Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford Sexual Assault Allegations Hearing

[MarblesMom]

This from one of our fundies

[SilverBeach]

JRod is a stupid bitch, stupider than Lori Alexander even. I despise them both.

[GreyhoundFan]

"A day of explosive testimony results in a partisan brawl"

Spoiler

Whatever anyone intended, Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee devolved into the worst of Washington. It was a partisan brawl on steroids that will leave the country more deeply divided than before. It ended as many had feared it would, a she-said, he-said moment that left senators with no easy out on the question of whether to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The day started quietly enough, as Christine Blasey Ford took the witness stand to assert that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her 36 years ago when both were teenagers in the Washington suburbs. By the afternoon, after Ford had departed and Kavanaugh had delivered an indignant and sometimes tearful opening statement, it devolved into angry finger-pointing, with Republicans accusing Democrats of character assassination for partisan reasons.

At some point soon, Kavanaugh’s fate will be decided. He will either become a member of the Supreme Court or he will not. But the process by which that fate is ultimately determined is likely to leave a stain on Washington, reminding the country that, for now, the confirmation of justices for the high court is in the grip of the same partisan political climate that cuts across almost everything in public life.

Ford proved to be a powerful witness, coolly determined both to demonstrate her credibility as an accuser and to dismiss assertions that she had come forward because of political or partisan motivations. Kavanaugh brought a totally different demeanor to the hearing room, hot and emotional. He came to salvage a reputation that he said had been destroyed by several accusations. But he also came to charge that he was the victim of a vicious attack by Democrats and their allies who were willing to do anything to bring him down.

By her own admission, Ford was terrified to be where she was, at the center of one of the most supercharged Supreme Court nomination battles in history. But if she was terrified, she was also unshakable. Washington is a city of prepared sound bites, focus-grouped and poll-tested language and the posturing of the highest order. On Thursday, Ford provided a reminder that there is another model: the strength of straightforward testimony, calmly delivered and yet emotionally powerful.

No one knew what to expect of her, but if Republicans thought her version of events would come apart under close examination, she proved them wrong. Through hours of questioning by Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona prosecutor hired by the all-male Republican majority on the committee to do what they normally do, she showed herself to be credible, careful, open and, in the end, most human. She was what the politicians claim they are all seeking: She was authentic.

Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, all the analogies were to a possible repeat of the bickering and backbiting that took place 27 years ago in a similar setting, when Anita Hill testified against now-Justice Clarence Thomas in what became one of the most raucous Supreme Court confirmations in memory. At those hearings, Republicans openly sought to demolish Hill’s credibility and in the end, though she was a credible witness, Thomas was narrowly confirmed.

Ford arrived for her testimony at a moment far removed in at least one important way from the world of 1991, a moment in which the #MeToo movement has altered the way women are heard when they speak out about sexual assault or harassment. Republicans knew they could not do to Ford what had been done to Hill. Those in the hearing room hushed to hear what she had to say and, around the country, Americans stopped to listen.

Ford has many believers, though she cannot prove to the satisfaction of everyone that Kavanaugh had done what she said. There are gaps in her memory and denials from others she had placed at the scene of the party in summer 1982. But in acknowledging what she could not remember, her statement that she was “100 percent” certain that it was Kavanaugh and not someone else who had pinned her to a bed, covered her mouth and tried to remove her clothes echoed powerfully through the hearing room.

For his part, Kavanaugh repeatedly cited those who had taken issue with details of Ford’s assertion. Not only were her charges uncorroborated, he said, but they had been refuted. But when pressed by Democrats, who asked him to call for an FBI investigation that would seek testimony from all accusers and all potential witnesses, particularly his high school friend Mark Judge, he demurred, tossing the issue back on the divided committee.

The overall strength of Ford’s testimony was clear from the reactions of partisans across the political spectrum, with many conservatives remarking on her effectiveness as a witness and raising questions about whether Kavanaugh could muster the votes needed for confirmation. From the White House, where President Trump was monitoring the hearings, there were no immediate signals.

As a result, Kavanaugh came to his critical moment in the afternoon under enormous pressure. His earlier testimony before the committee, before any of the allegations of sexual misconduct had been raised, was judged as mixed. His interview with Martha MacCallum of Fox News on Monday raised concerns among his Republican allies that he had been too scripted and not forceful enough in his rebuttals.

