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Author: craigcrawford
Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
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American Bar Association calls for FBI investigation into Kavanaugh allegations, delay in confirmation votes
The American Bar Association called on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday evening to halt the confirmation vote for Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, saying it should not move forward until an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against him can be completed.
“The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI,” ABA President Robert Carlson wrote in a letter to Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein (Calif).
The letter, which is unlikely to sway Republicans, said that an appointment to the Supreme court “is simply too important to rush to a vote.” “Deciding to proceed without conducting an additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court,” Carlson wrote in the letter, obtained by The Washington Post.
The ABA, with 400,000 members, is the legal profession’s largest organization. Kavanaugh and his supporters have bragged about its favorable rating of the nominee, with Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) describing the imprimatur as the “gold standard.”
Also calling for an FBI probe was Harvard Law School scholar Alan Dershowitz, often lauded by President Trump’s for his criticisms of the the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. “Maybe we can get closer to the truth, although that is not certain,” Dershowitz wrote in a Fox News opinion piece. “But right now there are too many unanswered question[s] to bring the confirmation of Kavanaugh” to “a vote of the Judiciary Committee as scheduled on Friday, much less to a vote of the full Senate.” It is “possible that one of them is deliberately lying. Right now, there is no way of knowing for certain, which is why the FBI needs to talk to the judge’s accusers and others.”
[…]
The committee announced Thursday evening that it would go ahead with a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday morning, with a final confirmation vote expected Tuesday. In calling for the FBI investigation into Ford’s claims before any such vote could happen, Carlson urged the Senate to “remain an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics.”
wapo editorial board:
The Senate can’t vote on Kavanaugh now
[…]
Predictably, and as a practical matter, this left the Judiciary Committee, the powerful emotions of the day notwithstanding, in about the same place it started. Ms. Ford presented a credible accusation of sexual misconduct from their teenage years. Mr. Kavanaugh offered a forceful denial. The logical next step would be to take the time to see if an investigation can bolster either contention. Yet Republicans on the committee seemed more aggrieved by the Democrats’ delay in forwarding Ms. Ford’s allegation than interested in getting to the bottom of it.
On one secondary but important matter, it was possible to draw a conclusion. Mr. Kavanaugh contended that “this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election” and an act of “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.”
But he provided no evidence for his angry charge, and certainly Ms. Ford’s testimony did not support conspiracy theories. On the contrary, she explained she tried to relay her allegations to political leaders before Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Kavanaugh, so that the president could consider another judge of equal qualifications, refuting suggestions that she is part of a Democratic plot. She was more than supportive of reopening the FBI background check. “I wish that I could be more helpful, and that others could be more helpful and that we could collaborate to get at more information,” Ms. Ford said.
The inadequacy of the Judiciary Committee’s process was most glaring in the absence of Mark Judge, whom Republicans refused to subpoena. Ms. Ford has said Mr. Judge was in the room when the alleged assault occurred; on Thursday, she provided a few fresh details that almost certainly would have sent professional law enforcement agents in new investigative directions if they had the time and mandate. Mr. Judge has denied knowing of or being present for any assault but has also declined to offer any more information. When Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Mr. Kavanaugh about Mr. Judge’s writing on drunken high school antics, the nominee told the senator, “You’d have to ask him.” “I would like to,” Mr. Leahy responded.
Americans could only watch with sadness. If he is the victim of some terrible case of mistaken identity, Mr. Kavanaugh’s anger is understandable, but his partisan conspiracy-theorizing was hardly becoming of a potential Supreme Court justice. Ms. Ford, whose life and family have been upended, deserved better than the condescension shown by a number of Republican senators and, more to the point, their unwillingness to vet her claims.
In truth, there is still plenty of time. Any deadline has been artificially imposed by the Republican majority for purely partisan reasons, a majority that was happy to leave a Supreme Court chair vacant for most of 2016. As we have said repeatedly, the Senate still has not been given access to all relevant documents, let alone fully checked out Ms. Ford’s allegation.
It would be irresponsible for Republicans to insist on an immediate vote. If they do, the responsible vote must be no.
The Catholic Church has also pulled its support.
I agree with Lindsey, that hearing was the most unethical sham in (his) years in politics. There is no way an ethical, credible investigation and ethical and credible hearing would lead any honest Senator to approve his nomination to the court. Yes, this was an unethical sham designed and executed for the express purpose of running a RW pick from a hyper partisan IMPOTUS for the express purpose of getting evangelicals to continue to vote for the hard right repugnican party. Yes it was unethical and it was a sham, and SCOTUS is going to morph into SCROTUS. Welcome to the Court Injustice O’Kavanagh.
Dr. Ford had nothing to gain by speaking the truth. This is the way it always goes. Blame the woman. Damn, stupid Eve and her apple ruined everything for men.
Men need to realize that it was a 15 year-old who experienced the attack, so re-living it to tell the truth puts her emotions back at that very vulnerable time.
Shame on anyone who wants Kavanaugh to be a SC Justice.
His anger was that of someone who was caught and lashing out.
Republicans should remember that November comes every year, not just this year. They will be paying for this appointment for many, many years.
Shame on all of you so-called Christians in Congress who are standing up for this horrible, entitled, little man.
Hillary Clinton stood hours and hours of grilling by the Senate over Benghazi and never flinched. Brett Kavanaugh was reduced to a crying sniveling baby in minutes… ~~~~ooooh what a man!~~~~
Dershowitz calls on GOP to postpone Kavanaugh vote until FBI can investigate
[…]
“Accusations as serious as those made by Ford and others against Kavanaugh — which allege he was guilty of criminal conduct — should not stand without clear and convincing evidence of their truth in a nation where the courts presume an accused person is innocent until proven guilty,” Dershowitz wrote. “An FBI investigation might provide more evidence — either favorable or unfavorable to Kavanaugh.”
[…]
The vote “will be based largely on the political dispositions of senators rather than on any desire to arrive at objective truth,” he wrote.
“Realistically, it is unlikely that the Senate will proceed in the manner of a court of law, because political truth has replaced scientific truth in our highly partisan age,” Dershowitz wrote.
[..continues…]
[…]
A dozen women who attended Catholic and private prep schools in the Montgomery County area in the 1980s spoke to NBC News this week, seven of them on the record. The women — most of whom signed an open letter saying they believed Ford’s allegation, and all but two of whom did not know her or Kavanaugh personally — shared their memories of kegs, bonfires and unsupervised beach houses where heavy drinking fueled sexually inappropriate comments and behavior and attacks that were never spoken of afterward.
The women said they were warned by other girls about the aggression of boys from neighboring Catholic schools, particularly Georgetown Preparatory School, which Kavanaugh attended. Raised from an early age in their moneyed, Catholic community to remain chaste, the women said they believed anything that compromised that chastity was their fault — even if they were forced.
[…]
By 1990, off-campus parties had become such a problem that headmasters from seven of the Washington area’s elite private schools, including Georgetown Prep and Holton-Arms, joined to warn parents about the gatherings. According to a joint letter sent out by the schools, hundreds of unsupervised teenagers were regularly attending the parties.
“It would be hard to devise a better recipe for disaster than a social scene that includes the anonymity provided by an ‘open party,’ no adult supervision, considerable amounts of alcohol, and teenage hormones which encourage sexual or violent behavior,” the letter said, according to The Washington Post. Julie Swetnick alleged this week that Kavanaugh had spiked punch at house parties in the early 1980s to cause women to become intoxicated so they could be passed from boy to boy and assaulted, an allegation Kavanaugh denied and called “ridiculous and from the twilight zone.” Swetnick’s description did not surprise several women who spoke to NBC News and had attended Montgomery County high school parties in the 1980s.
One woman, who graduated from an all-girls school just south of Georgetown Prep the same year as Kavanaugh graduated, said she was 15 the night she was at one of those parties and lost track of her friends. She was alone with four boys and she was raped, she said, but she didn’t call it that until many years later.
“I don’t think I walked away knowing I’d been raped,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear that sharing her story could affect her professionally. After the assault, the woman said she sneaked back into her home through the window she had left from hours earlier.
“I walked away being ashamed,” she said. “Why would you tell? Who would have listened?”
None of the women who spoke of their assaults to NBC News said they had reported them to authorities.
