# 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:** 262
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5221 "2018-09-29T20:06:19Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Which senators specifically have _accused_ him of each of those, rather than just asking him about it. I don’t recall that happening. **UltraVires** , I realize you could have been talking about the things senators said _before_ the hearing, about him being a drunk, sexually assaulting people, or being involved in gang rape, but I can’t find anything like that either. Do you have examples? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5222 "2018-09-29T20:09:04Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Collins is screwed. There is already a funded movement to find a Democrat to run against her in 2020 if she votes for Kavanaugh, and if she votes against, she’ll find there will be a right wing primary opponent. Then she might as well just do the right thing. jk lol ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5223 "2018-09-29T20:10:29Z")
My primary profession required an FBI background check. All of my jobs have standards for my conduct and character that are described in state law or national certification standards. I had to file attestations about these to receive my license, and again at every renewal. Same for my other professional certifications. My license has a “moral turpitude” clause that can be used by my licensing authority to suspend or terminate my license at will. Current excessive drinking, or substantiated allegations of harming or having harmed other people would do it, but it needn’t be even that severe or clear. I have nowhere near the power of a SCOTUS judge, and certainly no guarantee of lifetime employment, yet I as a working yutz am held to high ethical and legal standards. One ethical standard I’m held to can be paraphrased as “You’re in violation if you make the profession look bad, because this erodes public confidence in the services we regulate/conduct, and therefore decreases the number of people whom we could benefit but who will not ask for services out of fear or mistrust.” ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5224 "2018-09-29T20:11:35Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Let’s say I make up something that Robert Downey, Jr. did to me in 1998. If I say that I saw him using cocaine at the time, is that corroboration to my story? Of course not. Everyone knows of Downey, Jr.'s battles with cocaine. If I accuse Jimmy Buffett of something and say that he was drinking a margarita and wearing flip flops, is that corroboration? It is not. When one makes a claim that includes detail X, and detail X can be confirmed by an outside source, then detail X has been corroborated. That’s what corroborated means. > [@](#): > > Corroborate - To support or enhance the believability of a fact or assertion by the presentation of additional information that confirms the truthfulness of the item. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5225 "2018-09-29T20:14:05Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > His harping on liking beer beer beer, without mentioning harder stuff, was also a tell. It’s like he’s playing to the idea that drinking beer is just harmless good ole American fun; it doesn’t count as really binge drinking if all you’re talking about is beer. Because everyone likes beer, right? > > Does anyone really think his intake was limited to beer, though? High school kids who aspire to party as hard as Animal House ain’t just drinking brewskis, particularly those with a reputation for getting sloppy drunk. A lot of what Kavanaugh said was right out the Great Book of Rationalizations for Alcoholics. “I just had a few beers!” “I didn’t pass out, I just fell asleep!” FWIW, I have a bit of a drinking problem, and these are lies I tell myself. And, also FWIW, my brother was an active, stereotypical alcoholic for many years, and all he ever drank was beer. One day I was sitting at a table with him, and I was drinking a neat scotch. My brother said, “Hell, I’m an alcoholic, and I can’t even drink that stuff.” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5226 "2018-09-29T20:15:52Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > **UltraVires** , I realize you could have been talking about the things senators said _before_ the hearing, about him being a drunk, sexually assaulting people, or being involved in gang rape, but I can’t find anything like that either. Do you have examples? Cheeseless tunnel. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5227 "2018-09-29T20:15:53Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I’m sick of these personal attacks, but that is par for the course for your side. > [@UltraVires](#): > > More snarky personal attacks. You need to understand what corroboration means because you have continually shown that you do not. Do you realize how ironic it is to complain about a personal attack, and then throw in one of your own in the very next words? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5228 "2018-09-29T20:22:45Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I’m sick of these personal attacks, but that is par for the course for your side. > > In any event, just because a person might have blacked out, that does not mean that he attempted to rape someone. No court would allow such testimony (and I know this isn’t a court) because there is no link between the two. > > I admitted that I blacked out at times in college. That doesn’t mean I committed murder, rape, or mayhem. It is not competent evidence of anything; it is merely character assassination. You are absurdly wrong about whether a court would admit evidence that Kavanaugh has gotten blackout drunk in a trial in which he affirmatively testifies that he has never gotten blackout drunk as part of his defense to the charges. You know this, Ultravires. You practice criminal law. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5229 "2018-09-29T20:30:09Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > They’re not personal attacks, buddy. They’re serious questions. > > You don’t seem to think that Kavanaugh’s lying reduces his credibility. It shocks me that a lawyer would think that. > > What if they are giving testimony and then lie about blacking out. Should we believe they’ve suddenly stopped lying when they then claim they didn’t attempt to rape someone? Haven’t they already proven they’re a liar? Don’t they have more reason to lie about rape than about their drinking habits? > > And if they repeatedly got black-out drunk, then they don’t know what they did, do they? > > What if you were credibly accused of attempting to commit a crime when you were black-out drunk? Would you even know if you did it? First, we don’t know that Kavanaugh lied about never blacking out. It is very possible that he did lie about it. I’m sure the FBI can find a couple of people who remember from 30 years ago who said that Kavanaugh told them that he didn’t remember what happened the night before. Then we have to decide if they are lying. Second, the term “black out” is so vague that unless the last thing you remember was taking a sip of beer and the next thing you remember is waking up in a different state with a strange woman, then anyone can plausibly say that they did not black out. Nobody has a camera perfect memory and people forget details even when they are sober. Finally, I am aware of how alcohol impacts people. It loosens inhibitions and causes you to do things that you would otherwise like to do, but that your normal good judgment stops you from doing. As a heterosexual man, I would not get so drunk as to sleep with a guy, for example. Likewise, I would not get so drunk that I would open fire in a mall and kill innocent people. Alcohol does not turn someone into a different person in that respect. And most importantly, I enjoy sex because of the mutual sense of satisfaction and love that each party feels. I have no desire to force it on someone without their consent, or indeed without their full desire to participate. So, if you asked me if during a black out period if I ever sexually assaulted someone, I could answer with absolute confidence that I did not, because I have no secret desire to do that which only my sober good judgment prohibits. Is Kavanaugh in that same category? I have no idea. But the simple fact that he blacked out, or did not black out, or whatever, does not add nor detract from Ford’s story. ---
**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 29, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5230 "2018-09-29T20:31:38Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Is Kavanaugh in that same category? I have no idea. But the simple fact that he blacked out, or did not black out, or whatever, does not add nor detract from Ford’s story. If we determine it’s a fact that he blacked out, then that says a lot about Kavanaugh’s character and credibility – it means he lied under oath. And isn’t it reasonable to believe that someone who voluntarily lied under oath doesn’t meet the high standard we should hold for the SCOTUS? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5231 "2018-09-29T20:32:51Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > You are absurdly wrong about whether a court would admit evidence that Kavanaugh has gotten blackout drunk in a trial in which he affirmatively testifies that he has never gotten blackout drunk as part of his defense to the charges. > > You know this, Ultravires. You practice criminal law. Yes, if he testified, then he “opened the door” to the evidence. However, no judge that I have ever practiced in front of would allow the question, “Have you ever blacked out while drinking?” by the prosecution.\* \*We are assuming that Kavanaugh is standing trial on a criminal accusation of his alleged sexual assault against Ford. ---
**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 29, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5232 "2018-09-29T20:33:24Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > His harping on liking beer beer beer, without mentioning harder stuff, was also a tell. It’s like he’s playing to the idea that drinking beer is just harmless good ole American fun; it doesn’t count as really binge drinking if all you’re talking about is beer. Because everyone likes beer, right? > > Does anyone really think his intake was limited to beer, though? High school kids who aspire to party as hard as Animal House ain’t just drinking brewskis, particularly those with a reputation for getting sloppy drunk. Yeah, I was thinking that, too. Again, a deliberate move that I didn’t think was a particularly good one. The other thing that surprises me about all the stories we’re hearing is that there hasn’t been any mention of cocaine. Rich kids in the 1980s and there was no cocaine? I’m trying not to project my own experience onto him, but