save some people from becoming useful idiots playing pussyfoot with the center-left against Trumpism.)

You think they would’ve circled the wagons for a Napolitano clone faced with the same accusations? Unlikely.

[Eddy]

Let’s see if the Left wins this one. If they do, I’ll hold off on celebrating the wonderfulness of establishment Republicans. They’re the ones who promised an easier, drama-free confirmation. Most important of all, they promised they’d get a confirmation.

[Lady Liberty]

Senate: Thank you for testifying Dr. Ford

Media: It’s over, Brett Kavanaugh must drop out

Brett: Hold my beer….

[DiegoF]

If at least one public humorist of some sort doesn’t make this joke I say we pack in our comedy credibility as a nation and surrender to the Brits.

[Eddy]

While there is much to said for an abstinent lifestyle, those with a different lifestyle should own it – K said “I like beer.” But that doesn’t mean he organizes drunken gang-rape parties.

[DiegoF]

I don’t know if there are any Beltway bars known specifically as Republican watering holes, but I am sure as fuck praying that one will be spectacularly unwoke enough to hold a celebratory event called “I Like Beer” if and when Kavanaugh is confirmed.

[Azathoth!!]

Funny you should say that.

Behold–

“National Drink Beer Day is a holiday which is celebrated annually on September 28th. The purpose of this unofficial holiday is implied quite literally by the name. This day is celebrated by drinking your favorite beer with friends and family.”

Now, if that’s not a sign from the gods then there never has been one.

[LeaveTrumpAloneLiberal-tarian]

After watching Kavanaugh’s steely cool demeanor at the committee hearing i’m More convinced than ever that he is the right man to dispassionately interpret the Constitution and lead the SC in a calmer and more reasonable direction

#IStandWithKavanaugh
#FullBodySearchortheBitchIsALiar

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

The left still can’t meme.

[LeaveTrumpAloneLiberal-tarian]

Left? Sir, really, there’s no need to become nasty.

[DiegoF]

I’ll tell you who ain’t the right man to lead the South Carolina in a calmer and more reasonable direction–not tonight at least…my boy Lindsay Graham! That fancy little fella came out fierce this evening, bitches! Just damn!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

#PayYourMortgage

[Cyto]

I watched the same CNN segment

The Democrat operatives floated several other trial balloons. They agreed with Robbie on one of their many angles they were trying to take to get to the same conclusion, that he should not be on the Court.

That angle was that because this process had become political, and Kavanagh responded in a political manner he would be an illegitimate choice for the court.

This is how pathetic things have become. It was clear that the CNN panel had given up on actually believing they had a real accusation. So they were floundering around for any straw to grasp.

And that was where they ended up. That if he responded in anger to allegations that one could only respond to with anger, then he was not fit to be on the bench. And if he responded to obvious and fairly egregious partisan attacks by calling out the partisans, then he was not fit to be on the bench because no Democrat lawmaker could expect a fair trial in front of him.

The whole thing Beggars belief.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Welcome to the New World.

[perlchpr]

he was not fit to be on the bench because no Democrat lawmaker could expect a fair trial in front of him

Well not anymore!

[Finrod]

“We can’t trust you to be fair to us because we slandered you!”

[John C. Randolph]

I still don’t want him on the court, but I want the Democrats to suffer severe repercussions for what they’ve put him through. Fineswine in particular should be ejected from the Senate for this and her attempt to cover up the spy on her staff.

-jcr

[DiegoF]

I just imagined a Jim Henson Fineswine puppet and laughed a bit.

[Eddy]

The cousin Miss Piggy doesn’t talk about.

[Hank Phillips]

At this stage of the farce, the Shipp and Scottsboro Boys cases are less relevant than the McMartin Preschool abuse trial in the 1980s, shortly before the LP added its most suicidal platform plank. Bureaucrats enticed children into fabricating lies in much the same hysterical setting as now reveals the true colors of looter parties in the Senate. As in the Salem witchcraft and Devils of Loudon cases, social pressure and venality elicit fabrications at odds with reality. This is the usual process, starring the same actors that keep us dependent on Saudis instead of building electrical generation reactors. Remember that when the kleptocracy wants your vote. Vote LP and pee on both looter parties.

[Hank Phillips]

At this stage of the farce, the Shipp and Scottsboro Boys cases are less relevant than the McMartin Preschool abuse trial in the 1980s, shortly before the LP added its most suicidal platform plank. Bureaucrats enticed children into fabricating lies in much the same hysterical setting as now reveals the true colors of looter parties in the Senate. As in the Salem witchcraft and Devils of Loudon cases, social pressure and venality elicit fabrications at odds with reality. This is the usual process, starring the same actors that keep us dependent on Saudis instead of building electrical generation reactors. Remember that when the kleptocracy wants your vote. Vote LP and pee on both looter parties.