Given all that, he took what may have been the only strategy possible, which was to fight back as hard as he could, beginning with his opening statement. His personal anguish was evident, as he struggled to compose himself repeatedly, especially when talking about his family. He could see the damage that had been done to him, and the emotional toll the process has taken on his family also was clear in the expressions on the face of his wife, Ashley, seated behind him.

But it was the other part of his testimony that turned the battle back into raw partisanship. He said there had been a frenzy on the left to block his nomination from the very start and that when it appeared that the effort was failing, Democrats had unleashed “grotesque and coordinated character assassination” against him.

“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,” he said. “Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the Clintons. And millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”

Trump immediately signaled his support for his nominee. Whether Kavanaugh did enough to solidify enough Republicans to guarantee his confirmation also will be known soon. There will be doubts no matter the outcome, questions that have not been resolved, broader issues of the treatment of women still up for debate and partisanship in the saddle. In that sense, Thursday ended as it began.

 

[luv2laugh]

All of the Republicans agree that Dr. Ford is credible and “nice” yet they say they feel sorry for Kavanaugh and how his life has been ruined over allegation, lack of evidence, and intelligent. I have even watched Republicans dismiss Dr. Ford as “troubled”.

There has been a lot of people state that Kavanaugh was a popular guy and a belligerent drunk. Kavanaugh wavered on many questions about his drinking. Kavanaugh said he loves drinking and embraced it—- why? Because Kavanaugh knows many people are speaking out that he was known as a popular drunk.

Kavanaugh can’t truthfully answer if/what he remembers while drinking because he was inebriated. Medically, yes, Kavanaugh could have done things while inebriated and not remembered them. In fact, a Yale college female friend that he would drink beers with is now a medical doctor and gave a statement referring to being inebriated and not remembering things being likely. 

Historically, men have always dismissed women with comments such as “nice” or “troubled” with a reference to emotions, mental health, and hormones. 

Look at Dr. Ford. What does she have to gain??? Nothing. Dr. Ford wanted anonymity and never asked for attention. Kavanaugh has incentive to fight back so he cannot be a credible witness. Dr. Ford has put herself out there, knowing her academic career, psychologist practice, etc. would be attacked. 

I don’t think Murkowski and Collins will vote for Kavanaugh. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by luv2laugh

[Shiny]

2 minutes ago, luv2laugh said:

All of the Republicans agree that Dr. Ford is credible and “nice” yet they say they feel sorry for Kavanaugh and how his life has been ruined over allegation, lack of evidence, and intelligent. I have even watched Republicans dismiss Dr. Ford as “troubled”.

There has been a lot of people state that Kavanaugh was a popular guy and a belligerent drunk. Kavanaugh wavered on many questions about his drinking.

Historically, men have always dismissed women with comments such as “nice” or “troubled” with a reference to emotions, mental health, and hormones.

I don’t think Murkowski and Collins will vote for Kavanaugh. 

I think Murkowski will. She is rotten to the core, like her father was. 

[Cartmann99]

I felt like this woman while listening to the hearing today:

 

[MarblesMom]

So, we have a Pres who thinks "grabbing them by the pussy" is ok, and loves Kavanaugh.

What a time to be a woman in America.  Everything that everyone before us fought for is in a burn pit at the moment, imho.

Deep sigh.

[GreyhoundFan]

"5 takeaways from the Kavanaugh hearing"

Spoiler

Two emotional testimonies. Unequivocal accusations and unequivocal denials. Democrats and Republicans charging the other side of political motivations, and a whole lot of yelling.

The extraordinary hearing in which Christine Blasey Ford accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault was both predictable and unpredictable. Here are our takeaways from Thursday’s hearing.

1. This didn’t start off well for Republicans

Before Ford spoke, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, opened the hearing with a list of complaints about the timing of her allegation — specifically how the story broke the same week that the committee was planning to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination. He ticked off his committee’s failed attempts to corroborate Ford’s allegation. He listed four people the panel interviewed who were alleged to be at the party and said: “All, under penalty of felony, denied the events described.” Grassley was directing most of his ire at Democrats, but cable news split screens showed Grassley questioning Ford’s account and a terrified-looking Ford.

Grassley didn’t mention that Ford told the four people about her allegations before Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court. (That’s a key litmus test that sex-crimes prosecutors use to determine a witness’s credibility.)

