Like MILLIONS of other Americans (and, many around the world) I’ve been closely watching the confirmation process which is likely to put Brett Kavanaugh, an accused sexual predator, onto the highest court in our nation. He ALREADY sits on the 2nd highest court in the land, which, to me, seems to be a travesty in itself. There’s been much that has come out in these hearings, but very possibly MORE that won’t be allowed to come out because the MALE dominated GOP doesn’t want it to come out – they want Kavanaugh on the court ASAP! Even this “so-called” investigation, which has a limit of one week and a seriously flawed (in my view) limit on who will be questioned, appears to be all for “show.” As Mitch McConnell said, “Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the SCOTUS!
That means both Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski will vote for a man who has been credibly accused of sexual assault – they should know better. That likely means there are democrats who will “go along to get along” by voting for Kavanaugh in an attempt to save their seat because they live in a state which voted for Trump. That means Jeff Flake and any other senator who votes for Kavanaugh will have ignored the MANY instances where he appeared to be LYING in his testimony, let alone the evidence of sexual abuse. That would mean ANY one who votes for Kavanaugh will have ignored his blasphemous response to Dr. Ford’s COMPELLING testimony. That will mean they’ve ignored his arrogant answers to questions from democrats where he was openly dismissive of their questioning. He came across as a PARTISAN hack! Evidently, in the eyes of Trump and his sycophants in the GOP, “just what the doctor ordered.”
Seriously, behavior that turned my stomach came across as exciting to Trump. Even Jeff Flake – who’s trying to portray himself as some kind of “progressive” champion – he appeared on stage with Chris Coons at the MSNBC sponsored “Global Initiative” this past weekend – will vote for Kavanaugh and he said, “It’s understandable to me how he (meaning Kavanaugh) could react that way (meaning his combative testimony). I might do the same had I been accused of these things.” Here’s the rub for me – there’s too many accusations and too many people corroborating Kavanaugh’s aggressive, divisive, obnoxious, partisan behavior. Evidently, in the eyes of the GOP this is judicial prudence. Yikes!!!!
From what I’ve read, the FBI has been severely limited in the “scope” of who they can question – kind of like the hearings where there were NO “follow up” questions allowed. From the standpoint of the republicans it’s JAM this through as quickly as possible and hope Ruth Bader Ginsberg has health problems so we can go through this again. The ONE thing they’re hoping to get from Trump’s fiasco of a presidency is CONTROL of the courts for at least a generation – and, in this, they are succeeding. Anthony Kennedy, who retired to open up this seat for Kavanaugh, and, who has been proclaimed by “liberals” as some kind of great jurist (please, spare me!), stepped aside so that Trump could put Kavanaugh on the court. I could go on and on why I consider Kennedy to be nothing more than a right wing supporter of a corporate takeover of America – but, I’ll save that for another day – just, every day when you think of what a hack Kavanaugh is – remember it was Kennedy who wanted him on the court! (And, remember, the likely reason Trump chose Kavanaugh in the first place was his views on the “unitary executive” – Trump sees him as his “Roy Cohn”)
Of course, republicans are making it a sticking point in this “investigation” to make sure the FBI gets nowhere near Michael Avenatti who has a client with the most salacious of all the allegations against Kavanaugh – and, likely (knowing Avenatti) the MOST corroborated. Therefore, Trump and his sycophants want NOTHING to do with him or the woman who came forward seeking him to represent her. Did Avenatti find her hiding under a “rock?” Likely NOT. Very likely, she sought him out because she felt he would protect her should her accusations become public – because, the sad reality is that sexual assault victims routinely receive the responses we saw from Kavanaugh, Lindsay Graham, Chuck Grassley, Orin Hatch, and the other republicans. Is it any wonder why women victims of sexual assault remain silent?
