# The Supreme Court Nominee: Brett Kavanaugh shares certain tastes with Trump. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459 "2018-09-16T20:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/21 "2018-09-18T22:21:48Z")
I do find it absurd how many people are willing to casually enable rapists. Do these men not have wives or daughters or sisters or female friends? Imagine this happening to one of those women. Now imagine telling that woman that her accusation is going to be dismissed because of the political expedience of the timing. Conservatives want to dismiss the allegation because the Democrats sat on it until it would do the most damage. I wonder where the Democrats picked that trick up from? There is no exception to a rape investigation simply because the accused is being considered for a new job. If he is a rapist he has been playing Russian Roulette for his entire career. Of course the allegation is going to come up at the worst possible time. Of course his political enemies are going to use it against him. And yet there are conservatives suggesting that there should be a period during which the accused should be shielded from an investigation of his conduct DURING an investigation of his conduct! When your wife/girlfrend/sister/niece/female friend gets raped are you going to tell her that she shouldn’t bring an accusation forward because her rapist is an important man who can’t be distracted at this crucial time? Are you going to dismiss the incident as “rough horseplay” and tell her to get over it? Are you going to tell her that if she doesn’t speak up about it before a certain time then it never happened, especially if her rapist is up for a promotion? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/22 "2018-09-18T22:53:42Z")
Mark Judge tells Senate he ‘has no memory of alleged’ incident with Kavanaugh [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mark-judge-tells-senate-he-has-no-memory-of-alleged-incident-with-kavanaugh/ar-BBNwEGW](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mark-judge-tells-senate-he-has-no-memory-of-alleged-incident-with-kavanaugh/ar-BBNwEGW) > [@](#): > > “I have no memory of this alleged incident,” Judge states in the letter sent by his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder. > > “Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.” > > Judge goes on to say that he has no additional information to provide the committee and therefore, does “not want to speak publicly regarding the incidents described in Dr. Ford’s letter.” The first ‘trending now’ link (now gone) said ‘Judge will not testify’. I may be mistaken, but I think the intended implication is ‘doesn’t want to testify’. This got me thinking. And I hate that. But what do you mean ‘will not testify’? You testify if you are called. It aint a choice unless you are a defendant. (unless I am wrong about that too) Also, wouldn’t you wanna testify?? You just called a witness and participant to a sexual assault. You say you have no memory of that party and you weren’t EVER in a room where someone was raped, then say that under oath. I mean, at the very least, you gotta say ‘she is either lying or has me mixed up with someone else’. Or…maybe he want’s to be able to say he wasn’t there but not if the possibility of a’lying to congress’ charge is on the table. Which, of course makes me think he WAS there and DID see. But if you witnessed a rape and kept silent all this time, why would the oath to tell the truth bother you? ---
**Author:** ![1step4word](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/cc9497/32.png) [@1step4word](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1step4word)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/23 "2018-09-18T23:05:14Z")
For all of you willing to convict this man on just the word of one women that does not even remember time or place this supposedly happened. Were you so willing to believe Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, aand Paula Jones? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/24 "2018-09-18T23:09:35Z")
I fear he will be confirmed after all this kerfuffle, and then have a chip on his shoulder thereafter. “I’ll show those uppity metoo women who’s boss. Roe v Wade, eh? I got your Roe v Wade right here!!” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/25 "2018-09-18T23:10:21Z")
Judge was (is?) friends with Kavanaugh. I don’t think he was (is) ‘friends’ with Ford. So who is he going to support? His friend and fellow Trump supporter who also is going to be a Supreme Court justice, or some woman he was at school with 30 years ago? Judge publicly saying he doesn’t recall the incident seals the deal. If Ford is smart she’ll back out now. She’s going to be skinned alive by the Senate committee hearings, claiming she is lying, or mistaken. The committee members may even show fake sympathy for her ‘plight’, shaking their head in sorrow, ‘we’re so sorry that you feel something horrible happened to you, but you clearly are mistaken to think this fine upstanding citizen was your attacker’. And Kavanaugh will be seated on the SCOTUS. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/26 "2018-09-18T23:51:43Z")
