Official Kavanaugh hearing thread

[TitanTiger 20,498]

11 minutes ago, AUDub said:

Think the year book stuff was an obvious lie.   Other than that, think he handled it about as well as he could. 

Yeah, I don't buy that explanation for the Renate yearbook references either.  I don't know if it means what has been bandied about, but it I don't believe for a second it's what he said it meant.

[homersapien 11,385]

2 hours ago, NolaAuTiger said:

I made an excellent point, if I do say so myself.

Complete non-sequitur.  Had nothing to do with my post. 

And actually, it didn't even "make" (literally) a point at all. It wasn't even a sentence.  It was a phrase tied to my post in an implication but with no actual relevance.

So while you can always say so, it was certainly not an "excellent point". 

[homersapien 11,385]

1 hour ago, TitanTiger said:

He's coming off angry.  While understandable if he's innocent, it's still a look that has to be carefully calibrated.  It can be taken wrong by some people.

Or if even if just "thinks" he's innocent for that matter. 

Considering the heavy drinking involved with this incident, that's not totally ruled out IMO.

[Barnacle 9,064]

2 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Yeah, I don't buy that explanation for the Renate yearbook references either.  I don't know if it means what has been bandied about, but it I don't believe for a second it's what he said it meant.

I'm not sure I believe his answers to the questions about alcohol, either. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, homersapien said:

Or if he "thinks" he's innocent for that matter.  Considering the heavy drinking, that's not totally ruled out IMO.

In my opinion, this is one of the biggest catching points for both Ford and Kavanaugh. She admits to drinking; he admits to drinking at that age. Unlike others, I do find it possible and even believable that her memory could be faulty. But, I also accept that it's possible that her memory is crystal clear, and he's the one who doesn't remember. 

[AUDub 11,153]

He's not handling the Judge stuff well. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, AUDub said:

He's not handling the Judge stuff well. 

Poorly handled. Most poorly handled part of the hearing. Comes off like he's afraid of what Judge might say. 

[TitanTiger 20,498]

1 minute ago, Barnacle said:

Unlike others, I do find it possible and even believable that her memory could be faulty. But, I also accept that it's possible that her memory is crystal clear, and he's the one who doesn't remember. 

Hang on...you think that she could be almost raped at a party and wouldn't be sure it was Kavanaugh or some other guy?

[TitanTiger 20,498]

1 minute ago, AUDub said:

He's not handling the Judge stuff well. 

Not at all.  That smarmy line about "we can sit here and make fun of a guy battling addiction, but..."

I mean, come on.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

Hang on...you think that she could be almost raped at a party and wouldn't be sure it was Kavanaugh or some other guy?

If alcohol was involved, absolutely. 

[TitanTiger 20,498]

1 minute ago, Barnacle said:

If alcohol was involved, absolutely. 

Not after one beer.  In fact, it would take several beers before that would be reasonable.

[aubearcat 2,137]

He probably should just said, yeah, I got drunk and puked but I never sexually assaulted anyone. 

[homersapien 11,385]

36 minutes ago, TitanTiger said:

Aside from his initial angry tone and the overstatement of what a refutation is, he's acquitting himself well so far overall.

It's patently absurd that the GOP is trying to make this one day hearing the end of it though.  

I thought the comments about "those on this side of the committee....... " that implied (to me) that Ford's accusation was a fabrication by the Democrats was deceptive even if a little ambiguous..

Regardless of how the Democrats handled the information, they didn't just make it up.

[TitanTiger 20,498]

1 minute ago, aubearcat said:

He probably should just said, yeah, I got drunk and puked but I never sexually assaulted anyone. 

That possibly opens him up to a charge that he was so drunk he can't definitely say he didn't sexually assault her.  Better for him to claim he was never drunk enough for that to be possible.

[aubearcat 2,137]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

Not after one beer.  In fact, it would take several beers before that would be reasonable.

But that’s unequivocally accepting her accounts of the situation. I’ve seen countless DUI drivers that only drank “2 beers”.  

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

Not after one beer.

No probably not. We're all speculating here about hers and Kavanaugh's recollection of their drinking habits, based on the testimony provided today. She was 15 years old (I think). She may have drank more than that. Admitting to drinking more would completely undermine her story. Kavanaugh admitting to getting drunk to the point of blacking out would undermine his. 

I don't think it's unreasonable to suppose that more alcohol was involved than what's being testified to, and one of them isn't remembering things how they happened. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 minute ago, TitanTiger said:

That possibly opens him up to a charge that he was so drunk he can't definitely say he didn't sexually assault her.  Better for him to claim he was never drunk enough for that to be possible.

Exactly my point above. 

[homersapien 11,385]

Just now, aubearcat said:

He probably should just said, yeah, I got drunk and puked but I never sexually assaulted anyone. 

Actually, he could have testified to something along those lines by claiming he blacked out and seriously didn't remember. 

That certainly creates some additional mea culpa and empathy issues but it would be more credible and wouldn't necessarily keep him from being approved.

[aubearcat 2,137]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

That possibly opens him up to a charge that he was so drunk he can't definitely say he didn't sexually assault her.  Better for him to claim he was never drunk enough for that to be possible.

I suppose. However, I’ve been at parties where people would drink until they threw up and then start drinking more. 

[homersapien 11,385]

15 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

I'm not sure I believe his answers to the questions about alcohol, either. 

Lots of contradictory evidence on that.

[aubearcat 2,137]

Ole Grassley bowed up on him

[TitanTiger 20,498]

Just now, Barnacle said:

Exactly my point above. 

So you think she's lying about having one beer?  Because while there are people who claim to have seen Kavanaugh and his friends very drunk on multiple occasions, no one has even suggested this was a characteristic of her behavior at the time.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, homersapien said:

Lots of contradictory evidence on that.

These guys liked to drink. He's admitted that. They were in high school and like most high schooler's probably couldn't handle their liquor and/or had no conception of what their reasonable limits were. I think it's almost assuredly a lie that he didn't drink to the point of blacking out. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, TitanTiger said:

So you think she's lying about having one beer?  Because while there are people who claim to have seen Kavanaugh and his friends very drunk on multiple occasions, no one has even suggested this was a characteristic of her behavior at the time.

No, I'm not accusing her of lying. I'm pointing out that both she and Kavanaugh have reason to diminish the impact of alcohol in this scenario, and that IF that is the case, it's reasonable that someone may not be remembering correctly. 

[homersapien 11,385]

1 hour ago, TitanTiger said:

That won't happen and they know it won't happen, unless Trump is an abject moron.  If he thinks for a second it will go beyond that, he'll yank BK's name and put in a new one post haste and McConnell will fast track the confirmation vote.

That's a good reason why he's being combative - to suit Trump.