And, make no mistake, being the victim of a sexual assault can create a “life sentence” for the victim. I personally KNOW several victims of sexual assault and it really made me angry listening to Kavanaugh and the other republicans (and, unquestionably, Kavanaugh IS a partisan republican hack) attempt to act like they really care about this issue. I personally know people who couldn’t bear to even listen to this testimony because it brought up so many bad memories. I’ve known women who have PTSD (several, at the time, I didn’t understand or recognize the symptoms) and suffer panic attacks due to sexual assault – and, it doesn’t go away. Yes, counseling can help, but the fear and other repercussions don’t go away.
Even if you would suggest that maybe ALL these women are LYING – as Trump did to the 19 accusers who came forward after he admitted on tape that he’s a sexual predator – Kavanaugh LIED repeatedly in his testimony, according to MANY sources I’ve read. (I have to wonder if Flake and the other “undecided” voters in the Senate are “checking this out?) Apparently, Kavanaugh was LYING about much more than his alleged sexual deviancy. So, wouldn’t you think LYING before a congressional committee (about anything) and exhibiting EXTREMELY boorish behavior in public – admitting to being a partisan hack – would disqualify you for the federal bench? Apparently, in the eyes of republicans, it does just the opposite!
Of course, outlets like Fox “news” and the right wing bloviators who dominate the radio airwaves – like Rush Limbaugh – are “ginning” up the right wing “low information voters” who suck up whatever “red meat” they’re “thrown” and your typical Trump supporter is going to be “angry as hell” if Kavanaugh gets his “just rewards” – which would be accountability for his previous actions and his LYING to Congress. I guess if you’re a Trump supporter you’ve come to accept LYING as routine and “no problemo.” I can GUARANTEE anyone who happens upon this site that should Kavanaugh be confirmed the DAMAGE to the court will be ENORMOUS and he will NEVER be considered “legit” for as long as his tenure lasts. He will have a “cloud” exponentially larger than Clarence Thomas and should he render opinions such as many fear (and, I’m not talking about Roe) I predict, at some point – after democrats have taken firm control of Congress – which will be one of the results of his confirmation – there will be a move to impeach him from the bench entirely.
I believe Kavanaugh’s most prudent action would be to remove himself from consideration citing the damage all this is doing to his family and return to his place on the Court of Appeals. That’s highly unlikely because he comes across as a VERY ambitious member of the judiciary. And, it may be “the Supreme Court or nothing” – because, if two republican Senators decide to vote against him it’s possible the allegations of his LYING to Congress will be considered more seriously – and, his position on the bench AT ALL will be in jeopardy. As I’ve said, to me, it was EMBARRASSING watching his testimony following that of Dr. Ford. When he referred to the Clinton’s as part of the “smear campaign” against him I thought EVEN republicans would see how that alone should disqualify him from the Supreme Court (or any court, for that matter). But, apparently, in their eyes any anti-Clinton comment is received with aplomb!
I just finished reading “The House of Trump and the House of Putin” by Craig Unger – and, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary American politics – with the clear inference being that without the Russians Trump would NOT be our so-called president – and several fronts – which I’ll explain in more detail at another time. (You SHOULD read this book) The bottom line appears that what we, in America, have is an illegitimate (so-called) president, accused by (at least) 19 women of sexual impropriety and a man who’s LIED over 8000 times since taking office nominating a man accused of sexual ASSAULT by at least 4 women (as in most of these instances, there are likely more who don’t want to come forward) and, based on accusations from multiple sources, has LIED in his Congressional testimony over and over – for the highest COURT in our land. When “they” say elections have consequences, well here’s the proof!
When I keep asking myself why don’t they just withdraw this nomination and start over? I keep coming back to what appears to be the Kavanaugh reality. He’s the MOST likely jurist who Trump could nominate (and, not really piss off his right wing base) who will defend our so-called president against whatever might come from the Mueller investigation. I believe Trump and the republicans are anticipating that the House is very LIKELY to swing back to Democratic control starting next January. Trump surely expects to be impeached AND, there ALREADY are two FELONIES where he’s been named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” ie – by Michael Cohen – and, there’s very likely MORE “stuff” coming down the “pike.” Not only from Cohen’s cooperating agreement of Manafort’s cooperating agreement or the other cooperating agreements – but, when you read Unger’s book mentioned above and “Trump/Russia” by Seth Hettena – it’s clear Trump’s connection to Russians (and, mainly the Russian “mafiya”) goes way back in time and is VERY deep!” I believe one reason Mueller is taking more time than most of us would want is because he’s turning up a plethora of illegal activity committed by Trump and his (small) circle of associates over the past 30 or so years.