[LeaveTrumpAloneLiberal-tarian]

TO WAR!!!
#RememberTheAlamo

[DiegoF]

Corker announced Yes, according to NYT. Also sources close to Manchin making positive noises!

[DiegoF]

Oops, Manchin aide denouncing that report. New rumor that he, Collins, Murkowski, Donnelin all voting same way. Potential bad news for Kavanaugh, since getting two of the five: them and Flake is what he needs.

[loveconstitution1789]

Nothing is definite until tomorrow’s vote.

[DiegoF]

Would make sense that undecideds would conference together as they apparently are doing. If they present a united front it takes the heat off of each of them individually. Again bad news for Kavanaugh.

[DiegoF]

Flake apparently huddling with them too. Again, if Kavanaugh loses by a larger margin no one has to be “deciding.” Only reason I could imagine these folks would be meeting–to potentially provide themselves political cover for a No.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Flake is so delusional it’s impossible to game out his strategy.

[DiegoF]

True. Up until now his delusion seemed to primary Trump in 2020, that he was going to collapse into chaos in the next two years and the traditional conservatives would turn to him as the unscathed principled hero–establishment enough to be establishment, history of making enough noises to impress the Catotarians.

But he cannot do this if he votes against Kavanaugh. If he thinks he can, and still primary Trump, he is even more deeply deluded. He will instantly and permanently be tarnished as the sort of performing-puppet NeverTrumper that the media is so enamored with these days; even if Trump self-destructs that will not tarnish Kavanaugh and they will never forgive Flake and they will turn to someone else.

[perlchpr]

Doesn’t work. Anyone with an R who votes “no” gets just as much blame as any other R, I’m guessing.

[LeaveTrumpAloneLiberal-tarian]

I’m with you Senator SlamsFirst O. Table. Thank you, people of South Carolina, for your wisdom in bombing Fort Sumter and, of course, for Lindsey Graham. Your examples are a beckon to the rest of us!

HOW DARE YOU?!
HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO BRETT KAVANAUGH?
HOW DARE YOU DENY HIM THIS SEAT?!

Listen, NO, YOU listen!
Do you know who Brett Kavanaugh is? Brett Kavanaugh went to Georgetown Prep!
BRETT KAVANAUGH IS AN OPTIMIST WHO LOOKS ON THE SUNSHINE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!
BRETT KAVANAUGH IS NOT YELLING!
YOU’RE YELLING!

If Brett does not secure a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, this country will be IN SHAMBLES! THIS IS HIS BIRTHRIGHT! Do you know how embarrassing it is for a Georgetown Prep graduate to NOT be on the Supreme Court? They are literally 12 PERCENT of the court! THIS IS PROBABLY THE WORST INDIGNITY YOU CAN INFLICT ON A HUMAN BEING!

ALL BRETT IS ASKING FOR IS DUE PROCESS! DUE PROCESS BEFORE HE IS DEPRIVED OF HIS GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO A SEAT ON THE HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND, WHERE HE WILL DETERMINE THE FATES OF MILLIONS!

[DiegoF]

Amen! You said it Cathy!

[Ecoli]

Elections have consequences.

[Eddy]

Or as the family court judge said, “erections have consequences.”

[DiegoF]

I thought that was what Senator Hirono was trying to tell us.

[JTNash]

Robby Soave is leaving out something very important. He wasn’t just angry ? he was emotional. Someone who is merely angry doesn’t get choked up talking about his daughter wanting to pray for his accuser. That is a huge difference, and in my opinion, it is an indication that he really is being truthful.

[DiegoF]

I cannot possibly imagine that these “undecideds” are not caucusing with each other for the express purpose of soberly announcing tomorrow that they are demanding an FBI investigation and cannot make up their minds without it. There is no way they are up to anything good.

[DiegoF]

That is of course the standard boilerplate “No” position right now. But they will say it sans the shrill extremist partisan rhetoric that the “regular” Noes have been using, thus distinguishing themselves from it and appearing neutral. The shrillness of the Leftist Noes has given them the space to make that move–something I’m sure that has escaped no one.

[Eddy]

They’re still misguided, no matter how moderate and mavericky they may think they’re being.

Trusting the FBI is scarcely a step above trusting a magic lie-detector machine.

It’s a deflection of responsibility.

It’s a parody of principled centrism.

Real principled centrism is where you say “some of my ideals match this side, some of my ideals match this other side, and I’ll hold to my ideals whichever side is offended.”

Phony for-the-cameras centrism is “this is a tough vote, let’s try to fob the decision off on someone else besides me, even though I’m the constitutionally-responsible person for making this decision.”