[….continues…]
The last gasp of the greedy old perverts. Shove as much as they can through now because they are toast. Everyday they do this is adding more voters who will ensure they are gone next year.
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)– A Boulder woman’s claims that she was sexually abused by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh got scant attention at the marathon US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday.
Christine Blasey Ford was the only accuser to be heard, although the names of Deborah Ramirez of Boulder and Julie Swetnick of the Washington area, were mentioned
Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa gave his reason why the Boulder woman was not invited.
“My staff made eight requests, yes eight requests for evidence from Ms. Ramirez,” he said at the hearing.
But on Twitter John Clune, the attorney for Ramirez wrote, “Their refusal to give us any information about their process or even talk to us by phone without first submitting “her evidence is highly suspect.”
Grassley claimed Ramirez and Swetnick weren’t able to cooperate because of their lawyers, “Neither attorney has made their clients available for interview, the committee can’t do an investigation if attorneysare stonewalling.”
Ramirez’ Boulder attorney took issue with that in additional tweets, “The committee is creating meaningless hurdles to try to paint Ms. Ramirez as uncooperative.”
Ramirez has claimed that a young Brett Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college party. The nominee rejected all allegations out of hand.
[…continues…]
Well, for what it’s worth, and that’s damned little I’d wager, I contacted both WV Senators and urged them to vote against Kavanaugh or to delay the vote until the FBI can investigate the other claims against him. That and $3 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks (if Starbucks hasn’t raised its prices).
BTW, I agree with both RR & BiD’s comments above.
Pogo, don’t dismiss the impact of that. They might not read them but lawmakers do tally their mail and phone messages. Manchin would love nothing better than to tout the number of messages against Kavanaugh, to justify voting against him, which is probably what he wants to do.
pogo
a friend here of Italian heritage just got Italian citizenship just in case. It’s not too complicated – it depends mostly on if your parents (at least one) were Italian citizens at the time of your birth
KC, good. Mrs. P’s Dad was an Italian citizen when she was born (I believe). I’d settle with Italy just allowing us to be permanent expats without fear of incarceration. Note to self – ask friend who owns a place in Calabria and isn’t a citizen about that stuff.
When you are safely in Italy will you adopt me?
My heritage leaves me no place to go
WaPo’s Editorial Board posed the following in their editorial this mornign:
Flake has been publicly agonizing over this decision, meditating on the fact that there will inevitably be “doubt” and a lack of “certainty” about what really happened. Today, in announcing his yes vote, he reiterated that he “left the hearing with as much doubt as certainty.” But absent these further steps, how can Flake pretend that Judiciary Committee Senators — and he himself — have done everything they could to get as close as possible to resolving that uncertainty? The fact that total resolution might ultimately remain elusive is not an excuse.
I responded:
How? Because all of that “public agony” was just stagecraft to cover the fact that even with nothing to fear from Mertle or IMPOTUS, he is nothing more or less than one more republican white guy partisan hack, and that is what they do. Any shred of integrity he pretended to have over the past 2 weeks is now gone. SCOTUS becomes SCROTUS with his confirmation. He and Thomas can drink a few beers together to celebrate.
KC, sure – I doubt that Italy has a law forbidding adult adoptions. Might not be necessary – notice my note to self – I have a friend who owns a place in Calabria and to my knowledge neither he nor his wife are Italian citizens. WE could have a Trailmix Italian Complex, which could serve as Trailmix Italian Command when Poobah visits.
Can we erase this year. And a whole bunch of others as well
Jeff Flake some people get the name they deserve
Written by Wil Wheaton: Another thing about Kavanaugh’s meltdown/tantrum in front of the SJC today, that I can’t stop thinking about: lost in the theatrics of his performance is the shocking reality, on full display, that he is not a neutral arbiter of the law. If you listen to the things he said and the specific language he used, it’s undeniable that he is a right wing partisan who is not particularly different from the right wing activists we see masquerading as hosts on Fox News Channel.
The thing that’s horrifying to me is the reality that he is as much of a lunatic (buying into Clinton conspiracy theories, for instance) who delivered a rant that would be right at home at the top of Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity, but this man has the tremendous power as a sitting Federal Appellate Judge to shape the laws of our nation in a way that makes people like Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump happy. He isn’t someone who will call balls and strikes, as Roberts claimed a SCOTUS justice should (Roberts lied about that). He’s an activist who will consistently and for the rest of my life shape the laws that affect the most important things that confront Americans: should corporations have more rights than consumers? Should women be allowed to have autonomous control of their own bodies? Should presidents be allowed to rule as if they are above the law? Should Americans have the same access to healthcare as the citizens in every other first world country on the planet? Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry and have the same rights as opposite-sex couples?
These are significant and substantial questions, and today’s tantrum/rant/meltdown from Kavanaugh shows that he has already decided what the answers to those questions are, and his answers are opposed by an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Everything about him is terrible. He’s *clearly* a rich prep school kid who has never been told “no” in his life, and we saw today what happens whenever someone tries to tell him no. It wasn’t particularly difficult to see this guy as a belligerent drunk who won’t take no for an answer. You could clearly see it in his ranting and raving, his angry yelling at a female senator, and his overwhelming, palpable sense of entitlement.
He’s clearly a liar, who probably lies because he believes that he’s on a mission from his version of God, and that the ends justify the means. I don’t believe he has any credibility, and I don’t believe him when he denies the allegations against him.
I’m pretty sure that the GOP is going to push his confirmation through the Senate, because (among other things) it’s *painfully* clear that the Republican Party hates women. He was a liar who perjured himself before today’s hearing, and at today’s hearing he demonstrated clearly that he is also an entitled, belligerent, arrogant, temperamentally-unfit candidate for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
I hope he gets a really horrible uncurable disease and dies soon but not before before he gives it to Trump
If someone is ill, I would tend to him/her no matter the person. It’s who I am, how I raised, my belief that the only way we make this world better is to try to be better ourselves. I actually listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan & absorbed the message. This nonsense of division has to stop – on all sides. Hoping adults can somehow take over the asylum of this society & government. The only way it can happen is if we are part of the solution & not the problem.
Listening to Sheldon Whitehouse now – as I said yesterday, he & Senator Klobuchar are lights in the darkness. Nastiness has no place in a civilized society but determined decency does. It begins & ends with us.
Hi Flatus,
Sorry about your Uncle. How lucky you are to have him in your life.
Erase this year – believe me, I agree on so many levels. But it could also be used to future generations to illustrate that the American people had enough & eventually did the right thing – hopefully. To give up is to concede to the bad guys. History is cyclical; this too shall pass. This could be the beginning of our finest hour.
Loud unpleasant and unwanted
sanctimonious asshole fits a lot of people in the news and other places today
Quote Of The Day: (so far)
“Where is the bravery in this room?”
Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
wow getting your talking points from Ted Cruz that’s low especially since he is the world’s biggest hypocrite
wow Ted Cruz must be worried about his election and he is lyiing about what the witnesses said he is a total crud
I agree, this year has been nasty. However, there is a glimmer of hope that Nov 6 will provide us some balm.
Made a donation to Senator Klobuchar. It begins & ends with me. And you. And you. And ….
Typical right wing play book, when all else fails blame the Clintons.
That statement alone should have disqualified Kavanaugh.
Thank you SJ. Uncle Bill died on his 102nd birthday at the beginning of last week. He will now be joined with his lovely wife, Ellie. It was only a few years ago that I traveled to her memorial service; he will receive a like send-off on Oct 17th.
Take care, Flatus.
***********
jace,
For as much “power” as the Clintons apparently have they sure aren’t using it very well 😉 Every time I read stuff like that I think of the 19th century political cartoons. Tammany Hall, etc, the evil octopus with outstretched tentacles taking all that is sacred & holy. I’m not even a Clinton fan but really. They’re both a bit passe at this point.
Maybe little Charlotte can continue the evil genius kingpin legacy. Quick – shave her head. Find the 666.
Flake was true to form,even though he had nothing to lose by voting no when push comes to shove he reverted to republican right wing orthodoxy. In the other worldliness inhabited by Republicans this is what passes for courage. Truth be told however there is more spine in a convention of invertebrates than in the entire republican caucus. On issues of critical importance Republicans simply are not to be trusted to do the right thing.
