Christine Blasey Ford demands an investigation before testifying against Kavanaugh, and the Republicans push back

I imagine that, had news come out back during the last administration that an adult film actress had authored a book in which she went on at length about the President’s freakishly misshapen cartoon “toadstool” of a cock, it would have dominated headlines for weeks, if not for months. Today, though, in this godforsaken hell world that we currently inhabit, it barely made a ripple. While people feigned horror at the detailed description of Trump’s penis, and the “yeti pubes” that apparently surround it, I’d argue that no one was really all that surprised. We’d known that he’d had multiple affairs behind the back of the First Lady, and we knew that, in time, we’d get multiple firsthand accounts of his genitalia from his woefully unsatisfied sex partners. But I think it’s important to note for the historical record. Today, we were treated to a porn star’s description of our President’s cock, and nothing really happened. A few presidential penis memes came and went, but we collectively moved on pretty quickly. And I just think that’s so damned weird. I get that we live in a different time, but the thought that I could have woken up one morning and read Marilyn Chambers’ account of Ronald Reagan’s cock, and that, by the end of the day, no one would be talking about it, is just so fucking weird to me.

With that said, there’s good reason why we’ve moved on from Trump’s cock, and Paul Manafort’s pardon-proof plea deal, and the President’s stupid comments about Hurricane Florence, and everything else. And that’s because the Kavanaugh story just keeps unfolding, getting progressively uglier.

Since Dr. Christine Blasey Ford came forward, identifying herself as Kavanuagh’s anonymous accuser, and going into more detail about the night when, according to her, a drunken 17 year old Kavanaugh had attempted to rape her, things have just grown more and more insane, with Republicans doing everything in their power to discredit the well-respected Palo Alto professor and push their Supreme Court nominee though. After spending a day denying that the attack ever took place, the argument began shifting today, with Republicans describing the incident as “rough horseplay,” as though it’s just harmless, good natured fun for an older, drunken football player to take a 15 year old girl into a bedroom and attempt to pull her clothes off while covering her mouth with his hand so that she can’t yell out for help, all while a buddy guards the door. But that’s the narrative today on Fox News, where Blasey is being called a “loon,” and blamed for not coming forward back in ’82, when she was a terrified 15 year old, with the implication being that it must not have been all that bad.

And, of course, all of this is happening against a backdrop of Mitch McConnell wringing his hands and complaining about how the Democrats, by pursuing this attack against Kavanaugh’s character, are throwing the time-honored “bipartisan process” for confirmations out the window, as though the Republicans hadn’t done much worse when they denied Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, a vote for well over a year.

Despite the troubling baggage, the Republicans don’t seem willing to just cut Kavanaugh loose, though. Maybe it’s because they’ve been grooming him as a political operative for the past 30 years, and feel as though they have too much invested. Or maybe it’s because they think they might not get another nominee through before the midterm elections, when it’s possible that control of the Senate ay revert back to the Democrats. Whatever the reason, they’ve decided that, as flawed as he may be, he’s their man, and they’re trying to do whatever it takes to get him across the goal line. If they had it their way, they’d go ahead and vote on him today, as they have the votes, but they know that, if they were to do that, they’d likely face the wrath of voters during the midterms, irate that Blasey wasn’t at least given an opportunity to tell her story. And, at the same time, they don’t dare delay, as, every day that they wait, there’s more of an opportunity for things to surface about Kavanaugh’s sketchy past. [note: Today video surfaced of Kavanaugh laughing and saying, “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.”]

Speaking of Kavanaugh’s sketchy past, we still don’t know how he managed to pay off $200,000 in credit card debt, afford $92,000 in country club fees, and buy a $1.2 million home on an income of $220,000 as a federal judge. Interestingly, though, Lindsey Graham isn’t interested in this. No, he’s more interested in finding out who paid $300 for Blasey’s polygraph test… which, by the way, she passed.

So, given all of this, Republican leadership today announced that, in hopes of bringing this to a swift resolution, they’d have both Kavanaugh and Blasey testify before the Judiciary Committee this coming Monday. Not surprisingly, though, this didn’t sit well with Blasey, who, through her lawyer, asked for a thorough FBI investigation to be conducted prior to her testimony… Here’s an excerpt from her letter, in which she requests “a full investigation by law enforcement officials [to] ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the Committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing… “

The Republicans, you can be sure, are not acting in good faith here. They not only want to bring Blasey before their committee and to do to her what they did to Anita Hill back in ’91, but they want her to be seated at the same table as her alleged attacker, answering his lawyer’s questions. [And they wonder why more women don’t come forward to report incidents like this.]

Ford, in my opinion, is exactly right to request that an official investigation be carried out before she’s put on national television to answer questions about her sexual history and what she might have done to “lead this decent and upstanding youth man on.” Among other things, Mark Judge, the friend of Kavanaugh’s who allegedly held the door during the attack, should be subpoenaed to testify under oath. He said today that he wouldn’t testify, and he should be compelled to do so. And other people at the party should be interviewed as well. And they should submit to lie detector tests. Ford has been tested, and others should as well. And, only after all of this is done, should Ford be subjected to the partisan attacks of the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, who, by the way, are all men… at least one of whom has hinted that he did similar things in his youth.

