If Kavanaugh has any decency, or respect for the Supreme Court he would step down. There was not a smidgen of humility or apology in his article, it was an arrogant whine, and a thinly veiled demand no less: my privilege entitles me to this position. Move along.
4
Sexual assault is heinous. It is such a heinous allegation that simply making it has the snowball effect of destroying one's life. It is JUST AN ALLEGATION. I'm not here to pour of every drop of the evidence which did not exist. This isn't a "the glove doesn't fit" moment..this is a "not a shred of evidence that corroborates this can be found" moment. But when you read every mainstream news article available basically the lines have already been drawn. Ford is the victim and Kavanaugh the vile perpetrator. What if someone went to HR just before you got that promotion & accused you of sexual assault? What would you say? Surely, you would say that is crazy! But everyone would believe her anyway. You would say "There is no evidence!" (you might even be a little emotional, feeling betrayed, and downright mad) and they will say "but she sounds convincing" & everyone in the office now treats you differently, give you awkward looks, stop inviting you to those after work functions..your wife and kids are embarrassed at the thought of it & harassed at work & school. You surely wont get that promotion and you will probably lose your job...This is why I support Brett Kavanaugh. Because I do not want to live in a world where people make egregious allegations against others and succeed in destroying their lives without a drop of evidence. I certainly don't want my kids to live in that world. I will support brett kavanaugh if only to resist the world of guilty until proven innocent.
2
“You can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career,”. Exactly. Continue to be a Republican hack with contempt for Democrats and liberals and possessing paranoid fantasies about the Clintons.
6
This is my first post ever to a comments section. I read Brett Kavanaugh's op ed in the Wall Street Journal. The piece just adds, in my view, to growing list of reasons Kavanaugh is unfit for the supreme court. Any one that has a reasonable emotional IQ knows that the way to apologize is to apologize FIRST and then explain what you are going to do to make things right. NOT to defend your position first, then half heartedly apologize and never explain how you are going to make things right. I would expect a supreme court justice to have a very high emotional IQ. I am confident in this great land there is a person with sterling credentials and the ability with grace challenging circumstanced. It will be a shame if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed...
6
So if I go in for a job interview and verbally attack my interviewer(s), am I allowed to later write a letter explaining that I shouldn’t have said what I said and acted the way I did?
5
He lied to elevate himself onto the Supreme Court. He has no ethics, no moral compass, no principles. Just like Clarence Thomas.
5
They say a zebra can't change his stripes... and Kavanaugh's op-ed can't whitewash his extreme partisanship. It comes out under stress because that is his true persona. Totally inappropriate for anyone destined for the Supreme Court.
1
Apparently Judge Kavanaugh wants a Mulligan on the job interview. SO let's do it. This time let's have a hearing where the Judiciary Committee has all of the documents regarding his work as a Republican political hack,personal financial records to explain his sudden affluence, his student disciplinary records from Georgetown Prep, the witnesses who have spoken about his behavior as a student at Yale, as well as all three of the women who made credible allegations against him. He can appear and show us how calm, unbiased, and honest he is. How about it, Judge?
2
Sorry baby! I didn't mean to hit you like that. It's just you were being so... It was just I get emotional when you... It's just you get me so angry sometimes. I really didn't mean to hurt you. No, I love you, I won't ever hit you again.
3
He did a few things he should not have done.
Brett wrote in WSJ: "a good judge must be an umpire—a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no political party, litigant or policy."
Brett has shown himself to be neither neutral nor impartial during the hearings. He has a troubling partiality that borders on rage and hatred, as evidenced by his outbursts, accusations, and conspiracy theories.
2
Did he sexually assault Dr. Ford? I don't know. I don't see any reason to doubt Dr. Ford's account but I also don't see enough evidence to say for sure. With that said, Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony demonstrated to me 3 reasons he should not be appointed:
1) He lied repeatedly under oath about his drinking and partying history. There is plenty of evidence (firsthand accounts, yearbook, calendar, etc.) that Brett Kavanaugh drank heavily and partied often. People that lie about small things usually lie about big things. His statements in his Fox interview about focusing on academics, sports and church were a joke.
2) He displayed a level of anger that is not acceptable for a judge on the U.S. Supreme Court. I understand that the level of partisan politics in DC is out of control. Brett Kavanaugh had to expect that this process would still be influenced by anger over Merrick Garland. He had a chance to demonstrate how he handled pressure, and he failed.
3) He showed a level of partisanship that cannot be part of our judicial system. This was (or should have been) an investigation into legitimate complaints of a sexual assault. This was not some well-funded liberal conspiracy plot devised by Hillary.
It is not too late to appoint a better candidate.
3
Kavanaugh was undoubtedly counciled by McConnell et al to brandish maximim rage & anger. My experience with intelligent Republicans leads me to understand that seems to be a pattern. When cornered by reason, they have learned that rage gets them out sometimes.
Lindsey Graham used rage to ameliorate some of Kavanaugh's catastrophic, paranoid testimony.
3
Let's be real. Anyone who is innocent and has to speak publicly to a group that really isn't interested in whether you are in fact innocent has the right to lose their cool. Period. I don't blame him one bit for getting riled up. Heck, I'd be pounding the desk and spitting nails.
And he's right in saying what what goes around comes around. Those accusers will be put to their own test and it's happening already.
I'm glad I got to see this side of the Judge because I'm not more confident he will fight like heck for our Constitution.
I stand firm with Kavanaugh.
I understand and empathize that he was angry and pained and felt humiliated as Judge, husband, father and son. But that in no way justifies or excuses his behavior, demeanor, or his vicious partisan attacks and disrespect of Senate members.
This is white-male-privilege, writ large, expecting as due and entitlement to be forgiven and get a second chance as a matter of course, something that is rarely if ever afforded to (not even expected by, such is the system) people who are not in this category.
There are people who have been wrongly accused and are fighting for their lives who have more dignity, decorum and self-control on the stand than he displayed. https://www.innocenceproject.org/ And, moreover, they are expected to on pain of severe penalty.
I will believe him when he has the intelligence and courage to withdraw. It would be the right thing to do following the example of Dr Ford's extraordinary show of intelligence and courage. But if he had those qualities to begin with we would not be here.
2
So, now, as he prepares to accept a lifetime seat on the nation’s highest court, Judge Kavanaugh concedes—via an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal—that he regrets having voiced a “few” things he should not have said en route to his destined appointment.
“I hope,” he explained, “everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
How could we not, when he and his backers invoked each of those identities as an irrefutable corollary to his impeccable professional credentials?
No, more difficult to comprehend than the tenor and tenacity of Mr. Kavanaugh’s televised defense is the exact nature of his eleventh-hour remorse.
Does it stem from a recognition of the costs that his friends and family endured while he focused on his life-long ambition? Or for the pain that the brutal confirmation process inflicted on others outside his orb, deepening already ominous social rifts into what now seem an unbridgeable divide.
Or is it for the self-inflicted damage that was done to his pristine personal brand, something he has long burnished with formidable abandon.
Or is it even larger?
This much seems clear. Over the past two years, regard for all three branches of the American government has waned, as public officials show themselves increasingly captive to private concerns and personal priorities. If serving the Supreme Court is Mr. Kavanaugh’s goal, he can best do that and thereby honor himself, by withdrawing his name from nomination.
Kavanaugh was there as a "son, husband, and dad" when he should have really been there as a potential Supreme Court justice. We expect a lot from that position.
2
So, now, as he prepares to accept a lifetime seat on the nation’s highest court, Judge Kavanaugh concedes—via an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal—that he regrets having voiced a “few” things he should not have said en route to his presumptive appointment.
“I hope,” he explained, “everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
How could we not, when he and his backers invoked each of those identities as a compelling personal corollary to his impeccable professional credentials?
No, more difficult to comprehend than the temper and tenacity of Mr. Kavanaugh’s televised defense is the exact nature of his 11th-hour remorse.
Does it stem from a recognition of the costs endured by his family and friends while he focused so firmly on pursuit of his life-long ambitions? Or for the pain that the brutal confirmation process inflicted on others outside his orb, opening already ominous social rifts into what now seems a cavernous divide. Or for the self-inflicted damage done to his pristine personal brand, something he long burnished with formidable abandon.
Or are the origins perhaps even larger?
This much seems clear. Regard for every branch of the American government has waned, as public officials show themselves increasingly captive to private concerns and personal priorities. If serving the Supreme Court is Mr. Kavanaugh’s ultimate goal, he can best do that--and truly bring honor to himself--by withdrawing his nomination to become a member.
2
No, Mr. Kavanaugh, you said a lot of things you should not have said and behaved in a manner that was unbecoming and unseemly in a judge at any level.
We've seen who you really are and it's not pretty. An op-ed is not enough to change our minds, even if you are confirmed as a justice. I hope you are not. We can do better and we deserve better.
I was really hoping to be reassured by Kavanaugh's op-ed. But if anything, I found it more troubling.
I've tried to reserve judgement about the allegations against Kavanaugh. But by referring to himself as the target of "vicious allegations", Kavanaugh continues to play the victim of a fabricated "schmear campaign", as he indirectly vilifies Dr. Ford and Democrats. He suggests that his behavior last Thurs., which included lying repeatedly under oath, spewing dangerously partisan conspiracy theories, and making partisan threats was justified. It was not.
Kavanaugh knows that his confirmation will divide the country more than it already is. But as usual, he made his op-ed piece all about him, his victimization, his entitlement and his martyrdom. Zero empathy for victims of sexual assault. One might argue that he did not owe it to anyone to show that empathy. But it would've helped towards some kind of healing for a country that is bitterly divided.
1
I think Judge Kavanaugh gave us a glimpse into the privileged, better than the rest of us, snotty, spoiled, entitled world he grew up in. Even if he has completely rehabilitated himself, the failure to acknowledge what he most certainly did shows a frail character ("what goes around comes around"). If it comes out later that his accusers are credible and they have corroborating witnesses that the FBI was not able to interview then Kavanaugh must be impeached. For perjury and for not taking his opportunity to show us his regret for his actions and never apologizing. I am so disappointed in the complete collapse of moral outrage on the Republican side. The country should always come before the party and the President.
2
“I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said."
Can you imagine the reaction if those words had been written by a woman applying for a job as, well, anything?
5
One who protests so much...not bewildered, but belligerent, not introspectuve, but aggressively pushing all “that” behind in order to keep his “reputation” and ascend to the highest court in the land; fight or flight is a scary thing for the caught con, and this penultimate over-achiever with a Jeckyl side, will fight to win, otherwise, he believes he will disappear. How often did he scream he, his family, loved ones, friends lives had been destroyed? Flight would be an admission of some quilt in his mind, and this guy is desperate for one thing and one thing only: getting what he thinks he deserves. No questions should be asked. End of story. Get out of my way.
Sure sounds familiar.
Kavanaugh's op ed piece suggests that everything he said previously was 'spontaneous'. It was a prepared statement, written specifically for the hearing. It was neither 'spontaneous' nor in response to anything said at the time.
During the hearing he was angry and accusatory, flinging around well worn stereotypes. That performance alone was enough to disqualify him
Before Dr. Ford's announcement Kavanaugh appeared to be a man who felt assured of his appointment, given the senate makeup. He was courteous and comfortable with Trump. I would venture to say he felt 'entitled' to this step in his wonderful career. That flipped quickly.
His op ed piece gave political cover to some of the wavering repubs and helped dispel Trump's doubts. A reminder; Trump chose Kavanaugh because of his legal opinion that sitting presidents should not be indicted. He was not on the list of 12 provided by 'plow thru' McConnell and the other old men.
The democrats should have included much more of K's legal history instead of focusing on the sexual issue, serious and horrible as it is.
It's over.
If a few repubs in the senate see the light, K will be gone. Perhaps, given his status, if he decides to admit his problem, he could advise and help others.
But if enough repubs continue to find solace in denial and ignorance, K will be a justice. He will not know a day of peace, and many cases brought before him will demand his reclusal.
Is that what anyone wants ?
I was really hoping to be reassured by Kavanaugh's piece op-ed. But if anything, I found it more troubling.
I've tried to reserve judgement about the allegations against Kavanaugh. But by referring to himself as the target of "vicious allegations", Kavanaugh continues to play the victim of a fabricated "schmear campaign", as he indirectly vilifies Dr. Ford and Democrats. He suggests that his behavior last Thurs., which included lying repeatedly under oath, spewing dangerously partisan conspiracy theories, and making partisan threats was justified. It was not.
Kavanaugh knows that his confirmation will divide the country more than it already is. But as usual, he made his op-ed piece all about him, his victimization, his entitlement and his martyrdom. Zero empathy for victims of sexual assault. One might argue that he did not owe it to anyone to show that empathy. But it would've helped towards some kind of healing for a country that is bitterly divided.
I was really hoping to be reassured by Kavanaugh's op-ed. But if anything, I found it more troubling.
I've tried to reserve judgement about the allegations against Kavanaugh. But by referring to himself as the target of "vicious allegations", Kavanaugh continues to play the victim of a fabricated "schmear campaign", as he indirectly vilifies Dr. Ford and Democrats. He suggests that his behavior last Thurs., which included lying repeatedly under oath, spewing dangerously partisan conspiracy theories, and making partisan threats was justified. It was not.
Kavanaugh knows that his confirmation will divide the country more than it already is. But as usual, he made his op-ed piece all about him, his victimization, his entitlement and his martyrdom. Zero empathy for victims of sexual assault. One might argue that he did not owe it to anyone to show that empathy. But it would've helped towards some kind of healing for a country that is bitterly divided.
Exactly. Kavanaugh was not at the hearing as a judge. He was there as a man falsely accused defending himself.
Kavanaugh's defense of family & country was a cri de coeur. He had never exhibited animus toward the Left. To the contrary
Assume his cabal-of-assassins theory is true
Then Tribe's op-ed—& the 2.4k-lawyers’ letter—are the coup de grâce
There is a dizzying circularity to Tribe's argument, a fundamental unfairness, a denial of constitutional protection: Recusal writ large is de facto denial of the seat. Denial of the seat caused by a cabal of one's assassins is a denial of fundamental Lockean rights
Tribe's subliminal message, spiked w/ excommunicable-article-of-faith catalyst—abortion as sacrosanct—is meant to dislodge Kavanaugh's most steadfast support
Required recusal writ large nullifies the appointment, violates the 5th Amendment in spirit & destroys a life of good works
The problem w/ Tribe's argument is its false premise, (which he slyly acknowledges in his caveat). In the new D world order, recusal is old hat
Some notable non-recusers—Mueller, Comey, Rosenstein, &, more to the point, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who trashed Trump preemptively during the campaign. Ginsburg punctuated her stream-of-consciousness rant with expatriation to New Zealand, which suggests that on some level she understood her need to recuse
Finally, most alarming about Prof. Tribe's deconstruction: Tribe doesn't seem to notice the depravity of the Left, or that it just killed The Court
1
Not only did she fail pretty much all measure of legitamacy with the teenage girl voice, but I would like to point out that, if the music was turned up by Judge, the sound system must have been in the room. If they then closed the door, surely no one else in the party would be able to hear the music as before and might, have noticed.
@Francis
If you choose to disbelieve adults with teenage girl voices does that mean you also disbelieve Lindsey Graham?
6
You were terrific! After what they did to you, you had every right to be filled with rage
Old man Fred Trump would have told The Donald that he would only kill his own golden goose by running for president too.
1
I'm sure he did things he wishes he had not. As a judge, once you say things, it's done. As should his nomination. It's not like there is no one else available. .
2
Exactly how has his family been "destroyed?"
2
@dr. c.c. I probably feel more compassion for them than he feels for Dr. Ford.
His testimony was carefully planned and scripted, including, I believe, the histrionics. It didn't go over well in most quarters so he's walking it all back. Or trying to.
5
"I am an independent and impartial jurist". - Bret Kavanaugh
" I am not a crook". - Richard Nixon
Yeah, right.
4
Yes judge , you did say some bad things, but you carefully, deliberately wrote, then vetted the things you said. You are in fact a partisan hack with an impressive judicial record. Your eventual confirmation will do nothing but sully the reputation of the court the way yours has been sullied. Sad day for America.
6
@Paul P: Except the guy has never tried a real case in a court of fact determination. I wonder if he has ever been on a jury.
A puppet for 45, an avowed liar, a man who voted against healthcare for women and children a man who sides with big business, an avowed liar. The republicans are tone deaf.
6
I doubt that there is anything Kavanaugh could have written that would change the opinion of those currently opposed to him. However, this editorial was definitely not it. In fact it is one of the most feeble attempts at an apology I have ever seen. Some here have equated it to the response of an abusive spouse where a whole bunch of circumstances made him do "it". Some just called it mediocre. But if you read the editorial you will not find the word sorry or the word apology. There is still a sense of entitlement, faults of others and the notion of all his good works. You will also not find any reference to Dr. Ford, not one. Mr Kavanaugh, the definition of an apology is "a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure", please take a little more time for reflection and less equivocating.
35
When I was on the hiring assessment team for my company a key part of the process was to have applicants take part in some role playing exercises that put them under stress to see how they reacted and how they treated other participants because that is when they show their true self. It was interesting to see how many people on the surface appeared to be very good candidates but were weeded out after it became obvious how they lacked integrity and were nadty and unfair to others Kavanaugh failed the test miserably He should not be on the Supreme Court.
3
I think Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed within the next two weeks. Most likely, he (like Clarence Thomas) will keep his head down and prove himself to be a competent, but not noteworthy Supreme Court justice. The media and the public will largely and quickly forget Kavanaugh and move on the next scandal on Capital Hill.
Extremely sad, but true.
I think we saw the real belligerent, entitled Kavenaugh. If he does get on to the SC, I can only wish him years of misery.
4
I think your average WSJ subscriber thinks Kavanaugh is the true victim and is amazed at how gracious he is to apologize even though he is the one who was actually viciously assaulted by the bad, scary and intimidating Dr.Ford.
5
I would like to add that Judge Kavanaugh
has been a pawn in an ugly political fight.
As a liberal, a Democrat and a woman,
I feel that the Democratic Party has let
me down. I expected better from them.
My Senator has looked foolish, holding
on to a letter with allegations that she
did not honestly confront. Professor Ford
should have honestly come forward without
the unnecessary drama. At her hearing she
was not at all credible (to me). Judge Kavanaugh
has been trashed by unproven allegations.
His emotional reaction was a human reaction
and he had the grace and bravery to criticize
himself. I hope that he will be confirmed
and will find forgiveness in his heart
I only wish him well.
Really now, do any of the commentators here actually believe that any GOP Senator is going to read and pay any attention to this article or your (or my comments)? This is all theater of the absurd and we have seen this farce played out too often to be taken in. The fix has been in from day one.
