Here’s a fresh post and comment thread for Judge Kavanaugh’s turn to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Open thread!
by Adam L Silverman| 386 Comments
This post is in: America, Domestic Politics, Election 2016, Election 2018, Open Threads, Politics, Popular Culture, Post-racial America, Not Normal
Here’s a fresh post and comment thread for Judge Kavanaugh’s turn to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Open thread!
Comments are closed.
TenguPhule
Goat Rodeo.
Goat Demolition Derby.
Goatnado!
Adam L Silverman
Ruh Roh!!!
TenguPhule
A metaphor for today.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Tax breaks and the jobs went to Mexico anyway. What, you’re telling us now its worse then that?
feebog
Fucking Lindsey Graham. He knows damn well there is no presumption of innocence in the context of aSenate confirmation hearing. Stop conflating this with a criminal proceeding.
Gin & Tonic
Thanks FSM, I was busy and in meetings and missed the whole thing. Should I be as grateful as I am?
Raven
Her lawyer(s) in the house
NotMax
Anyone else remember the tag line for the BK Broiler?
“Sometimes you gotta break the rules.”
Broiler set on white hot today for BK.
Raven
@Gin & Tonic: I think it was pretty worthwhile.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: Who could have known?
TenguPhule
@Gin & Tonic:
Yes. This is almost as bad as yesterday’s Trump presser.
Ian R
@Gin & Tonic: You only missed the half with the honest witness.
TenguPhule
@TenguPhule:
Not Ford, the GOP parade of fools on display.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
All of em, Katie.
BC in Illinois
From Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister (their Prime Minister) of Scotland:
Elizabelle
WTG Lindsey. My FB feed is deploring … him.
Adam L Silverman
TenguPhule
From the Guardian live coverage.
Mary G
Kay
She never could have anticipated they wouldn’t call Judge, because it’s insane not to call him. So she was willing to go up against someone denying her allegations- Republicans just weren’t willing to call him.
He’s THEIR witness. They think. Unless he’s not, which is what they were afraid of.
germy
Kavanaugh sitting down and meticulously arranging the items on his desk (his nameplate, papers, water, mic) reminds me of W.C. Fields doing his pool table “Honest John” scene (can’t remember which movie)ger
NotMax
Thomas already milked the word lynching. Will Kavanaugh resort to calling it a crucifixion?
Mary G
Doug R
Bart is up
TenguPhule
And people wonder why I endorse tumbrels.
Aleta
Kav sits down like it’s his bench.
trollhattan
@BC in Illinois:
I {heart} Nicola Sturgeon, or at the very least I {heart} listening to her speak in her most Scottish of Scots accents. And after this comment from her, even more.
germy
He’s pissed.
Elizabelle
BK swearing to tell the truth. C-Span live now. Opening statement.
TenguPhule
@NotMax:
No, he’s decided to go with “Drive by Shooting”
NotMax
@germy
We can’t be sure that’s water.
chopper
i’d give a hundred bucks if kavanaugh says something like ‘okay, i did party a bit in HS and college’ and cory booker says ‘so what you’re saying is, you were no angel.’
trollhattan
@NotMax:
“Inquisition.”
Elizabelle
Angry man.
Not a good look for white males. Says nobody wrote his statement for him, and no one has seen it. So he did not provide it in advance to the Committee?
debit
Awwww, Rapey McRaperperson is upset.
Soprano2
Boy, he looks really, really angry. If you really wanted your name cleared, Kavanaugh, you should have insisted they do an FBI investigation.
Amir Khalid
Wow. I’ve been lurking and then commenting on Balloon Juice for nearly a decade, and I don’t think I’ve seen a seriously meant “Part IV” in a post headlie before.
Villago Delenda Est
Let’s make one thing crystal clear here: Brett Kavenaugh is not “The Honorable” anything. He is an honorless cur who should be kicked into the gutter.
Bobby Thomson
@Kay: The fact that they responded by hiding him in Bethany Beach proved to me days ago who was telling the truth.
Raven
He may walk.
Mary G
I think Kavanaugh has been drinking. He looks like shit.
germy
Where’s “OK sign” lady? Why isn’t she smirking behind him?
Betty Cracker
He’s shouting angrily. Damn!
Ninedragonspot
Am up past 3 am following the hearings – thanks to the Balloon Juice community for keeping me filled in.
Gin & Tonic
@Ian R: Oh, it’s still going on? Back to work, I guess.
Elizabelle
Who took this guy’s strawberries?
‘Fess up.
If his name “has been permanently and viciously destroyed,” why would the Supreme Court want him? They’ve already got Roger B. Taney and that fool who opposed FDR on everything …
Everyone he virgined with …
trollhattan
Has Booker done a coffee walk-by yet?
“Put down that coffee; coffee’s for closers!”
chopper
@Soprano2:
this self-righteous indignation will go over well with the goopers, but harris is gonna slice and dice that shit.
catatonia
“had beers with …”
Uhh, Barf, you might not wanted to have added that to your already blindingly whiny opening …
Bobby Thomson
@Elizabelle: if he’s talking he’s lying, and it’s a lie that he knows you know is a lie.
Leto
Kavanope coming out hot and super partisan. This is not going to go well for him.
Elizabelle
Evil.
Um. I’d say it fits.
Complicit and Evil.
Please proceed, Mr. Kavanaugh.
Man going DOWN.
Ruviana
@germy: I thought he looked, and is, really mad!
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Villago Delenda Est: Curs are dog. Dogs are much better people than Kavanaugh.
