# Can Democrats actually stop the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 4, 2018, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733 "2018-09-04T12:49:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 214
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4261 "2018-09-27T20:25:09Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Has anyone asked Renate what her sexual history with those boys that included “Renate alumni” in their yearbook was? Yes, quite a few. Just look up Renate Dolphin and you will find a lot of news reports and interviews with her. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4262 "2018-09-27T20:26:02Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > John Mace, I’m not sure what you’re not understanding here. My point is that the mere existence of multiple allegations is sufficient reason to withdraw the nomination. If you’re certain he did it, you should vote against him. If you’re certain he didn’t do it, then in the absence of other reasons to vote against him, you should vote for him. If you can’t reach a certain conclusion one way or the other, you should vote against him. And I don’t see any way a reasonable person could feel certain one way or the other about this. That’s more nuanced than your original statement, but I disagree with the part I emphasized. I’m not willing to shit-can someone just because there are accusations out there. Otherwise I agree with the way you rephrased it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4263 "2018-09-27T20:26:20Z")
> **[Prevalence and Correlates of Alcohol-Induced Blackouts Among College...](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448480209596339)** > > The authors conducted an e-mail survey of 772 college students to learn more about their experiences with blackouts. Approximately half (51%) of those who had ever consumed alcohol reported they h... Approximately half of college students who have ever drunk alcohol (ever! not binge drinking, but those who ever drank alcohol) report experiencing black-outs. It’s not credible to me that someone who drank as much as Kavanaugh did (even as much as he admits to) would never have experienced a black-out. I drank moderately heavily and I blacked out twice in college (and never since). Every one of my friends who drank in college blacked out at least once. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4264 "2018-09-27T20:27:20Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I think I understand why you would consider that relevant, and if I do, it’s a totally bullshit idea–but I don’t want to knock it down without understanding it first. So, why would you consider that a relevant question? Because if she didn’t sleep with all of them, the theory that they put “Renate alumni” in their yearbook as some sort of a code to indicate they’d all slept with her would seem to be bullshit. Am I misunderstanding the left’s theory of the meaning behind “Renate alumni”? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4265 "2018-09-27T20:28:26Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Because if she didn’t sleep with all of them, the theory that they put “Renate alumni” in their yearbook as some sort of a code to indicate they’d all slept with her would seem to be bullshit. Am I misunderstanding the left’s theory of the meaning behind “Renate alumni”? WTF? Are you of the opinion that slut-shaming is based on facts (i.e. only promiscuous women are slut-shamed)? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4266 "2018-09-27T20:28:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448480209596339](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448480209596339) > > Approximately half of college students who have ever drunk alcohol (ever! not binge drinking, but those who ever drank alcohol) report experiencing black-outs. > > It’s not credible to me that someone who drank as much as Kavanaugh did (even as much as he admits to) would never have experienced a black-out. I drank moderately heavily and I blacked out twice in college (and never since). Every one of my friends who drank in college blacked out at least once. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4267 "2018-09-27T20:29:04Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Just as a complete aside, kudos to CNN for providing free access to live streaming since this morning for this. We cable-cutters really appreciate CNN doing their civic duty as a news organization! 🙂 C-SPAN had you covered anyways: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zVOkb3CdZ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zVOkb3CdZ0) ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4268 "2018-09-27T20:29:43Z")
Damn, is he going to attack every Democratic Senator? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4269 "2018-09-27T20:30:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Because if she didn’t sleep with all of them, the theory that they put “Renate alumni” in their yearbook as some sort of a code to indicate they’d all slept with her would seem to be bullshit. It would be a bullshit theory. Unless. Unless Kavanaugh and his cohort were a bunch of misogynistic shitheads who had, for some reason known only to their entitled shitty selves, decided it’d be funny to choose Renate as a victim of a slut-shaming campaign. Maybe she refused to sleep with one of them, and in response they decided to punish her through the 1980s equivalent of a 4chan troll-campaign: they put her name in the yearbook in a code that’d suggest to anyone in the know that she was a giant slut. I know, I know–imagining that teenaged boys could be cruel, could engage in puerile hoaxes designed to humiliate a girl, could be misogynistic shitheads, that’s a bridge to far. Crazy, I know! But that’s the Unless. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4270 "2018-09-27T20:31:10Z")