[DiegoF]

It is bizarre.

The highest and most powerful–by a margin so wide it ain’t even close–investigatory body in this country is the United States Congress. This is it. It is beyond weird to treat the FBI as they are being treated. I’m at least as disturbed by the vision of government it suggests as I am by the rest of it all. But I can’t say I’m surprised. May we be saved from these ever more perverse views of our republic.

[Dan Bongard]

Congress is certainly the most *powerful* investigative body, but you could probably count the number of Senators who actually give a crap whether or not Ford’s story is true on one hand. Who in America trusts Congress to determine the truth about anything?

[DiegoF]

Tim Stellar of the Arizona Daily Star reporting that W Bush has been whipping votes for Kavanaugh. Never thought of that! That’s good! A well coordinated full-court establishment press could make the difference.

[DiegoF]

New poll says Joe Manchin in deep trouble in WV. He has to know this is political suicide; even Dems are phrasing pleas as making a sacrifice to do the right thing. WV is the most pro-life and pro-Trump state in the USA! He is already on thin ice.

Doug Jones is voting no but it’s probably not stupid. He probably lacks the delusion he’s going to serve more than a term; look for him to go increasingly Bullworth as his term continues on.

[Dan Bongard]

Kavanaugh missed a good opportunity in response to that dippy blackout question. He should have checked his watch and said “are you asking me if I’ve blacked out in the sixty minutes since I told you I’d never blacked out?”

Ok, maybe that would have come across as unprofessional, but it would have been funny.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Your Honor, Mr. Foreman, ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, my name is Arthur Kirkland, and I am the Defense Counsel for the Defendant, Judge Henry T. Fleming. Now, that man over there [indicates DA Bowers at the prosecution table]– he’s the prosecuting attorney, and he couldn’t be happier today. He is a happy man today, because today he’s going after a JUDGE, and if he gets him…if he gets him, he’s gonna be a star. He’s gonna have his name in this month’s Law Review – Centerfold! Lawyer of the Month! Now, in order to win this case, he needs you, naturally. You’re all he’s got, believe me. So he’s counting on tapping that emotion in you that says “Let’s get somebody in power. Let’s get a JUDGE.”

However, these proceedings are not about that. These proceedings are here to see that Justice is done. And Justice, as any reasonable person will tell you, is the finding of the Truth. And what is the Truth today? One truth, a tragic one, is that that girl has been beaten and raped. Another truth is that the prosecution doesn’t have a witness, does not have one piece of substantiating evidence other than the testimony of the victim herself. Another truth is that my client voluntarily, and the prosecution is well aware of this fact, voluntarily took a lie detector test…

– Al Pacino as Arthur Kirkland, And Justice For All

[Robert Crim]

I watched the entire hearing. Maybe no one else was listening all that carefully, but I was.

Dr. Ford’s testimony is compelling, and it was clear to me that she had suffered some kind of trauma earlier in her life manifesting itself in clearly observable PTSD.

Judge Kavanaugh did not do as good a job. One of the first things they teach police officers in witness school is NEVER to quibble with the examiner. Judge Kavanaugh either never attended that class (he is, after all, an APPELLATE judge) or let his own emotional state get the better of him. As a result, he did come over at times for being evasive, and that often translates into want of credibility in the eyes of a juror.

The problem for Dr. Ford, however, is that all of the quibbling was over completely sidereal issues: Should we stop everything to have an FBI investigation? What was the real secret meaning of the “flatulence” codes in his yearbook? Didn’t you really run “rape chains” against a woman two years your senior who attended a public high school in another town? The Democrats almost seem to have forgotten Dr. Ford.

What this all then will boil down to is the records that we have: The calendar, any employment record on Mark Judge, the statements from the alleged witnesses who claim they were NOT there, &c. Dr. Ford is going to lose this one not because she must be lying but because she simply has nothing else right now to back her up….

[Robert Crim]

…Under federal law, a single witness, if believed, IS sufficient to sustain a criminal conviction; but, here, the balance isn’t even close. Dr. Ford has NO ONE….

Furthermore, anyone here familiar with Nathaniel Branden’s work on repressed memories knows that projection and substitution as well as conflating of such memories is COMMON in PTSD cases. The victim simply butts two past experiences in her mind together, and she thereafter is absolutely positive the conflation is real. That makes such a person perhaps the MOST dangerous witness against an accused precisely because she genuinely BELIEVES that she’s telling the truth, and only by showing proof positive that her memories are deficient can her certainty be shaken.