I’m afraid that Harvard Law’s Lawrence Tribe has it exactly right when he says, “The GOP game is clear: They’ll go ahead and vote Wednesday with no Monday hearing, blaming Dr. Blasey for declining her chance to testify.” For what it’s worth, he then goes on to say, “It’s disgusting but might work,” adding that “Blasey must either cave and testify Monday or call their bluff and hope they’ll blink.” His advice to her – give in, agree to testify on Monday, and demonstrate to the world just how cruel, depraved and sexist the Republicans are. [Those are my words, not his.]

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95 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Posted September 18, 2018 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

    Jeff Flake: When Dr. Ford came forward, I said that her voice should be heard and asked the Judiciary Committee to delay its vote on Judge Kavanaugh. It did so. I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting. The committee should hear her voice.

  2. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 3:00 am | Permalink

    I don’t believe the Republicans are going to get what they want in this instance. I believe they’re being outmanouvered.

    What happened to HW, FF and EOS? They seem to have gone quiet recently. Were they raptured?

  3. Anonymous
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:49 am | Permalink

    Ask littlegreenselector@gmail.com. That is the spokesperson for some of them now.

  4. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 5:34 am | Permalink

    Jean Henry, if you’re the reason FF, EOS and HW have disappeared, may God bless you. I don’t care how you did it. God bless you!

  5. Kim
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 6:33 am | Permalink

    I’ll see you and raise you.

    Lindsey Graham: “This has been a drive-by shooting when it comes to Kavanaugh . . . I’ll listen to the lady, but we’re going to bring this to a close.”

    https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1042194602957172736?s=21

  6. CNN’s Jim Sciutto
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 6:40 am | Permalink

    The offer to Christina Blasey Ford is blunt: testify in public six days from now while under death threats or your allegation will be ignored in the confirmation of a SCOTUS nominee. That is quite a choice.

  7. John Brown
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 7:02 am | Permalink

    However this particular misogynistic scum ends up , its clear the Repugnant-kins are ruthless amoral power grabbing fascists. And they have an army of ultra armed religious zealots ready to kill libtards because “abortion is genocide”. Get yourself to the gun range and make sure that they will get return fire when they eventually unleash goon squads on our liberal bubbles. You can get a great Ar15 for $599 right now and have the comfort that even with your purchase Sturm Ruger is most likely going to go out of business because the other side is saturated and broke.

    My last visit to Washtenaw Sportsmans Club I was delighted to see both a Prius and a brand new little Honda SUV there for a private beginner .22 session. Once you learn the basics on a .22 there’s very little difference going to an AR. Earlier this summer I even saw a “resist” bumper sticker there. I’ll be wearing the Liberal Gun Club shirt, so you’ll know it’s me.

    If you’re still too much of a libtard pussy to prep for the fight, then get the fuck off your ass and canvass for Gretchen Driskell, or your closest flippable congressional race!

  8. Kim
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 8:23 am | Permalink

    In case you missed it, attorney Ronald Klain pointed out yesterday that there is precedent for an FBI investigation.

    “FACT: In 1991 — by bipartisan agreement — the FBI was sent to interview both Prof. Hill and Judge Thomas approx two weeks before the public hearings on Hill’s allegations were conducted.” -Ronald Klain

  9. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 9:24 am | Permalink

    I guess just dropping this nominee and finding a Republican who isn’t an attempted rapist is out of the question. That’s too much of a challenge.

  10. Max
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 9:45 am | Permalink

    Finding another Republican nominee that has specifically stated that they don’t think a sitting President can be indicted would be a tall order.

  11. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    Kavanaugh being a deeply devout Catholic, I guess they thought it was good enough that the person that he attempted to rape wasn’t a much younger boy.

    To men and Republicans in Congress, the world is “don’t ask, don’t tell” when it comes to attempted rape. They pretty much have all done it, and therefor assume it’s nornal. Putting on the phony appearance of being a Christian and such is just considered part of the game. If there is a single one of them that isn’t guilty of it, that particular individual must feel like such an outcast and a freak among those sociopaths.

  12. Donald Trump weighs in
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 10:11 am | Permalink

    “If she shows up and makes a credible showing, that’ll be very interesting, and we’ll have to make a decision. But I can only say this: he’s such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened.” – Donald Trump

    https://abcn.ws/2D8dZ3A

  13. EOS
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 10:53 am | Permalink

    She doesn’t remember exactly when or where, but she wants the FBI to investigate a high school party 35 years ago. Two of the 3 persons who were supposedly in the room have no recollection of the occurrence at all. She’s stalled the vote, she’s had her 15 minutes of fame. Now let’s vote and get Kavanaugh on the bench for the start of the next session. There are bigger fish to fry then ruining a man’s life by accusing him of falling on top of a teenager while drunk in order to cop a feel of her breast.

  14. LUMOS
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:00 am | Permalink

    “There are bigger fish to fry then ruining a man’s life by accusing him of falling on top of a teenager while drunk in order to cop a feel of her breast.”

    You never cease to amaze me, EOS.