I’ve said many times I believe Trump to be acting like the head of an organized crime family. Well, after reading the two aforementioned books it’s clear to me I’ve been “right on.” And, this is going to pull in Trump’s sons, possibly his daughter, and very likely, in my mind, Jared Kushner. The connections to Russia with Trump and those surrounding him is stark – when you actually learn the details. The more I learn the more frustrated I become with our so-called “liberal media” – the media that “gave” Trump $2 BILLION worth of FREE advertising in the 2016 election (he is the master at media manipulation) – for failing to “educate” we the people on Trump’s actual inter-connection with the Russian mafiya – I’m guessing Mueller is not missing this! This is why Trump’s been BRAINWASHING his “low information” base (he called them “uneducated voters”) since the election to prepare them to NOT believe Mueller’s findings. Calling the investigation into the “Russia thing” a “witch hunt” because he knows where the investigation is likely to go.
Like you would expect in any “crime family” Trump has an “obligation” to protect his “brethren” – who, in this instance, happen to be Vladimir Putin and the Russian “oligarchs” who depend on people like Trump to “launder” their ill-gotten gains as they’ve been plundering Russia’s natural wealth since Putin took control at the turn of the century. And, Trump is the prefect “stooge” for Putin in his attempt to recreate Russia’s “imperial destiny” – requiring the undermining of Western democracies which have lured the former Soviet satellite states into NATO – apparently why Trump is trying to do Putin’s bidding as he, also, attacks NATO. Our 24 hour “news” cycle has long ago forgotten Trump’s dreadful performance next to Putin in Helsinki, but, to me, it was (and is) confirmation the Russians have “kompromat” on Trump. At the time, I agreed with those who claimed Trump’s words were “treasonous” – and, his actions during the election and after may very well be proved to corroborate that characterization once Mueller’s investigation is complete. Witch hunt? I don’t think so!
Final thought: I’ve talked ad nauseum about the “DAMAGE” Trump will have done by the time republicans FINALLY decide “enough is enough” and impeach him. Obviously, I miscalculated the republican party – they are even worse than I thought. Even Jeff Flake, who occasionally says something that gets my attention, votes with Trump EVERY time – to me, almost worst than those who just go along with their crowd. Flake knows better! Putting Kavanaugh on the court – and, keep in mind, early on in this process I suggested to democrats to “choose their battles wisely” – my thinking being that Trump is going to be able to make this choice regardless – will be DAMAGE that could do more to destroy our country than anything else Trump does – Kavanaugh could be on the court for 30+ years. So, we’ve got an alleged sexual predator and LIAR (and, likely “winning” a “rigged election”) appointing an alleged sexual predator and LIAR to the Supreme Court! That’s America in 2018!!!
One more thing: The Russian money and influence goes much deeper in today’s “Citizens United” America than just Trump. The Supreme Court in “Citizens United” – just as President Obama predicted – opened up the “doors” to foreign money coming into our elections and BUYING off our politicians – in “The House of Trump and House of Putin” Unger lists the members of Congress who have benefited from, what to me seems like massive amounts of, Russian money “donated” into their campaign coffers. Hopefully, I’ll write more on that later – but, buy the book and read it (along with “Trump/Russia” – they point out similar scenarios). I also recommend Clint Watt’s book “Messing with the Enemy” which clarifies in great detail what is referred to as “active measures” regarding Putin’s attack on America and Europe.
As usual: my apologies for the lack of editing – I’m just going to post this.