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Post by Amadan on Sept 27, 2018 15:24:22 GMT -5
NT, I just can't compare Merrick Garland to the smear campaign against Kavanaugh. Merrick Garland was denied a vote for SCOTUS. But people still greatly respect the man, Republican and Democrat alike. He still has a respected and intact career. Brett Kavanaugh has been destroyed by this. As he just said in his opening remarks, he loves to teach (as he has at Harvard Law) and he will probably never be able to teach again; he loves to coach kids basketball, and he might never be able to coach again. His years of dedication and service mean nothing now, because he can never recover his good name after this smear campaign. If he truly is innocent, and there are many questions in my mind about Ford's recollection of events, then this is a horrible travesty for him, and it will have serious repercussions in the future in these sorts of confirmation processes. (1) If the charges are true, those consequences are well-deserved. (2) If they aren't true, I think those consequences are unlikely. (3) You're moving the goalposts from "Democrats are being obstructionist" (oh wait, the GOP was worse) to "It's so mean to do this to Kavanaugh!" If this is all a big liberal conspiracy to slander an innocent man (which seems to the popular theory with Republican hold-outs now), there is still no need to rush to a vote. We can take our time and find out the truth.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 15:47:28 GMT -5
NT, I just can't compare Merrick Garland to the smear campaign against Kavanaugh. Merrick Garland was denied a vote for SCOTUS. But people still greatly respect the man, Republican and Democrat alike. He still has a respected and intact career. Brett Kavanaugh has been destroyed by this. As he just said in his opening remarks, he loves to teach (as he has at Harvard Law) and he will probably never be able to teach again; he loves to coach kids basketball, and he might never be able to coach again. His years of dedication and service mean nothing now, because he can never recover his good name after this smear campaign. If he truly is innocent, and there are many questions in my mind about Ford's recollection of events, then this is a horrible travesty for him, and it will have serious repercussions in the future in these sorts of confirmation processes. (1) If the charges are true, those consequences are well-deserved. (2) If they aren't true, I think those consequences are unlikely. (3) You're moving the goalposts from "Democrats are being obstructionist" (oh wait, the GOP was worse) to "It's so mean to do this to Kavanaugh!" If this is all a big liberal conspiracy to slander an innocent man (which seems to the popular theory with Republican hold-outs now), there is still no need to rush to a vote. We can take our time and find out the truth. Indeed, it seems to me taking time and looking into these allegations is not only the best way to ensure we get a Supreme Court justice who deserves to be there, but also the best way to clear any cloud from Kavanaugh if the charges don't bear out. What DOESN'T clear a cloud from Kavanaugh is hustling through his vote and ignoring the allegations. These are some pretty damn serious allegations, each has some corroboration, and they can't simply be ignored. To note -- normally, such allegations would sink a nominee. The FBI looked into a long-ago commonplace dispute one of my friends had with a colleague (wherein the colleague was utterly in the wrong, by the way), and THAT created a big hullabaloo she had to get past -- they interviewed everyone who might even have gotten a breath of the dispute before finally deciding it wasn't a deal-breaker. And that wasn't attempted rape or anything like it. Again, on the alleged Democratic conspiracy, I'll note that no one raised allegations like these against Gorsuch, and I see zero evidence of any conspiracy here.
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Post by celawson on Sept 27, 2018 16:12:39 GMT -5
Wow, Lindsey Graham!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 16:16:33 GMT -5
I've been out of pocket for much of the afternoon and am catching up now.
Ye gods -- Kavanaugh does NOT handle himself well. I'll say it again -- he himself and his team of handlers have done as much or more to make me think he's unfit for SCOTUS than the accusers have. He crumbles under pressure and handles himself like a guilty man. (Yeah, I know he's being accused of bad behavior that could derail his nomination, but I still think he's handling it terribly, My client who was wrongly convicted and actually sent to prison handled himself with way more grace when being questioned.) And Lindsay Graham -- yeah, he's doing Kavanaugh, the GOP, and himself no favors.
I cannot imagine this playing well with swing voters or anyone who isn't a diehard Republican-party-all-the-way-or-bust person. The GOP would have been much better off having the FBI investigate the claims, and then, if necessary, bringing the witnesses in for a hearing.
