# 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:** 82
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1621 "2018-09-19T05:53:41Z")
An interesting side note in this little drama, apparently [Spartacus groped a drunk girl after she pushed his hand away in 1984](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13). Shall we burn him at the stake? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1622 "2018-09-19T06:02:12Z")
Maybe. Was it crass? ---
**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:** [September 19, 2018, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1623 "2018-09-19T06:09:56Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > An interesting side note in this little drama, apparently [Spartacus groped a drunk girl after she pushed his hand away in 1984](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13). Shall we burn him at the stake? Possibly Mr. Booker should get singed a bit for that, but I would say that the relative levels of nefariousness between going further faster than a girl who is otherwise accepting your advances wants and snatching someone while they’re not expecting it, holding them down, and trying to pull their clothes off while they struggle and try to call for help are not terribly comparable. Do you believe otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1624 "2018-09-19T06:12:44Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Possibly Mr. Booker should get singed a bit for that, but I would say that the relative levels of nefariousness between going further faster than a girl who is otherwise accepting your advances wants and snatching someone while they’re not expecting it, holding them down, and trying to pull their clothes off while they struggle and try to call for help are not terribly comparable. > > Do you believe otherwise? I believe this is a case where we’ve only heard his side of the story. If someone could ask Booker who that nice young lady he groped was, we could find out if her perspective matches his, or if it’s something closer to Ford’s. It would be an interesting exercise, don’t you think? ---
**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:** [September 19, 2018, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1625 "2018-09-19T07:07:41Z")
Wait, didn’t Feinstein turn the letter into the FBI weeks ago? It was my understanding that she just released it to the other members and the public 6 days ago. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2018, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1626 "2018-09-19T07:37:06Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I believe this is a case where we’ve only heard his side of the story. If someone could ask Booker who that nice young lady he groped was, we could find out if her perspective matches his, or if it’s something closer to Ford’s. It would be an interesting exercise, don’t you think? Sorry, I’m losing track. Do you now think sexual assault is bad? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1627 "2018-09-19T09:32:38Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > An interesting side note in this little drama, apparently [Spartacus groped a drunk girl after she pushed his hand away in 1984](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13). Shall we burn him at the stake? What didja say, **Sparty**? I missed that. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1628 "2018-09-19T09:36:00Z")
Which is to say, it’s time **HD** took this Spartacus shit down to the quarry and chucked it in. Because it’s getting even more tiresome than Snowboarder Bo’s tic. ---
**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 19, 2018, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1629 "2018-09-19T09:47:32Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > An interesting side note in this little drama, apparently [Spartacus groped a drunk girl after she pushed his hand away in 1984](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13). Shall we burn him at the stake? So you think an honest account of teenage groping and subsequent personal growth, reflecting on the awful signals that society sends men and boys about sexual assault and how he’s personally been affected by them and has tried to overcome them, is comparable to teenage attempted rape and then lying about it and standing by while the accuser is slandered and threatened (if the allegations are true)? I guess that’s par for the course for an unapologetic supporter of someone who bragged multiple times about violating the consent of multiple women. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1630 "2018-09-19T11:09:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > An interesting side note in this little drama, apparently [Spartacus groped a drunk girl after she pushed his hand away in 1984](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13). Shall we burn him at the stake? Wow, what a great story of personal growth! You know, Booker has been a bit pedestrian since that time he ran into a burning building to save someone, but here we are, I respect him just a little more. Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1631 "2018-09-19T11:12:30Z")
you have to hand it to Trump not only does he grope women , he’s so proud of doing it he openly admits it , even on tape. I guess Brett is the perfect pick for him. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1632 "2018-09-19T12:02:42Z")
I think the democrats are making themselves look like total fools by bringing up stuff he did 32 years ago when he was 17 and the girl 15. Look, teens do STUPID THINGS! Are we all going to be judged by what we did in high school? What is next? That he peeked inside the girls locker room in jr high? That he looked up a little girls skirt when he was in 4th grade? ---