  15. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:01 am | Permalink

    EOS– Drunks very often dont remember events that took place. Their victims however dont get that pass. Why is Ms Ford’s testimony (she had one beer) less plausible to you than two men who by their own accounts were wasted more often than not throughout high school. It amazes me that Kavanaugh’s long history of alcohol abuse does not concern you, and, here, proves a far too convenient excuse to dismiss Ms Ford’s account. Your moral double standard is showing again. Who cares about rape or poverty or women’s health, its the fetuses that matter, right? And the world into which they would be born may be as fucked up and dangerous as can be, you just dont give a shit about doing anything about that, do you?

    You may be the most corrupt human being ever.

  16. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:02 am | Permalink

    “With the current heightened awareness of sexual violence comes heightened accountability for our representatives. To do better, the 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee must demonstrate a clear understanding that sexual violence is a social reality to which elected representatives must respond. A fair, neutral and well-thought-out course is the only way to approach Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh’s forthcoming testimony. The details of what that process would look like should be guided by experts who have devoted their careers to understanding sexual violence. The job of the Senate Judiciary Committee is to serve as fact-finders, to better serve the American public, and the weight of the government should not be used to destroy the lives of witnesses who are called to testify.” — Anita f’in Hill

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/opinion/anita-hill-brett-kavanaugh-clarence-thomas.html

  17. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:04 am | Permalink

    It’s a lifetime appointment. It should take all the time necessary to provide for a full accounting and reasonable assessment. The GOP is in a rush to make appointments now. How about we let the American people decide if which of them deserve the right to make that vote in November.

  18. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:20 am | Permalink

    Kim: re the Graham comment. ‘Drive by shooting’ or ‘high tech lynching’ or ‘witch hunt’ — the appropriation (even in Thomas’ case) of the experiences of the oppressed to protect their own privilege is nothing new, but I sure wish it would go away.

  19. John Brown
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:27 am | Permalink

    A friend of Dr. Blasey Ford explicitly remembers knowing about the incident from the tiem it occured.

    https://www.alternet.org/high-school-classmate-who-remembers-incident-kavanaugh-and-ford-says-shes-overwhelmed-media-requests

    What a bunch of morally bankrupt garbage these holy roller zealots like EOS are. I will not step forward to save them when their retribution comes due.

  20. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 11:39 am | Permalink

    “She’s stalled the vote, she’s had her 15 minutes of fame. Now let’s vote and get Kavanaugh on the bench for the start of the next session. ” — EOS

    Yeah sure seems like a great way to become famous: https://www.thecut.com/2018/09/kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-death-threats.html

  21. Fox News
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 12:12 pm | Permalink

    Fox News: “Any white male can be accused.”

    http://bit.ly/2pnwKq6

  22. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 12:25 pm | Permalink

    HA, well Fox News came close to being correct for once.

    Since Judith has come up on this site before with multiple image references. And because her example seems timely now…
    https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/09/ranked-10-paintings-of-judith-beheading-holofernes

  23. Anonymous
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 12:57 pm | Permalink

    Lindsey Graham: “It is imperative the Judiciary committee move forward on the Kavanaugh nomination and a committee vote be taken ASAP.”

    What’s the rush?

  24. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 3:26 pm | Permalink

    In defense of EOS, he’s not really a “holy roller zealot” as you suggest. He only plays one on the internets.

    The cosplay he does here on Mark’s blog is as real as the consideration the Republican Senators and Trump are pretending to have about Christine Ford.

  25. wobblie
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 3:49 pm | Permalink

    The reason for the rush

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/accuser-s-schoolmate-says-she-recalls-hearing-alleged-kavanaugh-incident-n911111

  26. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 3:49 pm | Permalink

    It’s not like the Republicans could just ask Kavanaugh to withdraw himself from consideration. Where are they going to find another guy who is only guilty of an attempted rape? Among Republican men in office, that’s something of a rarity. Most of them don’t have good buddies who will tackle them, interrupting the assault, letting the victim escape. Trump might as well nominate a unicorn, or a Sasquatch.

  27. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 3:53 pm | Permalink

    I have always thought EOS was a woman, FWIW. I’m a feminist, which means I think women can be ignorant assholes too.

  28. EOS
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:03 pm | Permalink

    Sure, and next we’ll hear from his 5th grade classmate who thinks he once dropped his pencil to sneak a peek up her skirt. And Jean will jump in and proclaim it is morally equivalent to killing babies.

  29. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:07 pm | Permalink

    I got a copy of the GOP short list of nominee candidates for Supreme Court.

    #1 Cavanaugh
    #2 EOS
    #3 Frosted Flakes
    #4 Hyperboring Bonglord
    #5 Little Green Selector

    All extremely upstanding citizens, well versed in law and everything else. Still, I’m sure some low-down Democrat would come out at the last minute to lie about something or other they did in their past. It could happen to anybody, just as little Annie Coulter says.

  30. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:17 pm | Permalink

    Jean, I know EOS comes across as extremely effeminate. But it’s wrong of you to impose your old-fashioned definitions of what that means about his gender. He can be as effeminate as he wants. That’s his choice. I’m a bit surprised at you for being so close minded in this one particular circumstance. You are usually so progressive.

  31. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:22 pm | Permalink

    I’m with EOS. What is all this fuss about? Cavanaugh is Catholic, and nobody has accused him of trying to rape any pre-teen boys. There’s just no pleasing you people!