If anything of a positive nature emerges from this experience, it must be that women subjected to such attacks MUST come forward right away and not wait 30-40 years to present their claims. To be sure, I’m going to hear all of the usual excuses on why women don’t do that in sex-assault cases, but to adopt any different standard simply makes confirmation or rebuttal of these claims legally impossible. I have known women who have been attacked; I have known women who have made it up; and, in the absence of anything further, what I now have seen is a woman genuinely traumatized into making it up.

SOMEONE did attack Dr. Ford. But, there’s simply NO support for her claim it was Brett Kavanaugh….

[Robert Crim]

Thirty-six years after the fact, her protestations of certainty simply don’t make up for that.

[DiegoF]

Kavanaugh’s opponents are trying to salt the earth of the “she’s confused” assessment as somehow unimaginably condescending and sexist. Have some balls and call her a liar or don’t, this line goes, she’s said as clearly as possible that 100% he did it.

Of course this is an ingenious move but ridiculous when you take a closer look at it; whoever said one has to believe people cannot be mistaken. That is the best you can do when an accuser’s case is otherwise as weak as this. They’d have you believe it’s like some Victorian era hysteria diagnosis or something.

[DiegoF]

So what is your background if I may ask? Law enforcement? Trial attorney or judge? All three?

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

SOMEONE did attack Dr. Ford. But, there’s simply NO support for her claim it was Brett Kavanaugh….

This is ridiculous. If she’s wrong about Kavanaugh, she could certainly wrong about everything else.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

This is probably the smartest thing that I have read about the Kavanaugh accusations here at Reason.

Yeah I too believe that something happened to Dr. Ford, but that as things stand now, it probably wasn’t Kavanaugh who did those terrible things to her. And time and trauma have clouded her memory.

To that end, calling her a liar, etc., is really insensitive and just not helpful. Besides, as far as politics goes, she’s been also a victim in this whole clown show, having been terribly used by Feinstein for purely political ends.

[loveconstitution1789]

Ford thinks polygraphs detect lying or the truth.

Anyone who believes that is a moron and should have everything they say viewed with utter skepticism.

I saw everything that I needed to see when Ford was asked about who recommended and paid for the polygraph. She did not know. The lawyers switch off the mic and tell her what to say. Ford reacts with facial expressions that belay her response was told to her.

[BigT]

Che Jeff wrote a reasonable assessment. Congrats.

[DiegoF]

He didn’t handle some of the questionings quite as smoothly as he could at times. Remarkable as you said how unpolished someone who has never been a trial judge can look. Reminds you that basically anyone at all with no trial experience can have problems; there’s just nothing quite like it.

I wonder if Ford has ever been an expert witness; she did do much better than I assumed someone who had been that seemingly evasive beforehand would be. Does make it seem as you said that there is a dose of genuineness to her problems. Ultimately although Kavanaugh’s scorched earth strategy was clearly the right one–in part because it was indeed real–the proceedings mostly obscured the facts of the evidence which have not changed.

Showing genuine emotion–and that emotion was going to be anger because how could it not–was the only way Kavanaugh was going to be able to pull off sympathy for his basic awkwardness. Faking comity would have been disastrous.

[Dan Bongard]

One major difference is that Ford wasn’t actually asked tough questions — politically, it looks horrible to berate a possible victim of sexual assault on TV.

[loveconstitution1789]

Ford could read a prepared statement.

When questioned on details, she stumbled.

She is nervous because she is lying not because kavanaugh ever did anything to her. Ford has gambled that this useful idiot move for the Left would make up for being labelled the liar that she is.

The Lefties will ditch her as soon as kavanaugh is confirmed.

[BigT]

“The Lefties will ditch her as soon as kavanaugh is confirmed.”

Bingo!!

[DiegoF]

Washington Examiner:

In that meeting, Collins again raised concerns about Kavanaugh, said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.

“Susan brought up some stuff,” Cassidy said.

[DiegoF]

Rob Portman gives full-throated endorsement of Kavanaugh even though he want to throw his gay son in the Trump Homosexual Concentration Camps! The establishment loves Kavanaugh, and they are standing firm. Best cause for hope so far.

Also we forget Collins isn’t from an ordinary blue northeastern state. She’s from Maine. She doesn’t just have the ire of the displaced New York soccer moms to worry about; she’s got the Trump voters and theirs! Even the New York Times couldn’t put together a women focus group that wasn’t split on Kavanaugh, much to their chagrin I bet.

[DiegoF]

ABA has just sent the judiciary committee a letter calling for an FBI investigation. There goes that rating he’d been throwing around. Cover for undecideds; worst news yet?

[DiegoF]

Everyone certainly seems to be treating this as a bombshell.

[loveconstitution1789]

Its the ABA throwing their hat in with Lefties to delay.