Miss Bianca
@BC in Illinois: What she said. Now somewhat wishing I could move to Scotland. Alas, my Scottish ancestry is a bit too remote to qualify, I fear.
Amir Khalid
@TenguPhule:
He’s on that river in Egypt.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: He’s pissed. He’s going to lose it.
TenguPhule
@Villago Delenda Est:
What grudge do you have against honest gutters?
Elizabelle
Email to his wife. Do tell.
germy
Old-fashioned borking.
Elizabelle
@TenguPhule: It’s anti-dog too.
Be kinder to dogs and goats, please.
TenguPhule
@Amir Khalid:
The Suez Canal?
Chyron HR
Can someone turn up the Eagles to drown out his screams of protest? Or at least cover his mouth?
germy
@Adam L Silverman: Waiting patiently for Kamala Harris’s questioning.
He may blow up.
Guys like him aren’t used to be challenged.
jacy
His wife hates him. Look at her face.
Elizabelle
Again, Diane Feinstein is the villain here.
It’s what the GOP has decided is their best defense. OK then, gentlemen …
TenguPhule
@germy:
The old traditions are best.
Martin
Ah, the anonymous boat in Rhode Island claim was planted by the GOP. Thanks for confirming that.
Soprano2
Someone told him that being really, really angry and showing it was a good idea. He’s taken a play directly from the Clarence Thomas “I’m the real victim” playbook.
trollhattan
Yet again an actor has a better grasp on reality than our revered news media.
Saying what they dare not.
debit
Does he want to look like an angry drunk? Because mission accomplished.
TenguPhule
@Leto:
And this is after his practice sessions on the murder board.
Elizabelle
@jacy: She’s wondering if those nice Blasey Ford attorneys also handle divorces. They seem to know how to respect women.
Raven
Tte Clintons!
Juju
Did Justice Thomas write Kavanaugj’s opening statement?
Soprano2
Adding: He looks and sounds like he’s extremely angry that he’s even being questioned about this. How dare someone accuse him of doing something wrong!!
chopper
seems like with all this yelling his intended audience is drumpf, not the senate or the american people.
germy
“What goes around comes around.”
translation:
“We’re going to make up shit about any future democratic nominees for anything at all.”
(actually, they already do that)
Raven
Ooops, wrong.
PJ
The rage and self-pity of this man – everything about his behavior so far says he’s guilty. He complains about the process because he can’t address the merits. Now he’s going to the “fight on the boat in RI” thing – as if he and Whelan’s group and McConnell didn’t sit down and work all of this out before hand. Even assuming that Blasey Ford was mistaken, his behavior in the past few weeks and most definitely now is indicative that he shouldn’t even be a traffic court judge.
Elizabelle
HE fears for the future?
Sir. A word, please.
Cannot wait to see how he deals with the Democratic senators.
germy
@Juju:
No. Thomas’s wife.
Mary G
I have never seen somebody turn a page that violently. Senator Harris will turn him into Jack Nicholson’s YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
A Ghost To Most
Wutta. Fucking. Whinging. Liar.
Kay
@Juju:
He sounds like a GOP political operative. Which is what he is. It’s all there- the media, the Clintons, the “millions of dollars from Left wing groups”. It’s a campaign speech.
germy
@chopper:
Or maybe his wife, who looks like she’s having doubts…
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
I have the TV on mute because I’m on a conference call but it looks like he’s trying to blow it for himself to get this over with today from the body language and angry face.
Adam L Silverman
@germy: She’s going to fillet him and he’s going to lose it.
Doug R
….and he’s still going on….
TenguPhule
Oh dear gods, he’s pulling a Trump in a live Senate hearing.
JGabriel
Well, between the rhetoric on the Clintons and “left-wing hit-jobs”, Kavanaugh is making a such a good case for his ability to make fair non-partisan judgements on the Supreme Court.
Emerald
Methinks outraged indignation is not the best approach here.
Oh my, he respects his mom. See? He respects one woman!
HeleninEire
LOL. Shut up Rapey McRapeface.
Ooo he so mad. He so mad that his white male rich boy privilege only got him to the SECOND HIGHEST COURT in the land.
jacy
Are we sure he’s not drunk?
trollhattan
@germy:
I’m remembering the golden oldies from a month ago.
They’re good buds in real life, I’m certain.
Leto
@trollhattan: Ypu can see her just beside Kavanopes left shoulder. (Viewers left)
Soprano2
Wow, he’s yelling even while telling his story! I’m convinced this entitled prick is angriest that he’s even being questioned at all. “I told you I didn’t do this, why won’t you just believe me!” No wonder he didn’t want an independent investigation – he didn’t think he needed one.
Immanentize
I can’t read his wife. Sympathetic?
My Mom is — a woman!
Fleeting Expletive
Kav is having his “high tech lynching in my respectable cloth coat” moment. He has a whiny and annoying voice. Too.
LAO
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: I’m actually surprised you can’t hear him with the TV mute. He’s flat out yelling.
Kay
Why do the people disputing Ford’s account get to appear by affidavit and she has to appear and be cross examined?
Why didn’t they call them to appear?
chopper
i do find his tears pretty fuckin’ delectable, given how he was in the middle of the clinton probe. all he has to do is yell out ‘i did not have sexual relations with that woman’ and the circle will be complete.
NotMax
An extra drink for when he gets to his wife wearing a good Republican cloth coat.
trollhattan
@TenguPhule:
“‘Permanently destroyed,’ sir? Well now, we certainly can’t have damaged goods serving on the US Supreme Court now, wouldn’t you agree?”