Flatus, erasing this year would be a good start. While we’re at it let’s get rid of 2017 & 2016 as well – start with a clean slate so to speak.
I listened to Cory Booker’s address – he’s on the right road, but he’s got a long way to go to get to the pont that he’d be a credible standard bearer for my chosen party. I would vote for Klobuchar tomorrow.
Sjwny,
if the clintons had that much power and sway we would be talking about justice Garland.
that dog won’t hunt. Shame on Kavanagh for bringing it up more shame still on the committee for allowing it to go unchallenged
Cruz, he’s like O’Kavanaught to me – I wouldn’t cross the street to piss on them if they were on fire and my bladder was about to burst.
btw, the substantive accuracy of Dr. Ford’s allegations notwithstanding, In his WaPo column today Dana Milbank stated well my thoughts on this privileged prick’s consideration for ascending to the Supreme Court:
Maybe so. Maybe he doesn’t remember. But this we know: Kavanaugh’s response revealed him to be a political hack more than a jurist. “Your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and to destroy my family will not drive me out,” he told the Democrats, threatening them that “what goes around comes around.”
Partisanship and revenge fantasies: Exactly what we don’t need on the Supreme Court.
Exactly.
jace,
I was being facetious, friend. The sport since (insert 20th century year here) has been the perceived all- encompassing-ness of all things Clinton, built up quite successfully by the opposition & willing media itching for a ratings boost & ad dollars. I voted for Secretary Clinton in 2016 because to not have would have been nuts (amen). My conscience is clear 😉 I was simply having fun with the tin hat conspirators (god bless ’em)
My hard earned money is being spent on Democratic candidates I want to see win in NH in the mid-terms. To my knowledge not a single person has thrown their hat into the ring for president in 2020 except for trump. After this November something tells me a lot of Democratic candidates will be vying to run against him. I will read about, listen to, watch debates, and probably let the list dwindle a bit before I stake my claim on any candidate I will throw my money at for the 2020 election.
WTF is wrong with this country? SFB’s job approval average at RCP has gone up 3 points in the past 2 weeks – from 40.8 to 43.8.
***
He also gave utterly ridiculous explanations of the multiple references in his yearbook to drinking and sexual boasting. Was the “Beach City Ralph Club” a reference to frequent vomiting from excessive drinking? Oh no, it’s merely because he has “a weak stomach, whether it’s with beer or spicy food or anything.” What about the reference to “Devil’s Triangle,” a nickname for a threesome with two men and one woman? Nuh-uh, that’s “a drinking game,” like quarters. Right.
In what may have been the most despicable moment of the entire day, Kavanaugh was questioned about how he and his buddies had claimed in their yearbook entries to be “Renate alumni,” referring to a girl at a nearby school — an obvious attempt at sexual boasting and slut shaming. He not only claimed ludicrously that the references were only there because they all valued her friendship so highly, but pretended to be outraged that a senator would even imply otherwise, posing as the gallant defender of her honor, the girl he and his friends set out to make an object of ridicule and humiliation.
By the time you read this, Kavanaugh will be on the road to approval by the 11 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee and from there to a vote in the full Senate, where the outcome is uncertain. But think about the man you saw on Thursday — that angry, entitled, disrespectful, uncontrolled man appealing not to the country but to his party to rally around him in order to stick it to the other side — and ask yourself if he demonstrated the kind of temperament you’d want on the Supreme Court.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along partisan lines Friday to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh after securing a key vote from Sen. Jeff Flake, who asked for a delay of up to a week before the full Senate votes.
Flake (R-Ariz.) said the delay would allow a limited FBI investigation of allegations of sexual assault while Kavanaugh was a teenager.
The 11-to-10 vote came a day after hearing riveting testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault at a house party in Maryland in the early 1980s.
Flake’s request cast doubt on whether the full Senate would take a procedural vote on Saturday, as previously announced, as other wavering lawmakers seem likely to join Flake.
While the timing of the floor vote is up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said he would advocate for Flake’s request.
This is all a gentlemen’s and women’s agreement,” Grassley said after the committee vote.
Women’s agreement? Bullshit. And unless ‘assley and Mertle are the “gentlemen and women” who made this agreement, it’s just another act in this sham play.
BTW, I am so pissed at Manchin that if he weren’t running against the fat snake Morrissey I’d sit out that line on the ballot in November.
pogo, those extra 3 points approval must be for his not burning down the UN or starting a global war last week.
re promise to flake and a gent’s agreement with mertle, they must have forgotten how mitch broke his promises to sen. Collins.
surprise surprise surprise
New Yorker:E-mails Show That Republican Senate Staff Stymied a Kavanaugh Accuser’s Effort to Give Testimony
and this from usatoday:Chuck Grassley strongly denies Judiciary Committee tried to ignore Kavanaugh accuser Deborah Ramirez
[….]
“It seems the Republican strategy is no longer attack the victim. It is ignore the victim,” Feinstein said at Friday’s hearing. “It is, in fact, a real test for the United States Senate and for our country to see how we treat women – especially women who are survivors of sexual assault. I believe we can do better.”
but Pogo, that poll could also mean he’s at least 3pts below, such is the “give or take” of margins of error.
[…]
Following Flake’s announcement, two other senators considered swing votes — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) — indicated that they support Flake’s call for a delay.
“The American people have been pulled apart by this entire spectacle and we need to take time to address these claims independently, so that our country can have confidence in the outcome of this vote,” Manchin said in a statement. “It is what is right and fair for Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and the American people.”
also from above wapo link:
Two other senators considered swing votes — Susan Collins (Maine) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) — remained silent about their intentions Friday.
Meanwhile, another red-state Democrat, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) announced Friday that he would oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination. Republicans had been courting Donnelly, one of three Democrats, along with Manchin and Heitkamp, who supported previous Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil M. Gorsuch.
“I have deep reservations about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to this lifetime position and … we have been unable to get all the information necessary regarding this nomination, despite my best efforts,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Only 113 people have ever served on the Supreme Court, and I believe that we must do our level best to protect its sanctity.”
Kavanaugh BFF Mark Judge Says He Will Talk to FBI – But Puts Strings on His Cooperation
poobah, that number’s from averaging polls, which tends to wash out the margin of error since you have to assume some polls err on the upper side of the MOE and some on the lower side of the MOE. (btw, I was taught in EdStat in grad school that averaging polls does not yield anything like a valid result because of the apples/oranges nature of different polls). The disturbing part is that all the polls listed there that ended on 9/18 or after are at 40 points or more. Like I said, WTF is wrong with this country?
mortonie, I was unaware that subjects of an FBI interview had the license to dictate the terms of the interview or what the FBI can do with it.
Another thought. Since SFB did not “pick” Kauvie he would have even less care about keeping him going. The orange moron might just dump him and go with another pick because SFB is no longer the headline.
Pogo, I suppose if you are a privileged white male you can dictate anything. If you are not you get led away in cuffs (if you are very lucky, like Cosby) or you are shot (like many black male youth).
Kavanaugh likes beer as much as Oprah Likes bread.
Pogo, Mortonie — I’m thinking FBI interviews for a background check are much different than a criminal investigation. There’s no prosecutor holding subpoena power in the background. Meaning interviewees have more leverage. Can refuse to answer a question or even refuse to submit to any questioning.
Hopefully the background check will lead to a full criminal investigation. It’s possible that GOP actually want cover so they can replace him with someone with a more acceptable demeanor. I’m sure I won’t be any happier with the replacement unless it comes after Democrats take the senate.
His shirt was spotless,his tie was perfect, his coat, the best money could buy. Had it not been for the copious amounts of dirt under his finger nails and a petty vindictive mind he might well have been mistaken for an authentic gentleman. Alas for Kavanaugh it will always be so
I thought the faces of the women behind Kavenog were very interesting……………………………………………………..I spent a lot of time looking at them.
and now I see it’s a meme……
FBI does not do the background investigations which you think they do. They investigate criminal (laws violated) activities. Background investigations for security are done by the DoD and OPM (and other agencies which have no names).
My concern is that SFB is doing a look over there when the issue is the creep should be investigated by state and local, not federal.
Yep, wouldn’t want to dig too deep on that shallow, brat’s behavior.
I would like to thank the women who managed to confront Flake in the elevator into doing a semi-decent thing.
