Lots of big US Supreme Court news this week

TailsMK4 said:

I'm on the other side of the spectrum apparently from most people on here. I am also sick of the Kavanaugh debate...but because I believe the Democrats are abusing the system just because they don't want anything done by Trump. Democrats are accusing the candidate of things that the Democrats themselves have gotten away with. The statements made by Dr. Ford had many holes in them and the people mentioned in the testimony said very different things than she did. People in the US got the wrong message...the Democrats aren't advocating for sexual abuse victims here (and they never have), they just are doing whatever possible to prevent work from being done at the capital and decide to do that by crying foul and causing whatever ruckus they can make. Heck, the Democrats even tried to impeach Trump BEFORE he got elected, so I see Democrats are sore losers. To me, Democrats ruined any chance they had of me listening to them, and I will be telling everyone I know to vote Republican this year. At least the Republicans are trying to do work.

Click to expand...

tbh this is kind of what both major parties have been doing for years really

TailsMK4 said:

Democrats are accusing the candidate of things that the Democrats themselves have gotten away with.

Click to expand...

Yeah, just ask Senator Al Franken about his sexual abuse allegations- oh wait no, he was kicked out of his seat after the allegations came out. I'm sorry, but this year the only rapist is in one side.

The statements made by Dr. Ford had many holes in them and the people mentioned in the testimony said very different things than she did.

Click to expand...

Boy if only someone has actually bothered to interview the people she (and Deborah Ramirez) pointed as witnesses... too bad Trump ordered the FBI not to interview those people.

The Democrats (...) are doing whatever possible to prevent work from being done at the capital and decide to do that by crying foul and causing whatever ruckus they can make.

Click to expand...

Remember when Tom Cotton (R-AR) decided to block an Obama appointment for two years until the person in question died just to "inflict personal pain"? (See: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...died-after-waiting-two-years-for-confirmation ) Because, honestly, I'm yet to see any Democrat ever doing something like that.

In fact, when was the last time someone managed to block a legitimate Supreme Court apointee for an entire year just for pure partisan gain? Ah, yes, Mitch McConnell, during Obama's last year. I guess democratic presidents aren't allowed to appoint SC justices!

Heck, the Democrats even tried to impeach Trump BEFORE he got elected

Click to expand...

That is literally a lie. Please tell me where you heard that lie so I may prove that whatever you heard about it is false.

At least the Republicans are trying to do work.

Click to expand...

Yeah, they sure tried to take away basic healthcare, kill Medicaid and remove protections for people with preexisting conditions. They also sure managed to cut taxes for companies, giving the richest of the rich a windfall in exchange for a $1tn deficit. They also killed regulations to prevent the destruction of life on planet Earth through climate change, and, um, put kids in jail after separating them from their parents?
I mean, they sure are doing things, but looking at the menu, I'd rather they didn't do anything.

Ivysaur said:

Yeah, just ask Senator Al Franken about his sexual abuse allegations- oh wait no, he was kicked out of his seat after the allegations came out. I'm sorry, but this year the only rapist is in one side.

Click to expand...

There was proof of Franken's groping in the form of pictures and immediate complaints (when the event occurred and not 30+ yrs later) that could actually be verified. Franken and victim in picture with comments like "I can't believe he grabbed my ass. Pervert!"

None of Ford's witnesses corroborate the actual event/party and the others seem to be "she told me a few years ago/recently and I believe her" type witnesses.

As far as the gang rape witness, that's so unbelievable as to be the plot to an 80s movie. Multiple gang rapes at these parties. No victims known, didn't actually witness the rapes herself, didn't report these rapes, kept going back to these parties, etc.
Innocent until proven guilty. Didn't meet that threshold. Couldn't even prove it "likely happened" as Collins put it.

Ha ha remember when the worst thing about Kavanaugh was his bad financial skills and not that he's probably a rapist, good times.