The ABA is notoriously Lefty and gives campaign donations as such. This is a group of lawyers who come up with ways to keep new lawyers from coming into their fold unless they get the nod, as if the legal profession is some admired field.

Lawyers are very unpopular, so that means that the new lawyers that pass the ABA test are contributing to the view that lawyers are scumbags.

[Eddy]

This reinforces my skepticism of “mainstream” judges like Kavanaugh. Here he plays by the rules and gets an endorsement from the ABA, an endorsement he plainly values if he proudly quotes it to the Senators. He knows the ABA isn’t an impartial evaluator, so by failing to anticipate its #resistance proclivities, he saws the limb from under him.

Brown or Barrett wouldn’t have had that problem. The ABA would have taken care to make the appropriate hemmings and hawings about out of the mainstream judicial views, etc. The knives would be out from the beginning.

[DiegoF]

Exactly. This “very well qualified” business was a poisoned gift to begin with. He’d have actually been better off without it. Nobody really has needed it for decades; even Democratic presidents get “not qualified” judges confirmed on the reg. But Kav was foolishly baited into waving it around righteously.

Now he’s the one–he has no one but himself to blame–for drawing attention to it and making a big deal of it. America probably wouldn’t have given a shit, but now that they’re paying attention it’s the ABA that has earned credibility from Kavanaugh. Now he can’t get any mileage from saying they’re partisan; they look golden since they have established themselves as people who treated him fairly, were positively disposed to him from square one, and have now, soberly, reluctantly changed their mind with much pain about someone whom they just adored. Had they rated him “not qualified” from square one this would be an utter nothingburger; they’d have no power at all.

It’s been the only truly idiotic thing Kavanaugh did, and boy is it a doozy. It may make the difference and if so he did it to himself.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

My skepticism of mainstream judges comes mostly from their asshole opinions.

[Eddy]

There’s another factor right there.

[Azathoth!!]

so by failing to anticipate its #resistance proclivities, he saws the limb from under him

Are you guys stupid?

After that glowing endorsement–made AFTER several FBI background checks, the ABA’s current ‘let’s have an investigation’ looks just like the partisan grasping that it is.

It is a naked display of the fact that what they REALLY value is power. Getting it, holding it, and destroying any and all that stand in the way of their getting it.

[DiegoF]

Piece on the “FBI investigation” sham.

[Eddy]

(For John’s benefit, I should preface this by saying the Senate should vote to confirm Judge K, and Trump should not withdraw the nomination unless it loses an up-or-down Senate vote).

It might be amusing to warn the Dems and the grandstanding mavericks that they may as well vote on K right away, because they already have a substitute ready in case K loses.

How does JRB grab you? Plus general election ads about “Democrats, the party of slavery, and their squisy RINO allies, want black people back on the plantation. That’s why they oppose a judge who wants Americans of all races to stand on their own two feet without any race being client of Democratic vote-buyers.”

[DiegoF]

You think they can confirm the new justice in four weeks? Compared to Kavanaugh’s length start to finish?

Mind you if the Dems come up with something to “investigate” and play for time the Republicans cannot claim, oh, the Democrats waited all this time. They will run out of clock.

And not getting this done before the election would indeed be a fiasco, if that is being contested.

[Eddy]

It’s more of a scare tactic – here’s who we’ll send you if you reject Kavanaugh.

[esteve7]

their obvious game plan is to stall until after the midterms and hope the democrats take the senate. Then keep the court 4-4 until after 2020 when they think the win the presidency. At the very least they can campaign on WAR ON WOMEN again for 2018.

The honest ones know this is a bunch of crap and some even let the mask slip. This is all political, so what if you railroad an innocent man and destroy his career and reputation. That’s what an evil ideology looks like.

[loveconstitution1789]

Their plans have been failing for years and these plans will fail too.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

A question I have yet to see answered:

Why should someone like Kavanaugh be held to a higher standard than the politicians who nominated him?

It’s not exactly out of bounds or beyond the pale to accuse politicians of some pretty heinous things. And not too many people cry that politicians shouldn’t be defamed.

And to the extent that SCOTUS has become a super-legislature, with “Republican judges” and “Democrat judges”, then why shouldn’t applicants for SCOTUS be regarded as if they are like any other politician?

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

then why shouldn’t applicants for SCOTUS be regarded as if they are like any other politician?

In what sense? Be specific.

[Nardz]

Collectivistjeff is merely whining that we don’t show enough deference to progressive show trials.

[chemjeff radical individualist]

Would it be beyond the realm of ordinary political discourse to accuse politicians of the things Kavanaugh has been accused of? Hillary’s campaign manager was accused of running a child sex ring. Obama was accused of having a gay lover in Chicago. Bush’s family was accused of being in cahoots with the Nazis. Bill Clinton was accused of going on sex trips with underage girls, and being a rapist to boot. And I can only imagine what all of these senators were accused of in their various campaigns. All of these things are defamatory and false. Is Kavanaugh being subjected to anything worse than this?

