My objection to Kavanaugh is that he founded his rise to power on being a partisan political operative for the Republican Party. He is unquestionably loyal, which might be a virtue in other circumstances. There’s his work for the Pickering nomination, his work with Ken Starr and the evolution of his notions of Presidential immunities. His dogged pursuit of the sad demise of Vince Foster. His access to confidential Dem documents.
If any or all of these allegations are true, then, (…drum roll…) He Lied to the American People! (Where are my Clutching Pearls?)
But the Republicans refused to even consider investigating these questions. Of course, its fair to say they had a very good reason, they didn’t want to. “Fuck you, you can’t make us!” they explained, carefully. Because of their stubborn insistence on brute force, we have this shit show, rather than an intelligent and reasoned fight about evidence, documents, and facts.
I would much rather have had an honest fight on those terms. I would rather have lost an honest fight on those terms! I won’t say “Maybe that’s just me” because, best I can tell, it is just me. Sure as tootin’ ain’t you!
The nomination *itself *can be seen as attempted obstruction of justice, as can the Republicans’ obstinate refusal to let documentation of the bulk of his career be exposed for scrutiny. Why, it’s almost as if they’re afraid we’ll learn something about it, isn’t it?
He might well serve the interests of Donald Trump, but certainly not the interests of the nation.
Uh no. That’s a non-apology apology. Those don’t fly these days, as Kevin Spacey can attest. It does not acknowledge holding her down, or trying to take off her swimming suit, just some unspecific “boisterous youthful misbehaving”. He’d be done, DONE, with this kind of response.
If he didn’t do it, categorically denying it was perfectly appropriate. Again, if he* didn’t* do it, no further anything will change that fact.
I agree fully with this. If a person makes an allegation of sexual assault and tells a consistent story, it shows how forcefully those horrible acts were pressed into her memory. If she tells an inconsistent story, it shows how the trauma of the event did not allow her to recall things accurately.
But I agree with you. We have a story from 1982 with only one witness who denies the accuser’s story, but never mind that, she said it, so she gets her fifteen minutes of fame, with no possibility of being proven a liar or with Kavanaugh having no possibility of clearing his name.
She had from 1982 until 2018 to come forward with this story. She waits until the eve of a confirmation vote for the United States Supreme Court. That is not fundamental fairness in any way and although we should be sympathetic to accusers, we should also be sympathetic to the accused as well. If you have something to say, don’t wait 36 years.
As nobody can ever have any idea if this story is true, I agree with you that it is a waste of time to hear the stories: there can never be a definite finding. If this is enough for someone to change their vote from “for” to “against” Kavanaugh, then we have a blueprint for derailing any nominee in the future. ANY nominee. We also have created a format for any whackjob (again, I don’t know if Ford qualifies, but we have created the format) for any desperate person looking for his or her fifteen minutes to get it.
Fundamental fairness requires more. Let the plaintive wails of how I don’t understand sexual assault begin in 3…2…1
This just seems like an awfully flimsy and weird justification for literally doing nothing about a credible allegation, even an old one. Why not investigate it? Maybe they could find something out. Maybe Kavanaugh will have an explanation, or change his story, or a million other possibilities. Maybe other accusers will come forward. Why is it so terrible to just take some time and investigate a credible allegation before we seat a possible attempted rapist on the SCOTUS?
I meant “meaningful” in terms of establishing the veracity of the charge. It’s certainly possible that it will be highly effective as PR and will derail the nomination. Not likely, but certainly possible.