4
After DOZENS of hours and days of prepping, coaching and rehearsing at the White House, Kavanaugh still "said a few things I should not have said." If he lies under oath about little things like defining 'devil's triangle' and 'Renate alumni,' stands to reason he's lying about bigger issues.
5
this should not be so. he lied under oath. is sm alcoholic with vanished gambling debts. he hates for pleasure those who are less fortunate or just simply one of millions. he does not want women to choose their own destinies. he does not want immigrants to enter. not if they are fleeing without credit cards... do our words matter ? does anyone have any rights anymore. ? the polluters have won. the banks have won. the religious right has finally won. they comprise a small portion of americans and yet they will now rule our bodies. the christian right tell us that science is wrong. women who cry rape are wrong children who are starving are starving because their parents are bad as deemed by god. this is not the end of the fight. it is the beginning. fight for our rights. the presidents fbi investigation is a sham and we all know it. wray should resign.
2
This hearing has turned into a referendum on the Democrats embrace of identity politics, not the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice.
Judge Kavanaugh's record regarding is widely known, 12 years on the appellate court should be sufficient to reveal his temperament.
The game played by the extreme left and the identity politics movement is fairly straightforward: bring up a grievance, intimate that no one else will understand, label the subject with some pejorative, demand 'justice' by eliminating the subject. Send out activists to yell, scream, and shout out any other opinion; avoid traditional means to conflict resolution, such as courts or reason, by shouting down opponents. Fairness and decency are sacrificed.
While this may successfully result in the extreme end of the Democratic base supporting the party, it alienates Independents and Moderates...so the Dem's win NOTHING.
Lessons of the 2016 Presidential elections were ignored and are being repeated here. Will not be surprised to see Republicans retain control of the Senate.
4
@D
Pretty accurate description. Except that the extreme end you speak of is actually the democratic establishment who, these days, occupy higher tax brackets. Identity politics keep working class democrats and true progressives from getting any serious economic reforms passed. Independents liked Bernie even more than Trump. If the DNC didn't stop Bernie he would be president right now. The democratic nomination has ALWAYS been the real ballgame - not the general election.
1
To Brett Kavanaugh:
Maybe we, lousy liberals, are guilty of not presuming innocence until proven guilty. But in your courtroom would you hasten to make a weighty decision based on the scant evidence presented in the FBI report ? Does that not show more about your ambition than your respect for justice? If you are innocent and believe in fair play and that someone sexually assaulted Dr. Blasey Ford, then why were you silent when the President so cruelly mocked her? Where was your compassion toward the victim?
A sceptic
4
Judge Kavanaugh spoke about how important certain virtues wher when he spoke to an audience at an earlier event. He set a bar that he clearly did not live up to with his time in front of the committee and the American people. If he is confirmed he will not by his own standards be a qualified Supreme Court Justice.
No, no he wasn't there as a husband, father, dad. He was there as a candidate for a seat on the highest court in the country.
3
It’s a shame that the Supreme Court Justices don’t get the chance to chime in after a particularly contentious ruling in a national news outlet.
I wonder why that is.
1
The Supreme Court had little legitimacy when it did not try to defuse the question of slavery and save the country from a civil war. It had little legitimacy when it favored Southern positions on race and allowed the South to stifle Reconstruction and preserve white control and the culture of white superiority. It had little legitimacy when it fought FDR's attempts to revive the economy and then retreated when threatened with packing. It had little legitimacy when it decided that artificial people created by states were just as real as white people and much more real than black people rather than economic tools that had only those rights explicitly given to them. It had little legitimacy when it gave the 2000 election to dubya when Gore got more votes nationwide and who won Florida depended on who decided how to count the votes.
Its main role seems to be to assure that important issues are decided by legal nitpicking instead of the national vision embedded in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the Constitution (the national vision that included women and black people even though its authors did not realize this and we, its holders, are still working on understanding it). The Court has occasionally embodied our national vision of liberty and justice for all, but normally ducks the opportunities to do so.
Its lack of the sort of legitimacy we would like it to have is the usual state of affairs.
3
@sdavidc9: Religion was used to rationalize slavery. Africans supposedly deserved it because their dark skin was the mark of Cain.
@sdavidc9: Ideally, this court is a conservator of the meanings of words, so that contracts written in them are unambiguous.
Yes, Judge Kavanaugh said a few things he should not have said. This seems to be part of a long-standing pattern that includes doing things that he should not have done.
The jury is still out on the sexual assault allegation, but the meltdown at his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee is right out there, fully visible to anybody who cares to play the video.
So it is fair to ask the question: "What would you call someone who behaves the way Kavanaugh behaved at his most recent job interview?"
Answer: "Unemployed."
5
@John lebaron
Most job interviews don't include public accusations of sexual assault. You might be doing the work yourself....
1
He regrets ever accepting the nomination. Next!
VOTE!
The Senate isn't a warm, colleagual atmosphere.
After Garland and with Trump's ongoing outrages a nasty process isn't surprising. But, the Democrats didn't invent Ford or Kavanaugh's record of being a drunk. The Democrats didn't invent his apparent lies to Feingold, under oath. They didn't lie about the number of documents withheld. They didn't lie about the rush to get him confirmed before the Republicans risk losing the Senate.
The questioning revealed the true man. And, he turns out to be a standard issue right winger. Nasty, partisan, lying about the Clintons (among other things) and unable to control himself.
This is consistent with how he got to the bench (via working for Ken Starr).
He's not a conservative. He's an extremist.
Now, with his inner man caught on camera, he attempts to backtrack. Add "weasel".
6
@RickP; Even the word "colleague" rings false in the Senate.
I have been watching C-Span now for well over 3 hours.....why hasn't this man's openly lying under oath a bigger deal by the Dems rebuttal? It has been proven he has lied small lies but lies nonetheless and no one seems to care about this. Have we become too used to lying like we breathe?
1
A nominee for the Supreme Court has no business writing defensive articles in the Wall Street Journal, much less appearing on Fox News. This is not a job where you are expected to electioneer. Supreme Court justices do not get “do-overs” if they get it wrong the first time. Do not inflict this immature man on the eight sober and dignified men and women who are serving us so well. They deserve better.
78
Judge Kavanaugh, how dare you invoke your status as a "son, husband and dad" to somehow explain or excuse your behavior before a senate committee and the entire nation? I address you as a son, a husband and a father myself. Speaking primarily on behalf of my mother, my wife and my own daughter, but also on behalf of my father, my brothers and my own son, your carefully prepared testimony and the almost adolescent way in which you delivered it was insulting to women and embarrassing to self respecting, empathetic men everywhere.
7
@Matt: He failed in exactly those roles.
2
@Matt
I think you're too judgmental and presumptious. I don't think you can speak for 'self respecting, empathetic men everywhere'. Righteousness and empathy are usually at odds.
@carl bumba Righteousness and empathy are usually at odds??!! Only if you are referring to SELF righteousness.
His lies about his conduct in high school disqualify him. He claimed to be essentially a choir boy while the truth is he drank and partied heavily. He could have been truthful. He wasn’t. That’s disqualifying. Then his conduct and comments at the Senate hearing disqualify him that much further.
49
@Margaret I've voted for dems and reps in the past...whoever I thought was qualified, not by party. However, in the last two years, the GOP have demonstrated their greed for power has overtaken them. McConnell's aiming for legacy of moving the SCOTUS to the right, regardless of hope for bipartisan or collegial rapport in Congress. I will NOT support the GOP until the majority of these privileged Congressional GOP dinosaurs retire or expire. Bravo to Alaska's Murkowski and NY's Gillibrand for showing courage and conscience despite great pressure.
So tell us, Mr. Kavanaugh (I hesitate to refer to him as "Judge"), if your daughter, or your wife, or your mother tells you that she had been sexually assaulted many years agi, and there was no evidence, no witness, no police report, what would you tell her?
2
When he said, "what goes around, comes around", he made it perfectly clear where he stands.
No one should be allowed to use a position of power for revenge.
60
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” You should have been there as A JUDGE!
3
@Iris Arco: Does his father still live to suffer this spectacle?
Never saw my Dad act like that!
3
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Maya Angelou
3
You are an awful man. Shameless, infantile, entitled, sniveling, and grotesque. Woe to our court and country.
4
Kavanaugh is an ill tempered partisan. The markets are speaking this week and it's very negative
We are grateful for those with courage including Senators Murkowski and Heitkamp. They deserve our praise. These are the people with principles who can distinguish truth from falsehood.
We will stand together for truth. The Democrats need to speak softly but vote boldly.
3
Kavanaugh was no worse than Ginsberg and her political rants. In any case, I applaud him for defending his good name and countering obscene behavior by Senate Democrats. The main takeaway will be that women lie and make false allegations for political purposes. Ford aside, Ramirez and Swetnick were thoroughly debunked and refute, and if they can lie, so can Ford. The co-opting of MeToo for political purposes will besmirch the entire movement.
2
@TL Are you for real? Alcoholics lie. "I've never sleepwalked while drunk!" really takes the cake.
2
no apology, no contrition. can we expect him to regret important decisions he makes on the SCOTUS? Whether or not you believe CBF, this man does not have the temperament of a judge.
The statements written by Kavanaugh are too vague to qualify as a response to the concerns that many have about his judicial disposition, impartiality or even his ability to think critical or engage in self-reflection.
"and I said a few things I should not have said" is not enough. What specifically are statements that you should not have made. Walk us through each of those statements individually and then make us understand that you have reflected on those by stating specifically why it wrong to have said each of those.
Otherwise what he wrote sounds a lot like what forced apology sounds like. Someone tells you that you sounded sharp and that you said things that you shouldn't have said. You respond by saying that you know your tone sounded sharp and you said things you shouldn't have said.
2
How rich. He 'said' some things he shouldn't have said. As if he didn't pen his opening statement. As if he simply misspoke. His hyperpartisan tirade isn't something he has thought deeply about, allegations of sexual assault nothing he actually did, not perjured himself in denying in front of the nation.
This is simply more political theater, by whomever is advising Kavanaugh, designed to make it easier for old white republican men to justify their vote by saying, 'you see, he doesn't lack the temperament. We've already discredited Dr. Blasey (and excluded all from the FBI investigation who might have painted a different picture of Kavanaugh's youthful reminiscences of weightlifting at Tobin's house).
Mitch McConnell bears much of the responsibility for this. He ignored Obama's nominee, and changed the rules so that a divisive candidate like Kavanaugh could squeeze through if his party was in power. There were less divisive candidates even (God forbid) ... women. And he and Grassley have the audacity to blame the minority party. I suppose Trump has raised asserting the opposite to art form, why not? In any case, McConnell should probably wear rubber-soled shoes and avoid going outdoors during electrical storms for a while.
3
@omartraore: There is only one honorable move the Republicans can make now: nominate Merrick Garland in place of Kavanaugh. Fat chance that they will do it.
If he was truly contrite, why did it take him a week to author that op-ed? Like so many of the criminals I dealt with for 20 years, he was sorry about the consequences of his actions,not the action. He suddenly regrets his actions when it looks like he might be denied his "prize". He is not Supreme Court material.
2
He may very well have lasting regrets. He has signaled to his daughters that they cannot come to him with claims of sexual misconduct or assault, if those things should happen to them in the future (and I certainly hope not, but the statistics speak for themselves). He has signaled that he won't believe them or will blame them, and they will remain silent. However, twenty years from now, they may tell their father about an assault or an attempted assault from high school or college days, and he will be shocked and ask why they never said anything. The moment when they look him in the eyes and say, "I knew you wouldn't believe me" or "I thought you'd blame me" will be devastating.
2
I haven't read any of the comments yet. What strikes me is the headline "I said a few things I should not have said." Not what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say that "I did a few things that I should not have done." What is so hard about confessing the past and then telling what he has done to amend. And people should ask themselves what they remember from 35 years ago. I remember mostly the things that either made me extremely happy or were traumatic. If they were just 'another day, another binge' I surely wouldn't remember it. And anyone that has ever had too much to drink, knows he does things he shouldn't have or might have. Why not admit it and show he is really a man! Real men admit their faults and ask for forgiveness. I might have liked him then. He didn't and I do not want him on the Supreme Court. A woman accused of the same things would be tarred and feathered. Oh, wait . . .it's the accuser who is tarred and feathered. More women for the Supremes. Even conservative women (argh, but better anyway.)
1
I like beer! Do you like beer? Do you blackout? Now vote me to the Supreme Court. I'm entitled - I went to Yale.
I may puke from time to time, but that's because of my delicate stomach. Can't stand spices you see. But warn the neighbors anyway. I'm loud and obnoxious and partisan to boot. But I belong on the Supreme Court. Well at least the POTUS and 51 Senators thinks so.
8
Sadly, Kavanaugh is someone who has gotten away with it his entire life. His parents did not rein him in, nor his good Catholic teachers, or his coaches, or his classmates, and soon the Senate will join the good old white boys club of enablers.
That beach house of "obnoxious drunks" rented by Kavanaugh in the 1980s is now next door to us all.
3
He is a liar and manipulator. Vote no.
4
Kavanaugh should have regrets about his horrid rant.He revealed his true self...unhinged,a partisan hack, an alcoholic,a misogynist and a liar.The fact this man has served on ANY court means this country has truly lost it's way.
3
Pure garbage. He was instructed to let loose vindictive, extreme partisan and misogynist rage, then instructed to be contrite at the right time to give Republicans an excuse to vote yes. This is not an independent judge and his temperament should have immediately disqualified him (it certainly would have were he a woman). What a sham and tragedy for America.
3
many people think mr kavanaugh failed to meet
basic standards of cool-/calm-/collectedness
[among others].
the terrifying part here is that the p.resident + many
think he passed with flying colors and djt considers
some [women] who try to stand in the way of this judge
being seated ... as troublemaking "paid professionals". *)
there are people on this earth who cannot be bought.
they will make sure $$$ won't get away with everything.
[it'll take a while bc good things take time. just wait & see.]
____________
*) remember how survivors of the parkland shooting
were called "crisis actors"?
2
Brett, I sense in your letter more lies and desperation.
Good luck and hopefully Good Riddance!
1
I don't want to hear it, Brett.
You stoked the anger of all the Trump supporters who want to believe that everything's a conspiracy engingeered by the Democrats. Which Blasey Ford's allegations clearly were not.
You were incredibly rude to every Democratic senator on the judiciary committee. But you especially singled out the women for your contempt. Could that possibly be because, for your first 35 years, the main way you thought about women was that you would welcome them with open.....
And now that you don't need rage any more--and that the ABA, the ACLU and 2,500 law professors no longer believe you are a credible SCOTUS candidate because of your partisan rant, you're walking it back.
The Supreme Court will be sullied by your presence, and I have absolutely no confidence in your ability to deliver impartial justice. I'm ashamed and embarrassed that an unprinciple dman like Trump is selecting our justices, and I hope that loyalty oath you swore to him in your Senate testimony will require you to recuse yourself from every case involving his perfidy.
3
What it means: I know I failed, spectacularly, in my job interview by behaving like a rude, entitled and biased jerk (judicial temperament is sooo overrated) — in addition to repeatedly lying under oath about drinking & sexual exploits from my yearbook entry — but, hey, you're going to confirm me anyway! Thanks again, Mr. President — PS, remember, I've got your back!
1
This is a travesty.I watched a very angry and vengeful frat boy have a tirade that was surely politically biased.The last paragraph quoting Trump says it all, his Performance,as in acting like a choirboy. Unfit.
1
Here is what young people will remember. Kavanaugh had a horrific, embarrassing job interview, where he demeaned and bullied a female United States Senator, obfuscated the truth with other senators, screamed and yelled, turned red, lacked judicial temperament, was highly political, and cried about lifting weights and about his calendar and his living father's calendar. NEVERTHELESS, because he is white and privileged, he had the opportunity to write an apology to a major newspaper, so more privileged white people could read about how sorry he was for his malicious behavior during his job interview. In other words, if you are connected, it does not matter how poorly you interview. The fix was in.
4
In the real world if I stay stupid stuff during I job interview...I don't get the job...period. No going back, no "I'm sorry"...none of it. I'm simply shown the door with a smile and a "we'll be in touch".
Too bad we have to live on Planet GOP where the air is about as hazardous to your health as the politicians in power.
The fact that this man is being given a pass on spoken testimony that is clearly partisan, divisive, and will likely disqualify him from future proceedings is simply amazing.
McConnell may be the smartest guy on the Hill right now but that won't prevent history from judging him severely for his actions.
Those who ignore history (and precedent) walk a dangerous line toward insurrection and revolution - not from me; but from the millions of duped voters who are bound to figure it all out at some point soon. I wonder if the McConnell and Co. realize that?
2
Effective propaganda technique: Tell lie, implanting idea in people's minds. When caught out, retract lie, knowing full well that for many, if not most people, it will be the lie that is remembered, not the retraction.
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.” - Omar Khayyam (1048-1131).
This was written over a thousand years ago by a great scholar but remains indelibly true and pertinent. Tears, Piety, and wit will not change his actions at the hearing. It is who he is, and why he should not sit on the highest court in the land.
I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
And as a desperate loud mouth bully.
The majority of the comments here today are so great! You folks give me hope through the darkness. I don't think we will win this battle and that is terrifying for the young people of this country, but the war will continue, GOP. Don't fluff your feathers up too much.
1
Oh, honey. We ALL regret your testimony.
8
So, on top of everything else that’s wrong about this guy, he doesn’t even have the courage of his convictions. He wrote that speech, delivered it to the judiciary committee, and now wants to take it back. Another sad day for this country and another low for the GOP. We know we’re stuck with a conservative (elections have consequences) but why settle for this pathetic guy?
2
Picture this: By next week, Justice Kavanaugh, sitting next to Clarence Thomas, another Yale graduate.
2
I believe her.
3
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." --Maya Angelou
7
You were not there as a son or father or husband. You were there as a sitting judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals who has been nominated to become an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Your statement, which was under oath and was the product not of an excited utterance but rather a writing authored by you after hours or days of contemplation, evidenced bias and prejudice and showed a stunning lack of judicial temperment. The question now should be not only be whether you are qualified to be on the Supreme Court (you are clearly not), but whether you should continue to sit on the Court of Appeals.
5
No defense of himself was warranted. He ranted about a conspiratorial and partisan political attack. Plus he was rude and belligerant to Democratic senators (not the other way around). That behavior doesn't belong on the bench, and Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens now agrees after witnessing Kavanaugh being unjudicial. So, think of this . . .
The current sitting Justices may not appreciate Kavanaugh on the court under the circumstances. Kavanaugh, unrestrained, and unable to control himself, may resort to hectoring the other judges if they make him feel disparaged in any way.
3
No apology from Kavanaugh can erase his temperamental behavior that was on full display.
He wrote that seething, conspiratorial, biased diatribe and yelled it to the world for 45 minutes. He then sat through the most important job interview mocking, sneering, and disrespecting not only the Democratic Senators, but the majority of Americans.