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@Soprano2: agree, esp. after the namby pamby fox interview
jacy
Oh my fucking god.
eemom
Don’t think he’s doing his case much good here. In my humble opinion.
zhena gogolia
THEY THINK THIS IS QUALIFIED FOR THE SUPREME COURT?????
Elizabelle
What a hot mess.
Leto
Fuck his alligator tears. We need a seventh investigation, asshole.
Miss Bianca
@Raven:
DRINK!!
I’m sorry, was that tasteless?
debit
@jacy: As the child of one high functioning alcoholic and the wife of another, he sure seems drunk.
skerry
Angry tears
Ugly tears
I’d like to see him take a breathalyzer test
Mary G
Been drinking. Now into the crying poor me phase.
He almost had it and DiFi snatched it out from under him at the last minute. That’s what he is so pissed about.
Nettoyeur
@Elizabelle: Dead Man Walking Here.
Kay
@JGabriel:
The partisanship surprised me. Not that it exists – I think the seat is a reward for a long time good soldier. But that he didn’t try to hide it.
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@LAO: I can tell. I can’t for the life of me figure out why he thinks that’s his best move. Angry does not say “I’m not a guy who could be credibly accused of rape”
Elizabelle
Requesting an FBI investigation might have delayed this man’s mortification.
He does not have judicial temperament. Trump does not have presidential temperament. What a world we live in.
germy
Can you imagine the disgust trump must feel watching this man sob?
feebog
Kavanaugh is coming in with guns blazing. Angry, bitter and combative. Taking Trump’s advice and ramping it up. Not a good look, and a terrible strategy. Harris, Klobachar, and the other former prosecutors are going to tear him a new one.
zhena gogolia
So now he’s telling us he never tried to rape Bush?
Mary G
@debit: @skerry: Jinx!
jacy
Saying his little daughter wanted to “pray for the woman” was a bridge too fucking far. Gah.
Elizabelle
Why am I seeing a helicopter waiting on the White House lawn?
Why, why, why?
The Dangerman
I can’t imagine the focus group that said come out and spew bile; weird
Pure asshole ain’t pretty..
Mnemosyne
@Soprano2:
If he’s as heavy a drinker as has been portrayed, there’s a good chance he has no memory of trying to rape Christine Blasey Ford.
Which is not at all the same thing as being innocent.
zhena gogolia
@Nettoyeur:
If only that were true. He’s going to be on the Supreme Court for the rest of my natural life.
chopper
this guy really has the sort of temperament that belongs on the nation’s highest court. he’s a few minutes’ away from turning green and doubling in size.
HeleninEire
@jacy: No joke. This screaming is not gonna be accepted well.
Elizabelle
And he wrote it himself.
Corner Stone
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:
He’s praying Trump doesn’t wimp out on him and pull his nom.
NotMax
Guess he called the White House during the recess and they answered “Brett who? Never heard of you. (click)”
Kay
No one misrepresented his judicial record, either. If anything his judicial record didn’t get enough time because they had to wade through a thicket of lies every time he opened his mouth. He’s really far Right.
LAO
@What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: Well, in fairness he has been ranting about a “clinton conspiracy” to destroy him and then he started crying. So maybe, this wasn’t completely thought through.
Soprano2
I know I’m prejudiced, but he doesn’t seem sympathetic at all. He seems angry and entitled. Not a good look IMHO. “How dare my past finally catch up with me?” I hope the Democrats ask him if he was involved with the Whalen debacle. I’m sure he’ll lie about it.
Hey, Rapey, if you didn’t do that, let’s call your friend Judge to testify about it.
oldgold
@feebog:
I agree. What the hell is this?
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: $100 to a charity of your choice says he does not get there.
PJ
@Elizabelle: It may be that his take now is an attempt to keep Trump on his side – a pious, so sorry, but it just wasn’t me attitude is the kind of thing that might move Trump to cut him loose, while an all-out angry denial of everything without regard to the truth is the kind of thing that Trump respects.
Quinerly
Was his voice like this when he testified before? I don’t remember it like this even when Kamala questioned him.
zhena gogolia
rigorous Catholic Jesuit
did I say Catholic?
Leto
“Hey, I’ve been through all of these investigations and they didn’t catch this! Why are you so mad now?” Just summed up his entire opening statement. Throw in a few sniffles for good measure.
Dr Ford didn’t attend an all boys school! STOP THR PRESSES!
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling Democrats is not a strong argument for looking innocent.
chopper
from hell’s heart, i stab at thee!
jacy
He has been drinking. His wife hates him. Trump will HATE the crying.
Roger Moore
@TenguPhule:
I don’t see why he’s complaining. He’s obviously never cared about consent before.
germy
Bill Shine must be staring in horror and disbelief, flipping the pages frantically in his copy of the script.
Ruviana
@Immanentize: To me it’s like a “less in anger than in sorrow” look. Maybe with a bit of “what did you drag us into?”
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle:
Let’s say Planned Parenthood. And I’ll match it!
Jean F King
@chopper: Or turning green and doubling over and vomiting.
JGabriel
@Kay:
Optics. It really hurts your nominees chances when cross-examination reveals all his supporters are liars who can’t remember jack-shit because they were all blackout wasted on alcohol and quaaludes.
Mart
@chopper: Drumph did not think he made good Fox television the other night, so ragaholic it is.
sukabi
@TenguPhule: the drag marks in that thread are worth seeing. ????