Trev said:

Ha ha remember when the worst thing about Kavanaugh was his bad financial skills and not that he's probably a rapist, good times.

Click to expand...

Ha ha, remember when evidence used to matter in such accusations?

Ivysaur said:

And I just want to say, if anybody is angry to have a rabid Republican partisan who also happens to be an (attempted) rapist on the Supreme Court, just vote Democratic in November.

Click to expand...

I will be, but probably not the way you're hoping.

Trev said:

Ha ha remember when the worst thing about Kavanaugh was his bad financial skills and not that he's probably a rapist, good times.

Click to expand...

I feel like we watched a different hearing. Was the person with the sketchy memory (she changed her story several times), the list of witnesses who all said they had no idea what she was talking about, and who was constantly surrounded by DNC politicians, lawyers, and supporters talking into her ear really so convincing? Because I just wasn't feeling it. It seemed like a textbook smear campaign, and given the poll numbers I posted in the other thread (which again, showed weighted and unweighted averages over the course of several weeks, not just one single source), I don't think I'm the only one.

The real irony here is that I'm not a huge fan of Kavanaugh. I agree with Ivysaur's first point: he's absolutely a partisan with clear bias and I think it's a sad joke to nominate him to replace Kennedy, one of the most nuanced and moderate justices on the bench. I think Kavanaugh would have been pushed through no matter what the Democrats did, but I think they would have come out of it looking a lot better to undecided/on the fence voters if they chose to focus more on how he's unprofessional and hyper-partisan. I think all they accomplished with the Ford accusation is making him look more sympathetic to people who aren't fond of false accusations (and considering the Democrats used to be champions of overturning false accusations, that plays well with a lot of former Dems). It was a bad move politically and I think they're going to get hammered at the voting booth for it.

Honestly my biggest peeve with the Ford case is that the complete focus of his nomination changed from his competency as a nonpartisan judge to his past as a shitty young adult. I don't want to state an opinion on Ford but I feel like it honestly hurt the dems more than it helped them. Kavanaugh's senate hearings were an absolute joke and instead of throwing his own opinion forward just referenced what the Supreme Court did in the past.

To me, his initial hearing should have been the focus because after seeing his responses to the questioning he was just not fit for the job, but at the end of the day that's just not what happened.

It's a shame.

I did not have much of an opinion about Kavanaugh (I never had even heard of him until the pick was presented), and just thought that as long as SCOTUS wasn't going to bend to the Democrats' will (I oppose almost everything the Democrats believe in), it didn't matter to me who was on the court. But after what happened with Ford, I just come to the conclusion that if the Democrats don't want a certain something, it MIGHT be ok to have it (though I think the Dems and I do agree that extreme doctrines like communism don't work).

Hm.

While it's possible that the Kavanaugh hearings might've hurt the Democrats, I'm not sure it's quite as bad as some people are making it out to be in this thread. I think what needs to be considered was that throughout this entire debacle, Kavanaugh was a deeply controversial and partisan figure. This goes without saying of course, but I think even among your average everyday voter, his approval ratings are pretty much what you'd expect among both Republicans and Democrats.

It can also be said that his confirmation can be a boost in motivation for pro-abortion activists. All in all, I'd hesitate in drawing a full picture of gloom and doom for the Dems because the data doesn't quite support that conclusion. Their House chances are about as good as they've ever been, and their Senate chances are about as medicore/bad as they've ever been. The Senate was always going to be a long shot to win, and the House was always going to be Dem-favoured, anyway.

In short, the Kavanaugh confirmation basically moved the needle in a predictable direction, to the benefit of both Democrats and Republicans. I don't believe this will end up hurting Dems long-term because Net Neutrality is still something that's a sore spot with a lot of people that I think will be stressed ad nauseum, among other issues but not certainly limited to Kavanaugh himself.

Y'all literally act like I toted out a neon sign saying "Kavanaugh is a huge rapist." I said "probably" since there was no official conclusion reached - read my actual words next time.