  32. EOS
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:26 pm | Permalink

    She’s a feminist who thinks it is a perjorative to accuse someone of being female. Go figure.

  33. John Brown
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 4:58 pm | Permalink

    EOS nothing is morally equivalent to being so evil as to base your political affiliation on controling womens bodies in a political partnership with the plutocrats and oligarchs. All you “abortion is murder” simpletons are electoral putty in the hands of the 1%ers. You’re selling out the well-being of humanity because you believe in 2000yr old fairy tales and can’t understand biology. Don’t expect much leeway from the rational folks, or the people pulling your strings if this struggle turns violent.

  34. iRobert
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 5:36 pm | Permalink

    I’ve thought about becoming an old-west-style gunfighter in Ann Arbor.

  35. EOS
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 8:40 pm | Permalink

    Arrrr! Shiver me timbers. So disappointed no one remembered that it is the International Talk like a Pirate Day.

  36. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 9:28 pm | Permalink

    “She’s a feminist who thinks it is a perjorative to accuse someone of being female. Go figure.”
    I have never once implied or felt that it’s a pejorative to be considered female. I was serious when I said I thought you were a woman. It was not an accusation. A gender would be a weird thing to accuse someone of being.
    You might want to consider why you projected that thinking on me, EOS.

  37. Jean Henry
    Posted September 19, 2018 at 9:33 pm | Permalink

    EOS thinks having an abortion is worse behavior than sexual assault.
    One is completely legal; the other is not.

    And yes, I think looking up someone’s skirt without permission is also more morally reprehensible than abortion. But then I don’t think abortion is morally reprehensible at all.

  38. EOS
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 3:52 am | Permalink

    I can’t imagine a set of life circumstances that would lead someone to place so little value on human life. What’s legality have to do with it? When abortion becomes illegal, would you then consider it morally reprehensible? Do you hold any moral absolutes?

  39. EOS
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 4:52 am | Permalink

    https://nypost.com/2018/09/19/the-drive-to-sink-kavanaugh-is-liberal-totalitarianism/

    Just remember, Ruth Bader Ginsberg was confirmed by an overwhelming majority of the Republican votes. She wasn’t “Borked” for political reasons even though it would be nearly impossible to find a jurist more aligned with the “Progressive” agenda.

  40. EOS
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 5:20 am | Permalink

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-accuser-must-testify/

  41. wobblie
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 6:11 am | Permalink

    The Senate had 57 Democrats when Ginsberg was confirmed. Her name had been suggested to Clinton by Orin Hatch. This was before the Republicans jumped over the rail and became the party of irreconcilable differences.

  42. iRobert
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 6:30 am | Permalink

    It sounds to me like Mark Judge should replace Cavanaugh as the nominee. He stopped Cavanaugh in mid-rape, and was cleverly tactful about it. It’s apparent that his morality and intellect are superior. I’d even go as far as to say Mark Judge may not be a sociopath. So what if he’s a fifty-something year old man whose mind is stuck back in high school, and he’s posting creepy boobie pics all over social media? He’s still a rare gem in relative terms.

  43. EOS
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 6:32 am | Permalink

    96 voted yes to confirm Ginsberg
    97 voted yes to confirm Kennedy
    87 voted yes to confirm Breyer
    68 voted yes to confirm Sotomayor
    63 voted yes to confirm Kagan

    Republicans crossed the lines every time to confirm qualified persons independent of their leftist ideologies. Democrats are the party of irreconcilable differences.

  44. wobblie
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    The real reason Trump is President

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156855484001518&set=a.45670806517&type=3&theater

  45. Jean Henry
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 6:59 am | Permalink

    The Republicans never conformed any liberal nominees who weren’t already going to be confirmed. I’m glad the Dems showed some back bone. Post Garland, they need to show more.

    EOS, answering your question, My support for safe and legal abortion does not depend on it being legal or illegal. I don’t support killing babies; that’s illegal. Abortion is not. Because a fetus is not a baby. I support bodily autonomy for every person. A fetus doesn’t have bodily autonomy. It has the potential for human life; it is not a human life. You know who are people and who also have tremendous potential denied: the many children neglected by our country and deprived of the basic resources and opportunities necessary to a productive and fulfilling life.. You don’t seem to care too much about helping them. Your commitment to the sacredness of human life does not impress me, largely because I’m unimpressed with your commitment to the well being of the living.

  46. Jean Henry
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:02 am | Permalink

    EOS– I pointed up the legality question, because your inability to comprehend the ‘life circumstances’ that would lead one to support abortion rights, means you cant comprehend the life circumstances of 60% of the country. That may explain your lack of humanity towards the living.

  47. Jcp2
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:05 am | Permalink

    Just don’t call EOS a sissy. That really offends him.

  48. Jeffery St. Clair by proxi
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:09 am | Permalink

    The transformation of the Democrats into the party of the neocons is now complete. The Senate just passed the largest military budget since the peak of Iraq War, a $17 billion increase from last year. There were only 7 No votes, none of them Democrats: Paul, Toomey, Sasse, Lee, Flake, Perdue and Sanders.

  49. iRobert
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:17 am | Permalink

    I guess I was wrong about Susan Collins. She’s mentally gone. Her useless carcass has no business sitting in the senate rotting as it is. It should be roaming some post-apocalyptic wasteland.