> [@1step4word](#): > > For all of you willing to convict this man on just the word of one women that does not even remember time or place this supposedly happened. But it’s not just her word, is it? She kept her concerns private and wrote letters to Congress members. Her name was leaked and it was only then that these allegations went public. She tried to keep her name out of the public. It was only after somebody else outed her that she ultimately decided she may as well testify. That’s not remotely the action of a person making things up or trying to get her 15 minutes. Does that mean her version of events is accurate? Not necessarily, but it’s highly suggestive. And it merits the delays and questions that are coming out now. Actually, it probably merits more than that, but we’re apparently in bare-minimum-just-passes-the-low-moral-bar mode. Combined with the financial irregularities surrounding his gambling, I would love to see a more thorough vetting and not the token hearings and party line votes we’re actually going to get. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/27 "2018-09-19T00:23:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The fact that this happened in high school is irrelevant to the discussion whether we should allow a man who sexually assaulted a girl onto the Supreme Court, especially when it should be easy to find a qualified candidate who did _not_ attempt rape while in high school. Clearly, not from within the Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/28 "2018-09-19T00:24:07Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I fear he will be confirmed after all this kerfuffle, and then have a chip on his shoulder thereafter. > > “I’ll show those uppity metoo women who’s boss. Roe v Wade, eh? I got your Roe v Wade right here!!” :eek: Well, he was willing to take away a woman’s right to choose when he was 17, why would he change now? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/29 "2018-09-19T00:26:56Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I do find it absurd how many people are willing to casually enable rapists. Do these men not have wives or daughters or sisters or female friends? Imagine this happening to one of those women. Now imagine telling that woman that her accusation is going to be dismissed because of the political expedience of the timing. Their wives, daughters, or sisters will often keep this a secret from those unlikely to be sympathetic to crime victims. > [@](#): > > Conservatives want to dismiss the allegation because the Democrats sat on it until it would do the most damage. I wonder where the Democrats picked that trick up from? > > There is no exception to a rape investigation simply because the accused is being considered for a new job. If he is a rapist he has been playing Russian Roulette for his entire career. Of course the allegation is going to come up at the worst possible time. It’s not the worst possible time. James Fallows points out that in crass political terms, the Republicans could vote for Kavanaugh after the election, even if the Senate switches hands. There’s plenty of time. > [@1step4word](#): > > For all of you willing to convict this man on just the word of one women that does not even remember time or place this supposedly happened. Were you so willing to believe Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, aand Paula Jones? Broaddrick was cagey about the incident until 1999. I find her 1999 report to be credible. In 1997 she had denied the incident in an affidavit though. I’m not saying I believe Dr. Ford, though her claims are backed by evidence. I’m saying there should be a full and fair investigation, something that conservatives are fighting tooth and nail. We have time for that. There’s no rush. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/30 "2018-09-19T00:38:07Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > \ > > I’m not saying I believe Dr. Ford, though her claims are backed by evidence. I’m saying there should be a full and fair investigation, something that conservatives are fighting tooth and nail. We have time for that. There’s no rush. I agree with this, but it isn’t going to happen. Unless Republicans can weight the “investigation” in their favor, they’ll ignore it and move ahead with a confirmation vote. Let Republicans confirm him. It will energize even more women for the mid-term elections. If Democrats take the House, they can investigate Justice Kavanaugh at their leisure. If they find – as I suspect they will – that he perjured himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee and/or that he lied about the attempted rape incident, he can be impeached after 2020, when Dems will likely also control the Senate and the office of President. If Republicans allow Kavanaugh to withdraw, McConnell won’t make this mistake again. The next one will be much harder to remove, if he/she can be removed at all. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/31 "2018-09-19T00:38:12Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I do find it absurd how many people are willing to casually enable rapists. Do these men not have wives or daughters or sisters or female friends? Imagine this happening to one of those women. Now imagine telling that woman that her accusation is going to be dismissed because of the political expedience of the timing. Why are you speaking as if the enablers were exclusively men? If you truly believe that to be the case, I’ve got bad news. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/32 "2018-09-19T00:52:11Z")
He can say he didn’t do it all he wants but I for one will not be taking his word on anything when he is either a pathological liar or the world’s second biggest idiot. His first words at his nomination announcement were > [@](#): > > Throughout this process, I have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. > > No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a supreme court nomination. Mr. President, I am grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me. I had almost as much to do with his selection as Trump did. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/33 "2018-09-19T01:02:04Z")
