121 thoughts on “Showdown”

  6. One line that stood out for me from trump’s presser last night was when he said he was filling many, many judge spots and that Obama didn’t like to name judges(no mention of Republicans blocking most of his nominees).

    The funniest had to be when he said if George Washington were here running for office Democrats would vote against him.

    I won’t be near a tv when the hearing takes place today.  I’m counting on y’all to fill me in.

  11. Grassley  what an asshole let me amend that big giant asshole

    DiFi class Grassley retard and mansplainer with no clue

  15. Leahy talked too much before asking a question.  Under 5 minute limit – he gets a B- for that.  B+-A- after he got started.

  17. Rachel Mitchell thinks her job is to put Ford on trial for delaying the prince’s appointment and fortunately she is not doing a good job – but that’s because the asshat goopers have screwed up the process

  19. KC, I completely agree with your assessment in your 11:35 post.

    I hope the rest of the dems are listening and tailoring their questions to what she’s been asked and what she’s answered.  Toobin says this is ridiculous, excruciating, and CNN gaggle says she sounds believable and O’Kav will have a difficult time …  he/they are right.

  20. Nix my being away.  When Rick found out we’d miss the hearing, he changed his plans and we are watching.  Let me echo that Assley is Assley!

  22. so Mr. Rachel Mitchell spent her time preparing for this by driving around the neighborhood to see if she can say the story is hooey because there are no uber or lyft records of her ride home or how she got there

    really rachel if I were a victim of sex crime in your jurisdiction I would ask for another prosecutor

  23. Not sure what counsel advised the Dems in getting their questions together, but whoever it is did a very good job. The format is making it look like the Dems have their act together and Ms. Mitchell’s questioning is halting and chopped up – which it is.  Gives the Dems 10 chances to ask a couple of good questions then point out the inadequacy of the Repug investigation and makes ‘assley have to try and make it seem like there was a sufficient investigation even though there was no FBI investigation after the allegations arose.  ‘assley’s bloviation time should be subtracted from the Repugs’ time.

  24. And Grassley chiming in after every period to “correct the record”  he just looks like a carping whiner

  26. Dear Rachel

    I hope this is worth it because you look worse and worse
    obviously trying to discredit the witness

  27. This hearing is remarkable & memorable. I think Ms Mitchell is doing a good job & understand her building steps towards a certain direction. Senator Grassley is the chairman; he can break in when he wants. It’s his prerogative.

    Sad to see terms like “retard” used here : no justification for that anywhere, anytime.

    Dr Ford looks like a mainline tony Republican professional woman/suburban wife (I know she isn’t, but optics are important & useful to propaganda. This could be an outreach to women of a certain economic social stratum by anyone with an in tune political message.) A slick ad agency can manipulate this to a powerful political image come, say, October, November …. identifiable voters, ready to be influenced. Don’t discount the ladies who lunch.

     

     

     

     

     

  28. Joyce Vance said “… everything here looks trustworthy… nothing forced … nothing contrived.” Everyone I’m hearing says she sounds unpackaged and honest and credible. Based on the testimony I’ve heard I agree. Can’t wait to hear Kavanaught’s thin denials.

    KC ‘assley “just looks like [the] carping whiner [he is].” Corrected your omission. ?

  29. Couldn’t disagree more

    Mitchell is a disaster for the Republicans —  I think they wish they could start over without her

    She is trying to come to a point but she has none – except to imply the Ford is allowing her assault to be used for political purposes and that is not credible

  30. Can’t wait for Mitchell to question the predator–

    The Republicans look so stupid and clumsy Kavanaugh’s appointment is over

    When goopers do things it is for optics when Democrats do them it makes good optics because it is the right thing to do

  31. Good to hear the Republican side of things — she is a tool and the Democrats are the cause and probably are paying for an attorney and the lie detector test and her fear of flying is somehow a problem  and somehow that discredits her   I guess goopers get their argument instructions via tweets from Don jr

    Lindsay Graham has dementia did he forget about Meritt Garland

  32. Not all Democrats are good, not all Republicans bad. We are human beings so as such encompass all aspects of behavior. This division of “them bad, we good, period!!!!!!”  builds no bridges but builds taller walls & extends this nonsense. This crap has to end for this crap to end. It starts with each of us.

