# 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:** 282
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5622 "2018-10-02T19:56:41Z")
I think partisan comments by judges are bad, which is why RBG [apologized](https://www.npr.org/2016/07/14/486012897/ginsburg-apologies-for-ill-advised-trump-comments). (Has Kavanaugh apologized?) But in my view, what makes Kavanaugh’s comments independently disqualifying is not that they were sharply partisan, but that they were Alex Jones level conspiracies. Revenge “on behalf of the Clintons”? That’s tin-foil hat stuff. ---
**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, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5623 "2018-10-02T19:59:45Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > … (Has Kavanaugh apologized?) … He apologized to Klobuchar: > [@](#): > > Just going to say I started my last colloquy by saying to Senator Klobuchar how much I respect her and respected what she did at the last hearing. And she asked me a question at the end that I responded by asking her a question and I didn’t — sorry, I did that. This is a tough process. I’m sorry about that. ---
**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, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5624 "2018-10-02T20:03:09Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …I think its much fairer to say that Avenatti oversold his client. I do wonder how much of that statement he released via Twitter was written by him vs her. I suspect he had a heavy hand in it, and did his best to gin up a lot of controversy with it, but that’s just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5625 "2018-10-02T20:03:16Z")
Kavanaugh also wound it all up with, “what comes around goes around.” I don’t remember RBG threatening to get back at Trump, or her detractors, or anyone for that matter, for anything. ---
**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, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5626 "2018-10-02T20:06:18Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Kavanaugh also wound it all up with, “what comes around goes around.” I don’t remember RBG threatening to get back at Trump, or her detractors, or anyone for that matter, for anything. Actually, after that “wound it all up” bit, he went on to say this: > [@](#): > > I am an optimistic guy. I always try to be on the sunrise side of the mountain, to be optimistic about the day that is coming. But today, I have to say that I fear for the future. Last time I was here, I told this committee that a federal judge must be independent, not swayed by public or political pressure. I said I was such a judge, and I am. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5627 "2018-10-02T20:11:49Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Actually, after that “wound it all up” bit, he went on to say this: Yeah, that isn’t super reassuring. ---
**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, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5628 "2018-10-02T20:13:09Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > He apologized to Klobuchar: For that one remark. I’m _SO_ proud of him! :rolleyes: He’s a habitual liar (doesn’t matter if he manages to stay just this side of perjury), he’s a generally nasty person, he’s got a serious self-control problem, he’s embraced a nutso conspiracy theory, and as Ravenman says, he’s clearly got scores to settle, which he has hinted that he might well do from the bench. He should not be a judge, let alone a Justice. The refusal of Republicans to step back and see if they might have a saner, cleaner candidate is pathological. There are two possibilities: 1. It’s not about trying to get the best person (even from a conservative POV) on the Supreme Court, it’s about winning and losing. It’s a dick-swinging contest, and the Republicans want to show that they swing the biggest dick. Or: 1. This piece of damaged goods is the best they’ve got. ---
**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, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5629 "2018-10-02T20:28:45Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > …he was in the midst of confronting a slew of ridiculous and salacious accusations … I think you mean “credible and probably accurate accusations, in response to which he lied repeatedly and offensively.” ---
**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, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5630 "2018-10-02T20:36:54Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > I think you mean “credible and probably accurate accusations, in response to which he lied repeatedly and offensively.” You think wrong. Side note: Do you still think Swetnick’s statement is “probably accurate”? ---
**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, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5631 "2018-10-02T20:44:06Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > You think wrong. Yeah, I should have said: “credible and probably accurate accusations, in response to which he went off on an unhinged drunken rant filled with lies and insults.” ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5632 "2018-10-02T21:00:39Z")
Avenatti just sent another witness statement (not Swetnick) to the Senate Judiciary Committee. [https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1047226356831059970](https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1047226356831059970) (link contains the tweet, which contains the email to Senate and attached statement) Basically, the same as Swetnick, without the gang rape allegations - states Kav was not a choir boy in his high school years. This witness, who’s name is redacted, claims Kav spiked the punch to get girls drunk so they could be abused, says he drank a lot/incoherently, and says she knows he was sexually active in high school - she has first-hand knowledge. She also knows of other witnesses. Personally, I’d prefer these witnesses vetted by a newspaper, but it’s out there all the same. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5633 "2018-10-02T21:01:10Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I don’t know if you were unaware of this or if you don’t consider it an expression of animosity: > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/11/us/politics/ruth-bader-ginsburg-no-fan-of-donald-trump-critiques-latest-term.