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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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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.
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.
D.C. McCallister
That’s the way I see it.
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.
@roblong try Rifiki, an old French heist film, said to be still the best of it’s genre.
I’ve never known her to be timid. Bet she’d jump at the chance!!
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.
Such a great shame about Alabama and Delaware. Also Virginia where a decent candidate might have actually had a shot in this climate.
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.
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.
Can a non-RINO beat a Democrat in that state? I have no idea. Miller was a great guy, though.
Me too.
I mean, that is, well, ok, me too but not sarcastically. Literally I also see it that way. :-)
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.
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.
Some random thoughts about Dr. Ford and her testimony.
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.
Now Kristol is communing with the Dumbest Ruling Class Democrat alive: Neera Tandon
Her WikiLeaks emails were priceless LOL.
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.
I see the Tom Nichols types think Kavanaugh is, well…look at the tweet
I don’t get this at all. It makes me sick.
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.
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.”
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.)
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.”
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.
AK Rep. Don Young is pretty solid though.