Voices from the Street
I met a friend for pizza in Petaluma. I am of the school that there is no bad pizza. I was wrong. The owner turns out to be a Trumper and was glued to hearing. He completely bought the gooper line and then some. White guy, bald (shaved head), maybe 40ish and in his yelp reviews something of a not always pleasant character.
We got a little taste of it when my friend asked for a restroom and he said he didn’t have one and she said isn’t there a state law that says if you serve food you have to have a restroom and he whipped out a piece of paper explaining why he did not.
We sat there eating horrible terrible cardboard crust pizza listening to these guys talk about Dr. Ford tool of the Democrats. Needless to say not going back there.
Flake, semi spineless to the bitter end. Please senator Flake go now wait not a minute longer. You will hardly be missed
Jace
I’ll associate myself with those remarks
Notice I didn’t thank Flake, I thanked the women who managed to shame him.
KGC,
thanks. My years in AZ left me with a dislike for Senator Flake. The sooner he leaves the senate the better
KGC,
even great pizza can be ruined by bad company
jace & lgc, a somewhat different look at the senator from an old school leftie
MARK SHIELDS:
I first want to say a word about — about Jeff Flake.
Jeff Flake is a senator from Arizona. When Tim Kaine was nominated for president by the Democrats in 2016, he immediately tweeted the statement, trying to count the ways I hate Tim Kaine, coming up with a blank. Good man good and a good friend.
(LAUGHTER)
MARK SHIELDS:
And that’s — that’s Jeff Flake. I mean, he has friendships.
And one of the friendships he has is Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware. And these are two people who aren’t constantly running for president. They are — they are senators. They treat each other as human beings. They treat other senators as human beings.
And Jeff Flake — Jeff Flake did the Senate a favor. He did the Supreme Court a favor. He did the entire country a favor, not the least of which his own justice, Judge Kavanaugh, he did a favor to. And he did his party a favor.
If this nomination, Judy, had been railroaded through, strong-armed through, outmuscled, and all the rest of it, it would have left an aftertaste, it would have left bitterness, more business than there already is.
And, most of all, 27 years after Anita Hill testified, there is still a cloud of controversy and doubt over Justice Clarence Thomas. And, to me, this week is that important. It was that logical and almost inevitable to have it done, and have done the right thing.
JUDY WOODRUFF:
We know Senator Jeff Flake was key, as we saw earlier, but there were others involved as well.
LISA DESJARDINS:
That’s right.
There was a clear cast of characters here today. Jeff Flake could not have done this alone, because Republicans can spare a vote. And they could lose one vote and still confirm Judge Kavanaugh. So he needed some help.
Let’s look at the key Republican senators here, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski. They have both come out and supported this idea of a delay. And I was standing outside of the office where the three of them were meeting last night. They were meeting not just with Republicans, but with one Democrat last night. That’s Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Let’s look at these key Democrats who are involved. He is also supporting this idea of a delay, as Senator Heidi Heitkamp. What is interesting, Judy, is Senator Joe Donnelly, who is up for reelection this year in Indiana, vulnerable Democrat, he came out today as a firm no on Judge Kavanaugh.
And he referenced the hearings, because as much as the White House may be happy with what Kavanaugh said, there are Democrats like Joe Donnelly who think his performance actually harmed him.
The white marble Peace Monument was erected in 1877-1878 …… The 44-foot-high monument stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, N.W.
At the top of the Peace Monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. ….
one of the newscasts tonight started off the story on scotus nominee hearings with a shot of this statue
Can’t say I’m familiar with the ins and outs of background investigation interviews. I figure if a guy or gal flashes an FBI ID and sez we’ve got a few questions you either say “sure, what do you want to know?” or you say “I’m not saying anything without my lawyer present .”
But then I don’t have any experience in that respect.
Flake – sigh. WRT him I say thanks Chris. I frankly thank the two women who confronted Flake in the elevator. Between them and Coons Flake did one thing right today. He’s still a slime.
KGC
some guys from your neck of the woods?
that is my neck of the woods but I don’t know them or the bride or groom
but it sounds like a fun party
Flake is just providing cover for the deplorable Susan Collins and her weak sister pal Lisa
Lindsay wants to be Secretary of what? This reminds me a bit of the movie “12 Angry Men” with Henry Fonda and a great cast of characters. Unfortunately – old man Grassley doesn’t compare to anyone in that cast. Personally, I think they’re going to come up with a 400 page report (heavily redacted) about 30 minutes before the vote. Let’s see if Flake has the stones.
Fun to look at the people sitting behind the Senators during the hearing. My favorite was the young man wearing glasses sitting behind Senator Mike Lee: he reminded me of someone, couldn’t place it, until now.
He looks like John Candy as Dr. Tongue.
Mike Lee resembles Senator Joe McCarthy + Brian Doyle Murray.
The young woman sitting behind Senator Booker was a beautiful, strong presence. The Senator, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a personal editor.
The bearded young man sitting behind Senator Cruz gave vibes like the party he attended ended way too late & he had to be at the Capitol way too early.
Watching Orrin Hatch checking his phone is a bit like imagining my Mormon cousins attaching a motor to their handcarts. Bit odd, out of place, not quite a fit.
John Cornyn is impossibly white.
Amy Klobuchar is the fulcrum of a potential Democratic Hard Work initiative of bringing back sanity to our government. Never liked the blue wave phrase; true, the election results may wash bad actors out to sea, but what remains is rebuilding & restoration.
Growing wistful thinking of when Chuck Grassley first started to tweet. Oh, the dead deer stories. Heh heh heh ….
What does the White House have on Senator Graham & when did they know it?
I would never want Mazie Hirono to get mad at me. Do admire the bright jackets she wears; suggests flowers on a lei.
Patrick Leahy is a wise old owl.
Dianne Feinstein + Jeff Flake: their legacies to be continued …
dvitale,
Grassley: Jack Warden’s character of wanting to wrap things up because of the ballgame. Senator Graham is Lee J. Cobb. Most of the other Republicans are Martin Balsam/E.G. Marshall.
Brett Kavanaugh is the knife. Fox Channel is the vain older woman who saw everything remarkably in the dark, out a window, with a speeding train going by & wearing no glasses.
We report. You decide. Not really.
Senator Feinstein is the elderly character who noticed the dimple marks on the side of the older woman’s nose.
The rainstorm clearing the oppressive humidity is the American Voter.
These are the faces setting America’s standard for behavior.
It’s a false equivalency to say the Democrats and Republicans are alike that is simply not true
The Republicans have done more to destroy the fabric of American political life than any other group
They are the domestic terrorists.
Historian and best-selling author Jill Lepore found herself wishing there was a book that covered the history of the U.S. and reminded readers that the political polarization of today is really nothing new. So she wrote it.
In her new book “These Truths,” Lepore takes on the task of tracking the nation’s story starting with Christopher Columbus’s voyage and continuing to the Civil War, the Civil Rights Era and President Trump’s election in 2016.
Partisanship and congressional in-fighting has been going on for centuries. As “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell pointed out, congressmen were fighting each other with canes in the 1800s. But, as Lepore explained, there is a reason today’s polarization feels different.
“I think what’s different about our contemporary moment of polarization is that the polarization we’re experiencing now was very particularly built by political consultants in the 1970s and 1980s really trying to get people out to vote over these emotional issues, guns and abortion,” Lepore said. “That was the work that was done by political consultants, for short-term, let’s win this election next week.” Republican political consultants like Lee Atwater. Even he was sorry on his death bed because he knew he was going straight to hell. Where he will eventually be joined by the entire tribe of Trumps and their enablers.
Another statement on the false idea of equivalency (via Mr C’s x-daughter in law
From friend. Well-stated. “The whole thing IS ugly, and no one should be proud of this process. However, assigning equal blame is a false equivalency; I’ve seen far weaker reasoning on the right side of the aisle throughout:
Jeff Flake: “In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.” That is probably true. However, the Supreme Court of “another era” also upheld, say, Plessy v. Ferguson. That doesn’t make him a good choice, unless you’d prefer a return to said era.
Lindsey Graham, to the Democrats on the committee: “If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us.” That is also true, but requires an assumption that seeking justice should require permission from those with a vested interest.