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/11/us/politics/ruth-bader-ginsburg-no-fan-of-donald-trump-critiques-latest-term.html) > > [https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/12/politics/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-donald-trump-faker/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/12/politics/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-donald-trump-faker/index.html) > > You don’t think “animosity” is a fair characterization of that? Not at all. Her statement was a “fair characterization” of the country. She had the right to say it. It was not a rant or a lie. And she was not applying for a job. She has already been through her confirmation, and has the job. He doesn’t. They are different people under different conditions. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5634 "2018-10-02T21:03:22Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Do you have the same expectation about RBG and President Trump? Has she dishonorably revealed her bias in your eyes and is likely to just rule reflexively against the Trump Administration? Should she be recusing herself from all cases that the Trump Administration is a party to? Should she have resigned her seat? Should she be impeached? Calm down, Brett! Your questions are exactly why confirming a judge with a political bias is a BIG DEAL. And no amount of whataboutism has anything to do with the direct attack that Kavenaugh launched on half the panel - even when, in the case of Klobuchar, the Senator wasn’t doing anything other than asking reasonable questions in a polite manner. > [@](#): > > I suspect you believe she’s capable of being a bit more dispassionate than that in her role as an Associate Justice. Why do you not extend that same bit of faith to Kavanaugh? I watched Kavenaugh say that Democrats were carrying out a secret agenda by the Clintons to destroy his family. You did not see that, that’s fine. You seem to embrace whataboutism as the only tool in your drawer on this issue, so let me ask you if you see these statements are being pretty much interchangeable: “This man [Trump] is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies.” “A Democratic senator on this committee publicly referred to me as evil… This grotesque, character assassination will dissuade confident and good people of all political persuasions from serving our country and **as we all know in the political system of the early 2000s, what goes around comes around** … You’ve tried hard. You’ve given it your all. \*\*No one can question your efforts and your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and destroy my family \*\*will not drive me out.” > [@](#): > > Should that display of personal antipathy have been disqualifying? Should Scalia have recused himself from any case involving flag desecration? or beards? Or do you accept that he too was largely able to set aside his personal feelings on litigants and make rulings with sufficient dispassion? What were the five words that immediately followed Scalia’s quote you just provided? That context is important for answering your question about his judicial temperament. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5635 "2018-10-02T21:09:13Z")
trump trolls the country. If you respond as an intelligent american you are accused of partisan “hate”. This is the road to serfdom, newly paved and with rest stops, all named after republican pols. ---
**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, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5636 "2018-10-02T21:09:35Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > … let me ask you if you see these statements are being pretty much interchangeable: … I see them both as examples of political bias by members of the judiciary. > [@Ravenman](#): > > … What were the five words that immediately followed Scalia’s quote you just provided? … Something like “but I’m not a king” or “I am not a king”. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5637 "2018-10-02T21:12:15Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I fully expect him to just rule against Democrats out of spite for the rest of his judicial career, and there really isn’t anything anyone can do about it. You do realize that contentious partisan like cases are not the norm of the docket of cases that SCOTUS reviews don’t you? For the period of 2000 - 2016, only 19% of the cases heard by SCOTUS ended in a 5-4 split. The most common result was 9-0. ---
**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, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5638 "2018-10-02T21:15:18Z")
[The NYT reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/kavanaugh-fbi-background-check.html): > [@](#): > > The F.B.I. is expected to complete its investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and deliver the results to the Senate as early as Wednesday, and Republican leaders said Tuesday that they expect to vote on the nomination this week. … ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5639 "2018-10-02T21:15:53Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > - she has first-hand knowledge. b’duh tshhhhhh! Why was I expecting a rimshot sound after this? ---
**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, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5640 "2018-10-02T21:19:15Z")
[More evidence](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/10/kavanaugh-drinking-credibility.html) of Kavenaugh’s lies: In last week’s hearing, Sen. Chris Coons asked Kavanaugh “whether you’ve ever gotten aggressive while drinking.” Kavanaugh replied, “I think the answer to that is basically no.” He pressed Coons for details—“What are you talking about?”—and went on: “ ‘No’ is the basic answer, unless you’re talking about something where—that I’m not aware of, that you’re going to ask about.” Kavanaugh seemed hesitant, leaving open the possibility that Coons might know of an incident Kavanaugh couldn’t recall. Nevertheless, Kavanaugh chose to say no. I guess he “forgot” about that bar fight he was involved in. ---
**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/5641 "2018-10-02T21:26:03Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > [The NYT reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/kavanaugh-fbi-background-check.html): I can’t find it now, but I saw an article that Ramirez had 20 classmates who wanted to talk to the FBI about the time Kavenaugh assaulted her, and the FBI had talked to precisely ZERO of them. Wonder what a Republican with actual principles will do with this information. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=281) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=283)