The first act was different: Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill
If Kavanaugh and Ford is the second act, Thomas and Hill was the first.
Please don’t quibble with me. I know that Bork preceded that. But I’m talking about sexual allegations mounted against a SCOTUS nominee after the initial hearings, precipitating a call for more hearings, in which the public would be invited to decide about the truth or falsehood of a “he-said/she-said” set of allegations and vociferous denials.
So, what were the differences? Well, one big difference has been intervening events. After Thomas and Hill we had the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the escalation and success of various sexual allegations against many politicians (Herman Cain, just to take one example, and Roy Moore, to take another), and the well-publicized #MeToo movement.
Another big difference is that there was a much-watched hearing in which Anita Hill did testify; we don’t know yet if Ford’s refusal to testify will stand, but at the moment it seems to be that way. Another difference is that while Hill’s allegations were old—as much as ten years old—they were nowhere near as old and potentially unverifiable as Ford’s (approximately thirty-six years old). Another difference is that both Hill and Thomas were fully adult rather than teenagers at the time the events were said to have transpired, and therefore they reflected their adult behavior and personalities.
But another difference I did not initially remember, but one that I discovered when I looked the Thomas hearings up recently in light of current events, is that Clarence Thomas was confirmed despite the fact that the Democrats controlled the Senate 57 to 43 at the time:
The final floor vote was not strictly along party lines: 41 Republicans and 11 Democrats (Dixon (D-IL), Exon (D-NE), DeConcini (D-AZ), Robb (D-VA), Hollings (D-SC), Fowler (D-GA), Nunn (D-GA), Breaux (D-LA), Johnston (D-LA), Boren (D-OK), and Shelby (D-AL) now (R-AL)) voted to confirm while 46 Democrats and 2 Republicans (Jeffords (R-VT) later (I-VT) and Packwood (R-OR)) voted to reject the nomination; John Glenn was particularly vituperative in his rejection. Ironically Packwood himself would later be engulfed by sexual harassment allegations which ended his Senate career.
Can anyone imagine that happening today?
I think it’s a sign of the obvious change in the political climate in the 27 years since those hearings occurred that I, for one, cannot even imagine such a thing happening today. There are not eleven Democrats who would vote for Kavanaugh (or Thomas, for that matter) if the Democrats held the majority in the Senate and had the power to deny either man the right to be a member of the Supreme Court.
Granted, since the Republicans control (barely) the Senate right now, some Democrats in reddish states might yet vote to confirm Kavanaugh, since they know they can’t stop him by voting “no,” and if they feel that a “no” vote would be political suicide. Live to fight another day and all that. But I cannot believe that, if the Democrats had a chance to stop him, eleven (or any number close to that) would hesitate to do so.
The times they have a-changed, and not for the better.
from MS magazine the anita hill rememberances for ME too, but even more important, the current: we present 34 statements by feminist leaders and lawmakers forming a front line in the fight against Kavanaugh’s nomination. [below the lead up]
new thread within minutes of my posting on the other one!!!
(like the coin in rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead!!!!!!!)
glad you brought it up, as this was one of the reasons
we jokingly created MGTOW and even made up logos and stuff as a inside joke…
yes.. and THAT was the feminists TOO…
ok, we now know we HAVE To follow the ladies side..
so from MS blog
We’ve Been Here Before: Revisiting Anita Hill’s Testimony in the Midst of #MeToo
http://msmagazine.com/blog/2017/12/05/weve-revisiting-anita-hills-testimony-midst-metoo/
That’s when Barbara Boxer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Pat Schroeder, Nita Lowey, Patsy Mink, Jolene Unsoeld and Louise Slaughter made their way to the Senate and knocked at the door—only to be told that they couldn’t enter. “If you don’t let us in,” Boxer responded to Democratic leader George Mitchell’s assistant, “you see all those cameras down there? They’re going to wonder why we came back down.” Fearing a media nightmare, Mitchell came to speak with the female lawmakers; eventually, the women were given the opportunity to express their frustration to Senator Biden, whom they urged to allow Hill to testify before the Judiciary Committee.
all the major feminists of the period…
and just so we dont say the wrong thing, think the wrong thing, they have it covered now too..
