# 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:** 279
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5562 "2018-10-02T03:41:20Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > … [Text of his interview](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/09.25.18%20BMK%20Interview%20Transcript%20(Redacted)..pdf). … Thank you for finding this. I’d been looking for a transcript for a couple of days now. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5563 "2018-10-02T04:00:56Z")
> [@](#): > > The White House authorized the F.B.I. to expand its abbreviated investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh by interviewing anyone it deems necessary as long as the review is finished by the end of the week, according to two people briefed on the matter. > **[White House Tells F.B.I. to Interview Anyone Necessary for Kavanaugh Inquiry...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/us/politics/trump-fbi-kavanaugh.html)** > > The White House authorized the new directive after a Democratic outcry, but the bureau must finish its investigation by Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5564 "2018-10-02T04:56:13Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > From a Palo Alto newspaper. They report on the building permits and verify that the door was installed well before her 2012 marriage therapy. **Read the comments as well.** > > “Ford later told Sen. Dianne Feinstein during her questioning that she wanted the second front door because of her anxiety, PTSD and claustrophobia resulting from the 1982 assault.” > > [Palo Alto building permit backs up Ford’s testimony – Palo Alto Daily Post](https://padailypost.com/2018/09/29/palo-alto-building-permit-backs-up-fords-testimony/) …hold on a second here: are you really citing an article with the headline “Palo Alto building permit backs up Ford’s testimony” and imploring that we “read the comments as well?” Have you not heard the oft-repeated mantra before: “don’t read the comments?” Because the article you cited has a byline, the comments are written by people going by the names “Major Lie”, “Rufus Leekin” and “Illegal Use of of Fords House.” I’d rather not read the comments thanks. Now you were asked for a cite that said “the assault so traumatized her that she is in a constant state of panic needing some sort escape route wherever she is.” Your cite clearly does not say this. No mention of an escape route. No mention of the “level of trauma.” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5565 "2018-10-02T05:20:42Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …hold on a second here: are you really citing an article with the headline “Palo Alto building permit backs up Ford’s testimony” Heh. On second thought, I think he’d prefer you didn’t read the article. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5566 "2018-10-02T05:43:45Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …hold on a second here: are you really citing an article with the headline “Palo Alto building permit backs up Ford’s testimony” and imploring that we “read the comments as well?” > > Have you not heard the oft-repeated mantra before: “don’t read the comments?” Because the article you cited has a byline, the comments are written by people going by the names “Major Lie”, “Rufus Leekin” and “Illegal Use of of Fords House.” > > I’d rather not read the comments thanks. > > Now you were asked for a cite that said “the assault so traumatized her that she is in a constant state of panic needing some sort escape route wherever she is.” Your cite clearly does not say this. No mention of an escape route. No mention of the “level of trauma.” Have to admit tho" “Rufus Leekin” is an awesome fucking screen name. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5567 "2018-10-02T05:57:54Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That officer’s handwriting is tough to make out. Someone is alleging that Kavanaugh threw ice at him during a heated argument in 1985. Did I get that right? You’d think CNN would have someone transcribe that. Since I’m a Liberal and you’re a Conservative can I just blame you for that? Thanks. 😉 In any event, sexual assault would be a be sound reason to keep a nominee off the Court. But a bar fight? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5568 "2018-10-02T06:02:53Z")
Maybe for doing literally the lamest thing possible, throwing an ice cube. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5569 "2018-10-02T06:13:50Z")
The media doesn’t seem to have picked up on this, but this is interesting. The night before the Ford hearing, representatives of the Judiciary Committee participated in a conference call with Kavanaugh, [which has since been transcribed with redacted names and officially released (very NSFW)](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/09.26.18%20BMK%20Interview%20Transcript%20(Redacted).pdf), in which Kavanaugh is questioned about an anonymous letter from a woman who says he and another boy offered her a ride home from a party, then restrained her in his car and repeatedly raped her. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5570 "2018-10-02T06:16:22Z")