[Eddy]

What will delaying the vote pending an FBI investigation actually accomplish?

During the interval he’ll be on the appeals court.

So open the investigation becase OMG a SITTING FEDERAL JUDGE was accused about lying about his rapity rapeness in high school. Let’s get the evidence and purge him from the bench.

Meanwhile, the Senators could vote their consciences based on the evidence the have (what a concept!) and if the confirm but it turns out there’s actually credible, well-substantiated evidence of wrongdoing they can get him off the Supreme Court just as surely as they can get him off the lower court.

For those confident the charges are true, the option of putting him on the Supreme Court first would give them a political advantage – if the evidence is actually powerful enough to drive him off the bench in disgrace, that would mean another Supreme Court seat up for grabs as opposed to a mere appellate seat.

This assumes, of course, that the charges aren’t so flimsy and unsubstantiated you couldn’t euthanize a dog based on it.

The Dems may suspect the latter, otherwise they’d rub their hands in glee at the prospect of K getting confirmed and then being forced out of the Supreme Court by the SHEER WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE (/sarc).

[Dan Bongard]

One problem with the “impeach him later” plan is that it requires 67 Senators to vote for a conviction. That means that even a unanimous majority party needs non-trivial support from across the aisle.

Clinton was much more credibly accused of sexual assault than Kavanaugh has been. Democrats didn’t care and still don’t care. Trump got caught on tape *bragging* about sexually assaulting women and Republicans didn’t give a shit. Impeachment is a political process, and the empirical evidence is that the parties will excuse anything for a win.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Trump got caught on tape *bragging* about sexually assaulting women

We got a live one, folks.

[BigT]

Trump bragged about his Inaugural crowd as well. I take both as gross exaggerations.

[posmoo]

*bragged that women seeking fame allow sexual contact when you are famous. that’s what ‘let’ means.

[DiegoF]

I spoke after the hearings with a friend who’s an honest, and very fervent, believer of the Democratic line and opponent of Kavanaugh and believer in his guilt based on his behavior and the accusers. She says, Kavanaugh is being unimaginably stupid, I can’t believe he’s forcing this, it’s just going to be worse for him after he is on the bench.

That is what an honest believer, a person of good faith, sounds like.

[Sidd Finch v2.01]

Nobody seems to be reckoning with the the fact that Kavanaugh is currently on the bench. How could anyone possibly say that rapists can’t be on SCOTUS but Appeals is fine and dandy?

[esteve7]

so you believe someone is guilty without any corroborating evidence. I hope your friend has never been on a jury.

[DiegoF]

That is not my point.

[loveconstitution1789]

Democrats are in real trouble.

Women have been talking about Ford all day and think this hit job is ridiculous.

Its going to be a Democrat bloodbath this election 2018. Democrat leaders like Feinstein know it which is why they are so desperate.

The Democrats on the Senate committe kept looking down at papers while Kavanauagh was giving his opening statement.

[Azathoth!!]

This is Diego’s point–

“She says, Kavanaugh is being unimaginably stupid, I can’t believe he’s forcing this, it’s just going to be worse for him after he is on the bench.”

She believes that Kavanaugh is going to be confirmed.

[esteve7]

Question to any leftists out there — so if the FBI does investigate and come back they couldn’t find anything to back up her claim, and couldn’t find anything on Kav, would that change your mind? If the FBI comes back with nothing, you’d support him, right?

Right? Or would you just jump to the next talking point?

[Wearenotperfect]

There are no “Leftist” here but one thing is for sure, at the end of the day liars get hired!

[DiegoF]

As long as snitches get stitches I’m cool.

[loveconstitution1789]

The FBI is a red herring. Its a delay tactic.

Grassey aint going to cave now because his offer for compromise was taken advantage of by Democrats. He was pissed during his comments Thursday.

[loveconstitution1789]

This has backfired on Lefties. Kavanaugh fought back with his testimony and evidence in his defense being more compelling.

Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Future nominees will not have to endure this type of hit job because it didnt work against Thomas and didnt work against Kavanaugh.

[DiegoF]

The ABA thing is bad. Might not have been but it is now. Kavanaugh stupidly gave them credibility by waving their endorsement all over the place.

[loveconstitution1789]

It wont matter.

Grassey is not delaying a committee vote anymore.

The writing is on the wall. This is a hit job for delaying the filling pf the SCOTUS seat.

Kavanaugh will be confirmed.

Any RINO dissenters wont vote against, they will abstain. Pence breaks the tie.