No apology can wipe away what the world witnessed. This is who he is. He does not deserve a seat on the Supreme Court. And, he knows it.
He should be ashamed of himself. But, alas, his blatant narcissism prevents even that human emotion.
7
I recall Justice Ginsberg regretting a few things she said about President. So?
1
The American Bar Association sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Diane Feinstein notifying them that they are reopening the evaluation into Judge Brett Kavanaugh's qualification given the "new information of a material nature regarding temperament during the Sept. 27 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee."
1
The fig leaves are piling up. Superficial investigation + superficial apology = superficial judge.
3
Nope, sorry, this is too important of a job for him to be able to do a “take back” on this.
They spent nine hours in the White House doings what? Strategizing on how to approach this and it’s clear that the strategy was to go in offended and defiant. Lindsey Graham’s performance confirmed that. Jimmy Stewart’s Mr. Smith might have pulled it off, but Kavanaugh could not. If he is as smart as he says he is, he would have come up with a better approach that showed himself in a better light, but he didn’t. Don’t forget, he had lots of time to prepare for this. All the “my daughter prayed for her” business was so calculated and frankly, disgusting. He’s the one who dragged his family into this, not the Democrats. He showed himself to not be the skilled jurist he thinks he is. Sorry Brett, you blew it.
And btw, we still don’t know if he was wrongly accused. There’s a strong chance that both the Ford and Ramirez accusations are true.
5
I'm sure he does regret it. But he would not have said what he did if he did not believe it, and his regret comes from having stated his feelings so vociferously, so obnoxiously and so publicly.
It reminds me of Mel Gibson's tirades when stopped by the police. Whether or not one is momentarily unhinged, a person does not say what is anathema to him.
2
Don't forget that Kavanaugh was coached for over a week by the White House before he gave his testimony. His belligerent, blaming, self-pitying performance has their fingerprints all over it. No doubt they told him to behave this way because this is what Trump's base responds to. Trump's enduring appeal is all about victimhood. It's another indication of Kavanaugh's unfitness for the Supreme Court that he apparently readily agreed to play the victim for this audience.
6
The worse part of it is that he abandoned his strategy of looking cool and collected on TV for the instruction that Trump sent him when he said that he was disappointed in Kavanaugh's performance, and that he should be passionate in his denials. Not only is Kavanaugh lying about his drinking,(in fact, he looks like he still drinks excessively today!) but he is also inauthentic and not independent in his taking instruction from Trump. He was also disrespectful with the Senate, especially the Democratic women, and angrily partisan. His career may have been acceptable, but confronted with issues of real concern, he does not have the temperament or the integrity to be in the Supreme Court. His case is a lesson in white man privileged entitlement come to its true end-the man has no character, only a mask. The most honorable thing he can do now, for his family and his country, is to withdraw. The Republican moderates better think of their role in history, and the disgrace that this man will bring to this already diminished country.
2
“You can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career,” Judge Kavanaugh wrote. In other words, you can count on him to be loyal first go the GOP, who put him up for a prestigious federal appellate judgeship without any prior experience as a judge (other than clerking) as a quid pro quo for services rendered during the Clinton impeachment and the administrations of two Bushes.
3
I think the title should read, "Kavanaugh EXPRESSES regrets...." He has shown us who and what he is: a partisan Republican first and a judge second.
2
He ranted and railed, cried, and spewed venom. Now, he has regrets. Will he be able to "take back" or regret similar behavior (including lies, exaggerations, and stories he makes up to conceal the truth) made during court rulings on behalf of the entire country?
1
Still no regrets about the assault though, or about poor Renate . . .
1
The dude did lousy in his job interview and shouldn't be hired for a lifetime job.
Sorry buddy you don't get pass GO!
2
there's still time to call senators and express your opinions about Kavanaugh. Numbers are listed under senate.gov. Senators who voted yes can still vote no.
1
First he might have said and done things he regrets while drinking, now he might have said things he regrets while under pressure. Isn't that enough to make some senators vote no? He has regrets, but no apologies. He is simply unfit to serve. Who knows what pressures he may face on the Supreme Court.
1
I assume the same understanding occurs in every case the judge rules on? that the individual was under extreme pressure and said and did things he normally would not and so don't hold that against him.. please!
2
Aww, he's just feeling conciliatory as it appeared the FBI investigation would provide just enough cover necessary for those who wanted to confirm him all along. It won't last. He'll rage from the bench through his decisions.
1
So for all of these liberals who keep saying, “why doesn’t Trump just nominate someone else?“ let’s see what happens if another vacancy opens up. Let’s see how civil they are with that one, especially if it’s Ginsburg.
The fact that the left has turned this woman into a saint is the best indication anyone could ever want for everything that’s wrong with not just politics in this country, but especially the role of the Supreme Court. If she does have to step down, or is no longer on the court for whatever reason, and Trump is the one replacing her, this display were seeing now will pale in comparison. There will be massive violence in the streets all over this country.
Leftists would rather destroy the country, then let someone else be in control of it for a while.
God help us.
Merrick Garland
6
Kavanaugh did a few things he shouldn’t of done also. Actually, a lot more than a few things.
1
Not regretful enough to apologize for his belligerence and threats and vindictiveness. "Maybe" and "Probably" is not owning his behavior.
2
Hammacher Schlemmer is selling a product that the company call The Temper Temperer.
Kavanaugh should have worn such a device during his testimony.
The Temper Temperer
This is the personal voice muffler that stifles expressive outbursts resulting from the workplace, politics, or a sports team’s performance. Held in place over the mouth or secured behind the head via an adjustable elastic strap, the muffler provides relief from inveterate cursing at a television as well as channeled stress release after a rough day at the office when a pillow is not available. Its sound-dampening quality also makes it ideal for impromptu close-quarters usage during family gatherings when privacy is limited. One size fits all mouths. (3 oz.)
Well, he lied. Simple.
I don't think that is ok. He didn't think it was ok either when he pushed to impeach Clinton in the nastiest possble manner.
No way he should be confirmed.
8
The situation is somewhat worse than even this. Given Kavanaugh's stated animosity toward what he sees as a monolithic Left, his belief that there is a "well-funded" conspiracy against him, and his hollered promise to use the court as a weapon with which to flog his enemies, any *previous* rulings by this judge must now be regarded as hopelessly tainted. They all stand in need of re-trial under an unbiased authority.
8
I wonder if Bret Stephens wrote this so called “apology”, considering how it also misrepresents the seminal issues of Kavo’s tirade last Thursday. The Brett Brothers should take their act on the road to and open in Lindsey Graham’s hometown. Followed of course with an extended engagement in Roy Moore’s backyard.
By his own statement at the beginning of his testimony last Thursday, Kavo did far more than “say a few things” he shouldn’t have. He actually wrote them down the day before. Recall that Kavo said he wrote his speech himself the day before the hearing at issue. So his words were delivered as a cold-blooded, calculated tirade. meant primarily for an audience of one: namely that fraud in the White House. In addition, Kavanaugh clearly stated his intentions to use the Supreme Court as a “partisan institution” to insure that “what goes around – comes around”. Note that Kavo’s “fake” apology does not contain any retraction or repudiation of those words. None whatsoever.
Kavo may be able to fool most of the Deplorable most of the time, but he sure didn’t fool 2,500+ law school professors or a retired Supreme Court Justice. They all emphatically new reject his appoint to the Supreme Court. Why, because they know that Kavo exposed his soul to this country. His words expose what he is – drunk or sober.
Kavanaugh is still laughing at women, and America.
2
Those law professors would not support a conservative nominee no matter who it was. Wait till Trump nominates Barrett to replace RBG and see what happens then.
1
@JD
2 points:
1. Read the letter completely and carefully. If possessed of 3rd grade reading comprehension skills, you’ll notice there is no mention or reference to Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, or Conservatives. That’s probably why so many professors from red and blue states signed it. So to quote the Repo’s, there’s nothing in the text of the letter to “corroborate” your “opinion”.
2. I saw Barrett testify before Congress. Without judging her credentials, she visually came across as a vacant-eyed, Stepford Wife, turning her head left-to-right like an oscillating fan. If she is ever nominated, she better practice playing to the cameras. Hopefully she's not coached by KellyAnne.
@JD
And how do you explain John Paul Stevens?
1
Just to be clear, there is zero possibility Judge Kavanaugh does not remember his many assaults against women, including the 3 who came forward (Ford, Ramirez and Swetnik).
For one thing, the music was already on in the room, when Dr Ford was pushed from behind into it. So that means it was an "organized crime scene", it showed planning and premeditation. The music was a weapon to suppress their victim's cries for help, as was Kav placing his hand over her mouth.
This type of premeditation means the outcome of the crime was itself a goal of the actions. It means Judge Kavanaugh's motive was sexual assault, of anyone who fell into his and Judge's assault trap.
Julie Swetnik's tale of "train" or gang rapes, where girls are incapacitated with a substance, and then the boys "line up" and "take their turn", is wholly consistent with this behavior.
Ronan Farrow's followup in the New Yorker, found confirming witnesses for both these events; 1 said she was told by a Georgetown prep friend that, "it's dangerous to go upstairs", and well as the incident with Debbie Ramirez, with a Dr in California confirming his recollection of being told of it at the time by a participant and eye witness.
So the idea of a drunken Kavanaugh not remembering these assaults is wishful thinking.
Do sexual predators just stop wanting to do it? I doubt it. So how else to continue this desire to physically control young women? How about becoming a girl's sports coach.
Get this FREAK off the bench!
4
A substantial number of American voters love and cast their ballots for the bigger liar of the opposing candidates because he does his/her act as a "folksy" friend of the common ones well. He doesn't even have to be a charming scoundrel, he can be the dour Tricky Dick or the oily Slick Willie, Trump the TV bully or Kavanaugh the mean drunk---he's one of us, not one of those "foreign" idealists and high-highfalutin proponent of "social" stuff. The candidate you'd like to have a beer with. Looks like SCOTUS will have that kind of "winner" on the bench. Too late to educate the people. The patterns is pretty much set..
1
isn't that heartwarming.
4
All I could think about when listening to him is how many women has he abused with violence... He has ALL the earmarks of a violent abuser and his family looks abused.... He belongs in jail for lying under oath and NOT in our highest court where he perpetuate more of his lies and anger.....
1
Just stop, Judge Kavanaugh. At this point you're convincing most of us that you enjoy lying just for the sport of it. Most of the regrettable the things you "said" were read off a prepared written statement. The notion that these statements were born of emotional distress is risible. Did you not proofread your statement? Were you in such a state of emotional distress that you lost the ability to consider and deliberate? Or are you, as it appears, merely a vindictive small-time political operative? Pick your poison. None of these are particularly admirable qualities for a Supreme Court judge.
5
In groveling for the job, Judge Cavanaugh wrote, "I said a few things I should not have said." Note it's not that he didn't believe what he said; it's just that he thinks he shouldln't have said it.
6
In the words of Joe Walsh, "You LIE!"
7
Actually, he spoke the truth. Much as I loathe the Republicans, what Kavanaugh said was this was a "political hit" trying to counter a power play with a character assassination. Fact is, if he lived 20 years as a solid citizen he had "rehabilitated" whatever youthful nastiness he was once guilty of, and this year's exercise was all about stealing back a stolen seat on the Court.
The real solution is not denying this Justice a seat. The real solution is packing the Court, but the Democrats are too weak kneed to do this, even when and if they ever regain control of the White House and Congress.
Kavanaugh simply acknowledged the SCOTUS is the most ideologically driven institution in our system; Justices once appointed accountable to nobody but their own philosophies and prejudices.
This can be changed. It simply take will and courage to think anew.
19
@Claudia Of course, the perjured testimony regarding youthful party pastimes like boofing just don't count
2
@Claudia
Hmmm—do you really loathe the Republicans. Sounds to me like you’re buying right in to their goals but trying to disguise it as a balanced view,. I never trust comments like these.
@Claudia Take it to 11. When the Dems get in taht's what they need to work on. Stop the obstructionist court. Expand their horizons and let's celebrate progeress and diversity.
Sorry, but anyone who has been around alcoholics recognizes the tone. The rage, the blaming, the self-pity, the self-righteousness are all familiar. He sees himself as a victim.
Whether he still drinks or not, the emotional patterns are clear and contradict his self- assessment.
Judicial temperament? Not at all.
13
@Saddha: Republicans do not introspect.
He stated his emotional comments were coming from being a "son, husband and father". What about being a 'judge, professional, and adult'? Sadly, the bell cannot be un-rung. Unacceptable lack of emotional intelligence and discipline.
Next candidate please.
10
@Karl W: Kavanaugh's emotions included no empathy for Dr. Ford, whom all others agreed has clearly experienced something traumatic.
2
“You can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career." I am sure he will, and that is what scares me. He has shown himself to be beholden to Republican moneyed interests, willing to engage in tortured reasoning to come to predetermined legal conclusions that coincidentally support the Republican political agenda.
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” Apparently, he was not there to ensure the integrity of the judiciary or the betterment of the country. He also forgot to mention the most important reason- his role as a hand-picked, long-time, loyal Republican political operative.
He regrets having said some things in the heat of the moment. Of that I am certain. For that brief moment, he let his true color -red- shine through. Fair and impartial? Perhaps if you are viewing it through a Republican prism. On issues involving voter suppression laws favoring Republicans, gerrymandered congressional districts favoring Republican candidates, expanding executive privilege to protect the current Republican regime, or laws protecting dark money 501(c)(4) special interests, I am sure he will bend over backward to be "fair" to Republicans, but hardly fair to the rest of the country.
3
@Tom: Kavanaugh has never conducted a public trial of facts.
If we thought the Brett was being honest and not overacting for his base all would be forgiven.
Regret is driven by realizing that you compromised your principles for a tiny gain.
Buyers remorse, something America is experiencing now, and the Republicans in a few weeks.
@Awake: Nothing blows credibility like telling a nation of alcoholics that one has never drunk too much oneself to remember what one did while plastered.
Anyone on the Starr team should have been crossed off the list from the beginning for being too partisan. Period. Unfortunately, this circus will happen now over and over again, given McConnell's decision to change the procedure to a simple majority vote given the close split in the Senate. Getting 60 votes required someone who could get 10 Senators from across the aisle to agree with you, but no need for that any more. And with the more numerous rural, red states with 10 people in them having the same representation in the Senate, we all know where the Supreme Court is headed. Hope to get a Democratic president in 2020, but it may make little difference. Finally, isn't it just ironic that the man who spearheaded asking the detailed questions about Monica Lewinsky is all up in arms about being asked about a sexual experience/assault in his past? Can't wait to see "what the goes around comes around" judge has in store for those of us who care about individual rights, including the right to privacy/abortion.
5
Out of respect for the process, I did read his piece this morning in the Wall Street Journal before reading the remainder of this article in the NY Times or any of my fellow commentators' comments.
He had a week to write this. It was capably-written. In fact, he could have written it before the confirmation process got started.
Whether or not someone agrees with his being nominated to the court, his family should not endure any ridicule, threats, or intimidation of any kind. That is just patently wrong.
But...he had a week...
...and again, he can still deny anything happened, but could comment upon his sympathy and concern for women experiencing sexual harassment; and for all of those who have suffered similar wrongs.
But he didn't....
...and he had a week's worth of material to draw upon...
1
An ethical president acting as a caretaker for our democracy would have withdrawn the nomination after the Thursday rant because of the deep stench and unabashed partisanship surrounding this nominee. But Trump - and the GOP - just don't care. They would rather be the overlords of wreckage than share something great.
There are literally hundreds of qualified candidates. Hundreds just on the conservative side. Trump is sticking to this because his base admires not backing down.
What a poor way to run a country.
5
If it wasn’t for the fact that this would set the precedent of allowing an unsubstantiated allegations to deny a confirmation, I would be perfectly happy to see Judge Kavanaugh not confirmed. I think denying him confirmation would help the republicans expand their majority in the Senate. Trump would then nominate someone even more conservative than Kavanaugh (yes these people exist) and a lot of Trump supporters would be even happier than they are with Kavanaugh.
1
Some of the most ridiculous moments of his hearing were in his opening statement, which he had prepared beforehand. Those unnecessary conspiracy theories weren't spur of the moment comments, they were planned and thought out as he prepared for his hearing. I find his bad temperament to senators, especially Klobuchar, excusable of a man in a stressful situation (and I'll give it to him that he apologized to her after a break), but his opening statement isn't forgiven. If he's confirmed, I'll have a very difficult time trusting that he's as impartial as he says; his actions say otherwise.
8
@Katherine: K. delivered the rote rationale for Republican behavior: "You're even worse than I am!"
1
When someone tells you who they are and what they really believe you should always listen and take their comments as a true reflection of the person. We all heard that on Thursday of last week and many of us took Judge Kavanaugh at his word. A partisan, vengeful, angry man ready to sit on the highest court in the land and hand down decisions reflecting his true beliefs. Take the man at his word. The vote should be easy. It's too important.
89
@Dennis W Can I recommend this comment 1000 times?
Dear conservative Senators: there are plenty of other Federalist-approved candidates waiting in the wings. Vote no on this one.
Kavanaugh blames his behavior in being "too emotional," yet...
his PREPARED statement which he had ample time to consider reflect upon was filled with partisan anger against this supposed Democratic plot to bring down his nomination (which he had no evidence to say so). He knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote that. He probably got instructions from the White House to do so.
Shameful!
4
I guess the next step is for him to send us flowers.
4
• In the USA, an estimated 20% of girls and 8% of boys are sexually abused before they are 18 years old. Many more experience other horrific abuses.
It's no wonder we've made a toilet of our planet.
1
Like all the lies?
5
Really? And what about the prepared remarks before the Senate , which could have steered clear of the the vitriol and partisanship? If you can't even achieve civility and open-mindedness in prepared remarks, what does that say about what your rulings on the bench will be like? This "apology" is one more piece of evidence supporting the conclusion you are still an immature frat boy not worthy of a life time appointment.
1
His opinion piece is typical of what an abuser does to regain control.
Tells you he was provoked - "you made me do it" and then claims he's not going to do it again because that wasn't him.
Except that it was, and it is.
Tries to appear better than you. In this case, he's implying that Dr. Ford, her husband, her mother, her father, and her on children, are not legitimate without his patronage. Therefore make him a judge so that you, who made him have a temper tantrum, will feel better about yourself.
Tries to convey the message that you need to be responsible for his behavior.
DOES NOT APOLOGIZE.
6
Kavanaugh Has Regrets About Testimony: ‘I Said a Few Things I Should Not Have Said’
Translation: I revealed my true feelings and beliefs, that is what I regret
2
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
Um, no, you weren't. You were there as a candidate for the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
You're allowed to get viciously angry and yell and verbally attack your job interviewers and spout Clinton conspiracy theories as a son, husband and dad (even though you still shouldn't, and in any rational world you would lose said job as well as a lot of respect). It is simply unacceptable to do that as a Supreme Court nominee.