This was mentiond at the hearing if I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5571 "2018-10-02T08:21:20Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > In any event, sexual assault would be a be sound reason to keep a nominee off the Court. But a bar fight? It should be taken as documented evidence that he was not a sober choir boy at the time, despite his testimony to the contrary. Kavanaugh is certainly guilty of lying on a variety of points. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5572 "2018-10-02T08:34:40Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Kavanaugh is certainly guilty of lying on a variety of points. Such as? Drinking seems to be a question of subjectiveness and the latest, he seems to have known that Ramirez was making an allegation, not specifically what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5573 "2018-10-02T08:54:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Such as? Drinking seems to be a question of subjectiveness and the latest, he seems to have known that Ramirez was making an allegation, not specifically what it was. Throwing ice at people is not subjective. If you’re liable to do that, while drinking, then it’s one piece of evidence that you’re not a pleasant drunk. To be sure, it could be that someone else was the asshole and got him sufficiently riled up, but this is not the only piece of evidence. It does, however, match the eye witness statements that he was a mean drunk, and support the idea that they are not false accusations made up out of wholecloth, for political purposes. Which is further backed by, some of the people making the accusation, having previously vouched for Kavanaugh up to the point where he started to claim that he barely drank at all at the time, and was always an angel. Between those three things, the Ralph Award, etc. it’s fair to say that the guy drank to excess and was probably not a very pleasant person to be around during those times. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5574 "2018-10-02T09:42:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > The only reason we are talking about Kav the Loutish Boor is that the Republican closed off any effort to ask the solidly legit questions. First and foremost, is the Kav a loyal Republican operative being rewarded for his partisan loyalty? His work with Ken Starr sticks out like a hammered thumb. We already have his suggested list of questions for Clinton, involving a set of gynecological precisions that would raise an eyebrow at PornHub. A suggestion that wasn’t acted upon, apparently reflecting the good taste and prim reserve of Mr. Starr. Or something else, God alone knows what. > > Kav’s pursuit of HRC in the matter of Vince Foster. Did he really have reasons to pursue the matter so relentlessly? Was it in the dedicated concern for justice, or just plain ol’ ratfuck. I lean to ratfuck, but would like to know. And I want _you_ to know, and that other guy. 'Course, maybe this is all totally legit now, after Obama nominated that fire-breathing radical lefty, Merrick Garland… > > And the shabby matter of Monica Lewinsky’s Mom… Yeah, when I say Brett Kavanaugh’s a nasty piece of work, this is why. To him and to the Starr team, Vince Foster’s family was just so much collateral damage in their hunting of the Clintons. Ditto Monica Lewinsky and her family. For twenty years, Lewinsky has had to live with the knowledge that the details of what she and Clinton did in private are the first things that come to mind when someone meets her, and the same will be true for her for the rest of her life. Did they give a damn about this? No, she was just a pawn to be sacrificed to their Clinton hatred and derangement. That whole team was evil. And Kavanaugh was one of the leaders of that pack. “Sin, young man, is treating people as things.” - Terry Pratchett ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5575 "2018-10-02T10:01:36Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Throwing ice at people is not subjective. If you’re liable to do that, while drinking, then it’s one piece of evidence that you’re not a pleasant drunk. > > To be sure, it could be that someone else was the asshole and got him sufficiently riled up, but this is not the only piece of evidence. It does, however, match the eye witness statements that he was a mean drunk, and support the idea that they are not false accusations made up out of wholecloth, for political purposes.\*\* Which is further backed by, some of the people making the accusation, having previously vouched for Kavanaugh up to the point where he started to claim that he barely drank at all at the time, and was always an angel.\*\* > > Between those three things, the Ralph Award, etc. it’s fair to say that the guy drank to excess and was probably not a very pleasant person to be around during those times. I don’t think they or you have actually read the transcriots then [since this is what he said, under oath in his opening statement.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-transcript/?utm_term=.ef4b57890027) > [@](#): > > . I drank beer with my friends. Almost everyone did. Sometimes I had too many beers. Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone. In other words he literally said the opposite of what you are claiming.