Lindsey Graham: “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. If you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you did to this guy.” That cuts both ways. If you really want to know the truth, call for a full FBI investigation.
Many: “Kavanaugh has already been vetted by the FBI. That’s a closed case.” Except: When the FBI vetted Brett Kavanaugh as a potential Supreme Court nominee, its main task was checking to see whether he could pose a risk to national security, not whether he had committed sexual assault. There’s a big difference between a background check and a criminal investigation.
Many: “Democrats have politicized this process.” (Merrick Garland, anyone?)
Many: “They could have brought this to us sooner.” That may or may not be true. The “us” is problematic, but setting that aside for a moment, the logical assumption that follows is that by not doing so on a politically expedient timeline, it renders moot any harm that may have been done by the accused, and renders the rights of the accuser less important than the political interests of those supporting the accused.”
It’s the first rain of the season and while not the end of fire season it does put a damper on it.
Donald Trump jr
“Women who cannot handle harassment shouldn’t be in the workplace”
Did he learn that from his Dad?
I wonder if Kimberly spanks him
wapo:
American Bar Association calls for FBI investigation into Kavanaugh allegations, delay in confirmation votes
The American Bar Association called on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday evening to halt the confirmation vote for Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, saying it should not move forward until an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against him can be completed.
“The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI,” ABA President Robert Carlson wrote in a letter to Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking committee Democrat Dianne Feinstein (Calif).
The letter, which is unlikely to sway Republicans, said that an appointment to the Supreme court “is simply too important to rush to a vote.” “Deciding to proceed without conducting an additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court,” Carlson wrote in the letter, obtained by The Washington Post.
The ABA, with 400,000 members, is the legal profession’s largest organization. Kavanaugh and his supporters have bragged about its favorable rating of the nominee, with Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) describing the imprimatur as the “gold standard.”
Also calling for an FBI probe was Harvard Law School scholar Alan Dershowitz, often lauded by President Trump’s for his criticisms of the the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. “Maybe we can get closer to the truth, although that is not certain,” Dershowitz wrote in a Fox News opinion piece. “But right now there are too many unanswered question[s] to bring the confirmation of Kavanaugh” to “a vote of the Judiciary Committee as scheduled on Friday, much less to a vote of the full Senate.” It is “possible that one of them is deliberately lying. Right now, there is no way of knowing for certain, which is why the FBI needs to talk to the judge’s accusers and others.”
[…]
The committee announced Thursday evening that it would go ahead with a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday morning, with a final confirmation vote expected Tuesday. In calling for the FBI investigation into Ford’s claims before any such vote could happen, Carlson urged the Senate to “remain an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics.”
huffpo:
Stephen Colbert pulled no punches with his look at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony Thursday in response to an allegation of sexual assault.
“Today, I have to say that I fear for the future,” Kavanaugh said during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Hashtag: MeToo,” Colbert shot back.
wapo editorial board:
The Senate can’t vote on Kavanaugh now
[…]
Predictably, and as a practical matter, this left the Judiciary Committee, the powerful emotions of the day notwithstanding, in about the same place it started. Ms. Ford presented a credible accusation of sexual misconduct from their teenage years. Mr. Kavanaugh offered a forceful denial. The logical next step would be to take the time to see if an investigation can bolster either contention. Yet Republicans on the committee seemed more aggrieved by the Democrats’ delay in forwarding Ms. Ford’s allegation than interested in getting to the bottom of it.
On one secondary but important matter, it was possible to draw a conclusion. Mr. Kavanaugh contended that “this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election” and an act of “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.”
But he provided no evidence for his angry charge, and certainly Ms. Ford’s testimony did not support conspiracy theories. On the contrary, she explained she tried to relay her allegations to political leaders before Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Kavanaugh, so that the president could consider another judge of equal qualifications, refuting suggestions that she is part of a Democratic plot. She was more than supportive of reopening the FBI background check. “I wish that I could be more helpful, and that others could be more helpful and that we could collaborate to get at more information,” Ms. Ford said.
The inadequacy of the Judiciary Committee’s process was most glaring in the absence of Mark Judge, whom Republicans refused to subpoena. Ms. Ford has said Mr. Judge was in the room when the alleged assault occurred; on Thursday, she provided a few fresh details that almost certainly would have sent professional law enforcement agents in new investigative directions if they had the time and mandate. Mr. Judge has denied knowing of or being present for any assault but has also declined to offer any more information. When Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Mr. Kavanaugh about Mr. Judge’s writing on drunken high school antics, the nominee told the senator, “You’d have to ask him.” “I would like to,” Mr. Leahy responded.
Americans could only watch with sadness. If he is the victim of some terrible case of mistaken identity, Mr. Kavanaugh’s anger is understandable, but his partisan conspiracy-theorizing was hardly becoming of a potential Supreme Court justice. Ms. Ford, whose life and family have been upended, deserved better than the condescension shown by a number of Republican senators and, more to the point, their unwillingness to vet her claims.
In truth, there is still plenty of time. Any deadline has been artificially imposed by the Republican majority for purely partisan reasons, a majority that was happy to leave a Supreme Court chair vacant for most of 2016. As we have said repeatedly, the Senate still has not been given access to all relevant documents, let alone fully checked out Ms. Ford’s allegation.
It would be irresponsible for Republicans to insist on an immediate vote. If they do, the responsible vote must be no.
The Catholic Church has also pulled its support.
I agree with Lindsey, that hearing was the most unethical sham in (his) years in politics. There is no way an ethical, credible investigation and ethical and credible hearing would lead any honest Senator to approve his nomination to the court. Yes, this was an unethical sham designed and executed for the express purpose of running a RW pick from a hyper partisan IMPOTUS for the express purpose of getting evangelicals to continue to vote for the hard right repugnican party. Yes it was unethical and it was a sham, and SCOTUS is going to morph into SCROTUS. Welcome to the Court Injustice O’Kavanagh.
Dr. Ford had nothing to gain by speaking the truth. This is the way it always goes. Blame the woman. Damn, stupid Eve and her apple ruined everything for men.
Men need to realize that it was a 15 year-old who experienced the attack, so re-living it to tell the truth puts her emotions back at that very vulnerable time.
Shame on anyone who wants Kavanaugh to be a SC Justice.
His anger was that of someone who was caught and lashing out.
Republicans should remember that November comes every year, not just this year. They will be paying for this appointment for many, many years.
Shame on all of you so-called Christians in Congress who are standing up for this horrible, entitled, little man.
Hillary Clinton stood hours and hours of grilling by the Senate over Benghazi and never flinched. Brett Kavanaugh was reduced to a crying sniveling baby in minutes… ~~~~ooooh what a man!~~~~
the hill:
Dershowitz calls on GOP to postpone Kavanaugh vote until FBI can investigate
[…]
“Accusations as serious as those made by Ford and others against Kavanaugh — which allege he was guilty of criminal conduct — should not stand without clear and convincing evidence of their truth in a nation where the courts presume an accused person is innocent until proven guilty,” Dershowitz wrote. “An FBI investigation might provide more evidence — either favorable or unfavorable to Kavanaugh.”
[…]
The vote “will be based largely on the political dispositions of senators rather than on any desire to arrive at objective truth,” he wrote.
“Realistically, it is unlikely that the Senate will proceed in the manner of a court of law, because political truth has replaced scientific truth in our highly partisan age,” Dershowitz wrote.
[..continues…]
nbc news:
[…]
A dozen women who attended Catholic and private prep schools in the Montgomery County area in the 1980s spoke to NBC News this week, seven of them on the record. The women — most of whom signed an open letter saying they believed Ford’s allegation, and all but two of whom did not know her or Kavanaugh personally — shared their memories of kegs, bonfires and unsupervised beach houses where heavy drinking fueled sexually inappropriate comments and behavior and attacks that were never spoken of afterward.
The women said they were warned by other girls about the aggression of boys from neighboring Catholic schools, particularly Georgetown Preparatory School, which Kavanaugh attended. Raised from an early age in their moneyed, Catholic community to remain chaste, the women said they believed anything that compromised that chastity was their fault — even if they were forced.
[…]
By 1990, off-campus parties had become such a problem that headmasters from seven of the Washington area’s elite private schools, including Georgetown Prep and Holton-Arms, joined to warn parents about the gatherings. According to a joint letter sent out by the schools, hundreds of unsupervised teenagers were regularly attending the parties.