15
If Kavanaugh was wrongly accused, why didn't he immediately demand a full investigation? Whouldn't you have done that?
5
There's a difference between "things I shouldn't have said" and "I said things that aren't true." The former means "sorry, I showed my hand." He's not denying that he's a partisan - that he believes that the Clintons are orchestrating attacks against him. He's just sorry he let the people know that.
I agree with Stevens - this is not how a judge should act. Even Clarence Thomas holds his views close to his vest even though we know he's an extreme conservative. Kavanaugh isn't even on the bench yet and he's already attacked "the left."
5
Similar to Trump, Kavanaugh appears to say and do anything to get the Job. We need elected officials who care about the best interests of the public, fair and impartial justice for all. Not with standing the allegations, Kavanaugh does meet threat threshold.
7
This is the problem with rage, which seems to be a very popular emotion across these days, across the political spectrum.
If you want to convince me or change my mind then present reasonable arguments, in a rational manner.
Impassioned speeches only make me doubt the sincerity of the speaker.
Whether it is Judge Kavanaugh, Corey Booker, Lindsey Graham or that ridiculous women who screamed at Senator Flake. You tell you lose my respect immediately.
It also makes normally rational people look unhinged.
There is way too much rage in the world.
1
"said a few things"? Vented his extreme political bent is more to the point. That, in addition to the perjury, should have ruled him out for the court. Had Dr. Ford gotten that hysterically partisan and angry, imagine the curses which would have been heaped on her.......
7
Judge Kavanaugh--I believe Dr. Ford's account of what she says happened to her. I believe your response that you disclaim assaulting her. However, that doesn't mean it didn't happen. No person is able to retrieve memories from a black out. Your memory of the assault vanished when you blacked out.
Your apology still doesn't overcome a woman's right to be heard.
3
Crocodile tears....he is an embarrassment, unfit for proposed purpose. If anyone of us normal people ranted remotely like that or were disrespectful of our interviewer in any job interview, we'd be pretty much shown the exit. Anyone think, that if we called back, all contrite they'd change their minds? It's clear to me this man feels it is his God given right to be on SCOTUS, not the privilege and honor it should be.
12
I guess voting for and placing women in the senate (Collins) does not guarantee good outcomes for women.
Collins is going to suffer a huge hit no matter how she votes, so she might as well just do the right thing. This is a complete no win situation for her.
So I guess we are doomed to suffer 3 decades of a volatile political and ideological hack on the SCOTUS. Gentlemen and preachers, please commence to open the flood gates on a kaleidoscopic assay of idiotic abortion, contraception, religious cases.
2
Maybe also you "did a few things you should not have done?" Like to women? When do we get that apology? When you're already on the SC?
If you have to tell us how impartial you are then you probably aren’t.
6
I was struck by the fact that Kavanaugh didn't bother to listen to Dr. Blasey's testimony before making his statement. Wouldn't an innocent man, and particularly a man trained throughout his career to hear both sides of every story, be interested in what she had to say? Was it fear? Guilt? An exaggerated sense of self-importance?
He said that every victim of abuse had a right to be heard but, apparently, not by him, and certainly not when he is personally called to account.
2
Sorry, Dude, you were not there as a "son, husband and dad."
You were there as a professional, interviewing for a lifetime appointment to the SJC. It was not a family get-together.
When I go on a job interview, I have to check all my personal stuff, my politics, my identity as a mom, grandmom, daughter, sister.
And, as a woman, over the last 50 years I have had some real doozy interviews. I have been asked about my fertility, plans to have children, my ability to work with other women, childcare plans, marital status. Each and every time, I had to smile and give my best answer. And yes, some of those questions are now illegal, but they weren't then, although they were just as inappropriate and intrusive.
Kavanaugh's performance was perfectly Trumpian - misogynistic, partisan, divisive, angry - a sure hit with the man in the WH.
10
The reckoning this country needs to have is about something bigger than sexual assault, as important as that is. It is to answer the question, Does character really matter any more? The foundation of our free society is honesty, personal responsibility, self-control, and accountability for one's actions. At all levels. In family relationships, in business, in religious institutions, in government and politics and in law enforcement and courts. We are not the Norman Rockwell America any more and probably never have been, but if we don't at least pay lipservice to character and reward acts of character in high places when they occur, we have not only lost our souls but will lose our democracy and our freedom.
3
His was not an emotional outburst likes he wants us to think. His comments were scripted, you don't use queue cards for emotional outbursts. His 'outburst' was not only directed at the Democrats, but also the Republicans. It was a reminder to Republicans that a vote for Kavanaugh is a vote for a GOP hack on the Supreme Court and a taunt to Democrats just to make sure that they know so also.
All is now back on track for the GOP take over of the Supreme Court. His op-ed in the WSJ was just to remind Democrats that they are powerless to stop it.
3
As Leonard Cohen said a bit more lyrically, sometimes you just have one of those times when the fix was in and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it and the good guys are going to lose no matter what.
This is one of those times, but there will be others that we will win.
Everybody knows that this guy doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the Supreme Court, but he won't be the first undeserving judge to be seated there and won't be the last.
That's the way it goes.
1
Kavanaugh's attack on a so-called democratic hit-job was ridiculous, but where he really crossed the line was when he began asking the Democrats the very same questions they were asking him. But look, the fix is in. Republicans don't care about Kavanaugh's temperament and the only qualification they care about is that he'll vote with Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch. Kavanaugh was awarded with a judgeship in the first place because of party loyalty and service during the Bush administration. He is incapable of reasoning objectively. His seat on SCOTUS will be a political seat. Period.
3
Finally, one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on is that Kavanaugh is the best legal mind in the Republican party.
Really. He's the best they can find.
He likes beer.
3
Kavanaugh's performance throughout fits with his history as a political operative working for one of the most ruthless White House's in history (aka Dick Cheney): Kavanaugh's going on Fox News and writing an editorial on the WSJ reminds us of Trump: fanning conspiracy theories about the "left", never even attempting to pivot to appeal to the "middle" of the American electorate.
1
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again" is what an abuser says. And then breaks the promise.
5
Well, so the Court will have a justice who can't control himself under stress, and who says things he shouldn't. What could possibly go wrong?
4
So why did Kavanaugh get to write an op-ed in the first place?
Why didn’t his accusers get that opportunity instead?
5
@Scott
The WSJ is an arm of the republican propaganda network.
1
The public destruction of a respected jurist by a decades-old uncorroborated allegation has thoroughly refuted the idea that those accused of sexual assault have an unfair advantage over their accusers. No wonder Judge Kavanaugh is angry. Any man falsely accused of sexual assault would be. And any respectable jurist would have been frustrated to have his personal reputation and his family’s well-being destroyed—along with bedrock principles of American jurisprudence like due process, evidentiary burdens and the presumption of innocence. WSJ
1
@R. R.
Couldn't disagree more. Kavanaugh was credibly accused; most likely, he did attack Dr. Rose. But that doesn't matter: there was no proof, and Kavanaugh could have calmly defended himself. Instead, he want on a partisan rant worthy of Sean Hannity. It was incredible, shocking. Justice John Paul Stevens says Kavanaugh won't even be able to do his job on SCOTUS, as he will have to be a "part-time judge", with the obligation to recuse himself on any political matters before the Court.
4
@R. R. It’s not a trial, it’s a job interview and he behaved badly.
3
@R. R.
There has been no public destruction by any but the allegedly destroyed.
An objective republican Congress would have taken the news when they got it, not after waiting to see if it came out for more than a week, chastised the democratic Senator who did not consult about the "anonymous" tip and then without rancor set up a hearing ASAP.
They chose to use the information they had for more than a week before it was published (did they leak it?) as a political tool to make a lot of people angry in hopes of motivating their supporter's whom might not have voted in November.
The reason they did this I think was in part because they know Kavanaugh is unfit and would not do well in a public process. They also wanted to make sure that what a proper hearing would have lead to, full FBI investigation and public report on what they found did not happen so that no one could make an argument for the 100K documents of his written work product which they are hiding be made public.
1
I proudly stand with Justice Stevens and the 2400+ law professors who believe that Judge Kavanaugh’s Senate testimony disqualifies him from a Supreme Court seat.
Judge Kavanaugh was partisan, strident and confrontational in his September 27 testimony. His open disrespect to the Democratic members of the Committee was genuinely shocking.
In general, Kavanaugh’s Senate testimony and public statements contain numerous remarks since proved false or misleading. (Involvement in controversial judicial confirmations, receipt of leaked documents, characterizations of his drinking habits, interpretation of phrases in his high school yearbook.)
There is no place on the Supreme Court for an intemperate justice who repeatedly plays fast and loose with the truth.
181
It’s not like his statements were a slip of the tongue. He wrote his statement in advance and read straight from it, for crying out loud. And his vitriol surely did look and sound genuine.
Surely there was another conservative jurist on the list prepared for Trump that is not such an ass.
11
@GH
But he is a guaranteed vote for whatever they tell him to vote for.
1
A blunder in Washington is when someone speaks the truth. Regardless of an apology, Kavanaugh has shown his true colors. And his unmasked views are EXACTLY why he was backed by the Federalist Society and put forward by Leonard Leo. His outburst was a feature of his candidacy, not a bug.
Bottom line, Brett Kavanaugh is supposed to be a partisan hack, just like he was on the Starr investigation. Moderate and liberal causes will face very dim prospects where Brett casts the deciding vote.
8
But he said them and that is what is in his mindset. I wonder if anyone could serious doubt that he will be totally partisan about everything.
2
Kavanaugh regrets the consequences of the fact that he said what did, not what he said. Not at all.
10
As a son, husband, and father, I resent the use of these words as an excuse. If I were ever accused of a crime based on uncorroborated evidence, I doubt that me throwing other uncorroborated accusations and veiled threats on others would make my parents, wife and kids proud.
9
Unfit partisan hack with anger management and alcohol issues. Not to mention a “get out of jail free” card for Trump. What have we become???
8
Among all the many, many, many disturbing aspects of Judge Kavanaugh's nomination process, most disturbing to me have been post-hearing comments by Republican senators that characterize any disapproval of Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court nominee to be purely democratic political maneuvering (which incorrectly implies that Republicans are somehow not acting politically). After witnessing Kavanaugh's imbalanced and aggressive testimony, which largely consisted of self-pity, immature whining and lying, and, yes, weirdly political attacks, not mention his inappropriate public appearances and writings, I think it safe to say that any negative assessment of his fitness for the Supreme Court leaves politics far behind.
12
@Park: Republican projection is a party-wide problem. No, we are not just like them.
When you've spent years of your legal career working directly and loyally for Republican politicians in support of their agenda, helping take down their enemies, protecting their power and electing one of them via the Supreme Court to the presidency, you can all of a sudden be impartial? For him to claim sudden impartiality would be like a Mafia lawyer claiming he has cut all ties to Don Corleone and "the family."
11
No, This is not nursery school. You cannot take back your anger and downright rude words.
An intemperate judge is the wrong choice for the nation's highest bench. Ridiculous for Kavanaugh to drag his wife, parents and kids into his oped. they will not sit on the Supreme Court. Is he qualified if these are the legs he chose to stand on? He will be as bitter and partisan as Judge Jeanine Pirro and equally unqualified. He should host on Fox News.
7
Amygdala dysfunction is a terrible thing. That is where the brain is believed to process the sense of vulnerability of oneself and one's friends and family.
Your headline is inaccurate: you don’t know if Kavanaugh has any regrets. It should have read: Kavanaugh says he has no regrets.
White House urges the judge to appear contrite to right wing Wall Street Journal.
3
Don't give us your excuses. If you want this job you are supposed to be the kind of man who has internalized decency to the level that you would never, ever behave the way you did. You were raging, partisan, contemptuous, lying, disrespectful and spouting conspiracy theories and promises of revenge. You are UNFIT to serve in any court. If you are confirmed, I will support impeachment at the earliest possible moment. You disgrace this country.
11
oh, please, he knew exactly what he was doing. he wrote the opening statement, he said, by himself. he showed, in follow-up questions and answers, that he really does think that way,
He's unfit.
The donald voters, the federalist society, and citizens united have secured this country - we are now brazil.
Thanks for nothing.
10
Again, Kavanaugh shows us who he is: He'll say whatever he thinks he should to get what he wants. In this case, he wants his respect back, his integrity. Too bad, it's gone.
We saw who Kavanaugh is first hand and in the present -- he is a openly and stridently partisan liar, who has the temperament of a petulant adolescent. And now, he'll be on the SCOTUS for decades deciding the fates of all our lives.
I'm sure Clarence Thomas will buy Kavanaugh a few cold ones to celebrate -- toss around confirmation stories. Have a laugh at the people.
The SCOTUS is comprised; another divisive partisan entity in our crumbling democracy. All part of the GOP Plan.
8
The fact that Brett Kavanaugh does not recognize that his confirmation is tearing the country apart and undermining respect for the Supreme Court suggests to me that he cares more about his own personal gain than he cares about this country and its long-term stability.
He should offer to step down as a nominee so that someone else who demonstrates the necessary impartiality can serve on the court instead. Maybe he should read the story of the judgment of King Solomon; the one who truly loves this country and the Constitution would give up this seat rather than have the court torn apart.
12
@Diotima: In the ancient Roman republic, somebody else would skewer Kavanaugh if he didn't fall on his own sword himself.
Kavanaugh wrote his opening statement then read it. He said exactly what he wanted to say and nothing in his mea culpa provided even a hint that he did not mean every word.
“I shouldn’t have said it is” not the same as “I did not mean it.” And that is just one reason Kavanaugh is not fit to be seated on the Supreme Court.
17
@Douglas Weil
This "apology" is just cover for all of the Republicans who are going to vote to confirm this guy.
3
Exactly. Since he read from prepared notes his views were premeditated. He had ample time to restrain his pen and tongue yet CHOSE not to.
2
Kavanaugh should have said 'I regret things I did to young women when I was drinking heavily. And even though I don't remember it, if I did attack Dr. Blasey Ford in 1982, I am offering my deepest apologies. I have two daughters and want them to see that people can change."
If he had done this, the rancor and partisanship might have been tempered, Dr. Blasey Ford would have been able to begin some healing after 36 years, and the world would have seen him as willing to make amends for his behaviour as a young man. However, he was not willing to show he has really changed, that he can be humbled, or that he is worthy of the trust of the America public. A huge opportunity was missed and because of that, he will always be seen as the deeply flawed person he is and this will compromise his status on the Supreme Court.
15
@USexpat: Yes, exactly. It was the only respectable option open to him. Why did he not do it?
3
Where is the apology. Trump probably told him that apologies are a sign of weakness. I wonder how the Robert's court members are feeling right now.
4
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh may have regrets that he said what he did, but there is no doubt he believes every word of it. He he shown unprecedented bias and partisanship and should not be confirmed
7
This morning, I feel the conspicuous lack of an op-ed written by someone re-affirming prior testimony. Someone is secure in her position, without needing to wage a marketing campaign to hype it to undecided voters.
Not that Christine Blasey Ford’s position was lacking one. Was Kavanaugh’s?
2
This reminds me of the well-known scenario involving two young children who point at each other and claim: he/she did it first! No absolution comes from claiming the other side is even worse. Forgiveness is impossible without a full acknowledgement of one's own failings. Since we ALL fail, forgiving others for similar failings should be second nature--if we're being honest.
The only path back to sanity lies in treating each other as respected members of the human race, each with an opportunity--and responsibility--to tell the truth, and be forgiven. When our leaders abdicate this responsibility, it's no surprise that the entire system breaks down, and is viewed as irretrievably corrupt.
3
@Karen
The spell of reagan lead the republicans into the domain of how easy and profitable it is to lie. Apparently they forgot or never learned that honesty and trustworthiness is the real foundation of this nation.
2
@Karen my goodness, I love this comment.
Wasn't it the late, great Maya Angelou who said that when people show you who they are, believe them?
13
Kavanaugh Has Regrets About Testimony: ‘I Said a Few Things I Should Not Have Said’
Ya think?
121
I think every person who saw this angry and disrespectful display can agree that Mr. Kavanaugh said some things he should not have said. I also think that every person who saw these hearings can agree that Mr. Kavanaugh lied numerous times while under oath. The question which nobody seems able to answer is why anybody (President, Senators, citizens) could possibly argue that Mr. Kavanaugh is the very best possible candidate for our nation's highest court.
18
@James
Because he is a "known" quantity. Wink
What we all saw: an angry, dry drunk in arrested development. And, deeply partisan to boot.
What we didn’t see: judicious, or judicial behavior.
What we are getting: a whitewash, in more ways than one.
14
Judge Kavanaugh did not need to this, he has nothing to regret.
Mr. Kavanaugh, you showed your true character at the Thursday hearing. I have no confidence that I, or any other person not sharing your political and world view can get a fair hearing from you before any court you sit on.
10
Kavanaugh cannot be thinking that he can make decisions about people’s lives and liberties in one frame of mind and then reverse them in another. He has to get it right when he acts. We should all know that once we act there is no undoing our acts.
4
Any possibility that next week Chief Justice John Roberts will sit him down and tell him that he will be required to recuse himself from cases involving left-wing interest groups in order to preserve any appearance of integrity the Supreme Court might have left? C'mon Chief.
2
Alas, there are no individuals on the federal bench who were not perfect in their youth, right? None ever drank too much, partied too much, or tried to have sex with someone who objected, right? Everyone on the federal bench went through what Kavanaugh did and never demonstrated any emotion, anger, or outrage defending their reputation, right? No one on the bench ever decided a case based in part on partisan politics, ever, right? Therefore the 4 liberal SCOTUS judges are more than willing to vote against their ideologies and political affiliations, right?
The downside for Democrats is that the non-stop attacks against Kavanaugh, the last minute 'revelation' of an accusation that could have been settled weeks ago did nothing but awaken not only the base/electorate that put Trump in office but has added to the rolls many undecideds and independents.
Once all of the witches brew has been boiled down and leaves a couple of fragments on the bottom of the pot, they are two issues and nothing more. Roe v Wade and Donald Trump.
Most Americans who do not read the NYT, WaPo, WSJ, or watch the cable so-called news shows do have a stronger sense of what they perceive as fair play. Grassley got it right yesterday when he commented about reporters only wanting to talk to people who opposed Kavanaugh. But when Clinton and Blumenthal start pointing fingers and attacking Kavanaugh's integrity, the bottom of the barrel has been scraped.
1
@peddler
Uh, why was it a “witches brew” that got to the truth: yes, overturning Roe vs Wade and Trump’s pre-ordained immunity are, indeed, the exposed foundation of Kavanaugh’s ambition and inevitable confirmation.
