# 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:** 97
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1921 "2018-09-20T14:46:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Imposing hard and fast artificial deadlines under such circumstances (like the one tomorrow morning for her written testimony) seems like a deliberate ploy to make sure she makes her case a good deal more poorly than she might have. I am kind of astounded how little people think of Ms. Ford’s ability (who has been lawyered up for a while now) to tell a story she’s known for 36 years, at a place of her choosing, through any medium of her choosing, in her own state, in DC, public, private, you name it (facebook emojis would probably be accepted at this point). You’re giving her very little credit I think. If her story is true, she should have no problems recounting it. ---
**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 20, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1922 "2018-09-20T14:47:09Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > It appears that all of this “line of questioning” discussion may be moot. It doesn’t appear that Ford will be testifying on Monday. If that is the case I guess the champagne is already flowing for the party. ---
**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 20, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1923 "2018-09-20T14:47:10Z")
**F-P** : You described the characterization of it as attempted rape as having “little or no basis” if it was based only upon what she has described so far. I realize no paraphrase of your argument is ever a fair one in your mind, but that is actually what you are saying. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1924 "2018-09-20T14:51:08Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I am kind of astounded how little people think of Ms. Ford’s ability (who has been lawyered up for a while now) to tell a story she’s known for 36 years, at a place of her choosing, through any medium of her choosing, in her own state, in DC, public, private, you name it (facebook emojis would probably be accepted at this point). You’re giving her very little credit I think. If her story is true, she should have no problems recounting it. Agreed, and I believe the Dems have lost the battle of complaining that there is too little time and that an FBI investigation should be a precondition. They are out of arrows in their quiver. If Ford does not testify, then Kavanaugh is confirmed. They will not let that happen. The only chance they have now is for Ford to testify publicly and be believable and sympathetic enough to peel off Collins and Murkowski. I predict Ford will most certainly testify on Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1925 "2018-09-20T14:54:57Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Agreed, and I believe the Dems have lost the battle of complaining that there is too little time and that an FBI investigation should be a precondition. They are out of arrows in their quiver. If Ford does not testify, then Kavanaugh is confirmed. They will not let that happen. > > The only chance they have now is for Ford to testify publicly and be believable and sympathetic enough to peel off Collins and Murkowski. I predict Ford will most certainly testify on Monday. Alternatively the Republicans could cave on an FBI investigation. (Need to check the polls … :)) ---
**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:** [September 20, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1926 "2018-09-20T14:55:18Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If that is the case I guess the champagne is already flowing for the party. In my opinion, sadly no. I believe that the state of Maryland should be investigating this alleged crime. Not a congressional committee. Does Ford not wish to use the means of justice afforded her? I know there are many reasons why sexual assault victims don’t report their assaults. But she took steps to reach out to Federal authorities about this case. And they sat on it for weeks, never brought it up. Then when it was leaked, she through her attorney went on the morning news show circuit to tell her story. She still has the opportunity to pursue justice where the crime occurred, in the state of Maryland. If Kavanaugh is confirmed and later convicted in Maryland for attempted sexual assault, then the House of Representative can impeach him. ---
**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 20, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1927 "2018-09-20T14:56:25Z")
I hope Ford testifies on Monday. I don’t think it serves her well to refuse. re: Maryland. Does anyone know if/when the SoL was changed for sexual assault? I think there is a good chance that the local police would decline to investigate even if she decided to try and press charges, which she hasn’t done. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1928 "2018-09-20T14:57:55Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Alternatively the Republicans could cave on an FBI investigation. (Need to check the polls … :)) Possibly, but instead of checking polls, they need to check on Flake, Collins, and Murkowski. 🙂 I think the Dems (Manchin, Heitkamp, and Donnelly) will be of no help. They now have cover. They can go to their constituents and say that they very, very much want a solid conservative on the Supreme Court but there are just “too many questions” about Kavanaugh. Further, I think that their calculus is the same as it was: If the GOP has the votes, they all vote yes to please their constituents. If the GOP does not have the votes, they bite the bullet and vote no. Now they have cover to vote no. ---
**Author:** ![Modesty\_Blaise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Modesty\_Blaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Modesty_Blaise)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1929 "2018-09-20T14:59:37Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > And the need for the disclaimer continues. Please read above where I said that this was very, very, very bad. Yeah, yeah, we get that you are saying bad, bad, bad, but you’re also saying, well maybe it’s not THAT bad. You are definitely trying to minimize his actions while also suggesting that she may be mistaken, or misinterpreting the event. A guy corralling me into a room, against my will, pushing me onto a bed, against my will, trying to undress me, against my will, muffling my \*screams \*to the point that I think it’s possible he might actually kill me is somehow an awkward attempt to convince me to consent? You quite obviously don’t even know what the word \*consent \*means. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1930 "2018-09-20T14:59:51Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Agreed, and I believe the Dems have lost the battle of complaining that there is too little time and that an FBI investigation should be a precondition. They are out of arrows in their quiver. If Ford does not testify, then Kavanaugh is confirmed. They will not let that happen. > > The only chance they have now is for Ford to testify publicly and be believable and sympathetic enough to peel off Collins and Murkowski. I predict Ford will most certainly testify on Monday. Honestly, I don’t think it even has to be public to throw Kavanaugh’s appointment into seriously jeopardy, or at least cause a delay. But I agree, if she does nothing on Monday, Kavanaugh will the next Supreme Court justice by the end of the week. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1931 "2018-09-20T15:02:11Z")
I thought this thread couldn’t get worse than Republicans arguing that we cannot possibly delay a Supreme Court nomination to investigate a sexual assault accusation. How the fuck was I wrong on that one?! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1932 "2018-09-20T15:02:23Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > … I believe that the state of Maryland should be investigating this alleged crime. Not a congressional committee. Does Ford not wish to use the means of justice afforded her? … I think her inaction over the last 36 (or maybe it was 35, or 37) years shows that she does not wish law enforcement to investigate this matter. If she did, they, like the Senate Judiciary Committee, are holding the door open and inviting her to walk through: > [@](#): > > [“We would only investigate if something has been reported to us,” Officer Rick Goodale, a police spokesman, said Monday. “As of now no one has come forward. We are not going to initiate an investigation.”](https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/police-fire/county-police-wont-investigate-allegations-against-kavanaugh-unless-complaint-is-filed/) ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1933 "2018-09-20T15:07:24Z")
I wonder if a couple posters here even realize how close to paper towel tube territory they’re getting with shit like “improperly persuade.” It’s fucking disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1934 "2018-09-20T15:12:40Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I thought this thread couldn’t get worse than Republicans arguing that we cannot possibly delay a Supreme Court nomination to investigate a sexual assault accusation. How the fuck was I wrong on that one?! Well, if you’re looking for a Republican to agree with you, I think the idea that the next logical step of forcibly remove someone’s clothing and stifling someone’s screams is NOT rape, is absurd. I also don’t think anyone at the hearing would go along with that line of reasoning. I also do not want Kavanaugh on the SCOTUS if her accusations are true. However, unless she comes up with a more specific and convincing story than it happened at an unspecified time/date/location in the early 1980s, a _completely unfalsifiable claim_, which she has every opportunity to do on Monday, then I think they should have a vote. If they don’t have the votes, then they don’t have the votes, and should go back to the drawing board. If they do have the votes, then the GOP will bear the consequences of that in the mid-terms, whatever they may be. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1935 "2018-09-20T15:17:40Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Aw hell, I guess I have to paint a picture: Get her naked, kiss, rub up against her so she gets turned on and consents to sex. Maybe not the most effective strategy, but we are talking about a drunk 17 year old boy. > > Again, improper, bad, evil, etc., but not an attempted rape. I wish I could stop making the disclaimer, but I’m sure there will be a follow up post that says that I said that such actions are okay. And what about actual rape? Is it only rape if she fights tooth and nail though the entire event? If she eventually gives up I guess that’s kind of consent, right? Oh, yeah, still bad, but just not rape. Gun, knife, fists, all bad, but if she didn’t fight back, they’re just improper persuasion. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1936 "2018-09-20T15:19:44Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > And what about actual rape? Is it only rape if she fights tooth and nail though the entire event? If she eventually gives up I guess that’s kind of consent, right? Oh, yeah, still bad, but just not rape. Gun, knife, fists, all bad, but if she didn’t fight back, they’re just improper persuasion. Sounds like a question for Spartacus. > [@Spartacus](#): > > [I slowly reached for her breast. After having my hand pushed away once, I reached my “mark.” Our groping ended soon and while no “relationship” ensued, a friendship did. You see, the next week in school she told me that she was drunk that night and didn’t really know what she was doing.](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19920219-01.2.16&srpos=13) ETA: what do you think? “kind of consent”? ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1937 "2018-09-20T15:21:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sounds like a question for Spartacus. Is he in this thread, arguing that forcibly removing a girl’s clothes may simply be improper persuasion? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1938 "2018-09-20T15:22:08Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Question for iiandyiiii (and others of the same viewpoint): who do you support in the [Minnesota AG race](https://twitter.com/KarenMonahan01/status/1042420992352518144/photo/1)? Ellison and the DFL should suspend his campaign while the FBI conducts a full investigation of these credible allegations. After all, what’s the harm in a few weeks delay compared to the threat of putting a violent criminal into the AG spot. 🙂 > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > On a completely unrelated note, one thing I was hoping would come out in questioning Ms Ford was how she knows that Kavanaugh was attempting to rape her. Republicans will not ask this question. Democrats will claim they did (if Ford testifies), but they won’t. Of course, Democrats will accuse GOP-ers of slut shaming no matter what questions they ask, just as they will accuse GOP-ers of silencing her if they don’t postpone the hearings until the mid-terms, but the question is pointless anyway - if it happened the way Ford claims, it was sexual assault which is more or less synonymous with attempted rape. Wonder if Ford is going to testify - she apparently has until tomorrow to decide. If she backs out, who else will the committee hear from? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1939 "2018-09-20T15:27:48Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Is he in this thread, arguing that forcibly removing a girl’s clothes may simply be improper persuasion? I believe he’s on the Senate Judiciary Committee, [arguing that we shouldn’t have maybe-sexual-abusers in high positions in our government](https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1042467950853275648), without, apparently, a hint of irony. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733/1940 "2018-09-20T15:31:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > … Wonder if Ford is going to testify - she apparently has until tomorrow to decide. If she backs out, who else will the committee hear from? They could still let Kavanaugh testify, if he wishes. Maybe they could do the empty-chair routine like Clint Eastwood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=96) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-democrats-actually-stop-the-nomination-of-brett-kavanaugh/820733.md?page=98)