Why Brett Kavanaugh Wasn’t Believable
Did you see the Kavanaugh’s Judicial confirmation hearing yesterday, September 27, 2018? I saw parts of it and became even more disturbed that Kavanaugh might become the next Supreme court justice. He lied to Americans and then swore to God that he was not lying.
With absolute certainty, Kavanaugh said he never blacked out.
Judge Kavanaugh gave categorical denials a number of times, including, at other points, that he’d ever blacked out from too much drinking. Given numerous reports of his heavy drinking in college, such a blanket denial is hard to believe.
How can he know? My husband blacked out often as he was a heavy consumer of alcohol. Even, after I videotaped him doing strange things while drunk, he still denied doing those things or blacking out. Again a blackout is not passing out but amnesia induced by excessive alcohol intake. If Kavanaugh were truthful, he would have said he can’t know for sure if he ever blacked out as he was drinking too heavily to remember.
Kavanaugh’s anger and volatile temperament were also troublesome. He went from crying like a baby to indignant rage. He gave misleading statements. He bemoaned his reputation being damaged by meritless accusations but stopped short of wanting to clear his name with an FBI investigation on the merits of the allegations. Kavanaugh knew Republican staff members conducting an investigation is entirely different from an FBI investigation yet he attempted to mislead Americans.
On Thursday, he gave misleading answers to questions about seemingly small matters — sharpening doubts about his honesty about far more significant ones. He gave coy answers when pressed about what was clearly a sexual innuendo in his high-school yearbook. He insisted over and over that others Dr. Blasey named as attending the gathering had “said it didn’t happen,” when in fact at least two of them have said only that they don’t recall it — and one of them told a reporter that she believes Dr. Blasey.
Judge Kavanaugh clumsily dodged a number of times when senators asked him about his drinking habits. When Senator Amy Klobuchar gently pressed him about whether he’d ever blacked out from drinking, he at first wouldn’t reply directly. “I don’t know, have you?” he replied — a condescending and dismissive response to the legitimate exercise of a senator’s duty of advise and consent. (Later, after a break in the hearing, he apologized.)
Kavanaugh made the hearings more political than they were already. In his cockiness, he gave the Supreme Court a partisan face though his confirmation was still a toss. He made it abundantly clear Democrats were in contempt. Republicans made it abundantly clear Dr. Ford’s testimony did not change their timetable to confirm Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court Justice.
The Supreme Court is the ultimate legal source of justice for many Americans selectively disadvantaged. It should not be stacked to represent the ideology of any party nor should it be used as a get out of jail card for any president. Kavanaugh like Trump believes a sitting president is above the law. That is at the heart of the urgency to get this man confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice.
Dr. Blasey did not accuse the Democrats of sexual assault nor did the several other women who have come forth since to accuse Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault and excessive drinking. That didn’t stop Kavanaugh who in a rage attacked the Democrats and even Hillary Clinton for his current dilemma. He said all victims should be heard, but he didn’t want to take steps to make that happen. He did what many affluent sexual predators do, he became the crying victim while ranting about the damage to his reputation and family. He was much like Trump in thinking about him not America or justice or the lifetime job position as a role model of justice.
Trump might see his pompous indignation to the allegations as strength, but I see it the arrogance of the privileged elite. He will say anything to get what he wants. He swore to God while telling a lie. That is not a man deserving of a lifetime position. But most pundits thought Kavanaugh did a good job, this blogger disagreed.
If Kavanaugh wanted the truth and to clear his name he would have welcomed an investigation. He was given several opportunities to do so but instead became evasive and at times deflecting to other topics where he portrayed himself as an innocent victim. His arguments against doing an FBI investigation were disingenuous. He seemed to suggest that after having had six background checks another was unnecessary. In this case, another is crucial because of new allegations that were not brought forth during prior background checks. Background checks are somewhat limited and based on the information given by the applicant.
Kavanaugh’s argument of using the signatures of 65 people to claim he was not a sexual predator was also deceptive and disingenuous. It proved nothing. The 65 people have a lot to gain if Kavanaugh wins. What surprised me was that he could not get more, like a 1000 signatures.
Do not let party politics prevent us from investigating the accusations against this man. The ramifications go beyond his confirmation hearings.
Dr. Blasey was authentic, humble and sincere. She didn’t give misleading statements or feign indignation. Her life was turned upside down twice–the sexual assault and now the hearing–yet she didn’t cry about it. Her story remained consistent. Judge Kavanaugh’s story changed from him being a reserved ‘choir boy’ to a mean drunk who sexually attacked women at Georgetown Prep and at Yale.
In contrast, Dr. Blasey bolstered her credibility not only by describing in harrowing detail what she did remember, but by being honest about what she didn’t — like the exact date of the gathering, or the address of the house where it occurred. As she pointed out, the precise details of a trauma get burned into the brain and stay there long after less relevant details fade away.
She was also honest about her ambivalence in coming forward. “I am terrified,” she told the senators in her opening remarks. And then there’s the fact that she gains nothing by coming forward. She is in hiding now with her family in the face of death threats.
Kavanaugh successfully pulled the rug over the eyes of the media and our Republican politicians, but he didn’t over Americans like me. His confirmation should be delayed pending investigation. The hearing was a not a hearing about the truth but circus full of politicians. The only one, not a politician was Dr. Blasey. Americans deserve the truth! Our elected officials should demand an investigation, not a vote.