Feminists Respond to President Trump’s Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
ok.. now we know who is invalidated… the villians…
no jew can have a valid opinion in a leftist nazi court where gender replaces race!
no doubt in womens minds…
if your a woman and dont agree, your not a REAL woman…
ah, you see paranoid victims ALWAYS know what the villian thinks which is why they always get to escape and are never trapped… of course i have mentioned this writing style of women where they take both sides of an argument wrestle with themselves and always come up on the winning side…
dont worry. they have not yet clued in the white women that they are the next victims… ie. if you want to get rid of white males forever, you better get rid if all the white ladies, or else they might make more… and white women having babies is as evil as jewish women having babies… no? les see what they say in their own compiled lists..
the next post…
the actual 34 world views that they are painting for young women, not old women who are dying out, but young women, their army..
I remember the Anita Hill hearings. I was younger and much more inclined to believe her. In fact, I did believe her until it came out that she refused a promotion with higher pay in another department. She testified that she was upset, scared, and felt trapped by Clarence Thomas’s sexual harassment – yet when given a way out she chose to keep working with him. I have experienced sexual harassment myself and there is NO way that she would stay if she was being harassed. That was the first time I realized that people would blatently lie for political purposes. It was the genisis of my cynicism, which has only increased with time.
watch how the leaders instill fear into their victim class
[if its multiple times, sorry, cant tell if neo is deleting it, editing it, spaminator, etc… can be any of them… sorry]
[i edited it down to save space and not get cut out… easiest way to win, use scissors.
why do you think stalin and those erased and kept opposition opinion out?]
MEN SHUT UP… you have no valid opinion… [two congresscritters said so!!!!]
stop Mansplaining…
just as a certain german instilled fear into the greater number of women in germany after the men died in WWI, and so, were afraid and voted for a strong leader… which the feminists deny… and have written tons of books to show otherwise..
not like they havent hid things before… or even not blown up things with bombs!
Debra Hauser, Advocates for Youth: Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court is just another capitulation to the far-right fringe that has hijacked our judicial system—where it seeks to cement the Trump administration’s persecution of women, people of color, and LGBTQ people… [snip]
[doesnt that just make you want to run out and give her more money!]
Nan Aron, Alliance for Justice:
Kavanaugh has established a record that shows his lack of commitment to consumers’ rights, workers’ rights, clean air and water, and the fundamental principle that no President is above the law. His confirmation would definitively shift the balance of the Court and turn the clock back on our rights and liberties for the next generation.
[snip]
Nancy Northup, Center for Reproductive Rights:
Roe is the foundation for a broad swath of constitutional law that protects our right to make decisions about marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child-rearing and education, and more. [snip] Justice Gorsuch evaded questions during his confirmation hearing and has since proven dangerously hostile to a host of civil rights—from workers’ rights to voting rights. That cannot happen again. [snip]
Who knew that killing a pre term baby was soooooo good!!!
they did!!!!
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL): …..or that he [Trump] promised to only nominate Justices who would put the government back in between women and their doctors.
[snip]
Stephanie Schriock, EMILY’s List: Any nominee—including Kavanaugh, handpicked by right-wing groups for his views on abortion rights, among other issues—who supports overturning Roe or placing even further restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health care is unfit to serve the American people; full stop.
[snip]
Jess Davidson, End Rape on Campus:
If confirmed, Kavanaugh will have ample opportunity to put forth an anti-LGBTQIA agenda, and to restrict equal health care access for those who need it most.