As far as last minute, have you forgotten the whole fast-tracking of this nomination from the get-go? Or, is it just OK for the Republicans and the President to rashly, irresponsibly rush this nomination process, while cynically portraying due-diligence on the part of others as hysterical and a witches brew? Do tell.
1
@peddler This to defend putting a Clinton-conspiracy theorist on the bench? Are you serious?
1
@peddler
Because like you those who support him only ever say things that only exist in your minds and no where else.
1
Look at it this way. The place where you work is considering a candidate for a top position whose responsibilities include adjudicating complicated legal and ethical cases and representing your high profile workplace to the public.
His ivy league education and resume are impressive, but he does a terrible job at his personal interview, was rude to some of the interviewers who challenged him, especially a couple of women.
Following his interview, he is heavily criticized by many, particularly lots of women, although some people where you work in positions of authority and all men really want this guy for his aggressive approach and demeanor.
Several days later, the candidate writes a letter to a prominent newspaper expressing his regrets about his interview and mentions that he said a few things he should not have said.
What are the odds this guy would be hired for the position by any organization?
10
He would be hired by the Trump Organization.
2
Yes, he regrets showing his true colors. He adopted the Trump narrative blaming the 'Clintons', the '2016 election', the Democrats wanting 'revenge'. He showed he is partisan. That's the last thing a Supreme Court Judge should be.
13
In front of the whole country he spewed conspiracy theories rather than stuck with facts. His hubris is out there for all to see.
Fitting to be a Supreme Court Judge? Not fitting to be any judge.
14
@mk He has already been a judge for many years. If there is a record of his “intemperant” conduct in the court, let’s hear it. I don’t know, and neither do the rest of us, if Kavanaugh actually did what he is accused of. As a human being, I can understand his anger about the evisceration he and his family have endured. It’s a basic human reaction. Had he been cool and calm, we would be hearing he was a psychopath who has no emotion. Is it fair to feel compassion for Ms. Ford but not for the wife and two young daughters of Kavanaugh? Or does our compassion for women end at Mr. Kavanaugh’s door? Or, as I am starting to wonder, only Democratic women?
@Nancy
His ruling to prevent the girl from going to the doctor based on his illegal possession of her HIPPA information which his colleagues overturned based on the explicit language of the law.
He was trying to stop her from ending an unwanted pregnancy.
Kavanaugh failed to demonstrate "grace under pressure" in last Thursday's hearing. A necessary requisite to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He knew it, over 650 law professors knew it, a retired Supreme Court Justice knew it, the Senators on the Judiciary Committee knew it, and the rest of the country knew it.
126
@Diana
It is well over 2000 Law Professors now.
2
@Diana Over 1,700 law professors, National Council of Churches and American Jesuit Magazine, former SCOTUS Justice....
1
Turn in your man card,dude. Your spoiled,sniffling,rage vomit was appalling. You aren’t fit for the judiciary especially the Supreme Court. The opinion piece is a transparent pitch to the undecided Republican senators,if there really are any. Defendants with considerably less privilege than you would have been held in contempt . And contempt is all I feel for you and 45,your patron.
10
I have no sympathy. I believe Dr. Ford's credibility much more than Kavanaugh's considering his unhinged and unstable partisan paranoid comments.
This man should NEVER be nominated for any judicial position. He is UNQUALIFIED for the SCOTUS due to a defective temperament and probably guilty of criminal assault as well, if I am any judge of character (and I am).
Kavanaugh is a self-promoting Republican operative. He has had MILLIONS spent on partisan political propaganda by the Republicans and has no humility. Due to his statements he would have to recuse himself from any political issues before the SCOTUS, thus handicapping both the actions and credibility of OUR Supreme Court.
SINCE WHEN DOES A SCOTUS NOMINEE HAVE TO SELF-PROMOTE HIMSELF and accept partisan propaganda and support from a narcissistic sociopath? The Republicans (and Trump) have lowered their bar even further, if that is possible. Putin would be proud.
11
What's chilling about this is that it so closely tracks with the behavior of abusers: Lash out in uncontrollable anger and rage, all the while blaming your victim for making you so angry. Then come back with a contrite apology and a promise to never do it again. Even Kavanaugh's concession that "something, sometime, somewhere" happened to Dr. Ford reeks of the classic abuser's explanation --- I don't know, maybe she bumped her head or fell down. She's always been clumsy.
Kavanaugh's behavior during the Senate hearing, coupled with this statement of "regret" does more than just support the credibility of Dr. Ford's description of his actions: It reveals him.
And yet, as with the vast majority of these cases, even with completely credible testimony from the victim, under oath, the perpetrator is vindicated by the standard performance of outrage, apology and promise not to do it again.
For all those cheering that due process was served, that innocent until proven guilty prevailed, I would remind you that Dr. Ford was given neither. She was guilty of assaulting a powerful, white male's character from the start, and forced to prove herself innocent, without benefit of the most basic elements of due process: An investigation, an impartial jury of her peers, a presumption of innocence.
Justice in America, circa 2018.
199
@Jim
Ditto an alcoholic's episodes of bad acting, regret and promises of never again.
Dr Ford's allegations were a mute point about 3 sentences into his prepared statement in front of the committee.
3
I must have missed hearing or reading a "contrite apology" from Kavanaugh. I did hear Kavanaugh blaming others, and attacking Democrats, and I also heard him angrily refuse to answer questions from Senators with anything but sarcasm. Clearly, he is a man who loses his temper under pressure. Oh Yes, I also head a great deal of arrogance.
2
@magicisnotreal
"Moot" point :/
'“You can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career,” Judge Kavanaugh wrote [...]'. Unfortunately, that is probably the case. We can count on him to be anti-women, anti-access to health insurance, anti-native American, anti-worker, and pro-corporations and wealthy white people. Just what we needed another of. SMH
14
Seems like Kavanough want's to take back or forget a lot of things he has said and done. What kind of person is this to sit on the Supreme Court?
7
Actions speak louder than words!!!!!! When backed into a corner he raged on like the man who nominated him. Judge Kavanaugh is a not to be trusted........sad sad day!
15
It still does not change the fact that you, a Yale graduate well educated sitting Federal Appeals Court Judge wrote that rant and meant every word of it from the bottom of your heart.
Mea Culpa aside you are still unfit for any bench.
213
@magicisnotreal Either Mr. Kavanaugh wrote the rant or he read something written by the White House. (Did we hear the ugliness that is Stephen Miller?)
@Carl Ian Schwartz
His opening sentence was a declaration that he had written these remarks which suspiciously mirrored Justice Thomas's remarks.
Judge Kavanagh has exemplified integrity, honesty and dedication throughout his life! I watched the whole "trial". He was in no way angry. I saw a heartfelt conviction of truth! He spoke with firmness as to the allegations and the impact it had on his family. Just think, if you put everyone that was in that room through the same scrutiny!
I am frankly embarrassed at our Country! I have lived 61 years and have never seen such direspect for others! Especially, in the world of politics!
We protest everything that does not go our way! These protestors, many acting like animals , violent and disrespectful to anyone or anything that may differ in opinions and values!
I am so thankful, I was taught to respect people even though we may differ in race, economic status, religion, political parties and values.
Until we all come together and be civil, America will never be great again!
Kavanaugh is a political animal and GOP agent. He is not fit to serve on the high court, he is more appropriate for Fox News.
16
Kavanaugh states he was "there as a son, a husband and a dad" but in truth he was there as an attempted rapist. He also seemed to be there as a partisan, serial liar given there is no way Christine Ford was lying. People use the convenient claim "I believe them both" yet one of them is a psychopathic liar. Given Fords testimony and all she risked i believe the psychopath to be Kavanaugh. And now he is rewarded with the SC. Thats Trumps America for ya!
6
Write as many contrite op-eds as you like, Judge. The country saw who you revealed yourself to be during your hearing; a petulant, entitled brat, indignant of any scrutiny of your character.
I won't forget that.
Whatever credibility the SCOTUS has left will be further diminished when you take your seat on the bench.
8
"I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do." - James Baldwin
11
Judge Kavanaugh blew his job interview and now he is back-peddling.
10
The conversation we need to be having isn't around politics, it's around the fact that stories like Blasey Ford's are stories virtually every woman has. Her experience is the norm for us! We don't report!
Women, imagine what would happen if we did report every assault and rape. Could society handle it? After all, they're sons, husbands, and fathers.
2
Judge Kavanaugh needs to grow up and learn to live in the real world. The rules haven't changed for privileged white men. It's the consequences that have. His lack of respect for the women on the Judiciary Committee says it all.
3
I’m sure the WSJ crowd feels so much better now.
3
How many times did he “say some things he shouldn’t have” in his rulings?
85
To paraphrase, "Have you no sense of shame? Have you no sense of decency?" We now know the answers to these questions is "no." First, he proves himself a shameless liar in his testimony. Then he proves himself infected with indecent partisanship. Lastly, he demonstrates himself so desperate to be confirmed that he has to get State Media to publish his plea for the job. His presence on the Court will diminish its dwindling credibility and further erode the public's trust in government. What a disastrous appointment. We are entering a period where the Court will be so out of step with the citizenry that the viability of the Court and the government will be at genuine peril.
6
I recall you said the same about the memo you wrote to Ken Starr on a Clinton strategy for questions about his sexual encounters designed to cause him maximum embarrassment and discomfort. A day or two later you "regretted" the intemperate tone you used.
I question your ability to control yourself when in an emotionally charged situation.
8
Why should "innocent until proven guilty" apply only to Judge Kavanaugh? Dr. Ford should also be innocent until proven guilty. If he is innocent, then she is guilty of misrepresenting the truth, or worse, whatever her motives. The FBI investigation was supposed to give us some security of knowledge, but failed miserably.
5
This man must never reach the Supreme Court.
4
@Iced Tea-party
what you have in mind? ;-)
Sorry but you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
8
Since you were only "there as a son, husband and dad," and not as a nominee to the Supreme Court, you need to withdraw your nomination, withdraw entirely from public life, go home, and spend time with your family wallowing in self-pity and spend the rest of your life offering justifications for your behavior even though there are not justifications for it.
Kavanagh says he "might have been too emotional at times." He wasn't too emotional at times, he was exactly who he's always been, a raging, lying, entitled, and vindictive political hack, which makes his the most inaccurate and disingenuous Mea culpa ever. It's just one more reason why Kavanaugh has no business being elevated to the Supreme Court.
Sorry Brett, you can't undo what you've done.
Brett, the "fruits" of this victory, which you only achieved by dissembling and lying, will turn to dust and ashes in your mouth.
6
I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” You were expected to be there as a judge...first and foremost.
13
I have a temper, a fact that would be laughable to disguise or to argue against. I have fought my temper since I was a child. For those without one, it is hard to explain, but it is not easy. As I have aged, I have mellowed, become more in control, have been more able to sit on my mouth and to walk away from arguments. But I am not perfect and my temper flares up from time-to-time. I even know when I am being ridiculous, but can't always stop it. This is not a confessional. However, I told my husband this past week: next time I lose my temper, just say two words: Brett Kavanaugh. I will immediately conjure up his reddened face, squinched up eyes, and vile words, and I will shut my mouth.
7
@Anon
safe word! You're clever.
I hope he don't use it in bed. lol
Which statements were mistakenly made ?
Was the mistake in sharing his opinion or was the statement mistaken in fact ?
I suppose he was saying that he isn't as crazy as he appears.
6
"what goes around, comes around"..... that is not the judge I want on my local court, let alone the supreme court of the United States of America- "what goes around comes around" is what a child says when they are being mean and petty- these are not the words of a real adult- and we all know that this country needs adults in the room right now. Please remember that a job interview is to find out if a person is the correct fit for a job- it is not a promise.....We all deserve an honest and thoughtful communicator in that role- please please please- consider your words and your actions......
4
So he was there as a "son, husband, and dad". I would be embarrassed to have him as any of these, myself.
7
“wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character.” Sounds very carefully constructed to not explicitly state that the accusations were false. Everything in that sentence does not directly declare innocence. Somebody must be concerned about being explicitly held to statements in the public record. Shameful weasel words.
6
They don't care that a judge lied throughout his testimony. Says everything I need to know about this senate.
6
What happens when this guy is on the Supreme Court, writes a decision and a few days later says 'I said a few things I should not have said?"
4
"Kavanaugh Has Regrets About Testimony"
Does Kavanaugh have any regrets about past judicial decisions? Or is it his rule thumb that democrats and liberals are always either guilty or their case gets thrown out?
4
If you behaved like Kavanaugh in a job interview, no amount of apology or explanation would ever win you a second chance at the job. If Kavanaugh's legal career was the standard by which he want to be judged, he should have acted like a legal profession during his testimony. He didn't. The typical American is held to a much higher standard in everyday life with very real consequences for failure. Supreme Court Justices are supposed to be held to a higher standard than the typical American. Kavanaugh failed miserably.
207
@Andy Good point. A typical American repeating that performance in Kavanaugh's own courtroom would be held in contempt.
3
@Andy
No job interview goes after a candidate on allegations about when they were in High School from a dubious source. He should be confirmed.
@Andy
And the fact of the matter is, he didn't apologize. His manipulative opinion piece is the "Clean-up on Aisle 5" Tactic of a typical abuser where he refers to himself as being provoked but that he's, from now on, never going to be provoked again by Dr. Ford, or the Democrats, or the women protesting outside since they're just riff raff who made him act that way and that actually he's just oh so noble, really.
No wonder Trump likes this guy. He's Trump if Trump had ever bothered to read.
1
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” However, you were expected to be there as a judge...first and foremost.
4
And, was he thinking a few thing that he shouldn’t have thought?
1
The real Brett Kavanaugh, the id, if you will, was there for everyone to see and hear. You have no excuse. Why should we believe you?
5
I wish he had not stated in his opinion piece that the five people foremost in his mind when he gave testimony were his wife, daughters and parents.
The people who should be foremost are the people of the US - the rights of all people (even those that he disagrees with) that he will honor and defend as documented in our Constitution.
11
I'll metoo this one.
1
...but evidently no regrets about what he did.
A con man and serial adulterer nominating a drunken bar brawler and sexual miscreant. Gosh, aren't we just finding people of the FINEST character to steer the nation.
10
Hey, Judge Kavanaugh, your testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was part of your job interview before the public, and you failed, because you demonstrated for the world to see that
you lie and weasel without hesitation (like our president)
you cannot stand to be criticized because it offends your ego
you demonstrated rude partisanship and serious disrespect against the Democrats, and especially against Senator Amy Klobuchar from MN
and the list goes on, but it is quite evident that at crunch time, you imploded and did not demonstrate the professionalism, temperament, integrity, and everyday consideration and good judgment necessary to be a Supreme Court judge.
If you were an applicant for a high corporate or university position, I am pretty sure your candidacy would have been pitched into the reject pile, because you more than clearly demonstrated in your live TV interview, you do not have what it takes to represent and carry out the mission and purpose of the highest court in our nation.
13
does anyone believe that tirade was extemporaneous?
4
@gc
He spent more than a day writing that rant. Every word of it was considered and heartfelt. He meant to act exactly like he did.
5
Aw, gee - that's so nice of you, Brett. Thanks. Now do the right thing and withdraw yourself from the nomination. That's what a real "stand-up" dude would do . . .
10
The worst choice for Supreme Court since Roger Taney, by an illegitimate corrupt sexual predator president and a seditious GOP Congress complicit in Putin’s attack on western democracy.
12
Too little, too late. He had plenty of time to prepare and in fact spent hours in the White House preparing for the hearing. Maybe that’s when he picked up Trump’s bombastic style and the lines about the Democrats seeking revenge for the 2016 election and the Clintons.
In the end, he said what he said how he said it when he was interviewing for a seat on the Supreme Court. It’s troubling that it didn’t occur to him as he entered that room that he needed to keep his cool and appear reasonable and unbiased. That he couldn’t do that should disqualify him.
7
Nothing says "privilege" like publishing an op-ed in the WSJ to excuse a poor job interview. Even though I still don't think he belongs on the Supreme Court, the article made me feel sad for Mr. Kavanaugh. It was both undignified and unconvincing.
9
" I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad"
NO! I do not understand!
You were there as a partisan politician, entitled privileged man, and there was NO "a son, husband and dad".
I am still hoping against all odds you will NOT get confirmed.
8
@Marianne
He was there as an applicant for a very important position. No matter how angry he felt it was incumbent on him to maintain his decorum during the interview. True for any job but especially for a judgeship which requires an exceptional ability to put aside one’s feelings.
If you or I had behaved even a little as he did during any interview we would never have been offered the position.
He should not be confirmed based on that alone.
4
And yet his silence on his ability to bend the truth on issues that are not of great importance speaks as loudly as his ill temperament.
6
I like to think that the actions of Brett Kavanaugh reveal a young soul that has been trying to learn and heal and grow, but just can't seem to get it right. This life is proof of that. In his next life, he'll find himself the victim of someone else's cruel words or actions, and he'll find himself having to convince others of his truth and seek compassion from others not aware yet themselves of how to give it.
@kccrush the only problem with reincarnation as karma is that so many people suffer the consequences of bad-people-getting-away-with-murder in real time, in this life. And, their pain, our pain, continues. Mocked in real time. Trampled on in real time. And, it is the only time we know. It is too sad to punt ethical behavior to the next incarnation. But, I understand the desire. I just yearn to see what goes around come around in this life, to see not revenge so much, but life’s lessons learned today, mindfulness, today, accountability, today, compassion, today. I wonder what Kavenaugh prays for? A job?
Of course, he says, that he "shouldn't have said" the things he said. But he didn't say that he didn't believe the things he said. He revealed himself to be a partisan, prejudiced man who fosters conspiracy theories. He is not Supreme Court material by a long shot. I am not one who thinks that Congress should try to impeach Trump. It would be a waste of political capital. But I do believe that a new Congress should impeach Kavanaugh, should he be confirmed by the group of doddering, angry old men who currently hold power in the Senate. Kavanaugh is unfit to sit in judgment over more than half of the country. The only place he needs a seat is in an AA meeting.
15
@Allison
True about the AA meeting.
2
While there is no hard proof of the various accusations (and its almost never available since no one was there with a camera) there are many troubling signs which in itself should disqualify this guy.
But there is clear, hard proof that he is unstable, unfit, doesn’t have the temperament and is too biased and partisan to sit on any court.
Unfortunately the US is becoming a third world banana republic with its own kangaroo courts.
6
These were prepared statements in anticipation of a nationally televised hearing before a Senate committe. If there was any time to regret them it was when Kavanaugh was writing them.
8
@Tarek That's the bottom line. It wasn't a "heat of passion" crime. It was a coldly premeditated crime, but maybe written under the influence of alcohol?