If Republicans saw this through a partisan lens, Democrats did their best to frame it that way. Democrats repeatedly mentioned the 1991 Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearing to draw a parallel between Ford and one of the most notorious sexual harassment hearings in U.S. history.

There were other reasons it wasn’t a great morning for Kavanaugh backers . . .

2. Meanwhile, Ford came across as credible and sympathetic

Reading her testimony about the alleged attack was compelling. Hearing her describe it was downright gripping. Reporters who were there said all 21 senators were leaning forward on the dais as she spoke, and the room was heavy as she said this:

Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time, because he was very inebriated, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit underneath my clothing. I believed he was going to rape me.

I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. This is what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.

-Christine Blasey Ford

Ford cut a sympathetic figure, and simultaneously rebutted three main arguments against her case:

A. That she and Democrats waited to share her story in an effort to tank Kavanaugh’s nomination: Ford said that she was conflicted about whether to share her secret but that as Kavanaugh’s nomination became more of a certainty, she felt even more obligated to speak out. “I was panicking because I knew the timeline was short about the decision,” she said when prosecutor Rachel Mitchell asked why she had contacted The Washington Post.

B. That she was politically motivated: Ford is a registered Democrat, but she made sure to say this in her opening remarks: “I am an independent person, and I am no one’s pawn."

C. That she isn’t credible because she can’t remember all the details about the party. She said she was “100 percent” certain that Kavanaugh was the one who assaulted her. The research psychologist went into professor mode to explain the chemical process in the brain that captures traumatic experiences: “Basic memory functions,” she said, “and also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain. That neurotransmitter encodes memories into the hippocampus. And so the trauma-related experience is locked in there while other details kind of drift.”

Most important for her case, though, Ford came across as a normal, authentic person placed in an unreal situation. Some of the first words she uttered were that she was terrified. She said she had never been questioned by a prosecutor but promised to do her best. She asked a senator what “exculpatory” evidence was. She told Mitchell that she didn’t contact the president because she didn’t know how to do so. Grassley reminded her that she was the one who got to control the committee’s breaks. “I’m used to being collegial,” she said.

3. Republicans' decision to hand their questions over to a female prosecutor seemed questionable

Eleven men questioning a woman whom many in their party have already discredited is not a good look, and the Republicans on the committee recognized that. So they hired Rachel Mitchell, an experienced sex-crimes prosecutor from Arizona, to question Ford for them. Mitchell kept her voice even, asked strictly legal questions about the timeline in Ford’s story and even, at times, sympathized with Ford. “The first thing that struck me from your statement this morning was that you are terrified, and I just wanted to let you know I’m very sorry. That’s not right,” Mitchell said.

But as Mitchell did her job, Republicans' reluctance to question Ford themselves grew more conspicuous. That was especially the case when compared with Democrats taking their turns to praise Ford and bash Republicans for not allowing the FBI to investigate her claims or to call key witnesses, such as Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge or the person who administered Ford’s polygraph test.

The whipsaw from Democrats making political points to a prosecutor producing maps and summaries of polygraph tests made for a disjointed, awkward presentation. Was this a trial? A committee hearing? A spectacle? It felt like all three rolled into one, which is certainly not what Republicans who set up the hearing were going for.

As Ford’s turn on the witness stand wrapped up, neither side had managed to prove or disprove much. Ford stayed consistent to her story that Kavanaugh assaulted her, and Democrats stayed consistent that they believe her. And Republicans were left silent, their earlier questioning of Ford’s credibility echoing loudly.

4. Kavanaugh is angry. But does his defiance backfire?

Under oath, Kavanaugh offered an unequivocal denial that he sexually assaulted Ford: “I swear today, under oath, before the Senate and the nation, before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge."

But his emotions often overshadowed the content of his remarks.

In an opening statement that ran more than 40 minutes, Kavanaugh threw out his carefully crafted persona as a nonpartisan judge to defend himself. He at times both shouted and cried as he described the impact the allegations have had on him and his family. He repeatedly attacked Democrats, even accusing them of ruining his life with the timing of the allegations and the scrutiny and accusations that followed.

“I love teaching law,” he said. “But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never teach again.”

“I love coaching more than anything I’ve ever done in my whole life,” he said. “But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to coach again.”

Kavanaugh was center stage in a national debate about how powerful men treat women. Compared with Ford’s emotional but soft-spoken testimony, it wasn’t clear how his emotional and angry defense would come across. At least one viewer approved.