> [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > He can say he didn’t do it all he wants but I for one will not be taking his word on anything when he is either a pathological liar or the world’s second biggest idiot. His first words at his nomination announcement were > > > [@](#): > > > > Throughout this process, I have witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. > > > > No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a supreme court nomination. Mr. President, I am grateful to you, and I’m humbled by your confidence in me. > > I had almost as much to do with his selection as Trump did. Jesus Christ. What a lying ass kisser. He’s sure to do anything Trump or republicans want. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/34 "2018-09-19T01:39:02Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I fear he will be confirmed after all this kerfuffle, and then have a chip on his shoulder thereafter. > > “I’ll show those uppity metoo women who’s boss. Roe v Wade, eh? I got your Roe v Wade right here!!” :eek: The Republicans are destroying not just the presidency but the courts. Somewhere down the line, after the next great depression, when Democrats control the other two branches of the government, they’ll either ignore the courts, pack the courts, or impeach certain judges – as they should. The Supreme Court is rigged. If it needs to be “unrigged,” then so be it. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/35 "2018-09-19T02:23:17Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > The Supreme Court is rigged. If it needs to be “unrigged,” then so be it. Changing the life-time appointments nonsense to, say, six year terms, would be a start. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/36 "2018-09-19T02:35:55Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Changing the life-time appointments nonsense to, say, six year terms, would be a start. I’d prefer 20-30 year terms with a new appointment every 2 years minimum, until the number of sitting justices hits, say, 20. At that point the justice with the longest tenure would be bumped off. SCOTUS appointments should be routine. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/37 "2018-09-19T03:10:02Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I’d prefer 20-30 year terms… Why that long? Having a reasonable, fair-minded judge for that length of time would be great, but someone like a Scalia for the same length of time would not, for most voters, be preferable. I could deal with that same, fair-minded judge doing only five years as long as the Scalia one did the same. Do you feel there’d be too much volatility (the court changing hands much more often) with the shorter terms? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/38 "2018-09-19T03:20:02Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Why that long? > Having a reasonable, fair-minded judge for that length of time would be great, but someone like a Scalia for the same length of time would not, for most voters, be preferable. > I could deal with that same, fair-minded judge doing only five years as long as the Scalia one did the same. > Do you feel there’d be too much volatility (the court changing hands much more often) with the shorter terms? There’s a value to having old hands on hand. I’d be interested in a more learned take on this issue though. IANAL. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/39 "2018-09-19T12:07:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It was not “a propos of nothing”, it was not “65 random women” and it was not to “vouchsafe that he hadn’t raped him”. I think you got “I” right in that post, but that’s about it. Fine. It was 65 women who claimed to have went to school in the surrounding area and to have known the man, but without any proof or checking. And the reason was not that they felt the need to come forth and defend the guy, but because they were asked to sign a petition in the wake of the accusation. And they very much did attest that he had not raped them, saying he’d always treated them well. It was still snowjob bullshit, and the petition is not worth the paper it is printed on. It’s entirely irrelevant how he treated them–it tells us nothing about how he treated the victim. There’s a reason most of them would not reaffirm their support after the actual victim came out. It is, as some people fairly characterized, like a bunch of people a murderer didn’t kill came out and said “he was nice to and never killed me!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459/40 "2018-09-19T12:13:40Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > Judge was (is?) friends with Kavanaugh. I don’t think he was (is) ‘friends’ with Ford. > > So who is he going to support? His friend and fellow Trump supporter who also is going to be a Supreme Court justice, or some woman he was at school with 30 years ago? > > Judge publicly saying he doesn’t recall the incident seals the deal. If Ford is smart she’ll back out now. She’s going to be skinned alive by the Senate committee hearings, claiming she is lying, or mistaken. > The committee members may even show fake sympathy for her ‘plight’, shaking their head in sorrow, ‘we’re so sorry that you feel something horrible happened to you, but you clearly are mistaken to think this fine upstanding citizen was your attacker’. > And Kavanaugh will be seated on the SCOTUS. Fuck that bullshit. A victim should not be pushed into lying and giving up because the system will attack her for daring to speak out. Keep the pressure on them. Keep an investigation going. Keep on fighting. There is the possibility of a real time limit here, so winning isn’t even the goal at this point. She’s her own woman, and she chose to come out and face this. Fuck telling her that she should stop for her own wellbeing. That’s what rape victims are always told. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh-shares-certain-tastes-with-trump/821459.md?page=3)