[snip]
Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority:
Kavanaugh was handpicked by the right-wing, anti-reproductive rights Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation….. [snip] if Kavanaugh is confirmed, we could be just a short time away from abortion being outlawed and criminalized in over half the country. That means states could prosecute and imprison doctors and nurses who perform abortions, as well as women who have them
[snip]
Gabby Giffords, The Giffords Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence: Judge Kavanaugh’s dangerous views on the Second Amendment are far outside the mainstream of even conservative thought and stand in direct opposition to the values and priorities of the vast majority of Americans.
[edited for length by n]
My husband was raised in Wisconsin, where his father, a conservative Republican, corresponded with Sen. William Proxmire (D). Proxmire answered his letters, and they had mutual respect and constructive discussions, despite their differences. Those moderate, reasonable Democrats are gone. Any who might tend that way are brought into line by leadership sanctions.
I was a child in 91, I do remember seeing something about the confirmation hearing on TV even though I didn’t understand anything about it. the only recollection i have regarding the case was seeing on TV a white condescending looking racist azzhole bullying a sad looking black man in some sort of court room setting. It is only recently that I stumbled upon the hearing again on Youtube and the racist white man I remember was JOE BIDEN. How funny is it that when you let an innocent child with absolutely no understanding of politics watch a typical political proceeding in America he could easily tell democrats were the racist. The way Joe Biden looked at Clarence Thomas is exactly how a racist would look at a black man.
I am glad that he became the VP of Obama, must be bad karma catching up with him that he had to serve a black boss for 8 years, must had been h**l for him, he did well though in concealing his sadness.
I didn’t really follow the case, but when I learned that she moved to a new position under him, I figured she was lying. No one with any options would stick around a true harasser.
I noticed in the list of 11 democrats that voted in favor of Thomas that all but two Senators were from southern and mid-west states.
Zell Miller may have been the last principled Congressional democrat. Some may remember his heartfelt speech at the 2004 Republican convention where he declared his support for Bush over Kerry.
The blue dogs have all been asphyxiated, politically speaking. Conservative Dems used to be an actual thing.
Now that the Marxists and anarchists are in the vanguard, it is amazing to me that much of the duplicity and subterfuge is either barely disguised or out in the open.
I was 21.
It was the year I switched from liberal to conservative and I was glued to the TV watching those hearings.
Good to see Grassley sticking to the Monday timeline.
Anita Hill wants the Senate to “pause”
https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/09/19/anita-hill-calls-for-senate-judiciary-committee-to-push-the-pause-button-on-kavanaugh-confirmation/
Neo, first time commentator and wanted to thank you for the posts.
I’m wondering if these attacks, on Kavanaugh in the future, and on Thomas already, could affect their judging. Imagine a law important to the Democratic party comes before the Supreme Court again. Many Supreme Court cases are close calls where reasonable jurists could disagree on it’s validity and rule either way. And during those times, will the fact that the one side is associated with people that libeled your name nationwide without any qualms (or apologies) have any sort of implicit impact?
Ignatz – good question.
Judges should be unbiased, but everybody is human.
We know the four Lefties don’t let bias slow them down, and Kennedy was a total squish.
There has been speculation that Trump would govern far more to the left if the Left hadn’t spent so much effort dissing him so spectacularly.
@ Neo – I liked the way you wrote “Don’t quibble with me.” Rah!
@ AesopFan. Yes, Trump was in favor of heavy taxes on the ultra-wealthy, praised Planned Parenthood, and was the most gay-friendly presidential candidate in the history of the US. I think you are correct that if the Left hadn’t attacked him so insanely, they would have seen lots of things to their liking in his presidency. It was largely their attacks which elected him, though, so we have no way of knowing.
Assistant Village Idiot on September 20, 2018 at 12:09 pm at 12:09 pm said:
… I think you are correct that if the Left hadn’t attacked him so insanely, they would have seen lots of things to their liking in his presidency. It was largely their attacks which elected him, though, so we have no way of knowing.
* * *
Just goes to show what getting set on a tactic (Clinton) rather than a strategy (agenda) will do for / to you.
IMHO, Hillary was such a sunk cost for the Left that they had no choice but to continue to back her.