  35. Katherine Graham Cracker, have you been checked for early onset dementia/alzheimers recently? You used to be witty, on point, now just sadly irrational. I’ve noticed you attack patd & flatus -” flatus!” recently too. I worry about you. Take care.

  37. SJ, “retard”?  I don’t see that in the thread.  I agree from the perspective of optics that Ms. Mitchell is doing well, but from the perspective of substantively making any headway against the credibility or substance  Dr. Ford’s testimony, I don’t see any of that.

    Our”president” has postponed his meeting with Rosenstein until next week.  I wonder if Dr. Ford’s testimony will tick him off so much that he’ll fire him to make himself feel in control again.

    And SFB Jr. tweeted out his inane questioning of her reluctance to fly but willingness to fly for vacations.  Clueless dick. Mrs. P is afraid to fly, but does for vacations.

  40. sj… good to see you resurface.  I understand that what is happening politically now upsets you.  But, IMO, it is time for Democrats to take a stand, show a backbone, and fight.  IMO, this country is worth fighting for.  KGC gives her opinions…  yes… sometimes strongly…   thank god for strong women!

    I find Dr. Ford to be a credible witness.  I will say what I think about Kavanaugh as a witness after he testifies.

  41. RebelliousRenee,

    I love KGC’s opinions! Which is why I worry about her. They aren’t witty, on point, skewering like they used to be. Just plain mean & grade school. Something’s wrong & I am concerned with her health. There is a strong decline this past summer.

     

     

  42. Hearings back on

    typical republican approach if you don’t like the message attack the messenger and a very normal attack against women — don’t like what they are saying — call them crazy   sound familiar

    sjny

    you are the crazy person if you think you can diagnose from online posts – you are just attacking me because you don’t agree so we are done interacting

     

  43. Are you sitting?  From CNN:

    Santorum: Sometimes pawns can take kings

    Former Republican senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum responded to the morning testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, saying she seemed “authentic.”

    “Just watching her, she seems authentic,” Santorum said, “And that’s a big problem for Brett Kavanuagh … Sometimes pawns can take kings.”

  44. sj, I see that – read right past it I suppose.

    Mitchell is trying to bear down – it’s not scoring points IMHO.

  45. Will say again : I am neither Democrat nor Republican, I am a registered No Party in the state of New York. Have always been this designation.

  46. Booker – nailing his intro – now give her some questions and let her talk. Way to go, Cory.  Nice follow to Mitchell’s last line of questions.

  49. I heard a snippet from Graham following the morning testimony.  Every time he opens his mouth he reminds me how far short he falls from the courage ad integrity of his fallen friend.  It sounded like he didn’t listen to what she was saying or how she was saying it.  I hesitate to say this, but he sounds like a typical small town prosecutor rather than a veteran JAG attorney.

    Kamela is up – I wanna hear this.

  52. ok a slightly amended Grand Old Perverts strategy   — if she isn’t a political tool she doesn’t really remember – and as Assley said “thank you for doing the best you could to remember”

    Rachel Mitchell wound up by saying the “she should submit to an FBI investigation

    poor Lindsay Graham he feels ambushed

  53. The case Kavanaugh has to make and his slim margin of error

    (CNN)During his first appearance before senators this month, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh evaded questions and declined to preview how he might rule on certain issues, insisting he was merely following “the Ginsburg rule.”
     

    He won’t be able to invoke Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or any version of her cautious 1993 testimony, this time.

    Thursday’s hearing is not about the law. It’s about his life. And the 53-year-old lawyer with sterling professional credentials will have to make a case for himself unlike at any other time.

    The personal defense Kavanaugh offers on Thursday will likely not only determine whether he can eke out confirmation from a Senate controlled by Republicans 51-49, but how the public and history book ultimately regard the jurist who once appeared on a swift path to confirmation.

    Kavanaugh is ready to present himself as indignant and personally harmed, a victim who will not be driven out by politics. In 1991, when Clarence Thomas saw a “high tech lynching” in Anita Hill’s sexual harassment accusations, Kavanaugh sees, according to his prepared testimony, “last-minute smears, pure and simple.”

    Yet, Kavanaugh confronts more serious allegations than Thomas and a trickier personal situation in claims arising from an alcohol-fueled party scene of his youth.

    * * *

    For six years, before his appointment to a Washington-based US appeals court in 2006, Kavanagh served in the George W. Bush administration and often helping to prepare other judicial candidates before senators.