He needs to stop interrupting the Democratic Senators. Now he’s interrupting and crying at the same time. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Huey\_Freeman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/huey_freeman/32/251_2.png) [@Huey\_Freeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huey_Freeman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4271 "2018-09-27T20:31:12Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > He’s certainly come out with a lot more passion today. I was offended because his opening statement was a copy-cat performance of Clarence Thomas (and a shitty, histrionic one at that). Kavanaugh was more emotional than Ford (who was sexually assaulted). Setting that aside, we’ve been here before and we know the script: deny the allegation, attack the committee, emphasize importance of their friends and family, talk about how this “circus” has ruined and destroyed their reputations, minimize the pain and torment of their accuser, then use virtue signaling (I coached “girl’s basketball” or “all my law clerks are women”) to convey that he isn’t the defiler but the defender of white maidenhood. Except for the latter, the substantive difference between the Thomas and Kavanaugh is that Thomas had the decency to keep his opening statement mercifully short; Thomas did not ramble and weep for over 20 minutes. Thomas also was either smart or Machiavellian enough to realize that in a committee hearing with cameras - the less you say, the better. Kavanaugh’s opening statement will meme itself into infamy, but because he has power of white privilege, my bet is that he’ll be confirmed by Sunday. You can’t stop the rain. Kuchiyose No Jutsu Speak. > [@Brett Kavanaugh](#): > > Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Members of the Committee: Less than two weeks ago, Dr. Ford publicly accused me of committing a serious wrong more than 36 years ago when we were both in high school. I denied the allegation immediately, unequivocally, and categorically. . . . I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford. I never had any sexual or physical encounter of any kind with Dr. Ford. I am not questioning that Dr. Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time. But I have never done that to her or to anyone. > [@Clarence Thomas](#): > > Senator, I would like to start by saying unequivocally, uncategorically, that I deny each and every single allegation against me today that suggested in any way that I had conversations of a sexual nature or about pornographic material with Anita Hill, that I ever attempted to date her, that I ever had any personal sexual interest in her, or that I in any way ever harassed her. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4272 "2018-09-27T20:31:16Z")
Leahy hammering on the GOP hypocrisy of saying there are “no witnesses” while refusing to subpoena Judge’s testimony or support an FBI investigation. Not letting Kavanaugh get away with interrupting him. Nice. ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4273 "2018-09-27T20:31:48Z")
The transition into whining in response to Leahy’s query about Judge was painful to watch. “They sprung it on me”. _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4274 "2018-09-27T20:31:51Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Kavanaugh’s explanation of the “Renate Alumni” thing struck me as entirely bullshit. It was almost certainly juvenile misogyny and slut-shaming, IMO. Which wouldn’t be disqualifying at all – lots of teenage boys engage in juvenile misogyny and slut shaming. But why on Earth would he lie about something so mundane unless he just doesn’t have any regard for the truth? He lies about it because he’s too chicken to say “of course it was a joke about boning that chick! But who gives a fuck? It’s just normal stuff. The fact that you people even care about this at all is the biggest joke at all.” (And, frankly, I think that paragraph applies to his (and the entire GOP’s) position on the accusations themselves.) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4275 "2018-09-27T20:32:19Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I am pretty sure this is purposeful. The right wing seems to love it and he know that he need them not liberals. Or even neutrals. Getting all hysterical and angry/weepy probably isn’t going to go over well with the wingnut crowd. God, he sounds like a 5 year old’s tantrum. To use a somewhat sexist but quite applicable meme, Dr. Ford was more of a man than Kavanaugh is being today. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4276 "2018-09-27T20:33:02Z")
“You’d have to ask him” was probably the wrong thing to say there. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4277 "2018-09-27T20:33:16Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Leahy hammering on the GOP hypocrisy of saying there are “no witnesses” while refusing to subpoena Judge’s testimony or support an FBI investigation. Not letting Kavanaugh get away with interrupting him. Nice. The minority can’t subpoena. The majority has to approve. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4278 "2018-09-27T20:34:35Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > His extreme partisanship is independently disqualifying. Talking about a conspiracy on the part of the Clintons to get revenge? C’mon. What a total hack thing to believe, much less say in this context. Putting him on the Court will truly cheapen it. I literally gasped at the swipe at the Clintons. He was one sip of water away from bringing up QAnon. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4279 "2018-09-27T20:34:38Z")
Under Leahy’s questioning, I swear that Kavanaugh twitching face looks like a goddam homicidal maniac. One thing Christine Ford never did was get into a hysterical argument with a Senator. Once again: wow!!! I always opposed this guy being on the Supreme Court, but this performance scares the shit out of me! ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/4280 "2018-09-27T20:35:38Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The minority can’t subpoena. The majority has to approve. Right. I meant that the GOP was being hypocritical in failing to do so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=213) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=215)