😕 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5576 "2018-10-02T11:38:09Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Maybe for doing literally the lamest thing possible, throwing an ice cube. That’s one for the cold case files. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5577 "2018-10-02T12:05:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That officer’s handwriting is tough to make out. Someone is alleging that Kavanaugh threw ice at him during a heated argument in 1985. Did I get that right? His friend who was with him said that Kavanaugh threw his beer in the other guy’s face, responding to what had been just words up to that point. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5578 "2018-10-02T12:15:59Z")
[Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-01/kavanaugh-college-visit-to-bar-erupted-in-fight-classmate-says-jmqwga1s): > [@](#): > > They had just come from seeing the English reggae band UB40 at a nearby venue in New Haven, Connecticut, when they saw a man who resembled the lead singer. The man told the trio he wasn’t the singer and brusquely told them to stop looking at him. Kavanaugh couldn’t let the comment pass, according to one of the two friends with Kavanaugh that night. > > Kavanaugh first cursed at the man. After the man responded in kind, Kavanaugh threw a beer in his face, said Charles Ludington, a former Yale basketball player who’s now a history professor at North Carolina State University. The act precipitated a brawl that drew in their other friend – Yale basketball star and future NBA player Chris Dudley – and eventually prompted a call to police. > \ > A witness said Dudley hit the man in his right ear with a glass, which the report said resulted in injuries that were treated at a hospital. > \ > “It was sort of a general feature of hanging out with Brett in college,” [Ludington] said in an interview. “When you’re having beers on a Friday or Saturday night, that was kind of Brett’s shtick. He was aggressive. He was belligerent.” A nasty piece of work. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5579 "2018-10-02T13:00:31Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > His friend who was with him said that Kavanaugh threw his beer in the other guy’s face, responding to what had been just words up to that point. He did, but then he changed his mind. I saw him on CNN last night. He admitted that he changed a detail or two of the story (e.g., from beer to ice) after reading the police report. I guess that’s not too big a deal, but it does speak to the idea that this all happened a long time ago. He seemed kind of nervous during the interview, but I’d cut him some slack on that since he’s probably not used to being interviewed on national TV. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5580 "2018-10-02T13:18:29Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > I don’t think they or you have actually read the transcriots then [since this is what he said, under oath in his opening statement.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-transcript/?utm_term=.ef4b57890027) > > In other words he literally said the opposite of what you are claiming.😕 KAVANAUGH: […] But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out […] MITCHELL: OK. Have you ever passed out from drinking? KAVANAUGH: I — passed out would be — no, but I’ve gone to sleep, but — but I’ve never blacked out. That’s the — that’s the — the allegation, and that — that — that’s wrong. WHITEHOUSE: Let’s look at, “Beach Week Ralph Club — Biggest Contributor,” what does the word Ralph mean in that? KAVANAUGH: That probably refers to throwing up. I’m known to have a weak stomach and I always have. In fact, the last time I was here, you asked me about having ketchup on spaghetti. I always have had a weak stomach. DURBIN: I don’t know that I asked about ketchup on spaghetti, but… KAVANAUGH: You — you didn’t, someone did. And… WHITEHOUSE: OK. KAVANAUGH: … this is well-known. Anyone who’s known me, like a lot of these people behind me — known me my whole life — know, you know. I got a weak stomach, whether it’s with beer or with spicy food or anything. WHITEHOUSE: So the vomiting that you reference in the Ralph Club reference, related to the consumption of alcohol? KAVANAUGH: Senator, I was at the top of my class academically, busted my butt in school. Captain of the varsity basketball team. Got in Yale College. When I got into Yale College, got into Yale Law School. Worked my tail off. You can’t claim to be a safe drinker at the same time as pretending that there never could ever have been any ramifications - even when clearly there were. It’s not meaningful to say, “Well, maybe I drank one extra sip than I should have _teehee_.” If you’re then going to follow that up with some claptrap about spicy food. Get off my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5581 "2018-10-02T13:46:41Z")
Last night I had to have a conversation with my mother in law about Devils Triangles, and for forcing that conversation alone, Kavanaugh should be voted down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=278) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=280)