ETA:
There was a time I thought Lindsay Graham was an okay dude. But he's all out of slack with me. He and Kavanaugh are about as unlikable and unsympathetic as possible here, IMO.
This is just not the way to handle this. It's a travesty.
ETA:
Temperament matters for a judge, especially on SCOTUS. This guy? Pfft. No.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 17:44:56 GMT -5
By the way, Kavanaugh's famous 36-year-old teen calendar has an entry on July 1 to have "skis" (brewskis?) with the same people Ford alleged were at the party the night of her attack. Where is Mr. Zillow guy with the floor plan of the house in question?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 17:54:30 GMT -5
If you don't know what "Devil's Triangle" is -- Yeah. It's not a drinking game, as Kavanaugh tries to say.
Kavanaugh claims he never blacked out. He's talking about blacking out in an email (cite when I find it again), and his friend Judge talked about him doing so.
Kavanaugh claims the Renate references were respectful. That is such fucking obvious bullshit.
He's a lying liar that lies. For that reason alone, he doesn't belong on SCOTUS. And how the hell can anyone watch this debacle and not think he's way, way, way, way, way too obvious a partisan to be on the Supreme Court?
I'm profoundly horrified and disgusted.
ETA:
Add this to the fibs:
I'm embarrassed to share a law school with this guy.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 18:29:19 GMT -5
I gotta think all of them have doubts about this nominee. Question is, will they do anything about it. I have my doubts any of them have the courage. I hope they prove me wrong.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 18:35:54 GMT -5
Several GOP governors have spoken up, calling for a delay and an investigation.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 18:38:44 GMT -5
Translation: "we all know that we shouldn't move forward with this nominee, but we kinda lack balls, so..."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 19:15:49 GMT -5
By the way, gotta love how they got a female prosecutor to question the alleged sexual assault victim...but then got rid of her so they could throw softballs to Kavanaugh themselves.
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Post by Christine on Sept 27, 2018 19:47:27 GMT -5
Kavanaugh claims he never blacked out. He's talking about blacking out in an email (cite when I find it again), and his friend Judge talked about him doing so. Kavanaugh claims the Renate references were respectful. That is such fucking obvious bullshit. He's a lying liar that lies. For that reason alone, he doesn't belong on SCOTUS. And how the hell can anyone watch this debacle and not think he's way, way, way, way, way too obvious a partisan to be on the Supreme Court? I'm profoundly horrified and disgusted. All of this. And I didn't start out listening to him feeling disgusted. I believed, during quite a good portion of his statement, that what he was saying he absolutely believed to be true. And I thought: both of these people are testifying to what each of them sincerely believe is the truth. And I felt very real sympathy for him. But as he went on, he became more unhinged, more entitled, more elitist, more flippant, more disrespectful, more cluelessly self-promoting (but my football! but my workouts! but my friends! But my grades! NONE of which, DUDE, have any bearing on the ability to sexually assault someone). Essentially he became his real self, which, imo, boils down to a petulant, entitled, partisan, crybaby who hadn't the first clue of what "suffering" was, let alone real suffering, before this day when the meanie mcmeanie liberals conspired against him. Good God, he thought himself Jesus Fucking Christ on the cross. Yeah so in addition to the lies -- under oath, HELLO-- and becoming unhinged and it becoming glaringly apparent how very highly this man thinks of himself and how impossible it is for him to possess any real humility, or self-analysis, or - God forbid - public acknowledgement of any possible shortcomings (notice how he was so, SO sorry everyone "misunderstood" the yearbook entries)..... the worst of it is indeed how hyper-partisan (NOT to be confused with conservative) and prone to believing conspiracy theories he is. This is all just "revenge" for Clinton in his mind. That would be funny if it wasn't so insane. And he made all the appropriate noises for Trump and Trump's base, of course. Lord have mercy.
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Post by Christine on Sept 27, 2018 19:57:06 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 20:00:42 GMT -5
I hope John McCain haunts him every night.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 20:31:13 GMT -5
I am feeling literally sick to my stomach over the prospect of Kavanaugh being confirmed. I can't even imagine how Christine Ford feels. I'm going to write her a letter of support this weekend (I imagine sending it to her lawyer might get it forwarded to her).