At this point is Kavanaugh fit to hold a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court? My answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT without an independent investigation, what’s yours?
#DelayTheVote
I heard about some of the hearing and he came off as some spoiled partisan brat. What’s up with all these rich criminals playing victim? This is from the same party that overtly tells people to take personal responsibility, yet he did exactly the opposite. Moral myopia, much? How predictable from a creep like him. This whole fiasco is proof positive that these same people don’t practice what they preach. Law and order? I guess it’s only for those with melanin or low bank accounts with how they act.
He is the Judge who feels a sitting president is above the law. He is pivotal to Trump’s presidency. Trump and the Republican fixers probably made a deal with critical witnesses to erase selective memories of Kavanaugh’s days of drunken stupor and gang rapes.
Ofc they don’t practice what they preach. They laugh at us for thinking they do. Americans are waking up to the reality that we have one of the most corrupt governments in the world that’s about to get more corrupt where the rule of law doesn’t apply to people with Judge Kavanaugh’s pedigree.
No disagreements there. It’s either erasing memories or packing stacks of hush money to get the job done.
Oh, yeah. I make no illusions about that. Not just America, but even other countries can see what’s going on. When Phil from The Advise Show came back from his filming project in Ethiopia, he talked about how even the Ethiopians talked about their concerns about America since their news covers those issues in Amharic and they have access to CNN and BBC down there.
What are they saying?
The Ethiopians? From what I remember from those videos where Phil livestreamed, he said multiple things. For starters, the Ethiopians treated him like a movie star because they get excited when they see African-Americans visiting their homeland which is very rare. Multiple people told him “Welcome home” when he visited and commented how NO ONE in his own home country said that to him. That’s really cool and really inspiring.
On the other hand, he said the Ethiopians fear for American children because they know about all the school shootings. They hate 45 which didn’t surprise me at all. The real kicker was where citizens and one African Union employee (I don’t know if she was Ethiopian or not though) said that African-Americans aren’t treated like citizens of their home country especially because of the police brutality situation. All of this was eye-opening how they knew about those things.
It shows black Americans have been effective in getting the word out. Perhaps in Africa, both black Americans and Africans can create the world subverted by white colonizers. A world where Black people reconnect to our roots.
Caution though, white people will feel threatened by our unity. They will use their wealth and resources to sabotage that process by creating fear and hate. That has to be anticipated with strategic countermeasures based on data gathered about their vulnerabilities.
You can be at war without bloodshed. The greatest generals are those who win wars without it.
That’s true and I’m glad even people in Africa have been getting savvy to what’s going on.
I’m certainly aware of that, unfortunately.
Exactly! The war isn’t always a literal one, but they can be cerebral.
re:
Yes, and there are some who will try to take over what Blacks have already built by “suggesting” what we should do and how to proceed. That generally comes with a promise of donating money to “the cause”.
This happens online as well. There is a person who not only tried to tell me what I should blog about, but also what I should tweet. They were all her own thoughts and opinions and I suggested that she open her own blog and twitter account. That resulted in her going into the scared White woman stance about being afraid of being doxed or harassed and having to protect her family.
Funny thing — she was so “dedicated” and “committed” but I suppose she finally got the message that my no means no because she stopped participating on my blog around April.
Had I been Senator Amy Klobuchar when the job candidate retorted by asking her if she ever passed out from drinking, I would have told him that I am not the one seeking a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. He is, and he must be above reproach.
I saw clips of that exchange. In a job interview that would be enough to move on to the next candidate. If he was openly disdainful of Democrats now and he doesn’t have the job, do you think he’ll be unbiased if he does get the job?
Angela,
What Kavanaugh made clear to me is that he is 100 percent behind whatever Trump wants, and we know that Trump wants Mueller’s investigation to end. They have no doubt talked about constitutional interpretation for impeachment too, so Kavanaugh is well prepared on what decision he’ll reach.
Exactly Xena! Strangely the Democrats aren’t using those points to topple Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Worst nightmare: Kavanaugh is confirmed and GOP retains control of Congress. Trump can sleep like a baby and kill one since he becomes above the law. The latter point is what the Democrats should emphasize to make Americans understand the stakes are high.
Trump’s backup plan to get out of jail is Kavanaugh if the GOP loses Congress.
Best case scenario for the truth and justice: Kavanaugh loses confirmation and GOP lose Congress by a wide margin.
I’ll just repeat what I said before, for a person that was born with a silver spoon his resume was not impressive enough for a Supreme Court Justice ! Then adding his less then stellar back round he should take his name out of consideration.
I agree! As a matter of fact, the hearing made me question Kavanaugh’s competence.
The fact that he is still up for confirmation means he is pivotal to the GOP’s plan of escaping justice or being held accountable for crimes. Kavanaugh is a corrupt judge who will taint the Supreme Court. I may not agree with all their past rulings but I still respect the institution. With Kavanaugh on the bench their image as an institution of justice unravels.
The Supreme Court justices should weigh in. I wonder what their feelings are about having a potential sexual predator amongst them. Clarence Thomas made lewd remarks but that’s different from drunken sexual assaults