At one point during Kavanaugh's remarks last week, the crescendo was building and I thought he was going to withdraw. I know the pressure must be intense, but the temperament question was raised by him!
Kavanaugh just isn't worth it to the country.
8
Judge Kavanaugh tried to make his pity-party hearing about being a son, husband and dad. What? Does he really think that show of entitlement and nastiness was an appropriate behavior example to his loved ones? Especially his kids?
My other question to the judge would be: Would you hire a CLERK who acted like you did in your job interview? Of course not. And yet you expect to be granted a life-long position on the highest, most influential court in the land.
Unbelievable. And it is shockingly dysfunctional that he may get his way.
26
It is very understandable to any rational human being that Brett Kavanaugh was in the fight of his life during the senate judiciary hearings last week on charges of sexual abuse brought by Dr. Ford. He was justifiably angry and frustrated at charges leveled against him in which he was totally innocent of not committing. Who would not have reacted in the exact same manner if found in this unfortunate situation. I think he was actually subdued under the circumstances. I would have been fighting mad.
Dr. Ford's testimony was flimsy and inconsistent and had no merit whatsoever. Those three people who she named as being at the party where the crime was allegedly to have taken place do not recall this party or any of the events in which she testified. They do not even recall seeing Judge Kavanaugh anywhere near the event. Who should be believed? Those three who said they have no recollection of this party or Dr. Ford? It is their word against hers and they should be believed. Her testimony had too many holes in it about where, when and year of crime. The facts kept changing and they were inconsistent.
I believe that Judge Kavanaugh told the truth and did not abuse Dr. Ford. He should be confirmed without a doubt.
2
You must have been watching a different hearing. This story is about the Dr. Ford/ Brett Kavanaugh testimony.
If Judge Kavanaugh had any ounce of decency and if he loved this country more than his ambition, whether the allegations are true or not, he would have withdrawn himself from this nomination seeing how this has become so toxic and and has torn the country even further apart. It seems, however, that despite many people saying no to his nomination, the judge just can’t take no for an answer.
10
@AS Exactly....He acts like it is his birthright.
1
Kavanaugh was not being "emotional." Nor was he "enraged." Both concepts have an element of spontaneity attached.
By contrast, Kavanaugh knew of the accusations against him, knew Blasey Ford would testify before him, and launched into his testimony/screed/tin-foil-hat conspiracy-mongering using prepared remarks that he had penned.
This was a calculated appeal to Trump and Senate Republicans scared of the base voters of Trump's Republican Party.
8
Over the years I have written many letters and emails in anger, as I am sure that many of us have done.
However, I have also learned that those emails and letters should not be sent. The letters do not get a stamp on their envelope, and the emails do not get a recipient in the address line or I make sure not to click the send button.
Apparently Judge Kavanaugh has not learned these same lessons.
Instead he chose to click on send to all, and now he must live with the consequences (to his professional and his personal lives) of his ill tempered and inappropriate tirade.
Perhaps he has now learned the lesson, but the message has been sent loud and clear.
6
Does he have any regrets about what he did to Christine Blasey Ford?
Of course not.
He and his friends can do what they want because that's the way it is and has always been.
6
Who thinks the Senate, about to appoint a proven liar, political partisan, and intemperate rube to the Supreme Court, against the recommendation of over 3000 law professors, will show an iota of respect for Roe v Wade?
In the week the Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to two persons fighting against sexual violence as a weapon of war, the Senate has turned sexual violence into a weapon for power.
Eleven white men in committee had tantrums, one announced as a "single white male."Collectively they used women as beards, blamed victims, blocked the calendar and the beer drinking age perjury, remained silent as Trump mocked a courageous survivor, choosing her most painful moment/self-absorbed boys laughing. The Senate silenced women's voices who had the audacity to break the silence on sexual violence. In the face of a million stories from decades ago, the Senate told the world their fear was for men.
The Senate is the jury that votes, 51 wins. To win, they put blame above facts, expediency above patience, and a sham review over due process. You think they really care about the country?
8
The WSJ article itself demonstrates that Kavanaugh is unqualified. He does not acknowledge that he was over-emotional (“I might have been”); although he states that he regrets saying “a few things” he does not identify them; and, perhaps most important, he does not apologize for anything, neither his tone nor his losing his temper nor his partisan and slanderous accusations. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change”, but I greatly fear an assasination and blood in the streets.
7
Kavanaugh is unfit for the Supreme Court of the United States.
McConnell is currently on the senate floor spewing a string of cherry-picked items for an audience of one.
12
Kavanaugh exposed himself as a volatile, vitriolic, partisan hack. An entitled, arrogant, condescending man who lacks empathy, remorse, or circumspection. A right-wing extremist who is itching to use his assumed position on the Supreme Court to mete out revenge and sadistic attacks against Democrats and anyone he considers the "other"- in short, millions of Americans.
Kavanaugh is utterly lacking in the impartiality and emotional and logical balance the American people require of a Supreme Court Justice.
Kavanaugh cannot be confirmed.
11
No do-overs on this one.
4
Try saying you are there as a mother and a wife at your next job interview! Judge Kavanaugh has written a lone dissent regarding a Sea World accident, stating that workers who accepted risky jobs could not hold their employers responsible. So being a father, son, husband only matters when you hold a prominent job?
You cannot appeal for more humanity at work when you rule against it.
6
I have a few regrets too.
Their names are Lance, Pence, Hatch, Graham, Grassley and Trump.
9
wow, so he gets to have a meltdown/tantrum AND have the last word (and tantamount to a do-over) on this? Dr. Ford would never have been allowed a meltdown and clearly without the FBI questioning her she does not have the chance for a final word.
The slow train comin' finally arrives in November.
8
I urge readers to inform themselves of the behavior patterns of alcoholics. Remember, alcoholism is NOT about the act of drinking, it's about one's accompanying behaviors.
At this moment, we see the" remorse cycle, the regret over his vaguely self- defined apologetic op-ed.
There is another behavior characterized in any text on the subject of alcoholism: DRY DRUNK. As a counselor (MS thesis Alcoholism & Adolescence), I believe Kavanaugh is a dry drunk at this time: his rage, lies, generalized belligerence & emotional manipulations belie his state of mind as a victim: DENIAL. Kavanaugh (& his supporters) cannot acknowledge his actions as a perpetrator. Therefore, Kavanaugh persists in his state of DENIAL, another characteristic behavior of alcoholics....and all those who ENABLE him.
25
@Peggy Sapphire Agreed! He could really benefit from a 12-step program. As it is right now, I am sure his wife and daughters walk on eggshells around him, waiting for the next explosion.
3
‘‘This Article in the Murdoch WSJ is just another attempt to covers a Kavanaugh Big Lie: that he has, even remotely, the judicial temperament, to sit on the Court. He essentially went berserk in his highly political rant and attack, showing just how deep his prejudices run, including showing himself to be a conspiracist and liar in the Trump mode. This complete lack of judicial temperament alone makes him the most unfit for a place on the court in modern history.
12
Words have consequences Mr Kavanaugh.
15
Temperament is way beyond the pale. Seems proud of the fact that he prepared his own statement at this follow up job interview. Clearly partisan, and that's why he was chosen. He's a no go for the Supreme Court and should get help to deal with his anger and alcohol misuse problems. This country is a mess.
11
The amazing thing in all of this is the lack of self-awareness by Judge Kavanaugh. He has been ascending in a system that the vulnerable have felt frustrated in front of for decade. When he felt the problematic nature of the system's functioning...ie became vulnerable himself before and in it...he lashed out in frustration. Just like so many people who are victim to the "justice" system every single day in countless ways. Just listen to Serial (season 3). We focus on these big events while dripping water undermines the foundation of trust and national fabric all over the "justice" system all over the nation. His experience formed no empathy to the actual experience of most in the very system he wants to crown.
6
Judge Kavanaugh, in your testimony you were not just defensive, you went way over the top emotionally. Your tone was not just “sharp”, it was unnecessarily confrontational, angry and downright rude. You displayed your partisanship. In that moment, you apparently forgot that you were addressing the world, not just the people in the room - and these were “prepared remarks”. No matter what you did or didn’t do, apart from the facts you do or don’t remember, your feelings as a “son, husband and dad”, you were unable to set your emotions aside for the occasion. This could have been the perfect opportunity to display your judicial restraint. Instead, by your own behavior, you clearly demonstrated that your unreliable temperament. Apart from anything else here, that alone should be enough to disqualify you to sit on the highest court in the land.
15
@sashakl
Your feelings as son or husband or dad are not remotely relevant to a job interview.
If I had claimed in an interview that my feelings as a daughter or wife or mother should be taken into account in the committee’s decision whether or not to hire me, what would the outcome have been? Not positive I assure you.
Brings a new meaning to " Sober as a Judge ". How about this : Nasty as an entitled Frat Boy. Seriously.
12
We have the votes! Kavanaugh will be confirmed! A great day and a defeat for the vile politics of our "progressives".
1
@jaco
What if it was the republicans who leaked it?
They knew about Dr Ford more than a week before he name was published in the Post. They also knew on that day aboutr Ms Ramirez yet pretended not to. ????
The vile politics is republican not Democrat, it always has been.
1
No where in Kavanaugh's letter did I see the words, "I am sorry.'
15
@SCoon
He missed Renate with that one, too.
Sociopaths never apologize.
When someone shows you who they really are, BELIEVE THEM.
14
Regrets...he's had a few...but then again...too few to mention.
12
He should have no regrets. None.
If you are falsely accused of sexual assault, indecent exposure, drugging women, and gang raping them, and if you are not outraged and proud to show it, you should be disqualified from serving in any job that requires moral character.
3
@Jay Lincoln I actually find this a refreshing point of view.
Judge Kavanaugh, you were not there as "son, husband and dad", you were there as a nominee to the highest tribunal of your country: the Supreme Court. And you showed that say that you are still a very partisan political hack with no respect for Democratic Senators and no sense of decency. And therefore you fail the test.
9
Did anyone count the number of first person singular pronouns in Kavanaugh's piece. Yes, it says a lot about him.
22
And you did not say a few things you should have said. And another cover up and stream of lies from the Republicans.
I'm a Yalie and I will be disgusted if you are confirmed to the Supreme Court. Hopefully one or two of the senators on the fence will have the decency to vote against your confirmation.
22
To paraphrase Kavanaugh’s biggest cheerleader: Georgetown Prep is not sending its best people.
12
It's unfair to hold a man's egregious conduct ,behavior and actions against him ,and as a defense, he laid out this non-sequitur : "I am a father, a son and a husband"
7
@william chinitz
A better approach would have been to shout, "Look over there. It's Bigfoot".
Mr. Kavanaugh, for you women's lives don't matter, gun control doesn't matter, and you have represented yourself strongly as not bipartisan. We the people and this country do not deserve to have you on the supreme court.
11
An op-ed in the WSJ, that bastion of populism? Really? Kavanaugh was only playing to his base--wealthy whites, mostly men, whose wives and daughters have probably been telling them stories over the last week that they never wanted to hear. But one op-ed, and it's all OK. Besides, Wall Street (and its tentacles all over the country) is the last place one would find paragons of virtue with regard to sexual harassment and assault. Kavanaugh just gave them all cover, too.
11
In 2068, when Brett and his wife have both passed on, their two daughters, now 60-year-old women, will ask each other, "So do you think Dad really did it all he was accused of? And do you think Mom and Grandmother knew exactly who he was?".
And they will both nod and say, "Of course he did it all. And of course Mom and Grandmother both knew. Everyone knew that it was true."
13
@DickeyFuller
Maybe so. In the mean time, he's using his little girls as political props. Too bad he didn't learn to treasure his children and protect their privacy from one of his mentors. George W. Bush.
@DickeyFuller. They may also remember how they were treated as women from the Republican party vs. “progressive” women. They may feel just as victimized.
It's not so much what he said but how he said it.
6
The piece he wrote is just as dishonest as his apology to Senator Klobuchar. He was probably told during the break in proceedings that it didn't look good and he should apologize to her. He was probably told the next strategy would be to write this letter.
Let us not forget the attacks on Democrats. This is not nor will ever be an impartial judge. SCOTUS will lose credibility and trust. Does that matter to any of the Senators voting for him?
Two Maya Amgelou quotes come to mind. "When someone shows you what they are believe them" and "people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
18
The Supreme Court requires our sharpest, calmest, and most considered minds, *especially* in turbulence. Not having a highly suspect history of sexual assault and antics is also a good start....
It is thoroughly depressing this man will likely be appointed our newest Justice.
9
An entitled, evasive, dishonest, partisan from the opening bell to the closing argument. This’s is why there was a filibuster- a 60 senator requirement- to lift confirmation above and beyond rank partisanship.
14
Kavanaugh's display before the Senate Judiciary Committee shows just how partisan and loyal he is to this President. When interviewed by Fox News, he was measured and fairly predictable. But after the President criticizes his performance as too "robotic," then we get the performance in front of the Committee. At least Gorsuch seemed more of an independent thinker.
5
I agree with Kavanaugh. He should have said he was withdrawing his nomination resigning his judicial position, and that he was becoming the newest Fox News star.
11
Or join the cast of General Hospital
@Gabrielle Rose
Yep, such display of (fake) emotion!
Kavanaugh's weepy sniffing and his snarling faces were real Emmy performances.
@Gabrielle Rose
Yep, such display of emotion!
Kavanaugh's weepy sniffingand his snarly faces were real Emmy level performances.
Brett Kavanaugh's WSJ op-ed was a non-apology placed in that paper to bolster well-educated conservatives' support. He hopes that we can understand that he was there as a son, husband, and dad.
How funny. I thought he was there as a judge.
Kavanaugh hasn't spoken to any news sources except conservative ones. He could have been on 60 Minutes - any of the Big Three available to the broad public. You cannot normally read any WSJ articles for free. His self-justifications are not for us, the majority of voters who went for Clinton, Stein, and Johnson. They are for the conservative section of the public who want to follow the lead of the President wherever it goes, even towards the loathing of their fellow citizens. Judge Kavanaugh was a son, husband and dad who sure hates Democrats and suspects them of playing tricks without evidence, and didn't want to clear his name through thorough FBI investigation because he felt it was worthless - quite an odd position for a man in law enforcement.
15
We all saw the true colors of Bret Kavanaugh in that hearing - losing his cool, attacking perceived enemies, telling obvious lies to benefit himself. The exact opposite of what we'd rightfully expect from a judge, let alone a "son, husband and dad."
I'd be embarrassed to see any of my family members act this way in public (or anywhere.) For a judicial candidate, this behavior should be immediately disqualifying.
12
Kavanaugh's attempt to reframe his testimony is yet another example of Kavanaugh being about .... Kanvanaugh. I was appalled that his testimony last week, and his clarifying op-ed, both fail to include a statement of the long-term scarring sexual assaults leave on victims. And where is the recognition that excessive drinking, either underage or legally, is wrong and dangerous -- sadly, nowhere.
Sent from my iPad
5
Kavanaugh sounds like the kid who throws a tantrum, and when it looks like he's getting what he wants, tries to salvage his image with an apology. He so clearly has gained little emotional maturity since high school.
"I hope people can understand I was there as a son, husband and father." No, Mr. Kavanaugh you were there as a nominee to SCOTUS, and your utter failure in those circumstances to set those other roles aside prove you are unfit to be a Supreme Court Justice.
9
As I read Judge Kavanaugh's piece last night, I had vivid memories of my kids at various times, with the age-old "I'm really sorry, Mom, and I'll never do it again! I promise!." This was said especially when they wanted something very, very badly. But they were kids.
16
I sat through many job interviews during my work years. I made it a point to bathe, trim my beard or shave, dress appropriately and studiously avoid throwing a conniption fit during the sit-down with my potential future employer. I didn't always get the job, but one thing I know for sure, it wasn't because I unloaded a barrel of grievances when asked where I saw myself in 5 years.
35
When one is angry and loses control, one tends to let loose the underlying emotions behind the anger. This is what happened to Kavanaugh. His improprieties and failures are far too many - during this process, during these hearings, and in his personal life - for him to be supportable as a defender of justice. He lost this nomination on his own. It was only when he was brought to the table for his own misdoings that the world saw his true nature. There are plenty of other conservative judges who can replace him without all this baggage. We need to move along.
12
The news media platforms Kavanaugh chose in his unusual foray into the news media at all constitute additional evidence for his virulent partisanship. Fox and the Wall Street Journal editorial page, both incidentally owned by immigrant Rupert Murdoch, are well known for their right-wing bias. If he really wanted to bolster his case for his proclaimed impartiality, he could have chosen more neutral platforms, or better yet, remained silent. It would have looked far more dignified.
A bid for the position of Supreme Court justice should not be run like a political campaign for elective office.
11
@ch
To me, it makes more sense for him to express regret to those who are sympathetic and not well aware of his errors. But who knows the considerations that went behind where he would submit his views (which would circulate, regardless).
1
Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Kavanaugh. Your behavior in the hearing was unfitting for a Supreme Court Justice. A nominee who cared about our country would have withdrawn as soon as it became clear that the country was angry and divided over the nomination. A Supreme Court nomination is not supposed to be controversial.
11
Oh, boo hoo. Mr. Kavanaugh, and others like him who grew up thinking they are entitled to do whatever they want with no consequences had better wake up.
Your little game is over. Women, girls, men and boys who are sexually abused and bullied will no longer be silent. Time's UP.
Some women like Kelly Anne Conway are saying nasty boys like Kavanaugh should not have to pay for the actions of the men, boys, priests and others who came before them and thought they were "entitled" to sexually abuse others for centuries. What a stupid way to think.
That is why these predators and liars have gotten away with it for centuries.
Time's UP, boys and girls. Time to put HIStory of hate-fear-anger-bullying-Lies,Lies,Lies- chaos-WAR in the dustbin and make it OUR story with equal power sharing by Socially Conscious Women and men in every segment of society. That is the way to balance and relative peace in the world.
NOW is the time.
11
@njglea
Using "Boo Hoo" to taunt someone that they are acting like a spoiled child seems off to me. Throwing around terms like "liars" and "predators", while quickly adding people to terrible categories that you created, doesn't reflect well on your sense of social conscious and path to peace and balance, IMO.
2
You are entitled to think whatever you want, bumba. So am I.
Apparently you think it's okay for boys/men/socially unconscious women to call victims of sexual abuse liars and we should just shut up and take it.
NO. Time for progressives like me to take off the gloves and fight like hell to preserve/restore honor and social/economic equity in OUR United States of America.
Strange conclusion to reach about my views. But why isn't it OK to call a crime victim a liar if they lied? If they didn't lie that's different, of course.
The more I hear from Kavanaugh and the harder he tries to persuade, the more he reminds me of that 17-year-old who just won't take 'no' for an answer. Actions speak louder than words.
29
Inferences about someone's behavior that are 'reminiscent' of others' behavior are not much to base an opinion on. In general, I think quality (rather than quantity) of supportive evidence is the key.