**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 19, 2018, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1633 "2018-09-19T12:06:21Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think the democrats are making themselves look like total fools by bringing up stuff he did 32 years ago when he was 17 and the girl 15. Look, teens do STUPID THINGS! > > Are we all going to be judged by what we did in high school? > > What is next? That he peeked inside the girls locker room in jr high? > > That he looked up a little girls skirt when he was in 4th grade? If he lies about it? Seems like we could set a higher standard for SCOTUS than “guy who committed attempted rape in high school and then lied about it decades later”. If the allegations are true, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1634 "2018-09-19T12:18:56Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Look, teens do STUPID THINGS! I know, right? I mean who here _hasn’t_ attempted a rape or two during their teen years? What’s the big deal? It’s like that time I climbed up on the roof of a school in the middle of the night and peed on the hood of the custodians car, except, you know, more rapey. Teens do the silliest things, like rape, and peeing on stuff. ---
**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 19, 2018, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1635 "2018-09-19T12:24:48Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think the democrats are making themselves look like total fools by bringing up stuff he did 32 years ago when he was 17 and the girl 15. Look, teens do STUPID THINGS! Urbanredneck, did you hold a girl down and cover her mouth to stifle her screams when you were 17? Did you try to prevent her from alerting others to your attempt to rape her? I did stupid things when I was seventeen. I skipped school. I mouthed off to skinheads. I walked alone at night through dangerous neighborhoods. I never made a calculated decision to prevent someone from getting help when I was trying to rape them. That’s not a stupid thing; that’s a smart thing for a rapist to do. We’re not talking about stupid things. We’re talking about terrible things. And I didn’t do anything in the same league of terrible when I was a teenager. But I’m curious about my question. When you talk about doing stupid things as a teen, did you come this close to committing rape, and did you prevent your victim from getting help? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1636 "2018-09-19T13:08:34Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I think the democrats are making themselves look like total fools by bringing up stuff he did 32 years ago when he was 17 and the girl 15. Look, teens do STUPID THINGS! Apparently in Maryland, [teens 16+](https://twitter.com/lkmcgann/status/1042169377661960194) can be, and usually are, prosecuted as adults for attempted rape and similarly serious crimes. And for many years now, there’s been [no statute of limitations on rape and attempted rape](https://twitter.com/lkmcgann/status/1042169377661960194) in Maryland. Obviously Kavanaugh’s not going to be prosecuted for this; that’s not my point. The point is that the law here regards this “stuff he did” as **“stuff” that you can’t and shouldn’t escape culpability for due to the passage of time, or being 16 or 17 at the time, or both.** (You can escape culpability because the evidence isn’t sufficient to go to trial several decades later, as is almost surely the case here. But the point is that neither time nor relative youth erase the _seriousness_ of the matter today.) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1637 "2018-09-19T13:12:19Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Dude. It’s “silver play” not “parlay voo”. Get your bad French right. Maybe he’s [even older](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinky_Dinky_Parlay_Voo%3F_Fox_Trot_and_6/8_March_One-step)than we thought. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1638 "2018-09-19T13:13:25Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Wait, didn’t Feinstein turn the letter into the FBI weeks ago? It was my understanding that she just released it to the other members and the public 6 days ago. No, your understanding is mistaken. > [@](#): > > Feinstein waited until late last week to provide the letter to the FBI – only after a news report surfaced detailing the existence of the letter. [https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/17/politics/dianne-feinstein-brett-kavanaugh-allegations/index.html](https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/17/politics/dianne-feinstein-brett-kavanaugh-allegations/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1639 "2018-09-19T13:15:07Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I don’t get the benefit of having counsel ask the questions instead of Senators. Shouldn’t Senators speak (and ask questions) on record about this so they can’t avoid politically difficult questions/positions? You gave one good answer to your own question. Others would be that counsels are more familiar in depth with the subject matter, having done the research themselves, and are more experienced with questioning hostile witnesses and drilling into bullshit responses. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1640 "2018-09-19T13:16:34Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > So you think an honest account of teenage groping and subsequent personal growth, reflecting on the awful signals that society sends men and boys about sexual assault and how he’s personally been affected by them and has tried to overcome them, is comparable to teenage attempted rape and then lying about it and standing by while the accuser is slandered and threatened (if the allegations are true)? > > I guess that’s par for the course for an unapologetic supporter of someone who bragged multiple times about violating the consent of multiple women. So, IOKIADDI? That’s about the response I expected from you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=81) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=83)