No guests this week, just our hosts reflecting on a week that will not soon, if ever, be forgotten. We look at the testimony from both Kavanaugh and Ford, the reaction and remarks from the Judiciary Committee, from the media, and from friends. We wind up with some predictions from the hosts as to whether or not Brett Kavanaugh will get confirmed. Give us your predictions in the comments.

Music from this week’s show: Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty

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  1. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    And regarding the “Emotional Credibility” in general, a woman like “Dr” Ford can cry and stuff, and becomes somehow more – or even automatically completely – credible.  If Judge Kavanaugh did the same thing, he would be a wuss, a wimp…  and even if he is totally innocent, a wuss/wimp should not be on the Supreme Court.

    Yet another double standard.

    • #31
  2. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    MHallock (View Comment):
    She is a person who tells a highly credible account of a sexual assault,

    There is no corroboration.

    Maybe there needs to be a different word used.

    Actors who are good enough to make a character “believable,” we still don’t believe they are actually the person they are portraying.

    What could be a good word to describe someone who might be very good at telling a story, but that doesn’t mean the story is true?

    Not “credible,” not “believable,” the implications of truth are not deserved.

    Maybe there’s an old word that has fallen out of use, that needs to be revived?

    • #32
  3. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    kedavis (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    MHallock (View Comment):
    She is a person who tells a highly credible account of a sexual assault,

    There is no corroboration.

    Maybe there needs to be a different word used.

    Actors who are good enough to make a character “believable,” we still don’t believe they are actually the person they are portraying.

    What could be a good word to describe someone who might be very good at telling a story, but that doesn’t mean the story is true?

    Not “credible,” not “believable,” the implications of truth are not deserved.

    Maybe there’s an old word that has fallen out of use, that needs to be revived?

    To be more clear, I should have said that Juanita Broaddrick had corroboration.

    The Democrats shouldn’t be able to wield government power  this way given the lack of corroboration, plus everything else that’s positive or per usual with the candidate.

    • #33
  4. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    D.C. McCallister 

    3) I can choose to believe any woman’s story of rape and assault and offer her the comfort and empathy she needs to heal. But the minute she names the subject, I must believe him before I can believe her because Justice is at stake and a man’s freedom is in peril.

    4) Ford is being praised for doing her civic duty. But she has actually broken her civic duty. She has accused without evidence. Her testimony is full of holes. Her demeanor was emotionally manipulative, not authentic. She has stabbed Justice in the heart.

    That’s the way I see it.

    • #34
  5. Freesmith Member
    Freesmith
    @

    What comes through loud and clear from the discussion about congressional testimony during this podcast is something that 3 weeks ago we were all talking about, but today have forgotten. 

    This was not a court house. This was not a trial. These were not jurors. 

    This was the US Senate. This was a confirmation hearing. These are legislators. 

    As John Derbyshire trenchantly observed, the senators should have advised Mrs. Ford to take her complaint to “the relevant legal authorities” and proceeded to their own duties. 

    Three weeks ago Senator Schoolhouse Rock pointed out that the legislative branch has mostly abdicated its constitutional responsibilities in favor of oversight and conducting fact-finding. Of course, that change in job description is much better for television; but it has obvious drawbacks. Many of those drawbacks were on display last week. Another is that others have stepped into the breach to write the country’s laws — federal judges and unelected agencies, for example. That’s working out splendidly, isn’t it?

    The discussion about faulty memory and what was commonplace “in that time and of that place” in the podcast was interesting and belonged in a panel discussion, seminar or jury room. It was out of place in the US Senate. We knew that three weeks ago. When the chips were down, however, we didn’t insist. 

    • #35
  6. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    @roblong try Rifiki, an old French heist film, said to be still the best of it’s genre. 

    • #36
  7. Walker Member
    Walker
    @Walker

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    Walker (View Comment):

    Ginny Thomas is a good idea. No idea if we could actually book her, though.

    • #37
  8. Walker Member
    Walker
    @Walker

    I’ve never known her to be timid. Bet she’d jump at the chance!!