Sure, he'll be unbiased and fair as a justice of the Supreme Court. Just like "Devil's Triangle" is a drinking game and "boofing" refers to flatulence.
Yes, it's come to this. We have to talk about three-way sex in the confirmation process of a Supreme Court justice. Trump has surely won.
18
We all know that your true personality and character come through when under stress. Kavanaugh, we all saw the real, sick, partisan, self-entitled you, during the hearing. Your cover-up won't work on normal intelligent people. You will always be known as the Second sexual predator who got through. Thanks to republican sleeze.
11
There were also some things you should have said but didn't, like: I don't remember that happening, but I could have been blacked out. If I was, and it happened. I'm sorry." That would be manning up. Being honest. Instead you took the Trump road of attacking, throwing a temper tantrum. But you aren't as good at it as he is. So maybe there is some hope for you.
9
Kavanaugh is an extreme political ideologue, because that is exactly what the Federalist Society has been grooming for decades in judicial candidates. None of the judges on Trump's Federalist Society created, pre-approved judicial nominee list are anything but complete ideologues, because that is how they got on the list to begin with.
11
Senators Flake, Collins, Murkowski and Manchin are in a difficult position. They are “damned if they do, damned if they don’t.”
The allegations against Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault are not corroborated and in the US we believe in innocent until proven guilty. However, his performance in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing revealed a temperament unfit for the Supreme Court. And there appears to be strong evidence of not telling the truth.
Which ever way these senators vote they will be both revered and reviled. If I were talking with Senator Flake I would suggest that he do the “right” thing. If he is torn between the two options then consider what is most important to him. Statesmanship and love of country? Family? Loyalty to party? If he has presidential aspirations he might look at the demographics and maximize his chances.
I choose to believe that Jeff Flake is an independent and moral man, perhaps in the same mold as John McCain, another Arizona senator not running for reelection who chose statesmanship and rejected ultra-partisan politics.
McCain left a legacy of which he, and the rest of us, can be proud. Rejecting the effort to repeal the ACA was historic. What legacy will Flake, Collins, Murkowski and Manchin establish for themselves?
5
@JRT
We don't know that corroborating evidence doesn't exist; we only know that the Republican majority does not want to find it and will not allow the public see the results of even a severely limited investigation.
1
@PBS
Agreed, this smells like a sham. I am putting myself in Flake's position... However, as I write this it appears he took the easy path out and, in my opinion, destroyed any future political career.
So be it. Let's all get out an vote.
Judge Kavanaugh, Merrick Garland sympathizes with your plight.
9
I am so sick of public figures in peril hiding behind their familial roles. Yes, Brett (or Bart?), we know you have a parent, a wife, children. We even think you might mean a lot to those people, and that it's hard for those people to see you accused of something awful.
But those various roles you have do not justify arrogant, self-righteous, hostile behavior or naked partisan displays of rage. You are son, husband, and father to those people. To the rest of us, you are a person who is in line for a highly consequential job who will exercise control over our lives for decades to come. That, I'm afraid, is the salient fact here.
18
@Opinionated Pedant
Geesch, we're all getting whiplash!
Which "Kavanaugh" will be the SWING vote on repealing Roe v Wade?
"Brett the Choir Boy" or "Bart the Drunken Assaulter" ?
1
He would clearly say anything at this point to be confirmed. He's a self-serving liar: no other term for it. Confirming him to serve on the Supreme Count will be a travesty --- it will make the court anything but 'Supreme'.
17
In a demonstration of unassailable nonpartisanship, Kavanaugh gave an interview to Murdoch-owned Fox News and wrote an op-Ed for the Murdoch-owned Wall Street journal. Wow, who wouldn’t be impressed? The only thing that’s missing is his exclusive with the Drudge Report.
14
Whichever senator votes for this unqualified cry baby needs to lose their seat.
18
I can only view Judge Kavanaugh's actions through a lense 70 years in the making and it tells me don't trust a word this guy says.
He's a member of the Religious Right and lives a life steeled in a vision to end 'A Woman's Right to Chose.' He'll lie, deceive, exaggerate, do whatever it takes. Playing 'rope a dope' for decades on the issues he came in contact with has him on the cusp of being confirmed to our Supreme Court.
He's a con man, much like the president who nominated him.
The Evangelical Movement and those on the Religious Right live and die trying to save 'the babies from being aborted.' And they're everywhere, with many living vicariously through these two movements either as fixtures in their church or as members of the Republican Party. They'll say and do anything to get elected, appear praiseworthy in their civic and religious organizations.
These two movements are destroying the nation we once had, not improving it. They're deceitful, sly, and growingly more and more wicked by the the day.
We can only vote them out of power if we are to succeed as we battle these lying scoundrels. And 'getting out the vote' is first and foremost what can instigate getting us out from beneath this deceitful scourage.
9
@merc
Make sure every one of your like minded friends, acquaintances, family members, especially your voting age CHILDREN are registered to vote (can check it online) and get to the polls or mail their ballots in on time.
Hound them.
This is the most critical election of our lifetime.
The judge is one big apology tour---he regrets he drank too many beers, he regrets his snarky remarks to female senators, he regrets, he regrets---Is this pattern of regrets, regrets, somewhat concerning for a man we are putting on the highest court in the land.
7
I keep asking myself how Judge Kavanaugh would react should he be presiding over a case where a defendant conducted himself as Kavanaugh himself had acted during that hearing. My guess is he wouldn’t have given him special consideration because of being emotional. After all, the GOP keep insisting the burden of truth must be equivalent to that of a criminal trial, so all of the same rules must apply.
You decided to perform for a party of one, the President, in order to strengthen his support. That decision cannot be undone.
16
I haven't read this article yet. But doesn't it just speak volumes that it's in the Wall Street Journal that he chose to write it? Did he decide to address the thousands of law professors that wrote yesterday? Did he aim his apology to the masses? No. He's targeting the rich white old dude's club.
Judge, your apology should be addressed to Dr. Ford.
16
It's too late, Bart.
You let the mask slip.
We've seen your true face, and, if we were dating, I would have dumped you a week ago.
(Okay - full disclosure: You were never my type. I'm 70. I have a lifetime of proof that men like you give me the creeps. And if you had told me of your penchant for the Federalist Society or Cato or Heritage, I would have fled, screaming. Once this country used to have terrific men: work shirts, long hair, proudly flicking their bic to burn their draft card, and I cheered them in delight.
They never had mean, crab-apple faces like you, all squinched up and spewing hatetalk.)
I saw nothing in these last few days that spoke of a spark of ethics, intellect or a balanced disposition.
I saw nothing from you - nor did I see it from the men who support you.
Yelling. Snarling. Sneering.
The whole bunch of you were just channelling Nixon and Halderman and that thug, Mitchell.
You're nothing new.
But you bring with you the stink of slyness and greed.
Good luck to you in your new job.
As for me, I'm done with the Supreme Court. It's only been hanging by a thread for the last 20 years, but now, it is done.
I will let the Members baby-sit you for the next 40 years, but I'm done with it.
Supposedly, you were the best that could be offered.
Wow.
All I've seen is a scraping of the bottom of the barrel.
Creepy.
24
@rosa: Right on, from another elderly woman!
1
@mignon
Yo! If I were a cheese or a wine they'd be auctioning me off at Christie's!
We're not "elderly" - we're well-aged! Right?
Right on!
Great P. R. move, Brett!
2
Like his buddy Trump, he could have gunned down someone on live tv during the hearing but still get confirmed
5
@Dave: And he would have been very careful to dot not gunned down a Republican senator, after all he needed all the votes he could get.
1
So where’s the apology? I see “ I was a bad boy” but nothing else.
6
Brett, you’re behavior was an embarrassment to all men. You are the opposite of manly virtue. You certainly don’t have the wisdom or dignity to sit on the Supreme Court. Even if confirmed, you will never have the respect of the majority of Americans.
12
This all goes back to how this mess was handled. The danger to the FBI review was - how do you sort out all of the information coming out from people and organizations that want to have their names attached to this and show up in print. I have heard that - in an accident investigation - the only two things that matter are the physical facts and statements made immediately after the accident. Anything after that becomes tainted by memory, motives etc.... That is what we are seeing with this. I wish he hadn't lost his cool however - I tend to overlook his opening statement. An attempt to take some measure of verbal revenge on a group of hypocritical politicians who largely experience no pain from their random politically motivated bleatings - go for it. We all need to remember that one of the things that got President Trump elected was disgust with business as usual in Washington. Apparently both parties have forgotten and revert to form. As a nation - we should be disgusted with the entire process.
4
Yet another Boy’s Club Ploy, aided and abetted at the 11th hour by Big Daddy Rupert Murdoch. First the rage and the threats and the insults and the violence, and then out comes the abject art of the faux apology when you need Mama’s loving attention and support. It works every time, as these guys know, when you turn women into your mother, your wife, or your daughter. Boo hoo. take heed, Flake, Collins, Murkowski. You’re getting played real good.
9
This guy really needs a few violinists to ad requiem music to his act.
There is no way Kavanaugh will be respected on this bench.
19
From the available reports of his opinion piece in WJ, in which he endeavored to assuage the hurt feelings of those that matter, Brett appeared not to have made any vulnerary points, worth mentioning, quite simply because judges very seldom write op-eds. Instead of exhibiting aplomb, poised, decorous, stoic and gracious countenance, Brett chose to fly off the handle, in a vagarious manner, almost at the drop of a hat. What a piece work, he is!
It is quite tempting to suggest that a tetchy Brett was, deplorably, traducing the behavioral norms of a future SCOTUS justice, earning the wrath of many. He has vilipended the Dems, and yet declared himself as impartial. That's one recipe for a subterfuge, his listeners and readers will have to swallow. His stentorian and sophomoric self-defense resembled a vilifying villain of sorts.
All told, his confirmation is graded at about 80%, not surprisingly. Snoozers! The slapdash GOP attempts at voting for his confirmation reek of skullduggery and shenanigans. We are heading back to Stygian stages of civilization, inhabited by a cabal of scalawags.
7
@Vernon--------------Thank you, Vernon. I think you have pointed out the most dangerous quality in Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court justice. He is sophomoric.
4
How unseemly. How desperate. It took a week for him to write this.
No one would deny that he was entitled to mount a vigorous defense against Dr. Ford's testimony. However and regardless one's political affiliation, belief in Kavanaugh's credibility, or simply feeling a man's outrage at a serious accusation, it simply boggles the mind that after witnessing the out-of-control, undignified, rude, vicious contempt displayed by Kavanaugh that anyone could seriously believe he is a suitable, circumspect, and temperate jurist for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
I appreciate that he is wounded and offended and now desperate, but last week's display of arrogance and raw animus leaves him irrevocably compromised - at his own hands.
This mea culpa is too late.
17
There is a "Living Sober" AA meeting on Rhode Island Avenue, NE, at 10:00 a.m. this morning. A better place to air such regrets.
36
Typically pressure and stress can be relied upon as the testing grounds for an individual’s true character, disposition, and values.
Under duress Judge Kavanaugh proved to be paranoid and vengeful, characteristics he displayed in his career as a GOP operative working for Starr and GW Bush.
When Senators cast a yes vote for him, they will giving assent to the above as well as their preference for constitutional fundamentalism.
11
Well...Mitch McConnell is nothing if not paranoid and vengeful. Company you keep, and all that.
3
The more Republicans portray Kavanaugh as saintlike, the more I get nervous.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, and again in the spotlight weighing in on issues which impact, in many instances, the majority of Americans, there is no guarantee that when he works with other Supreme Court Judges, Kavanaugh will again display a wide spectrum of emotions from hot headed powder keg, to weepy, belligerent, and grandiose.
13
You're right, Mr. Kavanaugh, you CAN unring the bell!
And any sounds you don't unring in your more sober moments will surely be unrung by the US Senate.
Please keep moving, everybody. Nothing to see, here - except the latest Swan Dive of Democracy.
7
All we can hope for now is that Judge Kavanaugh receives the opportunity, from the Senate, for the better and best angels of his character to be displayed over the course of his tenure on the Supreme Court.
Once again The United States of America has shown itself to be incorrect in the ways in which it goes about its business. The United States Senate has no business choosing who sits on the Supreme Court. Only the Supreme Court, itself, should choose the succeeding Member when a vacancy arises.
5
On paper Judge Kavanaugh may be qualified but his demonstrated demeanor and questions about his credibility should disqualify him from a seat on the high court. Judge Kavanaugh seems to be constantly apologizing for his apparent bias and multiple tirades. Apologizing is good, but it’s hard to be apologetic to someone who’s appeal is denied because Judge Kavanaugh is having a bad day and the appellant has already been executed.
9
It kinda says it all that his op-ed is in the Wall Street Journal. Is he concerned there might be some "wobbly wealthys" wavering on his suitability for SCOTUS? Don't fret, incredibly rich people: he'll be right there ensuring you get even richer at the expense of the poor, the sick and the old.
10
What on earth is a Supreme Court nominee doing writing an op-ed about his wonderful judicial qualities? Sounds very much like Nixon's "I am not a crook."
21
Talk about adding insult to injury of the American citizen! The arrogance of Kavanaugh’s WSJ letter is mind-blowing in so many ways, and further evidence that he is not qualified to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. I would like to think that the letter is the final nail in his coffin, but I highly doubt it. God help the Republic.
13
He has not even apologized. He has just "explained."
No honor, no sincerity.
Vote NO, Senators.
19
How and why did we let an Australian right wing radical like Rupert Murdoch gain control of the American political landscape? They talk about the liberal media but between Fox News and the WSJ he holds ridiculously outsized influence on America.
11
@Steve Cohen Rupert Murdoch brainwashed the American population just so he could sell more adverts.
5
The mask slipped away for a brief moment and Americans were able to glimpse that rarest of sights, the real personality of a Supreme Court nominee.
Even if Dr. Ford's all too believable allegations are never proved, Kavanaugh should NOT be on SCOTUS!
22
"I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said".
This sounds like a high school kid, not a Supreme court judge.
31
@Crispus A.
Agree...Simply Unbelievable!
When does all this insanity end?
Imagine the blowback if a female candidate for SCOTUS were to write, “I was there as a daughter, wife, and mother.” Or if that same candidate dared to address the committee in such a manner. She’d be deemed “hysterical “in an instant.
36
If ever the adage "actions speak louder than words" were true, it is in the case of Judge Kavanaugh. Sorry, Judge, but writing an op-ed doesn't diminish your performance last Thursday, let alone your alleged sexual assaults.
28
I get being angry about accusations that you feel are unjustly leveled against you. However, you lack integrity when you go before the Senate Judiciary Committee and downplay certain aspects of your life in order to paint yourself as a perfect citizen. For someone who determines constitutionality of law, integrity is key.
9
Sorry, last week was the job interview, too late now.
16
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, this will be a dark page in history as a travesty of justice. Trump mocking Dr. Blasey-Ford was appalling & unconscionable. The FBI background investigations limited without interviewing the key people including Dr. Blasey-Ford nor Kavanaugh & key witnesses is a farce. Dr. Blasey-Ford was credible & passed a polygraph test while Kavanaugh refused. More than 2450 law professors, including 13 affiliated with Yale Law School and 21 with Harvard Law School, have signed a letter to the U.S. Senate arguing that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed because of his “lack of judicial temperament that would be disqualifying for any court, and certainly for elevation to the highest court of this land." Thousands of lawyers & ABA have stated Kavanaugh should not be a judge in the Supreme Court. Retired Superior Court Justice John Paul Stevens stated that Supreme Court stated nominee Brett Kavanaugh does not belong on the high court because of “potential bias” he showed in his recent Senate confirmation hearing. Dr. Blasey-Ford & numerous sexual assault victims are being told & shown that they don't matter. Judges in the Supreme Court need to be thoroughly investigated & it shouldn't be lifetime appointments. This also shows why a cultural change needs to occur so sexual assault survivors are not ignored & disbelieved & perpetrators should be prosecuted & jailed. We hope that Senators will listen to their conscience, heart, humanity.
169
@Sharen Van Fossen Yes. But Mitch McConnell has been waiting his entire career to structure the Supreme Court in such a manner as to convert the rest of the country to the same serfdom as exists in Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, the Carolinas, and the rest of the good 'ol south
1
@Sharen Van Fossen
A dark page? Under this administration, we’re up to Volume II of Make America Dark.
1
@Sharen Van Fossen What? Only Harvard and Yale professors matter? That type of elitism is the same kind that makes Kavanaugh an even less attractive nominee for the Supreme Court. Other than RBG, a Columbia Law School grad, all the justices went to Harvard or Yale law school. It wasn't always that way, but now it seems we're stuck in that pattern even as academic excellence is more broadly shared by schools all over the country, not just in the Ivy League. I wonder what the many lawyers on the Senate Judiciary Committee who went to "lesser" law schools (Senator Cornyn? Senator Graham?) thought when Kavanaugh crowed about Yale. Senator Hirono's clapback about her law degree from Georgetown (an excellent law school) was a welcome relief. There should be more academic diversity on the Supreme Court.
1
Judge Kavanaugh has also done things that disqualify him according to reports from friends. The WP details a history of cover ups and circling the wagons because of his behavior. A man who played the field, who like physical aspects of the women sent to clerk for him, and his obsession with beer (mentioned 29 times in his testimony). No - his close friends are not going to support Dr. Ford. It is ludicrous to expect they would. Republicans must have an ulterior motive in clinging to this man. A wiser group would have dropped the nomination. But Trump hates to lose - and we know his attitude to being a sexual predator.
32
@Barbarra
Yes, but trump has never said that Bill Cosby was treated unfairly. And we can imagine that is because, in trump's mind, Cosby is guilty by virtue of being a black man.
1
Contrition at this time is better than none at all. However , this appears to be just a ploy to get those few Republican senators who still might vote against confirmation. Contrition last Thursday may have gone a long way to winning a less partisan confirmation. The man is flawed and proved himself to be a skilled liar. Is Kavanaugh really the man who should be the next SCOTUS justice? He will probably follow in the footsteps of Alito if confirmed.
Unfortunately majority Court rulings in the next decade will probably be out of step with the majority of American opinion. I think the Supreme Court will continue to diminish in stature when Republican presidents appoint justices who appeal to the Republicans' base base but do not rule on the basis of 21st Century interpretation of the Constitution and the TRUE principles upon which the Constitution was written.
20
Kavanaugh's belated response has all the hallmarks of an alcoholic "apologizing" for his behavior: a veneer of emotion and thoughtfulness, barely obscuring core denial and deflection. It's never his fault, you know. It's everyone else's, for making him be that way and act that way. The man is utterly unfit in temperament to be a judge, let alone a Justice.