“It would be hard to devise a better recipe for disaster than a social scene that includes the anonymity provided by an ‘open party,’ no adult supervision, considerable amounts of alcohol, and teenage hormones which encourage sexual or violent behavior,” the letter said, according to The Washington Post.
Julie Swetnick alleged this week that Kavanaugh had spiked punch at house parties in the early 1980s to cause women to become intoxicated so they could be passed from boy to boy and assaulted, an allegation Kavanaugh denied and called “ridiculous and from the twilight zone.” Swetnick’s description did not surprise several women who spoke to NBC News and had attended Montgomery County high school parties in the 1980s.
One woman, who graduated from an all-girls school just south of Georgetown Prep the same year as Kavanaugh graduated, said she was 15 the night she was at one of those parties and lost track of her friends. She was alone with four boys and she was raped, she said, but she didn’t call it that until many years later.
“I don’t think I walked away knowing I’d been raped,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear that sharing her story could affect her professionally. After the assault, the woman said she sneaked back into her home through the window she had left from hours earlier.
“I walked away being ashamed,” she said. “Why would you tell? Who would have listened?”
None of the women who spoke of their assaults to NBC News said they had reported them to authorities.
[….continues…]
The last gasp of the greedy old perverts. Shove as much as they can through now because they are toast. Everyday they do this is adding more voters who will ensure they are gone next year.
4cbsdenver:
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)– A Boulder woman’s claims that she was sexually abused by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh got scant attention at the marathon US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday.
Christine Blasey Ford was the only accuser to be heard, although the names of Deborah Ramirez of Boulder and Julie Swetnick of the Washington area, were mentioned
Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa gave his reason why the Boulder woman was not invited.
“My staff made eight requests, yes eight requests for evidence from Ms. Ramirez,” he said at the hearing.
But on Twitter John Clune, the attorney for Ramirez wrote, “Their refusal to give us any information about their process or even talk to us by phone without first submitting “her evidence is highly suspect.”
Grassley claimed Ramirez and Swetnick weren’t able to cooperate because of their lawyers, “Neither attorney has made their clients available for interview, the committee can’t do an investigation if attorneysare stonewalling.”
Ramirez’ Boulder attorney took issue with that in additional tweets, “The committee is creating meaningless hurdles to try to paint Ms. Ramirez as uncooperative.”
Ramirez has claimed that a young Brett Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college party. The nominee rejected all allegations out of hand.
[…continues…]
Well, for what it’s worth, and that’s damned little I’d wager, I contacted both WV Senators and urged them to vote against Kavanaugh or to delay the vote until the FBI can investigate the other claims against him. That and $3 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks (if Starbucks hasn’t raised its prices).
BTW, I agree with both RR & BiD’s comments above.
Pogo, don’t dismiss the impact of that. They might not read them but lawmakers do tally their mail and phone messages. Manchin would love nothing better than to tout the number of messages against Kavanaugh, to justify voting against him, which is probably what he wants to do.
pogo
a friend here of Italian heritage just got Italian citizenship just in case. It’s not too complicated – it depends mostly on if your parents (at least one) were Italian citizens at the time of your birth
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-kavanaugh-ford-20180927-story.html
Do we really want a man consumed with rage, self-pity and hate on the Supreme Court?
KC, good. Mrs. P’s Dad was an Italian citizen when she was born (I believe). I’d settle with Italy just allowing us to be permanent expats without fear of incarceration. Note to self – ask friend who owns a place in Calabria and isn’t a citizen about that stuff.
When you are safely in Italy will you adopt me?
My heritage leaves me no place to go
WaPo’s Editorial Board posed the following in their editorial this mornign:
KC, sure – I doubt that Italy has a law forbidding adult adoptions. Might not be necessary – notice my note to self – I have a friend who owns a place in Calabria and to my knowledge neither he nor his wife are Italian citizens. WE could have a Trailmix Italian Complex, which could serve as Trailmix Italian Command when Poobah visits.
Can we erase this year. And a whole bunch of others as well
Jeff Flake some people get the name they deserve
Written by Wil Wheaton: Another thing about Kavanaugh’s meltdown/tantrum in front of the SJC today, that I can’t stop thinking about: lost in the theatrics of his performance is the shocking reality, on full display, that he is not a neutral arbiter of the law. If you listen to the things he said and the specific language he used, it’s undeniable that he is a right wing partisan who is not particularly different from the right wing activists we see masquerading as hosts on Fox News Channel.
The thing that’s horrifying to me is the reality that he is as much of a lunatic (buying into Clinton conspiracy theories, for instance) who delivered a rant that would be right at home at the top of Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity, but this man has the tremendous power as a sitting Federal Appellate Judge to shape the laws of our nation in a way that makes people like Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump happy. He isn’t someone who will call balls and strikes, as Roberts claimed a SCOTUS justice should (Roberts lied about that). He’s an activist who will consistently and for the rest of my life shape the laws that affect the most important things that confront Americans: should corporations have more rights than consumers? Should women be allowed to have autonomous control of their own bodies? Should presidents be allowed to rule as if they are above the law? Should Americans have the same access to healthcare as the citizens in every other first world country on the planet? Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry and have the same rights as opposite-sex couples?
These are significant and substantial questions, and today’s tantrum/rant/meltdown from Kavanaugh shows that he has already decided what the answers to those questions are, and his answers are opposed by an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Everything about him is terrible. He’s *clearly* a rich prep school kid who has never been told “no” in his life, and we saw today what happens whenever someone tries to tell him no. It wasn’t particularly difficult to see this guy as a belligerent drunk who won’t take no for an answer. You could clearly see it in his ranting and raving, his angry yelling at a female senator, and his overwhelming, palpable sense of entitlement.
He’s clearly a liar, who probably lies because he believes that he’s on a mission from his version of God, and that the ends justify the means. I don’t believe he has any credibility, and I don’t believe him when he denies the allegations against him.
I’m pretty sure that the GOP is going to push his confirmation through the Senate, because (among other things) it’s *painfully* clear that the Republican Party hates women. He was a liar who perjured himself before today’s hearing, and at today’s hearing he demonstrated clearly that he is also an entitled, belligerent, arrogant, temperamentally-unfit candidate for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
I hope he gets a really horrible uncurable disease and dies soon but not before before he gives it to Trump
If someone is ill, I would tend to him/her no matter the person. It’s who I am, how I raised, my belief that the only way we make this world better is to try to be better ourselves. I actually listened to the parable of the Good Samaritan & absorbed the message. This nonsense of division has to stop – on all sides. Hoping adults can somehow take over the asylum of this society & government. The only way it can happen is if we are part of the solution & not the problem.
Listening to Sheldon Whitehouse now – as I said yesterday, he & Senator Klobuchar are lights in the darkness. Nastiness has no place in a civilized society but determined decency does. It begins & ends with us.
Hi Flatus,
Sorry about your Uncle. How lucky you are to have him in your life.
Erase this year – believe me, I agree on so many levels. But it could also be used to future generations to illustrate that the American people had enough & eventually did the right thing – hopefully. To give up is to concede to the bad guys. History is cyclical; this too shall pass. This could be the beginning of our finest hour.
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17910524/supreme-court-impeach-impeachment-brett-kavanaugh
got to be prepared
Loud unpleasant and unwanted
sanctimonious asshole fits a lot of people in the news and other places today
Quote Of The Day: (so far)
“Where is the bravery in this room?”
Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
wow getting your talking points from Ted Cruz that’s low especially since he is the world’s biggest hypocrite
wow Ted Cruz must be worried about his election and he is lyiing about what the witnesses said he is a total crud
I agree, this year has been nasty. However, there is a glimmer of hope that Nov 6 will provide us some balm.
Made a donation to Senator Klobuchar. It begins & ends with me. And you. And you. And ….
Typical right wing play book, when all else fails blame the Clintons.
That statement alone should have disqualified Kavanaugh.
Thank you SJ. Uncle Bill died on his 102nd birthday at the beginning of last week. He will now be joined with his lovely wife, Ellie. It was only a few years ago that I traveled to her memorial service; he will receive a like send-off on Oct 17th.
Take care, Flatus.