    • #38
  9. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    This was a superb podcast.  And extremely timely.  I wish that we had more timely podcasts on the issues of the testimony and now the FBI investigation.

    • #39
  10. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Such a great shame about Alabama and Delaware. Also Virginia where a decent candidate might have actually had a shot in this climate.  

    • #40
  11. bill.deweese Inactive
    bill.deweese
    @bill.deweese

    Great discussion as usual.  Up until you started sharing the thought of Bill Kristol uncritically.

    With all due respect, to heck with Bill Kristol.  The only reason he can blithely dismiss Kavanaugh’s nomination and casually move on is simple: He’s not Judge Kavanaugh.   This man’s life, career and reputation is at stake over what are so far unconfirmed (and actually somewhat de-confirmed) accusations.

    So a week long Investigation into the seemingly un-investigatable has been called for.  Dumping Kavanaugh’s carcass off the train for political expediency would be an unconscionable act of cowardice, reward the despicable behavior of the Democratic leaders, and establish this as a viable political tactic.

     

     

    • #41
  12. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):

    Such a great shame about Alabama and Delaware. Also Virginia where a decent candidate might have actually had a shot in this climate.

    I agree, OTOH I’ve been told McConnell fought tooth and nail to get Murkowski elected as an independent write-in against Tea Party Jeff Miller who won the Republican Primary. He also spent millions supporting establishment “Republican” Charlie Crist against Tea Party Marco Rubio in the 2010 primary.

    • #42
  13. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    OTOH McConnell fought tooth and nail to get Murkowski elected as an independent write-in against Tea Party Jeff Miller

    Can a non-RINO beat a Democrat in that state? I have no idea. Miller was a great guy, though.

    • #43
  14. Max Ledoux Coolidge
    Max Ledoux
    @Max

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    D.C. McCallister

    3) I can choose to believe any woman’s story of rape and assault and offer her the comfort and empathy she needs to heal. But the minute she names the subject, I must believe him before I can believe her because Justice is at stake and a man’s freedom is in peril.

    4) Ford is being praised for doing her civic duty. But she has actually broken her civic duty. She has accused without evidence. Her testimony is full of holes. Her demeanor was emotionally manipulative, not authentic. She has stabbed Justice in the heart.

    That’s the way I see it.

    Me too. 

    I mean, that is, well, ok, me too but not sarcastically. Literally I also see it that way. :-)

    • #44
  15. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    bill.deweese (View Comment):
    Great discussion as usual. Up until you started sharing the thought of Bill Kristol uncritically.

    Bill Kristol is a well-known critic of all things Trump. Could well be he would oppose Jesus Christ if Trump appointed him to the court. His days of significant influence in the Republican Party dwindle daily.

    • #45
  16. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Someone needs to do a post on why they like Bill Kristol. 

    • #46
  17. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Someone needs to do a post on why they like Bill Kristol.

    Can’t help you there, but Julie Kelly, a former Kristol fan, writes succinctly about her reasons for disillusionment with the him in The Federalist.  Here’s another excellent article  in the New Yorker about Kristol’s lack of influence in Washington and how it all came about.

    • #47
  18. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Someone needs to do a post on why they like Bill Kristol.

    Can’t help you there, but Julie Kelly, a former Kristol fan, writes succinctly about her reasons for disillusionment with the him in The Federalist. Here’s another excellent article in the New Yorker about Kristol’s lack of influence in Washington and how it all came about.

    The New Yorker article is excellent. So many of those guys either want to make centralized government work (it’s a joke, that’s why we have so much populism) or there’s some personal loss, or his model of the world doesn’t work anymore, so he’s freaking out. They don’t really have even nominal libertarian sensibilities that the average Republican has. You can hate Trump and be cogent about it, but that’s not Kristol. No one is going to complain if you sound like Jonah Goldberg or Kevin Williamson does on Trump.

    The other thing is all of this “nativism” and “Xenophobia” stuff. Watch the interviews of Dr. Joseph Salerno on “Mises and nationalism”. There is a limit to how much multiculturalism the government and the Democrat party can shove down peoples throats before it causes problems. Robert D. Putnam, a liberal sociologist, says similar stuff.