    I’d like her to see if that senile old geezer can name one accused rapist in history who didn’t emphatically deny their guilt. She seems to believe that’s something special that means Cavanaugh is innocent. What a worthless corpse.

    The people of Maine must feel so lucky to have that brain-dead zombie rotting away in their senate seat.

  50. Fake News
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:20 am | Permalink

    The Republican Party is now known as the party that normalized sexual assault. I find it horrifying that half the country thinks that sexual assault is acceptable as long as it is the home team that does it.

  51. iRobert
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:32 am | Permalink

    I’m working on producing a feature film about the commenters on this blog. Now that Jim Neighbors has passed, I have to find a new actor to cast in the role of EOS. Jon Cryer has already said “yes” to playing the role of Mark.

  52. Senate Democrats
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:53 am | Permalink

    In 1991, Senate Republicans said an FBI investigation was the “the very right thing to do” – but now, those same Republicans insist the FBI cannot investigate whether Judge Kavanaugh committed sexual assault. Why?

    WATCH THE VIDEO:
    https://twitter.com/SenateDems/status/1042481401755561985

  53. CNN
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 9:20 am | Permalink

    The FBI did investigate Anita Hill’s accusation, and it took 3 days.

    https://cnn.it/2Degz8r

  54. Feinstein to Trump
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 10:05 am | Permalink

    Senator Dianne Feinstein to President Donald Trump.

    “President Trump, Dr. Blasey Ford did not want her story of sexual assault to be public. She requested confidentiality and I honored that. It wasn’t until the media outed her that she decided to come forward. You may not respect women and the wishes of victims, but I do.”

  55. Judd Legum by proxy
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 10:36 am | Permalink

    “A top professor at Yale Law School who strongly endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a “mentor to women” privately told a group of law students last year that it was “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s female law clerks all “looked like models”…

  56. iRobert
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 11:28 am | Permalink

    You have to understand, among Catholic men, molesting females is what you do to signal that you don’t have “the problem.” It’s a different culture. You need to respect it.

  57. Lynne
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 1:36 pm | Permalink

    Apparently Jeffery St. Clair, like many on the far left, doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘neocon’. Like it or not, our military is an example of *socialism*, not capitalism. Just sayin’

  58. wobblie
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 5:08 pm | Permalink

    Lynn–to be socialist you have to have democracy–the military does not have democracy in case you didn’t know.

    Feinstein leads the resistance

    https://www.democracynow.org/2018/9/18/intercept_report_reveals_senate_ignored_federal

  59. wobblie
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:34 pm | Permalink

    Monday. Campus Martius @11:30. #StopKavenaugh

  60. EOS
    Posted September 20, 2018 at 7:49 pm | Permalink

    #NoChance #LostCause #WasteOfTime

  61. Posted September 20, 2018 at 9:35 pm | Permalink

    And people wonder why women don’t come forward in instances of sexual assault.

  62. Posted September 20, 2018 at 9:35 pm | Permalink

    I’ve said it before, but I think much of this violent rhetoric directed at Dr. Blasey Ford is less for her benefit and more for that of other women, who, at this very moment, are considering coming forward with stories of their own.

  63. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 1:46 am | Permalink

    Can we do something to help the fascists find a competent cartoonist? Is there not one single individual among them with the slightest hint of artistic talent?

  64. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 7:08 am | Permalink

    All the vitriol and suspicion directed at women and men who tell stories of sexual abuse are aimed at intimidating others. The power of metoo was in the sheer volume of testimony. The data on sexual abuse has been there for decades. The CDC tallies it. But it didnt make a dent in our denial until these voices came forward. The most ironic piece of this to me is the many men and some women coming forward to express their concern that this will negatively impact sexual freedom. As though sexual assault is an expression thereof or something. As though rampant sexual abuse isnt already fucking up sexuality and is even a symptom (in my mind) of fucked up American sexual morays.

    I’m glad Ms Ford is taking a stand by not taking a stand so she cant be Anita Hill’ed. The GOP plan is to not question her testimony but to question whether or not it was in fact Kavanaugh that attacked her. In a similar way, the Senators, led by Joe Biden (who I’ll never forgive), suggested that Anita Hill believed her testimony but that she was so overcome by loneliness from being a successful single working woman that she had imagined the whole thing.

    You cant make this shit up. There’s no way to prove Kavanaugh did it. There’s simply no reason any woman or man would subject themselves to this bullshit if it wasn’t true. An FBI investigation is the least they can do.

    https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/09/20/charles-blow-christine-ford-kavanaugh-cuomo-vpx.cnn

  65. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 7:13 am | Permalink

    Really, if Ms Ford takes the stand in this faux courtroom Senate hearing setting, and it’s all televised, what good will come of it?

    Millions of closeted sexual assault victims will see it and realize they should just keep their mouths shut or face similar treatment.

    At this point, I hope she stays home. She should write something about why she refuses to participate in this dog and pony show. It would be more effective. Fuck you, Senators.

  66. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 7:52 am | Permalink

    I pray the Democrats have a real plan this time, and I hope the hearing does severe damage to Republicans and male politicians nationwide.