5. Kavanaugh may have done what he needed to do for the most important people in the room

Kavanaugh denied he had sexual relations with Ford and testified he was never even alone in a room with Ford and Judge. He went so far as to reiterate that he was a virgin in high school, something he said he was privately proud of. He walked through his high school calendar in detail to try to argue that there’s no way he could have been at such a gathering because he was out of town so much.

His performance was enough for most Republican lawmakers on the committee, who one by one threw away the notion of having a sex-crimes prosecutor question him and used their five minutes to defend Kavanaugh. None did that more passionately than Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who made clear last week that he was going to vote for Kavanaugh. “This is going to destroy the good people coming forward because of this crap,” he yelled.

So Kavanaugh seems to have the support of most of the Republican senators in that committee room who will first vote on his nomination, save Sen Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a swing vote who didn’t let on what he was thinking. And did he win over the ones outside the room — swing votes such as Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and the American public?

 

[fraurosena]

18 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

They had breaking news on our local newsradio station. McTurtle is pushing to have the full senate vote on Saturday. Hopefully Flake, Collins, and Murkowski will have a conscience. Not holding my breath, however.

Damn. If McTurtle is pushing for a full senate vote on Saturday, I’m afraid that means he’s sure he has the votes.

[SilverBeach]

Yeah, this prick Kavanaugh calls Dr. Ford and the others liars on behalf of some Democratic plot that there is absolutely no evidence of. It's ok to spew that nonsense without evidence but the women are to be dismissed because there is no evidence. He is totally unsuitable to sit on the SP. If he is confirmed I hope the polls are ablaze in blue come Nov. The repubs are truly repugnant. I get more ashamed of being an American each day.

[luv2laugh]

Also, I knew men like Kavanaugh back in high school. These were the “popular guys” and “Alphas”. Many of them were on the football team, like Kavanaugh, many drank regularly and went to parties each weekend. A lot of these men were bullies and would make fun of women. 

Maybe it is stereotypical, but Kavanaugh fits the description to a T and men like them arrogantly think they can get away with anything.

Kavanaugh was known to be a belligerent drunk. He’s more likely to have a reason to have done this than for Dr. Ford to randomly lie. 

Edited September 28, 2018 by luv2laugh

[fraurosena]

I’m so sorry for you guys, but...

...

 

[Shiny]

I am angry in a way that is not usual for me. Like I just want to scream obscenities into the air tonight. What a fucking day.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[MarblesMom]

#Metoo

I rose to massive ranks in corporate America and thankfully, am not there anymore.

During this time, I was subjected to random groping, phone calls to my hotel room in the middle of the night by men taunting me, or men inviting me to their rooms, asking for "one little kiss." 

Men I worked with.  Men who reported to me.

Not gonna ever happen.  I wanted my job and I worked hard to get where I was.

One even had the audacity to order a bottle of wine and two glasses waiting for me in my room at one hotel, after he called me "his spicy little taco."

I was also called a "downtown skirt" (WTH is that?) and  my kids were "trophy kids" ..... it goes on and on.

Many more stories, and I don't even have a calendar to remember it by.

I reported all of this .... nothing was ever done. NOTHING.  Even with having a female manager.

I got my job done, well, and fuck you to all the men who thought I was just sleeping my way to the top.  Fuck all of them.

Sorry to rant, but today got the best of me.

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[fraurosena]

From the DC bureau chief at the Intercept:

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[thoughtful]

@AmazonGrace, you beat me to it -- I was just about to post it.

Even if he's not a sexual predator, why would we benefit from having such a total asshole on the SC? There have to be dozens, perhaps hundreds of real judges out there.

[AmazonGrace]

House staffers covering for his perjury 

 

[Rachel333]

I've been feeling pretty hopeless, but this seems like a big deal. The American Bar Association is calling for the vote to be halted until after an FBI investigation.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/27/politics/kavanaugh-american-bar-association/index.html

[AmazonGrace]

 

[candygirl200413]

I"ve become extremely jaded since November 2016 and know without a doubt that he'll be confirmed. We can call until the cows come home but I guarantee you 100% of the senators that were supposed to be the "saviors" will confirm him because voting base and repealing things like abortion.

I'm in a state where I have a vocal opponent of Kavanaugh and one who loves him because he knows his base won't accept unless less. 

[AmazonGrace]

Dershowitz