    The Federalist article captures some of the wackiest things he said or thought. Wild.

    • #48
  19. The Rose Member
    The Rose
    @Stevemar

    Some random thoughts about Dr. Ford and her testimony. 

    1. I must confess that I did not think of this on my own, but once I heard it said I had to agree, and that is…She sounded as if she was close to tears in her opening statement and at various times during her testimony.  Did anyone ever see her use a tissue?  Personally if I was feeling choked up I would have likely needed to blow my nose, or wipe my eyes.  By contrast, Judge Kavanaugh sniffled audibly during his introduction and clearly fought back tears (agreeably some of the  most moving parts of his speech).  Anyway, I find that odd and causes me to question her authenticity.  You can fake a voice that sounds scared/terrified/emotional, but aren’t there other bodily responses that should be there (tears and sniffles)?  Sorry if this has already been addressed.
    2. Secondly, very subjective, but if Brett Kavanaugh was the captain of his basketball team, and as successful in high school as his resume sounds, wouldn’t he be popular as well?  I mean he wasn’t a bad looking guy from his HS pictures.  Would he really have needed to go after a girl that didn’t invite his advances (I get it, he said it didn’t happen regardless)?  

    Nothing scientific here just trying to think through some of the things that sounded out of place in the story.  As a woman, I found her voice very annoying and I was annoyed with her seeming fragility.  My God you are a 51 year old PHD, not to dismiss that if that had happened to you, by another man, that it would have stunk but this many years later you are still so broken that when you speak about it you are that distraught?  Left scratching my head on that one if I am being honest.

    • #49
  20. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    The Rose (View Comment):
    Nothing scientific here just trying to think through some of the things that sounded out of place in the story. As a woman, I found her voice very annoying and I was annoyed with her seeming fragility. My God you are a 51 year old PHD, not to dismiss that if that had happened to you, by another man, that it would have stunk but this many years later you are still so broken that when you speak about it you are that distraught? Left scratching my head on that one if I am being honest.

    It’s easier for women to be critical of other women, especially when this topic is discussed, than it is for men these days. I have seen our gender lie like crazy for all sorts of reasons, some even with real tears.  I’m not buying the story the way she told it either. 

    • #50
  21. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Now Kristol is communing with the Dumbest Ruling Class Democrat alive: Neera Tandon 

    Her WikiLeaks emails were priceless LOL. 

    • #51
  22. Mister Dog Coolidge
    Mister Dog
    @MisterDog

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    OTOH McConnell fought tooth and nail to get Murkowski elected as an independent write-in against Tea Party Jeff Miller

    Can a non-RINO beat a Democrat in that state? I have no idea. Miller was a great guy, though.

    Our other senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan, is no RINO and he was able to unseat incumbent Mark Begich, probably the most popular Dem politician in the state (and current gubernatorial candidate.) Murkowski made her deal with the devil to get elected, she is beholden to the Dems who abandoned their candidate to to support her. It makes me ill, every time I hear about an issue with a few reluctant Republicans I know one of the inevitable name will be Lisa g.d. Murkowski. I curse her and her father for his nepotism.

    • #52
  23. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Mister Dog (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):
    OTOH McConnell fought tooth and nail to get Murkowski elected as an independent write-in against Tea Party Jeff Miller

    Can a non-RINO beat a Democrat in that state? I have no idea. Miller was a great guy, though.

    Our other senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan, is no RINO and he was able to unseat incumbent Mark Begich, probably the most popular Dem politician in the state (and current gubernatorial candidate.) Murkowski made her deal with the devil to get elected, she is beholden to the Dems who abandoned their candidate to to support her. It makes me ill, every time I hear about an issue with a few reluctant Republicans I know one of the inevitable name will be Lisa g.d. Murkowski. I curse her and her father for his nepotism.

    Thank you. Good information. 

    It just took one guy to get rid of the ACA. It’s not like their wouldn’t be universal coverage In the next system, either. Selfish idiots. 