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Got the TV muted as I do other stuff, and when I look up my impression is “Second rate pol performing outrage”
Kay
@jacy:
I hate when they use their kids. Maybe I would do it but I feel like I wouldn’t. If you can’t appear human without invoking your children maybe you shouldn’t be in the public eye at all.
Corner Stone
God. The Zillow Defense again.
different-church-lady
This happens with every supreme court nominee, right?
Elizabelle
@zhena gogolia: I’m good with that. Planned Parenthood.
I do not think Brett Kavanaugh will be joining the Supreme Court.
Leto
Because I don’t live near Columbia Country Club, means I couldn’t be at Columbia Country Club.
Republican logic. Supreme Court ready.
chopper
@PJ:
trump is watching this, sure. he’ll love the yelling, but the blubbering and tears, not so much.
trollhattan
@zhena gogolia:
Jesuit huh? I’d love to have Jesuit Jerry Brown batter his pinata ass for a few rounds.
The Beeb couldn’t help but capture this.
Liza is substituting for Checkers for the duration of the hearings. Poor Liza, this is not your fault, girl.
PAM Dirac
I wonder if this is how he acted every time Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t fix things for him or pay for his baseball tickets, or whatever else he wanted.
Corner Stone
I honestly think he’s had a few pops of the good stuff before coming out.
debit
Guys. He’s drunk.
jacy
That’s not water in that glass. He’s fucking melting down live on TV.
eemom
His blubbering looks exactly like that of a schoolyard bully who just got beat up by a girl.
PJ
He seems like he’s losing it now with the calendar stuff – does he think this is going to play well?
Ridnik Chrome
@Leto: God help us if he actually makes it onto the court. He’ll spend the rest of his career revenging himself for today.
JPL
@jacy: I have it on mute and that comes across. I wonder if she saw this morning’s hearing?
AThornton
IANAL so I don’t know the precise legal terminology.
In the high tech world of Artificial Life we call it “pulling out a shotgun and shooting yourself in the dick.”
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
“It’s like community theater, where they tell Hamlet to “be louder.'”
God damn that’s funny stuff.
zhena gogolia
THEY THINK THIS IS QUALIFIED FOR THE SUPREME COURT?
jacy
What the fucking ever loving fucking fuck?
TenguPhule
And judged them poorly.
Ruviana
@germy: But he’s probably loving the anger: What a real man!
Kay
@JGabriel:
That’s sort of the deal though. You want to step forward and contradict her you have to show up, because she did.
Him quoting them is not the same thing, which he knows, as a judge.
Elizabelle
Some goofy parts. Some embarrassing parts.
But no rapey parts.
sukabi
@chopper: now imagine him drunk.
trollhattan
@Ridnik Chrome:
Yup. “Brett, Unleashed” is not a thirty-year teevee series I desire to be aired.
TenguPhule
@different-church-lady:
Welcome to the new normal. //
zhena gogolia
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Ooh, it’s like someone at our high school who did Ophelia’s “mad” scene in a really pissed-off voice!
TenguPhule
@sukabi:
Wait, this is him being sober?!
chopper
@zhena gogolia:
i’ll happily donate a hundo to PP if kavanaugh gets pulled or voted down. count me in.
Soprano2
Wow, the “because I didn’t put the party on my calendar I couldn’t possibly have been there” defense. Yeah, all the high school kids put their parties on their calendars. Good Lord…..
Chyron HR
Boof, honey, I was joking when I hypothesized that you would go full “Network” at the hearing. Don’t… don’t go full “Network”.
Mandalay
@chopper:
Yep. Trump will have nothing but contempt and disgust for Kavanaugh for crying.
Elizabelle
I wonder what CB Ford thinks of this. She has more humanity than he does. Is a trained psychologist. Maybe she’s not watching, or will catch snippets later.
Leto
Can we call him hysterical because he won’t stop crying? Why are men so hysterical? Clearly not ready for the Supreme Court.
The people who know him best say he’s a blackout drunk. And this calendar defense.. FFS…
chopper
@sukabi:
YOU MEAN HE’S SOBER NOW??!
trollhattan
@Ruviana:
Wonder how that anger affects his hippocampus? (So loved Dr. Ford discussing neurobiology, and picturing a million Republicans reaching for a dictionary.)
zhena gogolia
legendary five-star baseball camp in Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Oh fuck off
NotMax
If only any D could really speak his or her mind.
“Thank you for that heartfelt opening statement. Now, getting back to reality…”
Duane
Hey, Calendar Boy! See this? The world’s smallest violin playing just for you. Can’t see it? Well you’ll never see your treacherous ass on the Sumpreme Court either. Cry a river if you want, but you brought this on yourself.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I usually mock the body-language interpreters, but… His wife is thinking “Oh, honey, if only you’d said no when that awful man called….”
Juju
Wake me when he gets to the part about how many electoral college votes he won.
germy
worked construction? cutting lawns?
Soprano2
I go to church! I couldn’t possibly have done anything bad! *rolleyes*
OGLiberal
Putting everything else aside – and, of course, we shouldn’t – this is the temperament anybody wants on SCOTUS? Didn’t shit like this sink Edmund Muskie.
Aren’t GOP daddies supposed to be tough and not whiny and emotional?
SFAW
@NotMax:
Karl Malden did it better.
Aleta
No need for the FBI; I’ve got the calendars. + Automatic church.
He might need a drink.