    I hope the hearing motivates every single person who’s ever been the victim of these creeps, to get out and vote.

  67. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 8:26 am | Permalink

    Not enough women on the committee to pull that off. Just a bunch of old white dudes. They just have no fucking clue.

    The only benefit of the hearing would be to watch them squirm trying to figure out how to deal with the new zeitgeist that doesn’t allow them to guffaw at sexual assault… or, worse, titter like it’s salacious material. OF course watching men squirm at confrontation is no real pleasure. For those of us who talk about this stuff regularly, it’s just depressing and mostly a reminder that our concerns don’t really matter to those in power. We know our bodily agency is something they want to deny us. They dont even know they’re denying it to us. They had no idea they’ve been sexist their whole lives even though they love their wives or daughters or mistresses or whatever.

  68. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 8:31 am | Permalink

    “If any sexual-misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh from the time since he became a judge were to surface, he too, could be investigated by a judicial council. The person who would have to call for such an investigation would be the chief judge of the District of Columbia Circuit, Merrick Garland.”

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-would-a-serious-investigation-of-brett-kavanaugh-look-like

  69. Associated Press
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 8:33 am | Permalink

    BREAKING: Trump blasts Kavanaugh accuser by name, says if alleged attack was that ‘bad,’ charges would have been filed

  70. Axios
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 8:55 am | Permalink

    A source who has been talking to President Trump throughout the Kavanaugh crisis told Axios that “you have no idea” how hard it has been to keep him from attacking his Supreme Court nominee’s accuser.

  71. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 9:01 am | Permalink

    I dont think Ford should testify. It won’t change the outcome. It would only set us all back. I know Dems will insist that her testimony would have changed the outcome (because we love to question outcomes where sexism and racism are clearly to blame), but I feel almost certain it won’t. Meanwhile, she’d be subjected to this kind of bullshit– and with her millions of other sexual assault victims. Add to these accusations of Erotomania and overactive fantasy life etc etc.:

    “Specter claims that discussing “large breasts” in the workplace is common behavior
    Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania): “You testified this morning that the most embarrassing question involved — this is not too bad — women’s large breasts. That is a word we use all the time. That was the most embarrassing aspect of what Judge Thomas had said to you.”
    Heflin asks Hill if she is a “scorned woman,” or ideologically opposed to Thomas
    Sen. Howell Heflin (R-Alabama): Now, in trying to determine whether you are telling falsehoods or not, I have got to determine what your motivation might be. Are you a scorned woman?
    Hill: No.
    Heflin: Are you a zealot civil rights believer that progress will be turned back, if Clarence Thomas goes on the court?
    Hill: No, I don’t—I think that—I have my opinion, but I don’t think that progress will be turned back. I think that civil rights will prevail, no matter what happens with the Court.
    Heflin: Do you have a militant attitude relative to the area of civil rights?
    Hill: No, I don’t have a militant attitude.
    Heflin: Do you have a martyr complex?
    Hill: No, I don’t. (Hill and audience laugh, Heflin remains stone-faced.)
    Heflin: Well, do you see that, coming out of this, you can be a hero in the civil rights movement?
    Hill: I do not have that kind of complex. I don’t like all of the attention that I am getting, I don’t—even if I liked the attention, I would not lie to get attention.
    Specter says Thomas never asked Hill to specifically watch pornographic movies with him, have sex with him
    Specter: Professor Hill, you testified that you drew an inference that Judge Thomas might want you to look at pornographic films, but you told the FBI specifically that he never asked you to watch the films. Is that correct?
    Hill: He never said, “Let’s go to my apartment and watch films,” or “go to my house and watch films.” He did say, “You ought to see this material.”
    Specter: But when you testified that, as I wrote it down, “We ought to look at pornographic movies together,” that was an expression of what was in your mind when he —
    Hill: That was the inference that I drew, yes.
    Specter: The inference, so he —
    Hill: With his pressing me for social engagements, yes.
    Specter: That was something he might have wanted you to do, but the fact is, flatly, he never asked you to look at pornographic movies with him.