    • #53
  24. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    I see the Tom Nichols types think Kavanaugh is, well…look at the tweet

    To those “conservatives” who are willing to look away from Kavanaugh’s bizarre, evasive, immature, intemperate, weaselly, disrespectful answers to the Senate, that’s not conservative, that’s just tribal loyalty over prudence and principle.

    I don’t get this at all. It makes me sick.

    • #54
  25. JuliaBlaschke Lincoln
    JuliaBlaschke
    @JuliaBlaschke

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    JuliaBlaschke (View Comment):

    Such a great shame about Alabama and Delaware. Also Virginia where a decent candidate might have actually had a shot in this climate.

    I agree, OTOH I’ve been told McConnell fought tooth and nail to get Murkowski elected as an independent write-in against Tea Party Jeff Miller who won the Republican Primary. He also spent millions supporting establishment “Republican” Charlie Crist against Tea Party Marco Rubio in the 2010 primary.

    I think it is an overstatement to say McConnell “fought tooth and nail” for Murkowski. He always endorses the most electable Republican.  I also don’t think he spent millions on Crist. He endorsed him. He’s not always right but he was right in Delaware, Nevada and Alabama and he’s not trying to get “rinos” elected. He is simply trying to maintain the Republican majority because without that majority we wouldn’t even be voting on conservative judges. And we wouldn’t have Gorsuch.

    • #55
  26. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Someone needs to do a post on why they like Bill Kristol.

    Can’t help you there, but Julie Kelly, a former Kristol fan, writes succinctly about her reasons for disillusionment with the him in The Federalist. Here’s another excellent article in the New Yorker about Kristol’s lack of influence in Washington and how it all came about.

    The New Yorker article is excellent. So many of those guys either want to make centralized government work (it’s a joke, that’s why we have so much populism) or there’s some personal loss, or his model of the world doesn’t work anymore, so he’s freaking out. They don’t really have even nominal libertarian sensibilities that the average Republican has. You can hate Trump and be cogent about it, but that’s not Kristol. No one is going to complain if you sound like Jonah Goldberg or Kevin Williamson does on Trump.

    I’m not familiar with Kevin Williamson’s criticisms of Trump.  Jonah’s are basically reasonable, but his “reasons” for not voting for Trump against Hillary, don’t withstand scrutiny.  To me they sound like “Hang the country, voting for Trump would have made ME feel soiled somehow.  And me feeling better about me is more important than the country.”

    • #56
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    The Rose (View Comment):
    Nothing scientific here just trying to think through some of the things that sounded out of place in the story. As a woman, I found her voice very annoying and I was annoyed with her seeming fragility. My God you are a 51 year old PHD, not to dismiss that if that had happened to you, by another man, that it would have stunk but this many years later you are still so broken that when you speak about it you are that distraught? Left scratching my head on that one if I am being honest.

    It’s easier for women to be critical of other women, especially when this topic is discussed, than it is for men these days. I have seen our gender lie like crazy for all sorts of reasons, some even with real tears. I’m not buying the story the way she told it either.

    That, more than vaporous notions of fairness or whatever, might be the most objective reason to have more women in the Senate, for example.  (At least on the Republican side.  If there were more Democrat women they would just be used as additional weapons.)

    • #57
  28. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    On another thread specifically about words to use, “sincere” is suggested.  That might work, but especially these days it still seems to carry too much implication of “truth.”

    • #58
  29. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    Mister Dog (View Comment):
    It makes me ill, every time I hear about an issue with a few reluctant Republicans I know one of the inevitable name will be Lisa g.d. Murkowski.

    She has always supported the party in power. Bush, Obama, occasionally Trump if it suits her politically. She is 100% everything you expect from a slimy politician. 

    Her defeat of Joe Miller was a case study in machine political graft. Normal Alaskans are kinda unpredictable in our politics. It’s really a purple state depending on the candidate or the hot topic of the day. Even our “Conservatives”  senators in years past were fiscal spendthrift’s and half of the time pro-abortion. 

    Murkowski is completely sold out to the abortion lobby. She is always reliable on that. 

    • #59
  30. Vince Guerra Inactive
    Vince Guerra
    @VinceGuerra

    AK Rep. Don Young is pretty solid though.

    • #60
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