***********
jace,
For as much “power” as the Clintons apparently have they sure aren’t using it very well 😉 Every time I read stuff like that I think of the 19th century political cartoons. Tammany Hall, etc, the evil octopus with outstretched tentacles taking all that is sacred & holy. I’m not even a Clinton fan but really. They’re both a bit passe at this point.
Maybe little Charlotte can continue the evil genius kingpin legacy. Quick – shave her head. Find the 666.
Flake was true to form,even though he had nothing to lose by voting no when push comes to shove he reverted to republican right wing orthodoxy. In the other worldliness inhabited by Republicans this is what passes for courage. Truth be told however there is more spine in a convention of invertebrates than in the entire republican caucus. On issues of critical importance Republicans simply are not to be trusted to do the right thing.
Flatus, erasing this year would be a good start. While we’re at it let’s get rid of 2017 & 2016 as well – start with a clean slate so to speak.
I listened to Cory Booker’s address – he’s on the right road, but he’s got a long way to go to get to the pont that he’d be a credible standard bearer for my chosen party. I would vote for Klobuchar tomorrow.
Sjwny,
if the clintons had that much power and sway we would be talking about justice Garland.
that dog won’t hunt. Shame on Kavanagh for bringing it up more shame still on the committee for allowing it to go unchallenged
Cruz, he’s like O’Kavanaught to me – I wouldn’t cross the street to piss on them if they were on fire and my bladder was about to burst.
btw, the substantive accuracy of Dr. Ford’s allegations notwithstanding, In his WaPo column today Dana Milbank stated well my thoughts on this privileged prick’s consideration for ascending to the Supreme Court:
Exactly.
jace,
I was being facetious, friend. The sport since (insert 20th century year here) has been the perceived all- encompassing-ness of all things Clinton, built up quite successfully by the opposition & willing media itching for a ratings boost & ad dollars. I voted for Secretary Clinton in 2016 because to not have would have been nuts (amen). My conscience is clear 😉 I was simply having fun with the tin hat conspirators (god bless ’em)
My hard earned money is being spent on Democratic candidates I want to see win in NH in the mid-terms. To my knowledge not a single person has thrown their hat into the ring for president in 2020 except for trump. After this November something tells me a lot of Democratic candidates will be vying to run against him. I will read about, listen to, watch debates, and probably let the list dwindle a bit before I stake my claim on any candidate I will throw my money at for the 2020 election.
WTF is wrong with this country? SFB’s job approval average at RCP has gone up 3 points in the past 2 weeks – from 40.8 to 43.8.
Paul Waldman’s excellent piece on Kavanope.
No dummy, he.
Flake may have found a part of one of his balls?
Women’s agreement? Bullshit. And unless ‘assley and Mertle are the “gentlemen and women” who made this agreement, it’s just another act in this sham play.
BTW, I am so pissed at Manchin that if he weren’t running against the fat snake Morrissey I’d sit out that line on the ballot in November.
pogo, those extra 3 points approval must be for his not burning down the UN or starting a global war last week.
re promise to flake and a gent’s agreement with mertle, they must have forgotten how mitch broke his promises to sen. Collins.
surprise surprise surprise
New Yorker: E-mails Show That Republican Senate Staff Stymied a Kavanaugh Accuser’s Effort to Give Testimony
and this from usatoday: Chuck Grassley strongly denies Judiciary Committee tried to ignore Kavanaugh accuser Deborah Ramirez
[….]
“It seems the Republican strategy is no longer attack the victim. It is ignore the victim,” Feinstein said at Friday’s hearing. “It is, in fact, a real test for the United States Senate and for our country to see how we treat women – especially women who are survivors of sexual assault. I believe we can do better.”
but Pogo, that poll could also mean he’s at least 3pts below, such is the “give or take” of margins of error.
pogo, did you see?
wapo:
[…]
Following Flake’s announcement, two other senators considered swing votes — Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) — indicated that they support Flake’s call for a delay.
“The American people have been pulled apart by this entire spectacle and we need to take time to address these claims independently, so that our country can have confidence in the outcome of this vote,” Manchin said in a statement. “It is what is right and fair for Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and the American people.”
also from above wapo link:
Two other senators considered swing votes — Susan Collins (Maine) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) — remained silent about their intentions Friday.
Meanwhile, another red-state Democrat, Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) announced Friday that he would oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination. Republicans had been courting Donnelly, one of three Democrats, along with Manchin and Heitkamp, who supported previous Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil M. Gorsuch.
“I have deep reservations about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to this lifetime position and … we have been unable to get all the information necessary regarding this nomination, despite my best efforts,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Only 113 people have ever served on the Supreme Court, and I believe that we must do our level best to protect its sanctity.”
Kavanaugh BFF Mark Judge Says He Will Talk to FBI – But Puts Strings on His Cooperation
poobah, that number’s from averaging polls, which tends to wash out the margin of error since you have to assume some polls err on the upper side of the MOE and some on the lower side of the MOE. (btw, I was taught in EdStat in grad school that averaging polls does not yield anything like a valid result because of the apples/oranges nature of different polls). The disturbing part is that all the polls listed there that ended on 9/18 or after are at 40 points or more. Like I said, WTF is wrong with this country?
mortonie, I was unaware that subjects of an FBI interview had the license to dictate the terms of the interview or what the FBI can do with it.
Another thought. Since SFB did not “pick” Kauvie he would have even less care about keeping him going. The orange moron might just dump him and go with another pick because SFB is no longer the headline.
Pogo, I suppose if you are a privileged white male you can dictate anything. If you are not you get led away in cuffs (if you are very lucky, like Cosby) or you are shot (like many black male youth).
Kavanaugh likes beer as much as Oprah Likes bread.
Pogo, Mortonie — I’m thinking FBI interviews for a background check are much different than a criminal investigation. There’s no prosecutor holding subpoena power in the background. Meaning interviewees have more leverage. Can refuse to answer a question or even refuse to submit to any questioning.
Hopefully the background check will lead to a full criminal investigation. It’s possible that GOP actually want cover so they can replace him with someone with a more acceptable demeanor. I’m sure I won’t be any happier with the replacement unless it comes after Democrats take the senate.
His shirt was spotless,his tie was perfect, his coat, the best money could buy. Had it not been for the copious amounts of dirt under his finger nails and a petty vindictive mind he might well have been mistaken for an authentic gentleman. Alas for Kavanaugh it will always be so
I thought the faces of the women behind Kavenog were very interesting……………………………………………………..I spent a lot of time looking at them.
and now I see it’s a meme……
FBI does not do the background investigations which you think they do. They investigate criminal (laws violated) activities. Background investigations for security are done by the DoD and OPM (and other agencies which have no names).
My concern is that SFB is doing a look over there when the issue is the creep should be investigated by state and local, not federal.
Yep, wouldn’t want to dig too deep on that shallow, brat’s behavior.
I would like to thank the women who managed to confront Flake in the elevator into doing a semi-decent thing.
Voices from the Street
I met a friend for pizza in Petaluma. I am of the school that there is no bad pizza. I was wrong. The owner turns out to be a Trumper and was glued to hearing. He completely bought the gooper line and then some. White guy, bald (shaved head), maybe 40ish and in his yelp reviews something of a not always pleasant character.
We got a little taste of it when my friend asked for a restroom and he said he didn’t have one and she said isn’t there a state law that says if you serve food you have to have a restroom and he whipped out a piece of paper explaining why he did not.
We sat there eating horrible terrible cardboard crust pizza listening to these guys talk about Dr. Ford tool of the Democrats. Needless to say not going back there.
Flake, semi spineless to the bitter end. Please senator Flake go now wait not a minute longer. You will hardly be missed
Jace
I’ll associate myself with those remarks
Notice I didn’t thank Flake, I thanked the women who managed to shame him.
KGC,
thanks. My years in AZ left me with a dislike for Senator Flake. The sooner he leaves the senate the better
KGC,
even great pizza can be ruined by bad company
jace & lgc, a somewhat different look at the senator from an old school leftie
on tonight’s pbs newshour
MARK SHIELDS:
I first want to say a word about — about Jeff Flake.
Jeff Flake is a senator from Arizona. When Tim Kaine was nominated for president by the Democrats in 2016, he immediately tweeted the statement, trying to count the ways I hate Tim Kaine, coming up with a blank. Good man good and a good friend.