TenguPhule
@oldgold:
Kav is improvising.
germy
How long will this go on?
chopper
@trollhattan:
if he’s just hoping that al pacino will play him in the made-for-TV movie of all this, all i gotta say is brett, you’re a few decades too young.
sukabi
@sukabi: I guarantee there are millions of women at home that recognize that anger and are remembering what happens when alcohol is in the mix.
Mary G
OMG I didn’t list going to church on Sundays on my calendar because it was as automatic as brushing my teeth! He’s sniffing more than Twitler. What a catastrophe.
Miss Bianca
@Mary G: OMG, he’s crying? I may have to break my prohibition and watch this after all.
Aleta
Let your women go free.
Fleeting Expletive
We get the full panoply of butthurt rich white guys: Cry for Eliza! Christmastime! Mowed lawns! He’s a Romneyesque parody, and cryin’ about the football coach? This rivals Bill Hader’s Emmy performance in HBO’s Barry.
Emerald
I think the shakey emotion is because he knows he’s toast. It must indeed be upsetting.
Rommie
Suck down that “water” dude. This is so “I’m sorry I got caught” it could be the new Trope Namer.
Mandalay
Fuck off rapey crybaby.
germy
“Who put grapefruit juice in my grapefruit juice??!”
zhena gogolia
@Miss Bianca:
He’s been sobbing all through the statement. He’s deeply touched by his own poor self.
Corner Stone
Who is the first Senator to use the “Calendar Defense” after this hearing? Graham? Cornyn?
debit
Hey, where on his calendar did he keep track of his “100 keg” challenge?
HeleninEire
Yeah. He’s drunk. That’s what’s making him cry because he could not fake crying.
Elizabelle
This is pathetic. It is sad. It is without dignity.
And yes, jumping for the proferred brass ring — which neither Trump or Kavanaugh deserved or was suited for — will spell the ruin of both men and their families.
Emerald
Golly! He had female friends!
zhena gogolia
what about Renate?
Aleta
@chopper: Maybe dub some Kramer vs Kramer.
chopper
@Mandalay:
wait, he only brushes his teeth on sundays? dang!
Leto
“I know women” is the new “I have black friends” defense.
Elizabelle
@sukabi: I am hoping there is no gun in the Kavanaugh home.
TenguPhule
@trollhattan:
Well played.
Cheryl Rofer
The tongue pushing out the cheek is very scary.
...now I try to be amused
Is K going through the Five Stages of Grief (for the death of his reputation and probably his career too) before our eyes? Looks like he’s in Stage 2 (anger) now.
Elie
He is coming unglued. He will not do well with the Q and A. If he is crying and screaming now, just wait. This is a disaster for him and the GOP in the face of not having called other witnesses or having an investigation. He is not in command of himself
germy
I liked beer. I still like beer.
And we’ve got our next Coors commercial.
Soprano2
He really thinks having female friends from his own social circle “proves” that he couldn’t have done what Professor Ford says he did. Did you notice that casual statement earlier that they didn’t move in the same social circles? Doesn’t he realize that people know that men can treat those in their social circle one way, and those outside of it differently?
Corner Stone
@Elizabelle: I am hoping the Mrs. and their two girls do not return to said home with him.
TenguPhule
@zhena gogolia:
if only he’d stuck to touching himself.
Kay
@Mandalay:
I love how they still think “going to church on Sunday” is a defense. We’ve had 50 years of child sex abuse from people who went to church on Sunday. It doesn’t mean anything in terms of behavior.
Mary G
Emerald
Woah! If you drink beer you might be accused of sexual assault!
Even so, he fully embraces drinking beer. He is not afraid!
MoxieM
@trollhattan: That Woman!! (scarlet implied). Home sick and about to eat some cheesecake, I am.
I have the sound off, and he looks like a drip.
satby
@Elizabelle: I used to tell my children that karma can take a while, but it always shows up.
Aleta
I have no recollection of blacking out.
“If every American who drinks beer is presumed guilty of sexual assault …. ”
I hate when lawyers relay on distorted logic to excuse themselves.
TenguPhule
@germy:
Budwiser. Their beer tastes worst.
Juju
Holy cow! Now he’s using the “Romper Room” magic mirror to identify friends!
Elizabelle
I liked beer. I still like beer.
A true statement. Although: someone who was alcohol-dependent in high school and college: should beer be on the menu at all?
Now blaming the yearbook editors and students? Really?
Mart
@germy: @germy: You mean the Silver Bullet – Coors Light commercial.
jacy
@Miss Bianca:
He’s crying over the fact that his dad kept good calendars. This is horrifying.
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@debit: agree
Emerald
Does that glass really have only water in it?
Dorothy A. Winsor
Just reading about this makes me cringe.
The Dangerman
Alumnus? Oh, bullshit.
Quinerly
@Emerald: I’m not sure he has been drinking today but I think he got drunk last night and drank into the early morning. He’s jaded, hung over, and maybe alcohol not all out of system.
TenguPhule
@Kay:
More like lived there all the time.
The Pale Scot
Purposely avoiding TV, what kind of fucking world is this that I’m reading the Guardian’s Brexit page to avoid the testimony of rapists.
So..
OMFG! I turn on the UK feed BBC News and there’s the raper saying that due to his arduous football practices he had no time to be rapey.
I played football too around the same time. Dbl practices in August with 3 water breaks. I still had plenty of juice to go and grab a case of beer and head to the woods afterwards.
Fuck You Asshole
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
WE think this is a disaster, the GOP base will not. His tears will fuel their paroxysms of rage.