[ThomasD]

“The ABA thing is bad.”

No, it’s not. The ABA has already destroyed any sense of impartiality it might have had. They are an obvious leftist institution.

[Wearenotperfect]

#I’m curious if you have
#I like beer
#we love beer
#to many beers
#boys and girls love beer
#I still love
#whatever the chart says

Sure, after this train wreck let’s put him right up there!

[wreckinball]

You have something against beer?

[tlapp]

Anger? No kidding. It was left for him to prove he wasn’t at a party at an unknown time and place and did not attack a woman in spite of every witness refuting the accuser. Anger, disgust were very appropriate.

[BigT]

If it had been me, I would have called Fineswine a lousy, stinking, lying cunt, amongst other things. Kay was actually quite restrained given how badly his wife and daughters were treated.

[CDRSchafer]

Absolutely .

[Bubba Jones]

Is Kavanaugh now unfit because he is biased against Democrats?

[loveconstitution1789]

He biased for more Constitutional protections, so yeah he’s biased against the Democrats.

Fortunately for Kavanaugh, bias toward the Constitution does not cause one to be unfit.

[wreckinball]

Its not assault if its self-defense. That was self-defense.

[wreckinball]

Its not assault if its self-defense. That was self-defense.

[Weigel's Cock Ring]

If someone falsely accuses you of attempted rape and as a result…

a) you seem angry, it clearly means you;re a hothead with “anger management issues”.

b) you seem happy, it clearly means that you’re a sociopath.

c) you seem neither angry nor happy, but perfectly even-keeled, it means you’re an especially heartless, emotionless, robotic sociopath.

Talk about a no-win Catch-22 of a trap for the person being accused.

[CDRSchafer]

I have two daughters like Judge Kavenaugh. If these progressive Marxist assholes put them through this I’d be ready to tear one of their faces off. I’d be wanting to knock Feinstein’s teeth out on the Senate floor. He was very restrained.

[Olderthandirt-stillkickin]

This is one of the few commentaries here that has been rational, and unbiased. The drama of the hearing should not be the determiner of guilt or innocence. That should be determined by facts and objective observations. That said, my personal take was that the Democrats were the bad guys in this one; rude, out of order, and not listening to responses to their sometimes loaded questions.

[Procyon Mustelid]

Who joins a frat if they aren’t a rapist sack of shit?

Nobody.

[CDRSchafer]

Who joins the Democratic Party if they aren’t an idiot and a liar?

[Procyon Mustelid]

My wife, for one.

[Finrod]

Is that what you call your right hand?

[Wearenotperfect]

So let me get this straight, sexual assault allegations aside, no one here is concerned with him describing himself to be as close to a perfect alter boy on his FOX promotional tour interview while the reality is clear that he isn’t? If anything good came out of that freaking circus of a Senate Judiciary hearing is that Blasey Ford could be lying about Kavanaugh but Kavanaugh is definitely lying about himself.
Respectful responses greatly encouraged.

[CDRSchafer]

What did he admit to that was bad? Nothing, other than normal juvenile behavior Respectfully.

[josh]

Too many people are like those gnomes from South Park…

Step 1: Accusation
Step 2: ?
Step 3: He’s guilty

[Procyon Mustelid]

I went to a different prep school (in Georgia) and private university (in Tennessee), but uh, based on that… I put those elements of his background as circumstantial evidence of guilt in Step 2.

[Dillinger]

guilty? dude’s on trial?

[CDRSchafer]

I’m the same age as both of them. I attended drunken parties in the early 80s. I drank a lot. Never once did I forget what happened the following day. I don’t buy a damned thing she said. I still remember minor details from those parties and she remembers almost nothing about the worst thing that ever happened to her – except Brett Kavenaugh. It’s all BS, she lied her ass off.

[Brandybuck]

I have no idea if he is innocent or guilty, as no conclusive evidence was offered. It’s all just he said she said. Posturing senators do not help.

But one thing I do know is that if someone accused me of this I would be fucking mad as hell!

[ohdelilah]

Maybe not, but his complete lack of control, his whining, his arrogance, his rich white frat boy sense of entitlement, along with the fact that his staunchest supporters are making excuses for him as if even they believe he’s guilty, all make him unsuitable for the job. For any job, on any judicial bench, in my opinion.

[Lester224]

From The Week “We are a little over two years from the Republican Party conspiring together to block Merrick Garland from the Supreme Court, thereby stealing the swing seat now held by arch-conservative Neil Gorsuch. Republicans still seem to have no understanding of how that hardball gambit to this day makes Democrats sleepless with fury.”

The Democrats behaved badly and with political calculation by holding up this accusation until the last minute.