(LAUGHTER)
MARK SHIELDS:
And that’s — that’s Jeff Flake. I mean, he has friendships.
And one of the friendships he has is Chris Coons, the Democrat from Delaware. And these are two people who aren’t constantly running for president. They are — they are senators. They treat each other as human beings. They treat other senators as human beings.
And Jeff Flake — Jeff Flake did the Senate a favor. He did the Supreme Court a favor. He did the entire country a favor, not the least of which his own justice, Judge Kavanaugh, he did a favor to. And he did his party a favor.
If this nomination, Judy, had been railroaded through, strong-armed through, outmuscled, and all the rest of it, it would have left an aftertaste, it would have left bitterness, more business than there already is.
And, most of all, 27 years after Anita Hill testified, there is still a cloud of controversy and doubt over Justice Clarence Thomas. And, to me, this week is that important. It was that logical and almost inevitable to have it done, and have done the right thing.
it still is being strong armed
also on newshour was this exchange:
JUDY WOODRUFF:
We know Senator Jeff Flake was key, as we saw earlier, but there were others involved as well.
LISA DESJARDINS:
That’s right.
There was a clear cast of characters here today. Jeff Flake could not have done this alone, because Republicans can spare a vote. And they could lose one vote and still confirm Judge Kavanaugh. So he needed some help.
Let’s look at the key Republican senators here, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski. They have both come out and supported this idea of a delay. And I was standing outside of the office where the three of them were meeting last night. They were meeting not just with Republicans, but with one Democrat last night. That’s Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Let’s look at these key Democrats who are involved. He is also supporting this idea of a delay, as Senator Heidi Heitkamp. What is interesting, Judy, is Senator Joe Donnelly, who is up for reelection this year in Indiana, vulnerable Democrat, he came out today as a firm no on Judge Kavanaugh.
And he referenced the hearings, because as much as the White House may be happy with what Kavanaugh said, there are Democrats like Joe Donnelly who think his performance actually harmed him.
The Peace Monument
The white marble Peace Monument was erected in 1877-1878 …… The 44-foot-high monument stands in the circle to the west of the U.S. Capitol at Pennsylvania Avenue and First Street, N.W.
At the top of the Peace Monument, facing west, stand two classically robed female figures. Grief holds her covered face against the shoulder of History and weeps in mourning. ….
one of the newscasts tonight started off the story on scotus nominee hearings with a shot of this statue
Can’t say I’m familiar with the ins and outs of background investigation interviews. I figure if a guy or gal flashes an FBI ID and sez we’ve got a few questions you either say “sure, what do you want to know?” or you say “I’m not saying anything without my lawyer present .”
But then I don’t have any experience in that respect.
Flake – sigh. WRT him I say thanks Chris. I frankly thank the two women who confronted Flake in the elevator. Between them and Coons Flake did one thing right today. He’s still a slime.
KGC
some guys from your neck of the woods?
that is my neck of the woods but I don’t know them or the bride or groom
but it sounds like a fun party
Flake is just providing cover for the deplorable Susan Collins and her weak sister pal Lisa
Lindsay wants to be Secretary of what? This reminds me a bit of the movie “12 Angry Men” with Henry Fonda and a great cast of characters. Unfortunately – old man Grassley doesn’t compare to anyone in that cast. Personally, I think they’re going to come up with a 400 page report (heavily redacted) about 30 minutes before the vote. Let’s see if Flake has the stones.
Fun to look at the people sitting behind the Senators during the hearing. My favorite was the young man wearing glasses sitting behind Senator Mike Lee: he reminded me of someone, couldn’t place it, until now.
He looks like John Candy as Dr. Tongue.
Mike Lee resembles Senator Joe McCarthy + Brian Doyle Murray.
The young woman sitting behind Senator Booker was a beautiful, strong presence. The Senator, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a personal editor.
The bearded young man sitting behind Senator Cruz gave vibes like the party he attended ended way too late & he had to be at the Capitol way too early.
Watching Orrin Hatch checking his phone is a bit like imagining my Mormon cousins attaching a motor to their handcarts. Bit odd, out of place, not quite a fit.
John Cornyn is impossibly white.
Amy Klobuchar is the fulcrum of a potential Democratic Hard Work initiative of bringing back sanity to our government. Never liked the blue wave phrase; true, the election results may wash bad actors out to sea, but what remains is rebuilding & restoration.
Growing wistful thinking of when Chuck Grassley first started to tweet. Oh, the dead deer stories. Heh heh heh ….
What does the White House have on Senator Graham & when did they know it?
I would never want Mazie Hirono to get mad at me. Do admire the bright jackets she wears; suggests flowers on a lei.
Patrick Leahy is a wise old owl.
Dianne Feinstein + Jeff Flake: their legacies to be continued …
dvitale,
Grassley: Jack Warden’s character of wanting to wrap things up because of the ballgame. Senator Graham is Lee J. Cobb. Most of the other Republicans are Martin Balsam/E.G. Marshall.
Brett Kavanaugh is the knife. Fox Channel is the vain older woman who saw everything remarkably in the dark, out a window, with a speeding train going by & wearing no glasses.
We report. You decide. Not really.
Senator Feinstein is the elderly character who noticed the dimple marks on the side of the older woman’s nose.
The rainstorm clearing the oppressive humidity is the American Voter.
These are the faces setting America’s standard for behavior.
It’s a false equivalency to say the Democrats and Republicans are alike that is simply not true
The Republicans have done more to destroy the fabric of American political life than any other group
They are the domestic terrorists.
Historian and best-selling author Jill Lepore found herself wishing there was a book that covered the history of the U.S. and reminded readers that the political polarization of today is really nothing new. So she wrote it.
In her new book “These Truths,” Lepore takes on the task of tracking the nation’s story starting with Christopher Columbus’s voyage and continuing to the Civil War, the Civil Rights Era and President Trump’s election in 2016.
Partisanship and congressional in-fighting has been going on for centuries. As “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell pointed out, congressmen were fighting each other with canes in the 1800s. But, as Lepore explained, there is a reason today’s polarization feels different.
“I think what’s different about our contemporary moment of polarization is that the polarization we’re experiencing now was very particularly built by political consultants in the 1970s and 1980s really trying to get people out to vote over these emotional issues, guns and abortion,” Lepore said. “That was the work that was done by political consultants, for short-term, let’s win this election next week.” Republican political consultants like Lee Atwater. Even he was sorry on his death bed because he knew he was going straight to hell. Where he will eventually be joined by the entire tribe of Trumps and their enablers.
Another statement on the false idea of equivalency (via Mr C’s x-daughter in law
From friend. Well-stated. “The whole thing IS ugly, and no one should be proud of this process. However, assigning equal blame is a false equivalency; I’ve seen far weaker reasoning on the right side of the aisle throughout:
Jeff Flake: “In fact, I commented at the time that had he been nominated in another era, he would have likely received 90+ votes.” That is probably true. However, the Supreme Court of “another era” also upheld, say, Plessy v. Ferguson. That doesn’t make him a good choice, unless you’d prefer a return to said era.
Lindsey Graham, to the Democrats on the committee: “If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us.” That is also true, but requires an assumption that seeking justice should require permission from those with a vested interest.
Lindsey Graham: “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. If you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you did to this guy.” That cuts both ways. If you really want to know the truth, call for a full FBI investigation.
Many: “Kavanaugh has already been vetted by the FBI. That’s a closed case.” Except: When the FBI vetted Brett Kavanaugh as a potential Supreme Court nominee, its main task was checking to see whether he could pose a risk to national security, not whether he had committed sexual assault. There’s a big difference between a background check and a criminal investigation.
Many: “Democrats have politicized this process.” (Merrick Garland, anyone?)
Many: “They could have brought this to us sooner.” That may or may not be true. The “us” is problematic, but setting that aside for a moment, the logical assumption that follows is that by not doing so on a politically expedient timeline, it renders moot any harm that may have been done by the accused, and renders the rights of the accuser less important than the political interests of those supporting the accused.”
It’s the first rain of the season and while not the end of fire season it does put a damper on it.
Donald Trump jr
“Women who cannot handle harassment shouldn’t be in the workplace”
Did he learn that from his Dad?
I wonder if Kimberly spanks him