Corner Stone
I bet Sen Harris is the one crying right now. Because Kavvy doesn’t look like he is going to make it til her turn to question him.
TenguPhule
@Emerald:
We can’t rule out LSD or PCP slipped into it.
Elie
WOW. They need to recess and give him a few minutes. He is toast
chopper
@Aleta:
which is kinda how it works, no? this fucking guy.
Elizabelle
He should have hired Rebecca Mitchell to read his opening statement for him.
Fester Addams
Do we have odds on him storming out of the hearing after his opening diatribe? Hell, the Republicans would vote him out of committee anyway.
JGabriel
@Kay:
I totally agree, but Republicans hate fair play.
PJ
Oh man, he’s trying to make the world believe “Renate alumnus” was a mere term of affection.
Mnemosyne
@Aleta:
It sounds more like the bartender needs to cut him off.
TenguPhule
@The Pale Scot:
The Dumbest timeline.
Ian R
He’s certainly going full “if you have neither the facts nor the law, pound on the table.”
Rommie
“I like beer” So did Bobby Hill
Shalimar
Whoever was responsible for medicating him should be fired for the overdose.
Ruviana
He’s drinking more water than Marco Rubio! Are Dr. Blasey Ford’s lawyers behind (like a row or two) his wife? They look like them.
patroclus
This guy needs counselling. And a hug. But certainly not a seat on the Supreme Court. Not now. Not ever.
Mary G
This is a trainwreck live on TV.
bemused
Jesus, he’s going be puking before long, hoovering water like that.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mary G: “It was MY RIGHT as a privileged white male to rape that bitch!”
jacy
He’s not going to even make it to the questioning at this point. He’s just going to fucking dissolve in his own blubbering.
Matt Smith
When he listed all his female friends – “Amy, or Julie, or Kristin, or Karen…” – it just took me right to Lou Bega in Mambo #5: “I like Angela, Pamela, Sandra and Rita… And as I continue you know they’re gettin’ sweeter.”
I’m enjoying this way too much.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: touche
Elie
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
I don’t think so. He looks weak
FlipYrWhig
@Mandalay:
Maybe he’s right. Both count as desperate attempts to cleanse.
Duane
He’s actually pulled out the calendar. Egad he’s losing it. For once in his miserable life he needs to show good judgment and withdraw from consideration
chopper
@Kay:
those priests were in church every damn day, in fact.
Leto
This is Marco Rubio drinking water part 2. Didn’t know we were going to need a bigger bottle. Or bottles. He really can pound it back.
Miss Bianca
@zhena gogolia:
Sounds like he’s deeply “touched”, period. But you knew that and I knew that…
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
What is up with that tongue in the cheek thing?! It’s frigging weird.
A Ghost To Most
Had to mute it. The white privilege dripping from the mic is astounding. And not. Truly an ur-snowflake melting.
Mandalay
@Elizabelle:
I’m afraid I can only give you 2 out of 3 for that.
HeleninEire
The FUCKING FIRST QUESTION from the Dems should be “how much have you had to drink today?”
Also? Donald gonna be rip roaring mad that his boy cried on TV.
Corner Stone
Somebody on the Comt needs to throw in the white towel and tell him, “Kid, that’s enough. You’s taken enough.”
bs23
Are you fucking kidding me with with Renate Alumnus shit?
Jeffro
@Emerald:
All those years in the vat, being grown from just a few utterly pure wingnut cells so that he could someday serve The Cause…and now it’s all going down the drain. Ep. Ic.
Mart
Another one of those conservative Snowflakes.
germy
Elizabelle
HIm’s gonna need a bathroom break soon.
@patroclus:
That’s a gentle and true take on this.
He put himself in that seat, though. He could have withdrawn his nomination with more dignity. I wonder if his daughters will ever see this whole testimony.
He is not a good man, a good man, a good man.
TenguPhule
Full Trump ahead.
Emerald
I was asleep here in California when Dr. Ford gave her statement. Really looking forward to watching a replay.
This is going to be on C-Span for the next decade.
SRW1
Has Kavanaugh gone full Col. Jessep yet or will he do with Commander Queeg?
Mary G
NickM
@jacy: He’s drinking a lot. Is it water?
germy
bemused
I’m exhausted living with rightwing drama, whining and luancy every damn waking hour.
Ruviana
@…now I try to be amused: He’s been in anger since the beginning of this shitshow!
Miss Bianca
@germy:
LOL! You are a wicked, wicked creature for making me do so!
Villago Delenda Est
@germy: No, Kavenaugh and his vile sponsor, Donald, are the national disgraces.
trollhattan
Okay, we now know to whom Kav’s been told to play. Laura Ingraham, everybody!
Who poisoned that well, “Dr.” Laura?
Mel
@Corner Stone: I am worried about their safety as well. That kind of uncontrolled rage is likely going to get vented on someone after the hearing ends, and if those poor kids are close at hand, I fear it could be them.
Adam L Silverman
@Ruviana: Yep.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ruviana: He doesn’t have Bruce Banner’s reason to be angry, either.
debit
My dad is from a generation where a man just doesn’t cry. I’m horrified when a man cries, not because I think men shouldn’t, but because it must mean the absolute worst thing has happened. I feel nothing watching him. Nothing but contempt and impatience.
zhena gogolia
My husband made it through 5 minutes and ran screaming from the room.
sukabi
@Fester Addams: From the sounds of it security needs to check him for weapons before they let him back in.
Aleta
Hate to say it but now he’s reminding me of those abusers who break down and cry when their partner tries to leave.
cynthia ackerman
@Rommie:
Billy Carter.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody catch that very weird mouth action?