    He would understand the importance of appearing credible at this point. His testimony will follow Ford’s, which, depending on how persuasive she is, could weaken his ability to defend himself.

    Even at the outset of the confirmation process, Democratic senators questioned Kavanaugh’s veracity — based on his congressional testimony years earlier — and he faced the lowest public opinion rating for a Supreme Court nominee in three decades.

    Like President Donald Trump has done when speaking of his nomination, Kavanaugh is ready to paint himself as a victim of politics. Trump has nominated him to the pivotal seat on the bench held by centrist conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy.

    “There has been a frenzy to come up with something — anything, no matter how far-fetched or odious — that will block a vote on my nomination,” Kavanaugh said in his prepared testimony.

    As a student of confirmation fights going back decades, Kavanaugh would also be aware that if it is a draw, if neither he nor Ford is markedly more convincing, it could fall back on senators’ own personal political calculations, a mix of factors against the backdrop of the national #MeToo movement but more importantly the atmosphere in their states and their own political prospects.

    Twenty-seven years ago, Thomas told senators that Hill’s accusations had nearly destroyed him. Yet, in the end, he won confirmation, by a vote of 52-48, the closest Supreme Court vote in more than a century.

    I heard Joyce Vance, whose judgment on legal matters I give great credence to, describe his path as a very narrow one that she does not know whether he can successfully walk. (After all, it’s hard for a privileged white man sitting on the most powerful Circuit Court in the nation to portray himself as a victim, particularly when he comes across as a privileged prick every time he opens his mouth.)

  56. dr. ford seemed more at ease with Rachel Mitchell than with any of the other questioners.  her open interaction emphasized her credibility and guileless, constructive humanity.

     

  57. In order to believe Kavanaugh you would have to believe that Dr. Ford had some deep hidden motive for creating this story out of thin air. Her apparently credible testimony her demeanor and her life history are all going to combine to make that a very heavy lift for Kavanaugh . Just because your drunk and don’t remember it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.

     

  59. Still can’t spot the first republican defector. Think that they will vote to confirm in spite of testimony and potential political damage. Apparently they are willing to lose the war for the sake of just one battle.

  63. Interesting how he is reacting vs how she did. Will the emotion help or hinder? This is a breakdown. I don’t revel or rejoice; as a fellow human being, I find it sad. Some in the Republican Party will find his reactions soft & discard him, if they haven’t already. He may get the feeling he is a dead man walking.

  71. How will it play, Pogo? I’m average Josephine America & I see someone with a hot temper which isn’t a lovely asset to consider for a Supreme Court Judge. It’s an ugly pug thing. Private School Frat Boy Bully.

  73. I know exactly how the judges I practice in front of consider unsubstantiated denials credible – they do not absent the witness offering the denial appearing to be highly credible and the opposing witness appearing to lack any real semblance of credibility.

    FWIW I believe the format mad it difficult for Ms. Mitchell to do much to hurt Dr. Ford, but it will give her an opportunity to try to let him rebut anything that appears harmful that he says under questioning by the dems.

  74. I thought his explanation of “Renate Alumnius” [sp] was laughable.  She certainly did not take it as an affectionate reference.

  75. Good grief, the water works, the angst, the pain, the BS.  Jesus Alou!!!  This is supposed to be one of SFB best?

    Except for those few wasted minutes watching that SShow, I am spending my day surviving a second cold.  At least I am not showing Scabies.

  76. the  Kavanaugh Predator Defense

    1.  It never happened

    2.  If if it did happen to her — it was someone else

    3.  If I did do it I was too drunk to remember so it doesn’t count

    And it is all the Democrats fault they made me do it

  78. sj. I think the same as you. I wonder whether how it will play with 2 Republican senators who might not buy the belligerent act.

  79. I have little doubt that the incident that’s the focus of today’s hearing actually occurred and involved the 2 principals. My bet is that she recognized it as sexual assault but as an entitled little prick, he regarded it as horse play. If the assault had been presented as “groping”, the little shit would have admitted to it. When the term “sexual assault” came into play as this hit the airwaves, the reaction was “ruh-roh, gotta deny it.” I think that a similar scenario may be in play when the term “gang rape” is used. Back in my day, there were girls who got drunk and would have been unable to consent to sex. If you had asked them whether they had been raped, they would have said no. However, if you reframed the question with the definition of rape, ie, sex without consent, they would have given a different answer. Boys who had sex with a clearly drunk girl would swear up and down that it wasn’t rape because there was no force. Not rationalizing Kavanaugh’s behavior by any means. Chickens are coming home to roost for him since my bet is that he’s never been held accountable for anything. Karma’s a bitch.