    Specter: Professor Hill, you said that you took it to mean that Judge Thomas wanted to have sex with you, but in fact he never did ask you to have sex, correct?
    Hill: No, he did not ask me to have sex. He did continually pressure me to go out with him, continually, and he would not accept my explanation as being valid.
    Specter: So that when you said you took it to mean,”We ought to have sex,” that that was an inference that you drew?
    Hill: Yes, yes.
    Specter questions Hill’s credibility
    Specter: The question which I have for you is, how reliable is your testimony in October 1991 on events that occurred 8, 10 years ago, when you are adding new factors, explaining them by saying you have repressed a lot? And in the context of a sexual harassment charge where the Federal law is very firm on a 6-month period of limitation, how sure can you expect this committee to be on the accuracy of your statements?
    Biden asks about specifics of Thomas’s alleged comments
    Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware): Now, again, for the record, did he just say I have great physical attributes or was he more graphic?
    Hill: He was much more graphic.
    Biden: Can you tell us what he said?
    Hill: Well, I can tell you that he compared his penis size, he measured his penis in terms of length, those kinds of comments.
    Leahy asks what Hill has to gain
    Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont): Do you have anything to gain by coming here? Has anybody promised you anything for coming forth with this story now?
    Hill: I have nothing to gain. No one has promised me anything. I have nothing to gain here. This has been disruptive of my life and I have taken a number of personal risks. I have been threatened and I have not gained anything except knowing that I came forward and did what I felt that I had an obligation to do and that was to tell the truth.
    Simpson questions why Hill didn’t come forward with her allegations earlier
    Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyoming): But let me tell you, if what you say this man said to you occurred, why in God’s name, when he left his position of power or status or authority over you, and you left in 1983, why in God’s name would you ever speak to a man like that the rest of your life?
    Hill: That is a very good question, and I am sure that I cannot answer that to your satisfaction. That is one of the things that I have tried to do today. I have suggested that I was afraid of retaliation, I was afraid of damage to my professional life, and I believe that you have to understand that this response—and that is one of the things that I have come to understand about harassment—that this response, this kind of response, is not atypical, and I can’t explain. It takes an expert in psychology to explain how that can happen, but it can happen, because it happened to me.
    Simpson: Well, it just seems so incredible to me that you would not only have visited with him twice after that period and after he was no longer able to manipulate you or to destroy you, that you then not only visited with him but took him to the airport, and then 11 times contacted him. That part of it appalls me. I would think that these things, what you describe, are so repugnant, so ugly, so obscene, that you would never have talked to him again, and that is the most contradictory and puzzling thing for me.”

  72. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 9:34 am | Permalink

    For EOS, from the National Review:

    “No moral society can overlook, downplay, or otherwise dismiss behavior as grave as what Ford alleges Kavanaugh did in the 1980s. To suggest otherwise is deeply perverse.
    Of course, we mustn’t assume that Ford is telling the truth, as many on the left have demanded. Automatically believing the alleged victim of assault, without further investigation and regardless of whether she can offer corroborating evidence, is a dangerous standard indeed. But to be wholly uninterested in the truth — simply for the sake of political expedience and, worse yet, based on a twisted definition of morality — is just as wrong.”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-allegations-dennis-prager-comments-wrong/

  73. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 9:55 am | Permalink

    I’m pretty sure an old black dude on the committee would be no help either, Jean.

    Please add “Christian” and “heterosexual” to your comments when you refer to the homogenous characteristics of the committee.

    I do think your assessment of them is pretty accurate, if not too kind. Most makes US congressmen and male state legislators I’ve met are egomaniacal, amoral, creeps. And I’ve met hundreds.

  74. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 9:58 am | Permalink

    Thanks auto-correct. That IS worth saying again…

    Most of the male US congressmen and male state legislators I’ve met are egomaniacal, amoral, creeps. And I’ve met hundreds.

  75. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 11:12 am | Permalink

    In terms of vetting allegations of sexual assault, I think gender matters more than other characteristics, iRobert. If the committee were addressing allegations of racist assault, then race would matter more. It’s not so hard to fathom. Representation matters. Our country was founded in large part because of a desire by American colonists for political representation.

  76. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 11:41 am | Permalink

    I did graduate high school, Jean. You won’t need to catch me up, as you might with the other commenters on this blog.

  77. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 11:56 am | Permalink

    I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…

    I’m sick of all these old, white, fat, Christian, heterosexual men.

    No offense, Mark.

  78. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 11:58 am | Permalink

    Just a reminder, iRobert. Sometimes your political memory seems selective. By which I mean, you understand representation matters broadly, but when it is advocated for by people from under-represented demographics you see that as tribalism and so potentially destructive. Destructive to what exactly?

    Also, you accusing others of condescension is amusing at best.

  79. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 12:04 pm | Permalink

    PS you get more points for being regressive a/f when you try to make conversations about inequity personal. When people who are marginalized by group speak to their experience, that is not an attack on anyone else’s identity. It’s an attack on the privilege that accompanies that identity. That may feel personal… because privilege.

    Best to get used to it.

  80. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 12:42 pm | Permalink

    My only goal here in making comments is to be mildly amusing. The only time I thought I got a good one off recently was when I suggested EOS might pretend to be a priest for HW’s virtual funeral or going-away party. That, I actually felt was moderately amusing.

    I’m not being serious here. I’m poking fun and trying to get others to poke fun back. That’s really the extent of it. I try to share a little bit of insight just to help dressed up the lame comedy.

  81. Jean Henry
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 1:09 pm | Permalink

    Humor inherently has a target. Your repeated targets are problematic. Also, you’re not that funny, but that may have to do with your targets (you know us humorless feminists… ) Oh well. Now that I know you dont mean any of it, I’m free to not respond. That’s good.

  82. wobblie
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 1:57 pm | Permalink

    The whole culture of our rulers is morally repugnant.
    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/20/1797334/-Sexual-assault-survivor-has-a-message-for-senators-and-her-Kavanaugh-connected-abuser?detail=emaildkre

  83. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 3:24 pm | Permalink

    Jean, I am curious as to what you are as the targets of my humor, and why it would be problematic.

    You must admit, you’re not the best judge of what is funny, and what isn’t funny. I’m sure you must know that.

  84. iRobert
    Posted September 21, 2018 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

    What I meant to ask was “…what you see as the target of my humor…”

    I didn’t catch that autocorrect replaced my attempt at typing the word (see) with the word (are).