Bobby Thomson
@patroclus: he needs a fuckin’ sentence.
Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi)
@Ruviana: yes
Emerald
As long as the law clerks looked like models.
Quinerly
@Aleta: yep. Just what I was thinking.
Elie
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
That is a sign of extreme distress and anxiety… Dude is under great strain and I am feeling very bad watching this even thoughI I donot support him. This is very sad.
Adam L Silverman
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
What is he talking about now…female SCOTUS law clerks? WTH does that have to do with anything?!
Also, too, when the Republicans start talking they’re going to be like, “Oh, you’re so brave to come here today Broh”.
Ruviana
@Aleta: Did he really say he had no recollection of blacking out? Because that’s what blacking out means!
Elizabelle
Ooooh. Talking about all the female clerks. Tiger Mama time.
Kay
See? I try but he just keeps lying. That’s ridiculous. Renate herself knew what it meant when she read it.
HeleninEire
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ: Thank you. That made me ROFL.
Emerald
Yep. He knows he’s toast.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman:
Oooh boy.
Do we know Don McGahn is not crying? Anyone checked on Anthony Kennedy lately?
Soprano2
MY GOD, WHY WON’T HE JUST SHUT UP AND LET THE HEARING START!
...now I try to be amused
Damn, those people really aren’t human at all, are they?
terraformer
Time on the bench and time in the Bush years and all the clerks – even female ones – and all your coaching of girls basketball, has nothing to do with what you did in high school.
Indeed, really the only thing the Dems need to ask him is, “If you’re innocent of all this and it is a fabrication, and if you think that ‘what we on this side of the bench have done to you,’ then surely you support a full FBI investigation to clear your good name? Right?”
Kay
@Elizabelle:
That would be the same Tiger Mama who warned people she liked off clerking for the harassing judge but never reported it.
She’s a real tiger all right. Very courageous.
Ian R
We’re gonna need a 5th thread before they even get to questions.
germy
good point:
Elizabelle
@Elie: It is sad.
I think he’s not going to keep his current judgeship. And all the talk about never being able to teach again. Is that because his future includes a sex offender list?
A Ghost To Most
If the judge thing doesn’t work out, he’d certainly work out in the artificial tears industry.
Mel
@bemused: Thank you for that bright moment in this shitfest of a week. You made me laugh through my fucking tears with that comment.
PJ
Using women as a shield – particularly the girl’s basketball team – is there anyone who wasn’t guilty who would do this? His argument is like saying, “I have all these black servants, how can I be a racist?”
zhena gogolia
@TenguPhule:
You know, I go to church every Sunday, and I do write it in my calendar nonetheless.
The Pale Scot
@patroclus:
I’m thinking more in line of a good flogging
Elizabelle
@…now I try to be amused: That was my first thought too. No empathy.
Adam L Silverman
I just put up a new live feed open thread.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
So Brett is drunk,…So what,,.. they want to him on the court to make Thomas look like the picture of decorum and probity? I mean I don’t recall the Thomas hearings featuring a grown man crying on national TV.
Aleta
@Corner Stone: If he cared about the future of the women he lives with, would he be making them go through this? Living with an angry selfish and self-pitying father takes the air out of a kid’s life.
“You unleashed this and if I can’t coach any more, it’s your fault.”
No, it would all have remained your secret except for your decisions.
Mary G
He says that his wife is his rock and thanks her and her facial expression doesn’t change a bit.
Leto
YOUR CAREER IS NOT DESTROYED YOU SHIT HEEL! That SC seat is not your fucking birthright. Jumping jeebus the intro it’s finally over.
jacy
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
“I’m not a racist, I have black friends!” translates to “I’m not a rapist, I have female law clerks!”
Ksmiami
@bemused: I’m fucking ready to wipe these aholes off the map
chris
@satby: Speaking of karma, I’ve been thinking about this Lindsey Graham tweet all day.
Juju
I think that the fact he has tried to help girls and women in his adulthood is part of his catholic guilt in action. He’s trying to make up for things he did to women in his youth.
germy
Wait… so Ms. Mitchell is questioning him?? I thought she’d been hired just to grill Ford?
Soprano2
He’s lied so much under oath, his swearing he didn’t do it means nothing.
HeleninEire
@HeleninEire: Oh wait that was supposed to be a reply to@Corner Stone:
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
He keeps talking about due process but he doesn’t want an FBI investigation…..hmmm, I would hammer the sh*t out of that if I were questioning him.
Elizabelle
Grasshole, Hatch, and their staff look uncomfortable.
Mitchell knows that she will have to be careful or they’re going to drown.
The Lodger
All this and no one has asked him a question yet? Sweet Holy Moses.
Jean
Why didn’t he bring a handkerchief so he could stop sniffling? He’s cried through this whole statement!
Rommie
Keep shaking your head dolt. Keep it up!
Ruviana
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks.
Renie
this guy does not have the temperament to be on the Sup Ct; he’s angry, belligerent screaming, crying, he’s a mess, can’t keep himself under control. If he acts like this sober, WTF is he like when he drinks
Chris Johnson
I think this isn’t all about women.
He’s going Khrushchev angry. It’s not an accident. This is also why some of the Republicans are bonkers about retaining specifically him.
I think he’s meant for the Supreme Court to ward off specifically accusations of treason. He’s another Russian agent and those being most outraged that he’s being questioned, are those who are most exposed as traitors. Some of them might have been suckered into it. This is also why some of the Republicans look sooooo very sad: they have to shut up about it or they’re toast, and they know the stakes.