  80. This guy would get the questions he’s evading asked again to him until he answered – problem being that ‘assley would  never make him answer regardless of how many times he evaded, unlike even the lowest level judges I practice in front of.

    Whitehouse is doing a pretty good job.

  82. Democrats: ditch Schumer & elevate Klobuchar as your public face. I’m OK with this.

    Signed,

    A Voter Who Believes in Democracy

  84. Kavanaugh must be on the rag…oh wait

    by the time this is over no one but the Koch family will id as a gooper

    Lindsay Graham doesn’t have to bend over to kiss Trump’s butt

  87. SJ, Sen. Klobuchar would be a great pick – terrific demeanor. And Whitehouse is a smart guy – and without any apparent sharp elbows.

  88. the goops wanted to make this a he said she said– that’s what happened and now they don’t like the results because it believable that he was a teenage bully and drunk

  89. Chris Coombs is pointing out his evasiveness – ask one question he answers a different one.  He’s the opposing party you love as a lawyer to have on the stand.  And ‘assley is like the judge you as a lawyer say, “Judge, if you don’t mind, would you let me ask my questions and let the witness answer them?”  I’ve been in that situation before, and although it’s uncomfortable, I’ve had to ask that kind of question to make sure the record was clear for the appeal.

  90. And Mike Lee is the opposing attorney who halfway through his diatribe you ask the Court whether there is some question for the witness somewhere in words he’s uttering.

  92. O’K’s actions interrupting Blumenthal and not letting him finish his questions would put him in contempt in at least 2 courts I practice in routinely, and in one of the courts I practice in occasionally the judge in that court would fine him and threaten jail if he did it twice.

  96. He sounds like Fozzie Bear, but he looks like a constipated, old frat rat…who refuses to answer a yes or no question.  Maybe he doesn’t understand the meaning of yes and no.  No, means no.

  98. Apologizing to Kavanaugh  for what HE has been through?  Apologize to Dr. Ford for what she went through as a 15 year-old girl!   Would Kavanaugh want someone to treat his daughters the way he he treated Dr. Ford?

  102. The sham, err, show is over, the fix is in and the vote will be tomorrow. The pugns are so full of shit I can’t abide it.

  104. SJ, who you asking?  If it’s me I believe Dr. Ford.  Kavanaught strikes me as a lying puke.  I only hope there are a couple of (R) Senators who agree with me.  Toobin is laying out why Dr. Ford is the believable one as to the two of them. He sees the evidence as different as between the two of them – and he focuses on her lack of motive to come forward at all, much less lie, and the manner the two of them conducted themselves as being relevant for consideration in assessing who is telling the truth and who is not – and the inescapable result is that Ford is telling the truth and Kavanaugh, not so much.

  106. Toobin just now said it happens every time – there’s always a woman to blame and it never works out well for the woman. (That’s not verbatim, but it’s close).

  107. Yeah look what happened to Mitchell – her questions could have been a problem for Kav so they folded

  109. I heard several times today during Kavenog part,after the gop senators took it back, things which, if I were Dr. Ford or her lawyer, would have me down at the courthouse at 9 am filing charges.

  112. Have I said today that I hate IMPOTUS and I hate Suckbee and I hate Lindsey Graham – have I said that today?  If not I’m saying it now. Watching the rerun of Hardball and their despicable messages from today were highlighted by Chris. Despicables one and all.

  114. pogo,  toobin also pointed out that the judge has caused a problem for the next democrat who has a case before him.  think he’ll recuse himself?

    some of that bias is quoted in  usatoday ‘Calculated political hit’: Brett Kavanaugh says accusations rooted in anger over Trump

  115. Kavanaugh came across as a real life dr. jekle mr hyde today….  wonder what was in that water he was guzzling.

     

     

    humdinger of a performance for a shrink to critique

  118. there appears to be a cabal of Collins, Murkowski, Flake and Manion and I think it is bad news for Kavanaugh

  121. Trevor Noah eviscerated O’Kavanaugh tonight. Mrs P is now talking about moving to a remote part of the coast in Italy. She’s that embarrassed. Of course she’s Italian, soooo….

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