Notwithstanding, Kavanaugh was very emotional, seemed petty and political, and did not show the same judicial temperament that Clarence Thomas, as angry as he was also, showed at the Anita Hill hearings. He actually threatened during the hearing that “what goes around comes around”. That does not seem like the statement of an impartial jurist.

The Republicans should withdraw him and submit an application for another of their choices from the Federalist Society list. There must be another well qualified Conservative jurist that did not drink so heavily in high school.

[aajax]

As a practiced liar in my youth, I found Kavanaugh’s anger very suspicious, as I did when Clarence Thomas displayed it in his hearing. It’s a tactic I used more than once, along with the railing about unrelated matters to divert people’s attention from the issue at hand.

[BigT]

Um…did you have physical evidence to back up your account as Kavanaugh did? Were your wife and daughters traumatized?

Thought not. Your experience is irrelevant.

[DesparateReasoning]

I’d be damned angry to if I had to get grilled over an accusation that not only is paper thin but has been shot completely to hell by every single shred of evidence and witness that’s been found.

[Stephen Lathrop]

It’s striking to see so many commenters endorsing rage as a species of wisdom. Prior to the new politics of resentment, most folks like that had the discretion to hide it, not flaunt it. What Kavanaugh’s rage displayed was his unfitness for the office he seeks?an office whose purpose is not only to find truth, but to teach the nation to trust the truth, and to seek peace by finding it, and by relying on it?exactly what Kavanaugh did not do.

Kavanaugh showed he lacked both the fiber and the serenity to demonstrate by his demeanor that he was undisturbed by the charges. Undisturbed, because the charges were not true. Instead, the frenzy of his antics suggested the opposite.

Those applauding Kavanaugh’s rage now?while opposing adequate investigation of his many obscurities and evasions?demonstrate that they themselves worry that the charges might prove true. Endorsement of a rageful Kavanaugh?while calling for extensive investigation, and release of all requested documents?would at least suggest reasonable consistency, however much it slighted the notion of judicial temperament.

Endorsement of rage itself, while demanding an end to investigation, is a call for cover up. But it is worse than that. It is a summons to mobilize intimidation, and to substitute that for reliance on truth.

[JoeBlow123]

You are a stooge. Single source, 35 year old uncorroborated claims are enough for you to warrant an investigation? This kind of character assasination and show trial bullshit was shameful against Clinton in the 90s, it was shameful when it was the Benghazi morass, it is fucking shameful now. The only difference is the coverage, the media treated the Benghazi charade like the joke it was and treats these ridiculous claims like they are somehow worthy of consideration. Fucking shameful.

[Eddy]

“It’s striking to see so many commenters endorsing rage as a species of wisdom.”

Hmmm…speaking only for myself, I may need to clarify my position.

Indeed, it would be better *for the country* if leftism as a philosophy were killed off, deader than the phlogiston theory. And the killin’ is more likely to be done by someone pissed at the left than by a gladhandling Anthony Kennedy type.

But let me add some considerations going in the other direction.

While Kavanaugh’s anger is *good for the country,* it is *bad for Kavanaugh.* The great Stoics from Epictetus to (apparently) Stephen Lathrop value serenity in the face of stresses which would be highly provoking to a normal person.

It would certainly be a good thing if *for Kavanaugh* if he joined the select and tiny ranks of Stoics like Marcus Aurelius and Stephen Lathrop, setting little value on “the bubble reputation” and staying cheerful and calm as he’s called abominable names and otherwise undergoes the buffets of life.

[Eddy]

And indeed, if Kavanaugh achieved the level of enlightenment of an Epictetus or a Lathrop, then he would presumably fight the left out of pure zeal for the public welfare, with no personal motive contaminating the purity of his actions.

Of course, in the real world we’re dealing with many people who have yet to reach the exalted heights of philosophy. For them, we have to rely on Madisonian considerations of setting people with ordinary, non-exalted motives against each other – thus to have someone with a personal incentive to do what needs to be done anyway – fight the left – is certainly better than what we had under Anthony Kennedy.

[UncleSam13]

If not Kavanaugh I would suggest Ann Coulter. #Coulter4SCOTUS

[CDRSchafer]

Doing something to make Senators Booker and Harris’ head explode would be good for the country right there.

[R. S. Ewell]

Amen, sir. She be long and lean and hilarious. She’d liven up the female end of the bench for sure. But her people are lying: no way on earth she’s fifty years old.

I’d donate a thousand cash to the Girl Scouts to see her interviewed by Diane Feinstein.

[LifeStrategies]

All the corroboration for Perjurer, sorry for the typo, Professor Ford has dried up, and yet she is still being called very “credible” by all the DemocRats. But when someone has to look at their notes to see what to say as the truth, you know they’re lying…