By the way, this?
That was some really improper, inappropriate shit for a SCOTUS nominee to say.
Gotta tell you, if he's confirmed this weekend, and if the Dems get control of the House and Senate, I will FULLY support the Dems reopening an investigation into all this -- and if appropriate, an impeachment proceeding.
ETA:
He lied. He lied at his fucking hearing. Repeatedly. Provably.
Watching Kavanaugh's entitled rage today, I could so easily envision the angry entitled drunk putting his hand over a woman's mouth. Unfit, profoundly so. I'm just sick about it.
ETA:
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Post by nighttimer on Sept 27, 2018 20:47:57 GMT -5
NT, I just can't compare Merrick Garland to the smear campaign against Kavanaugh. Merrick Garland was denied a vote for SCOTUS. But people still greatly respect the man, Republican and Democrat alike. He still has a respected and intact career. Just not on the Supreme Court. Republicans respected Judge Garland so much they most of them refused to even meet with the man. So much for respect, huh? Oh, and what you said about Republicans respect? I'm afraid that's bullshit too. Obama wasn't the first Democratic president to put Garland's name before the Senate for a position on the federal judiciary. The Republicans tried to block Garland when Bill Clinton sent his name up to Capitol Hill in 1997. We know how that turned out. Some of us still remember it too and look forward in 40 days to doing something about it.
Oh, please. Did you fret so over how Garland might be "destroyed" by being denied so much as a up-or-down vote or did I ask a question I already know the answer to? The confirmation process seemed to work pretty good when Neil Gorsuch* strolled through the door of the Supreme Court that McConnell, Grassley, Graham and the GOP held open by him by denying a dedicated man with a good name from the seat.
If that "horrible travesty" didn't bother you that you say Kavanaugh had to endure, then where's your bleeding heart for the shitshow where 11 White male Republicans sat in stony silence while a female sex crime PROSECUTOR attempted to cross-examine a visibly frightened woman and discredit her testimony. Chucky Grassley made a gutless call to outsource the Republican questioning of Ford to a woman brought in for the sole purpose of providing ass-cover for the all-male, all-White inquisitors.
It was a coward move by 11 cowards. They'll try and vote Kavanaugh's lying ass out of committee on Friday and I wouldn't count on Jeff Fake to stand up and back up his empty rhetoric with actual courage. Then, it'll be up to whether Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski (as well as a few shaky Dems like Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp) decide to put a higher value on Trump's gratitude than women's rights and placing an alleged sexual predator into a lifetime position.
What about Little Lindsey? Oh, you mean the mouth-foaming, spittle-flying raging against the mean ol' Dems for not swooning over a dreamy hunk of man-meat like Brent "Gimme a Beer" Kavanaugh? Yeah that was quite a performance. There was so much so much phoniness in that performance I thought I was watching a dinner theater version of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
There are fewer things less impressive than the fake-ass fury of an unprincipled hack like Lindsey Graham. He's as impressively terrifying as a pissed-off poodle. Is this the same Graham, who in 2016 described Trump as a “kook,” a “jackass,” “a race-baiting bigot,” and “the most flawed nominee in the history of the Republican Party.” Nah. That was just Graham speaking the words his buddy John McCain told him to say. Then McCain got sick and died, and as Graham has no personality or leadership abilities of his own, in lieu of one Alpha male passing on, he attached himself like a leech to the ass of another Alpha male, Donald Trump.
Either Graham thinks his servile groveling to Trump will stop him from endorsing a true loyalist to primary him in 2020 or he believes he can have a moderating influence on Trump. He's likely doomed to disappointment twice over. Which wouldn't be all bad because I'd much rather have a loud and proud right-winger carrying water for Massa Trump than a gutless wonder with no convictions, no loyalty and no spine like Little Lindsey. Nothing about his finger-jabbing rant was authentic and if Graham ever pulled that shit with me, I'd break that digit off and shove so far up Graham's ass he could pick his teeth with it. The only reason I wouldn't is he would probably enjoy it.
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