I did attend an all-boys Catholic school my Sophomore year in high school. It wasn’t a prep school, but the rowdy, sexist behavior was beyond what I experienced in my public school years. I also know about a dozen guys\* in my social circle who did go to a school very much like Georgetown Prep, and who are within a year or two of Kavanaugh’s age. They are all upstanding members of the community, most with wives and children. But they are hard partiers and the stories they tell of their high school years at that school are pretty wild. They definitely compartmentalize their behavior between the everyday world of work, family, even church and the times when it’s a guys’ weekend or such. Now, having said that, I know some of the wives, too, and they are not shrinking violets. They like to party, too, and aren’t just sitting home darning socks while the guys are off on their own. Anyway, I can’t say it’s been proven, but I find it very believable that he was a heavy drinker in high school, a sloppy drunk in college, and probably blacked out on a number of occasions, including the fishing trip where the dice game was played. It wouldn’t be at all unusual for someone of his background. \*Just to be clear, I did not know these guys in high school. They’re all about 10 years younger than me, and I didn’t even go to high school where I live now. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5233 "2018-09-29T20:34:37Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > If we determine it’s a fact that he blacked out, then that says a lot about Kavanaugh’s character and credibility – it means he lied under oath. And isn’t it reasonable to believe that someone who voluntarily lied under oath doesn’t meet the high standard we should hold for the SCOTUS? Read the second paragraph of my response. The term “blacked out” is so vague that it can be denied pretty accurately. However, I thought we were investigating sexual assault? Now, it seems the investigation is to be about any and every bad thing Kavanaugh may possibly have done 30 years ago. ---
**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 29, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5234 "2018-09-29T20:36:50Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Read the second paragraph of my response. The term “blacked out” is so vague that it can be denied pretty accurately. However, I thought we were investigating sexual assault? Now, it seems the investigation is to be about any and every bad thing Kavanaugh may possibly have done 30 years ago. What I said was about what Kavanaugh did 2 days ago. He didn’t have to deny ever blacking out, if he has in fact blacked out. But he chose to, just two days ago. If he’s lying, it’s not reasonable to me to disregard a lie under oath from a potential SCOTUS justice. That the question was relating to a 36 year old allegation does not minimize the seriousness of lying under oath just 2 days ago. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5235 "2018-09-29T20:38:50Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Yes, if he testified, then he “opened the door” to the evidence. However, no judge that I have ever practiced in front of would allow the question, “Have you ever blacked out while drinking?” by the prosecution.\* > \*We are assuming that Kavanaugh is standing trial on a criminal accusation of his alleged sexual assault against Ford. Ok. But in this analogy, it was Kavanaugh who opened that door. He made that claim to Fox News because otherwise he could not as credibly deny Ford’s account. That made it totally fair game for the Senate Democrats, even if Kav was entitled to the level of protection we give a criminal defendant. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5236 "2018-09-29T20:39:36Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Read the second paragraph of my response. The term “blacked out” is so vague that it can be denied pretty accurately. However, I thought we were investigating sexual assault? Now, it seems the investigation is to be about any and every bad thing Kavanaugh may possibly have done 30 years ago. What he did 30 years ago speaks to his character today and his fitness for the job. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5237 "2018-09-29T20:41:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah, I was thinking that, too. Again, a deliberate move that I didn’t think was a particularly good one. > > The other thing that surprises me about all the stories we’re hearing is that there hasn’t been any mention of cocaine. Rich kids in the 1980s and there was no cocaine? > > I’m trying not to project my own experience onto him, but I did attend an all-boys Catholic school my Sophomore year in high school. It wasn’t a prep school, but the rowdy, sexist behavior was beyond what I experienced in my public school years. I also know about a dozen guys\* in my social circle who did go to a school very much like Georgetown Prep, and who are within a year or two of Kavanaugh’s age. They are all upstanding members of the community, most with wives and children. But they are hard partiers and the stories they tell of their high school years at that school are pretty wild. They definitely compartmentalize their behavior between the everyday world of work, family, even church and the times when it’s a guys’ weekend or such. > > Now, having said that, I know some of the wives, too, and they are not shrinking violets. They like to party, too, and aren’t just sitting home darning socks while the guys are off on their own. > > Anyway, I can’t say it’s been proven, but I find it very believable that he was a heavy drinker in high school, a sloppy drunk in college, and probably blacked out on a number of occasions, including the fishing trip where the dice game was played. It wouldn’t be at all unusual for someone of his background. > > \*Just to be clear, I did not know these guys in high school. They’re all about 10 years younger than me, and I didn’t even go to high school where I live now. Mr. Mace, you’ve been pretty fair in this thread, but I am scratching my head with this one. It seems as if you are saying that because he admits that he likes to drink beer, then it is clear he loves liquor and cocaine as well. Please explain. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5238 "2018-09-29T20:41:33Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > First, we don’t know that Kavanaugh lied about never blacking out. It is very possible that he did lie about it. I’m sure the FBI can find a couple of people who remember from 30 years ago who said that Kavanaugh told them that he didn’t remember what happened the night before. Then we have to decide if they are lying. Or, an email from a few yers ago where he appologizes for something he can’t remeber. > [@](#): > > Second, the term “black out” is so vague that unless the last thing you remember was taking a sip of beer and the next thing you remember is waking up in a different state with a strange woman, then anyone can plausibly say that they did not black out. Nobody has a camera perfect memory and people forget details even when they are sober. It’s not vague, not at all. It is very specific. It is when your memory stops recording. You are still conscious, still making decisions, and you may not even seem to be totally wasted to the people around you. But you do not remember it. That’s the definition. Not vague at all. > [@](#): > > Finally, I am aware of how alcohol impacts people. It loosens inhibitions and causes you to do things that you would otherwise like to do, but that your normal good judgment stops you from doing. As a heterosexual man, I would not get so drunk as to sleep with a guy, for example. Likewise, I would not get so drunk that I would open fire in a mall and kill innocent people. Alcohol does not turn someone into a different person in that respect. I’ve met people who are peaceful as all get out, but get them drunk, and they turn violent. That could just be their inner personality coming out because they had lowered their inhibitions, but it is a dramatic change to how they act while they are sober. > [@](#): > > And most importantly, I enjoy sex because of the mutual sense of satisfaction and love that each party feels. I have no desire to force it on someone without their consent, or indeed without their full desire to participate. So, if you asked me if during a black out period if I ever sexually assaulted someone, I could answer with absolute confidence that I did not, because I have no secret desire to do that which only my sober good judgment prohibits. In your HS year book, did you brag about being an “alumni” of a girl who? > [@](#): > > Is Kavanaugh in that same category? I have no idea. But the simple fact that he blacked out, or did not black out, or whatever, does not add nor detract from Ford’s story. You are correct, in a way. It doesn’t matter to Ford’s story whether he was blackout drunk or just regular drunk. It does matter to his story, however, as on the one hand, he doesn’t remember, and is only lying about the drinking, and on the other, he does remember, and is lying both about the drinking and the sexual assault. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5239 "2018-09-29T20:43:51Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > First, we don’t know that Kavanaugh lied about never blacking out. We do know this. Multiple sources, including Kavanuagh himself, have confirmed a history of heavy binge drinking. Incidents spanning at least a decade: high school, undergrad, law school, and beyond. People with this history of binge drinking experience black outs. Often. All of them. This has been cited. On top of that we have at least three pieces of evidence where Kavanaugh’s own words reference black outs. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5240 "2018-09-29T20:48:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > What he did 30 years ago speaks to his character today and his fitness for the job. To be fair, it doesn’t have to. If what Ford says is entirely true, then I could still see Brett as a respectable character in politics, if he , at the time of the events, admitted his actions and took responsibility. Even if it were some years later, when he is graduating from college, and looks back and realizes the evil he has done, he can repent of it then, even. For instance, I have a certain respect for Derek Black, even though what he has in his past is beyond reprehensible. But he has admitted to that, and tried to make amends, and I can see no reason to hold his past views against him now that he has truly repented and attempted to atone. (You can only attempt to atone for sins, you can never succeed.) It is that Kavanaugh has never admitted or repented from these actions that speaks to his character. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=261) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=263)