If Kavanaugh goes to the Supreme Court after this, it’s an indication of how desperately the Republicans in general need a fellow traveller in treason on the Court.
Endorsing rapeyness to protect fellow fratboy Republicans is not, I think, enough to justify all this. Many other possible justices would work for that: what makes this guy THAT special? I think he’s a Russian agent, and his rage is Khrushchev rage. All he needs is a shoe for table pounding.
BroD
Daily Banter: “Lindsey Graham Just Threatened Democratic Nominees With False Accusations”
OK, that’s progress–at least they’ll get…you know…freakin’ HEARINGS!!!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Perhaps. But will their base be numerous enough? And what will R-leaning Indies think and do?
Elizabelle
New thread.
Bring your life jackets.
Aleta
I gotta think he is about to withdraw, and the Fox interview and this hearing are his attempts to clear his name. Based on the emotion and rage. Or, he’s just an out-of-control blame divo.
germy
“Rubbing and grinding. True or not?”
Kay
People can be devastated that their reputation is ruined even if they did it. They can also be really angry and also guilty. Bill Cosby is the most high profile example of that.
Ruviana
@Domestic short hair tabby (fka vheidi): Thanks to you too.
germy
@Aleta: But he said he won’t quit (in his statement).
BroD
@Renie:
hormones, ya know.
bemused
@Mel:
I’m setting a timer to see how long before he runs for a pee break.
bemused
@Ksmiami:
Me too. They keep trying to pull us into their insane asylum.
Mel
The human suit mask is coming off, and what has been underneath all along is showing.
I wonder how he will react to questioning by Kamala and DiFi? He might just lose it completely when confronted by a woman in an authority position, if this behavior is any indication.
Miss Bianca
@germy: You get the feeling Michael Steele is really, really glad that he’s not the RNC chair anymore? Wonder if he and John Boehner are having a bourbon together somewhere and laughing their asses off while they tweet their friends.
randy khan
@Ruviana:
They’re gathering evidence for the defamation suit.
germy
melt down after gentle questioning from Feinstein.
Groucho48
Trump will dump him. He’s not acting like a winner….
Nettoyeur
@zhena gogolia: Пока не ясно. Увидим . . .
germy
“These schedules are set by the majority.”
He exhales and leans back.
PPCLI
As I watch this, I remind myself that this is the guy who re-opened the Vince Foster “investigation” after several investigations by Republicans had concluded it was suicide. He was motivated by no real new evidence, just conspiracy ravings by known loons. And he asked Vince Foster’s bereaved daughter for a hair sample to compare with a blonde hair found on her father’s body.
And then I think-enjoy the karma you douche bag .
James E Powell
@germy:
He’s talking about the Clintons? What the hell do they have to do with this?
cursorial
The assault victim testifying in front of an national audience for several hours with grace and articulate clarity, while the SCOTUS nominee and highly trained lawyer starts with rage and breaks down in tears during his opening statement is … probably not how the GOP majority on the judiciary committee thought this day would go.
Nettoyeur
@eemom: And Kamala hasn’t even’t gotten in the ring yet . . .
Miss Bianca
@Renie:
Are we sure he’s sober?
Nettoyeur
@Chris Johnson: Interesting (though I’d need a lot of convincing). And if so, the Russians have plenty of material to blackmail him with.
The Pale Scot
@Juju:
No. No. Predators don’t change, they just find they have more to lose
TriassicSands
@cursorial:
breaks down in tears…
He’s obviously a sensitive kinda guy.
If this is an example of judicial temperament, we need a different nominee.
I’ll bet Trump loved the angry, defiant Kavanaugh. But he may have been repulsed by the weak, sniveling Kavanaugh.
Villago Delenda Est
@Elizabelle: Let.Them.Drown.
sukabi
@Chris Johnson: He’s blackmailable, besides his past he more than likely has continued behavior much more recently, with women or girls who are “invisible”.
Rapists don’t stop, they get worse.
El Caganer
For me, going to church on Sunday was like whipping out my johnson. Automatic. Still is.
Groucho48
@Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ:
Due process for Republican males means arresting the accuser and apologizing for bothering the accused.
At the end, Feinstein should demand an investigation, as Kavanaugh says he would have no problem with it and it could clear his name.
TriassicSands
Asked again about testimony by other witnesses, in this case Mark Judge, Kavanaugh refuses to answer.
The man is a liar.
Here comes the Mark Judge was an addict and can’t be relied upon. Kavanaugh is a POS. Period.
Kavanaugh: “You’ll have to ask him (Mark Judge).” But, but, but, you just said Mark Judge is an addict and doesn’t that mean we can’t really rely on what he says — if it’s not favorable to Kavanaugh?
Gee, I think the Democrats have made it clear they would like to do that. There is a big difference between Judge testifying (lying) to a bunch of Republicans who have every reason to elicit the most favorable possible answers from Judge is very different from Judge testifying under oath to the FBI.’
Clearly, Kavanaugh got the message that he needs to be as belligerent as possible — that’s what pleases Trump.
trnc
I was happy to hear dem senators make some of the statements and ask questions that I was hoping for, like asking BK if he would ask for an investigation and pointing out that Mark Judge should be in the room.
burnspbesq
Frum seems to think this is a kamikaze mission designed to create a martyr and stoke R enthusiasm for the midterms. That’s not implausible.
John Fremont
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, somebody call him an Uber