Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford Sexual Assault Allegations Hearing

[Rachel333]

Graham says he felt "ambushed as the majority." He really seems rattled by all this.

[fraurosena]

Graham was visibly shaking. He's rattled and angry. I sincerely hope this is because he believes Kavanaugh's nomination does not have enough votes now. 

[Rachel333]

He said he thinks Ford "is just as much a victim in this as Kavanaugh."

[GreyhoundFan]

This is surprising: "Trump's favorite TV network deems Christine Blasey Ford testimony 'compelling'"

Spoiler

When Air Force One landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday morning, all the televisions onboard were tuned to Fox News’ coverage of Christine Blasey Ford’s Senate testimony, according to a pool report. The analysis from President Donald Trump's favorite network’s news hosts may not have been what he was hoping to hear.

“Compelling testimony, obviously emotional,” anchor Bret Baier said, as the hearing entered its first break.

Fellow news anchor Martha MacCallum, noting the disjointed nature of the questioning by a prosecutor brought in by Republicans for the hearing, said, “You have to believe that the Republican senators right now are asking themselves whether this was a good idea, whether or not they have robbed themselves of the opportunity to ask pointed questions in a way that perhaps might be more compelling.”

But it was veteran news host Chris Wallace who dropped the hammer the hardest.

“This was extremely emotional, extremely raw and extremely credible," he said. "Nobody could listen to her deliver those words and talk about the assault and the impact it had on her life and not have your heart go out to her.”

“This is a disaster for Republicans,” Wallace said, referring to the format and sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell’s questioning. He later added, “The Democrats are landing haymakers.”

Trump is known to watch Fox News throughout the day, though the White House did not specify which network he was watching Thursday, telling pool reporters only that he was viewing the testimony on a delay. In an 81-minute press conference on Wednesday, Trump said he could be swayed by Thursday’s proceedings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. But he's also known to listen to the opinions offered by Fox News hosts.

The network stocked its coverage of the hearing with its most respected news voices. In addition to Baier, MacCallum and Wallace, Shannon Bream and Brit Hume were on set, as well as commentator Marie Harf.

The panel spent much of its time discussing the shortcomings of the hearing’s format and Mitchell’s questioning, though it was clear that they found Ford compelling. Hume described her as a “very sympathetic witness.”

The statements stood in contrast to the opinions aired on previous nights by the network's opinion hosts. Laura Ingraham, for instance, on her show accused Ford of making up therapist's notes from 2012, which Ford says describe her recounting her alleged assault.

“Guess what, there are no notes. She didn’t deliver her notes," Ingraham said. "You know why? Because I think the therapist was like an Acme therapist; there wasn’t a therapist. It was a big lie. Lie, lie, lie.”

A viral moment, though, came Thursday, when Wallace discussed conversations he’d had with his daughters about sexual assault. “Two of my daughters have told me stories that I had never heard before about things that happened to them in high school and hadn’t told their parents,” he said.

“There are teenage girls who don’t tell stories to a lot of people," he said. "I don’t think we can disregard that. I don’t think we can disregard Christine Blasey Ford and the seriousness of this.”

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[SassyPants]

Bottom Line-

This isn't a criminal investigation. It is more of a job interview. Is Kavanaugh, a man who has now been accused by multiple women, [one of whom who just testified very successfully], of sexual abuse the BEST man for a lifetime job that would require him to adjudicate important decisions for our country???

I think using just a little common sense, most would say hell no.

In my reply above^- I should have indicated that Kavanaugh is not the best PERSON for the job! There are better men and women for that appointment.

[Cartmann99]

I was having trouble with the stream I was listening to, so I tried a couple of other ones. C-Span is doing that thing where they ask viewers to call in on the comment lines during the breaks.   If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you really don't want to hear what some of their callers are saying.

I'm back on the PBS NewsHour stream and they are currently playing classical music and showing a picture of Kavanaugh with a message that the hearing will resume at about 3pm ET. 

[precious blessing]

Republicans just fucked themselves - the prosecutor had nothing to "prosecute" her for if that's what they were hoping. For those who didn't watch/ listen, Ms. Mitchell ended by more-or-less saying that questioning Dr. Ford in 5-minute increments was stupid and it would have been far more effective for her to have sat down and given a 1-on-1 interview (like with the FBI). The hearing was stupid, 10 or so old, white men hiding behind a female prosecutor was even more stupid. Add in the facts that they had nothing to discredit Dr. Ford and that the Ms. Mitchell didn't seem to play partisan... Could not have been much worse.

But Repubs are teflon, so I continue to expect the worst from them and nothing surprises me anymore.

Edited September 27, 2018 by precious blessing

[Rachel333]

I'm glad I watched Dr. Ford's part of the hearing but I don't think I can handle watching Kavanaugh.

[Audrey2]

41 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

Graham says he felt "ambushed as the majority." He really seems rattled by all this.

Graham, being in the majority doesn't give you a free pass for everything, despite what your news network leads you to believe.

[Rachel333]

Kavanaugh is actually yelling. WTF

I think his wife is about to cry.

[formergothardite]

Kavanaugh is coming off really bad after Dr. Ford. He isn't bother to hide how angry he is.  His wife looks like she is about to burst into tears. 

OMG. I want to throw something at him. He is awful. 

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by formergothardite

[Rachel333]

If this is what he's like sober imagine him drunk.  The reports of him being a mean, angry drunk seem very believable.

[formergothardite]

3 minutes ago, Rachel333 said:

If this is what he's like sober imagine him drunk.  The reports of him being a mean, angry drunk seem very believable.

Seriously. He is acting scary. I had to stop watching because he was making me anxious. 

57 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Graham was visibly shaking. He's rattled and angry.

Wasn't a quote of his about the strength of sexual abuse survivors who speak out used? I think that probably threw him off and they were also not expecting her to be so believable and sympathetic. We are going from a visibly anxious woman talking about the trauma of sex abuse to an angry white man screaming. This is not good for the GOP. They will still get him in, but this is going to be a dark cloud that follows them. 

[Rachel333]

 

[Cartmann99]

He's drinking a lot of water.

 

[fraurosena]

Ugh, now he's fake crying. Revolting and totally unbelievable. Blech.

[GreyhoundFan]

I'm wondering if there are cut onions in the water, so it can seem like he is tearing up.

[pook]

I would be crying too if my husband lied to me about being a virgin and not a rapist.

[formergothardite]

His wife looks so distressed. If this is what he acts like in public when he is angry what does he do in private? I'm sure her life will not be fun if he doesn't get the confirmation promised to him. 

Will Senators get to ask him questions today?

[precious blessing]

He's trying so hard, overcompensating with sniffles for the lack of tears. Dear god, is he just going to keep going on and on? Ford could have done the same...

[SassyPants]

He is not fit for the job-

He is coming off like a petulant, angry 13 YO.

[fraurosena]

2 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm wondering if there are cut onions in the water, so it can seem like he is tearing up.

Nah, there are no tears. His eyes are dry, not even a little bit moist. Plus, he let's his voice break, and in the next sentence he can speak normally again (no thick throaty voice).

And now he's being angry again... pounding his own chest. Yuck.

[Rachel333]

Just now, formergothardite said:

His wife looks so distressed. If this is what he acts like in public when he is angry what does he do in private?

She had an odd, sad look on her face when he said he still likes beer that made me wonder how familiar she is with him as a mean drunk.

[GreyhoundFan]

3 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

He is not fit for the job-

He is coming off like a petulant, angry 13 YO.

I was just saying that he's coming across like an uber-entitled frat boy.