  85. Posted September 22, 2018 at 7:28 am | Permalink

    From NBC:

    “More American voters now oppose Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination than support it after he was accused of committing sexual assault while he was in high school, with opposition increasing 9 points since last month, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.”

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna911581

  86. Jean Henry
    Posted September 22, 2018 at 8:11 am | Permalink

    iRobert– This may be news to you, but what is funny to one group is not always funny to another. Women, LGBTQ folk and people of color are hilarious, especially when the white straight men don’t get it.

    PS Just because I’m rarely funny here doesn’t mean I’m not funny elsewhere or lack a sense of humor. And just because you try to be funny here doesn’t mean you are funny or have a sense of humor.

    As for your targets, they are broadly people concerned with social justice and Mark and this blog and its participants. Now if you had any acute observation built into your humor, v broad dismissals, that might be funny. But just dismissing broad swathes of people and their concerns to support the status quo hierarchy is kind of dull and corrupt. That you imagine it’s subversive is particularly grating and self-inflating.

  87. Sad
    Posted September 22, 2018 at 10:05 am | Permalink

    HW was funny without even trying.

  88. Jean Henry
    Posted September 22, 2018 at 2:29 pm | Permalink

    Hey you guys!! —don’t let women do all the work on this. This is your moment to stand up and speak out. 27 years ago 1,600 black women ran a full-page NYT ad to support Anita Hill. Today, Futures Without Violence is calling on YOU (yes, YOU) to lead & stand behind Prof. Hill & Dr. Blasey Ford. Link below

    I remember my furor watching Anita Hill be grilled. It woke up a lot of memories but also sent a clear message to my younger self that it wasn’t safe to speak up. We need to change that culture and message one small action at a time.

    You can do more:
    2. Consider a donation to help fund the ad. Any additional funds raised will go toward FUTURES’ prevention programs for middle and high school students.
    https://www.mightycause.com/story/1600men
    3. Recruit 20 others – The only way the Phenomenal Woman Action Campaign can reach the goal of 1,600 men is if everyone steps up and amplifies this cause. Please forward this email and recruit 20 more men.
    4. Share this cause on social media. S
    Sample copy: 27 years ago 1,600 black women ran a full-page @nytimes ad to support Anita Hill. Today I, along with #1600men, follow their lead & stand behind Prof. Hill & Dr. Blasey Ford. Join me: bit.ly/BlaseyFordPetition

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5VcfV4s6fylol8E75Fb8IRKqSfIDRfoS1Nf3Tw_WAAP1Qsg/viewform

  89. Lawrence Tribe by proxy
    Posted September 22, 2018 at 5:37 pm | Permalink

    If Judge K becomes Justice K, Dr. Blasey Ford could file a criminal complaint against him in Md for felony attempted rape and felony kidnapping at any time.

  90. iRobert
    Posted September 22, 2018 at 8:51 pm | Permalink

    Jean, I don’t get why you’d think I would believe my stupid comments here are somehow subversive. Did I say something to give that impression?

    I simply make stupid comments to mock generally that these comment sections are mostly just stupid comments. I don’t consider it brilliant humor at all.

  91. Jcp2
    Posted September 23, 2018 at 6:01 am | Permalink

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-assault-me-too.html

    The Kavanaugh thing is interesting because it cuts across traditional class and party lines.

  92. Jcp2
    Posted September 23, 2018 at 7:36 am | Permalink

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/victorias-secret-sells-womens-underwear-but-has-been-marketing-to-men-2018-09-18

    In vaguely peripherally related news, women’s underwear manufacturers realize that they could do better selling to women.

  93. iRobert
    Posted September 23, 2018 at 8:29 am | Permalink

    It’s fun watching Republicans pretending to sensitive, thoughtful, caring people, when talking about Christine Ford testifying. It’s such bad acting.

  94. iRobert
    Posted September 23, 2018 at 8:38 am | Permalink

    Correction: “…Republicans pretending to BE s sensitive, thoughtful, caring people…”

    Christine Ford’s testimony before the senate committee has been moved to Thursday now. Polls show the Republicans are losing ground over this. They deserve the damage this is doing to them, and so much more.

  95. Jean Henry
    Posted September 23, 2018 at 1:11 pm | Permalink

    ‘The Kavanaugh thing is interesting because it cuts across traditional class and party lines.‘
    —because sexual assault cuts across traditional class and party lines.

    We’ll see if it cuts across gender lines in any sustainable way. Right now it’s politically expedient for many men to stand by Ford , but that has not been the case when the accused is liberal. Of course women aren’t much better in that case.

    I really hope the tide has turned. We have accepted this kind of behavior for a long time— largely by dismissing the victims or their trauma. I really hope this is the end of mourning some mans momentary loss of good reputation more than a woman’s bodily autonomy.

    We’ll see.

2 Trackbacks

  1. […] vote, and not slow things down in order to conduct a proper investigation of the charges made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford last week… “Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and… […]

  2. […] the time of the alleged assault, says that a drunken Kavanaugh, assisted by his friend Mark Judge, held his hand over her mouth as he attempted to rape her. Kavanaugh, who would have been a Junior at the prestigious D.C. boys school Georgetown Prep at the […]

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