57
Kavanaugh, you were there as a whiny self-imagined patrician whose worth was being questioned by the little people- your employers. You work for the United States Citizens, not your tony country club friends Squee and such. A travesty.
32
“I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been,” he wrote. “I might have been too emotional at times.
Imagine if a women interviewing for a Supreme Court Justice position were to get "too emotional"?
77
@Anne I can imagine she would be praised for her sincerity and devotion to her family, held up as a paragon of feminine virtue, not to mention a victim of sexism from attacks on her and her family. As a country we still employ the double standard.
He goes on Fox news to make his case. Fox news!! He then huddles with our absurd,dishonest,corrupt President to plan his speech and line of attack. He comes into the hearing all indignant and angry. He gives a speech filled with Trumpian rhetoric, laced with anger, arrogance, victimhood, false accusations and tribal politics. Then, afterward, he does not contact a moderate journal or progressive journal for his apology, but yet another conservative outlet --reminding us of our President who probably coached him again. He goes to the conservative paper to say, "never-mind, I was emotional. I am a very unbiased person. " I expect his opinions to begin like this, "This is the best opinion ever written. It will go down in history as the most thoughtful, unbiased opinion ever. ..."
32
How is it? Kavanaugh cannot remain impartial if he wasn't impartial in the Senate hearings, Bush years, Clinton years, and basically all his life. He doesn't come across as honest and earnest.
11
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters."
At least seven times in the WSJ piece, and it wasn't very long, the nominee talked about his family. During his testimony, he used his family like a cheap prop, inviting the world into what most folks would see as his daughter's private space, talking about her bedtime prayer. On other matters, he weaseled. Never blacked out or passed out from drinking too much, but I have fallen asleep. Blamed the yearbook editor for the horrible things he wrote about a girl who attended a nearby school. Attacked a senator after she'd just talked about her own family's struggles with alcoholism.
Mr. Kavanaugh, I am sure that your wife, daughters and parents are wonderful people, but leave them out of this. If you were there as a husband and son and dad, you were there for the wrong reasons. The reason you were there, or should have been, was to allow senators and the American people to determine whether you should sit on the Supreme Court, and to hide behind your family by continually and repeatedly bringing them up is, in my opinion, both disgraceful and somewhat cowardly. As they used to say, buck up, answer the questions to the best of your ability and don't lie. That's why you were supposed to be there. Everyone can draw their own conclusions as to whether you succeeded.
29
He lied to a Senate committee and the Republican Senators are still going to confirm him?
Essentially confirming him is taking down the Supreme Court and the US Senate.
And America is a lesser country. Really. The Republicans in the Senate are saying he lied to our committee but that doesn't matter because he's our boy. And he showed his biases, again put him on the highest court? So it's okay to lie to Senate okay to be a biased jurist on highest court. It's a sad day.
Party politics over our country's ideals? That must be quiet a decision?
Of course you are disappointing me, but you are also confirming my low opinion of you.
24
@John-----------Thank you, John. Your comment helps. I would like to add that this whole dreadful contretemps includes, if one looks carefully, a clear symptom of the misogyny which so much sickens our country.
1
@John. OMG, she lied! Not one piece of evidence
It was probably written by Grassley's staff as a lame attempt to patch over his ghastly performance. Conveniently, there's no mention of the other things he shouldn't have said: the outright lies.
As mentioned elsewhere in the NY Times today, "Bart" is the second justice in our nation's history (after Gorsuch) nominated by a president who did not receive a majority of the popular vote and who may be put on the Court by senators who received fewer votes in the aggregate than the senators who vote against him. What's wrong with this picture?
The Republican kleptocrats will be the ruination of us all.
Vote Nov. 6
29
Too bad that one of the Democratic Senators didn’t ask for a copy of Judge Kavanaugh opening remarks and ask him to explain his conspiracy theories.
11
"“When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time." -- Maya Angelou
Or to paraphrase Phil Collins: Sorry Brett, we were there, we saw what you did. We saw it with our own two eyes.
You wrote your speech ahead of time. That wasn't spur-of-the moment. It was all intentional, and aimed to manipulate public opinion. You can't be trusted on the nation's highest court.
30
Simply put the man is not judicial .
25
Kavanaugh is not fit to sit on the bench of the Supreme Court or anywhere else. He does not have a judicial temperament, which he has clearly demonstrated. Kavanaugh also lied under oath and disrespected Senators. He’s not fit for the job, period.
19
About that "teary-eyed" bit in the article....He sure contorted his face into an angry, pugnacious, self-righteous (did I mention ugly?) mask, and genuflected his evident exasperation with the judicial process...but "tears"? I didn't see a single one. Just dry, angry eyes. Nothing in his demeanor, contrary to all reports, indicated "tears". A better actor would have been able to channel some past trauma in order to call forth the "tears" for the performance. Maybe that's just too hard a task for those born into, and raised up within, such a culture of privilege.
9
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad."
. . .and as a spoiled and belligerent 17-year-old.
31
I didn’t read an apology; I read another explanation, ad nauseum.
If this man is voted onto the US Supreme Court, we VOTERS must VOTE out any Senator who votes for this man.
VOTES are POWER. We must use our POWER on November 6, 2018.
REGISTER to VOTE on November 6, 2018.
31
@MC
Don't take a chance!
You can confirm you are properly registered to vote and where by simply googling "confirm voter registration".
Very EZ!
Kavanuagh's little mea culpa reminds me of an alcoholic "apologizing" after a drunken night, trying to appease his co-dependents into imagining he won't do it again... and again. ("I said a few things I shouldn't have" ... ). Surely in all of American there are many people better suited to serve on the Supreme Court.
19
This guy lied to Congress multiple times. How does he even keep his law license?
21
@Jay Wait until the hearings start in January
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
Nope, can't understand that. See, this was a confirmation hearing, Brett, for your potential role as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. That is why you were being evaluated. Not whether you are, or are an adequate, son, husband, and/or dad. Your role as a male person is not at issue. Your potential role as a judge is at issue. TL;DR-- You are wrong.
But I see why you're so desperate to remind everyone that you're A Man, that A Man's Good Name (tm) has been ruined, that we need to be thinking about what if what "happened to you" happened to our brothers, sons, or husbands, and not whether you are fit to serve as a member of the highest court in the land, which is the *actual* inquiry at issue (a rhetorical slight of hand something akin to what we call a "red herring" or a "straw man argument" in oral argument).
And now we know that your reasoning ability, in addition to your temperament, is not suited for the Court.
25
Regrets? As in all of the lies?
11
Electioneering for a place in the Supreme Court. Taken together with the Fox interview, a new idea of campaigning for a non-elected post. Shameless and shameful.
11
It is too late to be Politically Self-righteous, when it is obvious there is a self-control problem.
19
To lie, deny and cry your way into the Supreme Court is beyond the pale, but it is entirely consistent with the amoral conduct of this White House and the values-ignoring Republican Party.
22
I believe him when he says he will be the same kind of judge he has been. It isn't everyday that ex-President G.W. Bush lays down his paint brush to work the phones lobbying for the judge who will deliver on Karl Rove's dream of a one-party country. Why else would Karl Rove work the Fox News and talk show circuit on behalf of his "friend" Brett!! He was huddled in the White House for hours after the Blasey-Ford news broke --developing strategy, talking points, recruits for the campaign that followed even as he went on Fox News and then on the rampage against Democrats in a grand eruption of projection: claiming that Democrats sought revenge, wanting to take him down, ruin his reputation.... He is a good campaigner. He has a good nose for what the powerful want and presents the face that sells best. So, yes, I can count on him to be the same kind of judge he has been: racist, misogynist, pro corporate-power, pro-polluters, pro-insurance companies, for unchecked Executive power..... In other words, against democracy and for the powerful -- a loyal Republican hack who knows how to clothe party ideology in legalistic garb. They know what they are getting. And he owes them.
13
The die has been cast. The Rubicon has been crossed. The discussion and vote on Kavanaugh is only sound and fury signifying nothing. It's a done deal! He will be confirmed, and we're in for thirty plus years of backward evolution toward a second Dark Ages. However, there is hope. In the near future, we will program the human mind in a computer, and this will be based on a "survival" algorithm. When this is done, we will have irrefutable proof of how we have tricked the mind with our ridiculous beliefs about what exactly is supposed to survive. Then, we can begin the long trek back to reason and sanity.
See RevolutionOfReason.com
4
Textbook example of an abuser's apology.
31
@Tee
Exactly. I won't do it again - I swear. That wasn't "me." Except when it is me.
2
His claim that he will be impartial seems as disingenuous as his explanation for being a Renate Alumnus.
15
Presumably it was not alcohol speaking. Something is wrong about Judge Kavanaugh.
No matter how drunk, very few adolescents or college students would attempt to rape someone - or even laugh at someone's fear and panic. Common humanity precludes such behavior.
During the hearing we saw Kavanaugh's nasty, vindictive side. He lost control. Presumably as a lawyer he understands the nature of cross examination. He had time to prepare. He is not a total idiot. But he behaved like one. He couldn't hold it together.
Even if Dr Ford's testimony were totally false, his arrogance, his sense of entitlement did him no favor.
He shall not be questioned.
Temperamentally unqualified.
23
I should add that his prevarications alone disqualify him.
5
A threat from Kavanaugh
".....count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career......."
THAT is exactly what we are afraid of.
refusing to allow a pregnant woman a legal abortion; sexist/humiliating questions about Monica Lewinsky;receiving stolen docs; supporting Bush admin torture; ignoring PROTUS malfeasance, extreme partisanship, and so on.
exactly what we are afraid of.
13
A spoiled frat boy gas lighting his way all the way to the Supreme Court. Unaccountable for his past and promoted by the party of plutocracts. Lovely.
14
Let's see...
political hack
rapacious
mendacious
injudicious comments
Sounds good to me. Approve him quickly before anything else comes up.
7
"I might have been too emotional at times."
"Maybe I had too many beers."
And, also, Judge Kavanaugh... maybe you tried to rape a young girl, when you were 17 and should have known it was wrong.
15
I, for one, am glad you revealed your partisan, conspiracy theorist perspective. Apologizing for what you said doesn't matter if your opinions haven't changed.
13
Judge Kavanaugh crafted an op-ed to address his outburst(s) but he
'forgot' to say "I'm Sorry".
Weak.
17
@meg. Sorry for what?
What would you have said to the defendant if Dr. Christine Baisley Ford's case came to your court, Judge Kavanaugh, if the defendant acted like you? I watched the whole hearing and your righteous indignation and accusations made me wonder. Yes, you are a son, father, husband and a friend to many men and women, a Party member, an alumnus of Yale College and Yale Law School, and a judge but are we, the people wrong to expect more from a Supreme Court Judge?
11
Kavanaugh's Senate testimony was not extempore, but one delivered after much thought and deliberation. His WSJ oped piece looks like yet another excuse. And no, he is not seventeen but still behaves as if he is entitled, this time to forgiveness. He didn't acknowledge his discourtesy. He writes, "I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said." You said not just a "few" things, but a lot of things that a Justice should never, never have said. You showed us your vile, partisan side. You even triggered a retired Justice Stevens to remark that it wouldn't be prudent for the Senate to seat you. The same goes for the thousands of law professors who signed their names to a statement requesting the Senate not seat you on Supreme Court for fear you'll debase it.
Kavanaugh writes in the WSJ, "I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” Really? Your performance was not of a son that your parents could be proud of, nor of husband that your wife would be proud of. And of course once your children come of age, it would be something your children would be ashamed of. So don't pretend your Senate performance was for them. Don't lie yet again. It was one more selfish and out-of-control act, like the many others, witnessed and reported by your college mates, and as can be seen by all of us in your high school yearbook, from decades ago.
Senators don't be fooled.
17
@Sarah-----------------------The disgusting thing is that the Senators have not been fooled and will vote him in, anyway.
Our country is in deep trouble.
If he cared more about the integrity of the court over his own personal ambition, he'd withdraw his nomination immediately.
11
I agree with our Canadian neighbor, @ReBeKah, that if he were innocent, should have insisted - strenuously - for a complete and thorough investigation on the part of the FBI, which in that case would have completely cleared him. He is a lawyer and a judge, and should understand strategy. His confirmation without such exoneration will cloud his entire career, and further split the country. Rather than whining about how unfair it is (from Trump's playbook), it would demonstrate that he is indeed intelligent and impartial.
But he chose to rant instead about the Clintons.
That the Republicans may go ahead with the confirmation in spite of the damage it will do to our country is telling.
12
I have never had a job interview where I showed up as a wife or mother. It was always about experience and if I was the right “fit”
Kavanaugh loses this job based on fit and temperament and partisanship. It has nothing to do with Ford or Hillary. It’s just him
And by the way, no one had seen 90% of his
Papers from his work in the Bush White House. There is so much more there to question this culture warrior on. Why must it be him?
13
The most honorable thing for Kavanaugh to do is to decline the nomination in light of the contention and controversy, whether just or unjust.
Another conservative judge can get passed through without the integrity of the supreme court taking a hit.
6
The Judges name came to the President from a Conservative think tank. Partial and partisan. The President has promised his base to appoint a candidate who would overturn Roe. Partial and partisan. The Senate can cut off debate with 51 votes not 60. Granted Harry Reid deserves some of the blame for this. Partial and partisan.
Republicans talk about the process being tainted by Democrats holding onto the allegation against the Judge. The have that part right. The process was tainted when Garland didn't get a hearing. The process is tainted when a minority government can make a life time appointment to the SC by cutting off debate with a simple majority.
The Judge was appointed and will be confirmed because he is partial and partisan. Why would we be having this fight for zero Democratic votes if the President and the Republican Senate that will seat him with 51 votes didn't want a partial and partisan Judge seated for life?
Until normal rules are brought back to the Senate and the President's nominee comes from a Blue Ribbon committee instead of a partisan think tank, I will never see the SC as a anything but a partisan stacked court. Kavanaugh has once again lied .
12
Kavanaugh has appeared before the Judiciary Committee, he has appeared on Fox News to paint another portrait, he reappeared before the Judiciary Committee to angrily defend himself and now he has a reasoned and apologetic piece in the Wall Street Journal.Through all of this There runs the thread that he is very partisan.He worked for years in the Bush White House and sees himself loyal to Republicans.Can anyone really believe that this nominee will uphold equal justice?That is why a former Supreme Court Justice opposes him in addition to over one thousand law professors.
12
@JanetMichael. The Judge you speak of is a 100 year old liberal democrat, geez
I'd be interested to know who paid for that piece in the Wall Street Journal and who is Mr. Kavanaugh getting advise from? Seems to me there are behind-the-scene controllers who either temper or incite his performances. It isn't a steady message but more a series of focused, targeted reactions to sway things his way. But I don't believe he's the pace setter as much as a tool.
7
“I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.” I thought Kavanaugh was there as a nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States. His histrionics before the Senate cannot possibly be forgotten both emotionally and, most importantly, in the legal sense. On the latter point, I cannot help but agree with retired Justice John Paul Stevens’ recent remarks on Kavanaugh—and I am a conservative. I would think the Senate might want to pay close attention to the opining of a former Supreme Court Justice on the legal ramifications of Kavanaugh’s indiscretions before their committee.
9
If he was a she, such an outburst and self serving expression of “remorse” would never be taken seriously or tolerated.
10
The timing of this "apology" does not reflect well on Brett Kavanaugh. A week has passed since his testimony, during which he could have expressed regret for his uncontrolled anger and - most of all - for his un-judicial show of partisanship and contempt for the Democratic senators. But it took the outcry about his un-judicial behavior, culminating in a letter of non-support from thousands of law professors, to prompt him to say he was sorry. And by not specifying what he is sorry for, he is again showing the same evasiveness he did at the last hearing (and previous ones). For a judge to curry sympathy by saying that he was there as a "son, husband and dad" is emotional grandstanding. No, Judge Kavanaugh, that's not why you were there. You were there, speaking under oath, as a nominee for a seat on the highest court of the land - full stop.
12
Well I for one am glad to see that he apologized for his behavior, in particular his interactions with Senator Klobuchar, and at long last expressed some empathy for what Dr Ford endured.
Wait a minute...
7
Sorry Judge Kavanaugh, it was reasonable to expect a strong, vocal and deeply emotional defense at the hearing. What was not reasonable was the blatantly partisan attack, boorish behavior and citing of conspiracy theories. This is unacceptable behavior for a Supreme Court nominee and does not deserve to be rewarded with a confirmation.
22
The issue here is not whether or not he should have said these things, but whether or not he meant them, whether or not they represent what he really thinks. Everything else we know about him suggests that they do, and that is why he should bot be confirmed.
13
I keep wondering what his private life must be like if he is crossed or challenged at home. Or what he is like when the girls’ team he “coaches” loses.
We saw unbridled rage during those hearings—do others see it all the time?
8
Kavanaugh has proved himself to be a deeply flawed candidate. We did not have this problem with Gorsuch. I do not understand why Republicans have not pressured President Trump, who has a list, to choose a different nominee. He is not the only Republican judge in the country. Let's move on. What am I missing here?
9
@Cathy-------------------I think you are missing Trump's and his cohorts' desire to radically change the United States from democracy to autocracy.
One thing Kavanaugh did not say was that he didn't believe the things he said even if he said in his op-ed piece that he shouldn't have said them. The two things are not the same. I'm sure he knows that. I'm sure every Senator knows it too.
10
Strategy backfired and now the back-pedaling. Damage done, can't be undone. No one can ever believe the man can be impartial.
8
@Millie Bea. You think Ruth Bader Ginsburg is impartial?
Quite a campaign for a Supreme Court nominee-- interview on Fox news, op-ed the night before a vote. We see the willful ambition that has fueled his campaign--one has been filled with evasion,
lies, distortions. In the age of Trump, a political operative like Trump.
8
"Judge Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion piece that his words during the hearing “reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character.” "
So he chooses to lie again in his opinion piece, as many say he did under oath, because there have been corroborating accounts of his behavior, they have just been ignored by the Republican leadership in the Senate.
5
To say that Kavanaugh behaved badly last week is an understatement. He apologized for having said things he should not have said, but we all now know that this is what he easily thinks, bottom line. He behaved like a teenager with all the stops out just barely under the surface. Such an example of arrested development for all the world to see.
There is still time to come forward with another nominee for SCOTUS and this is exactly what needs to happen to get rid of this dry drunk, maybe not so dry, option for OUR Supreme Court.
8
I can't remember when a SCOTUS nominee has campaigned this hard to get the seat. It's a bit unseemly in itself. He appears to view this position as a birthright and/or to have a distinct agenda in mind once he gets the seat.
12
I can't recall when a candidate for Supreme Court justice has had this level of anything goes campaigning against him.
2
@Margo How about Merrick Garland?
Do you remember way back in 2016 when an entire political party campaigned against even giving him a hearing?
" I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad."
Yeah. Always trying to make it seem like good intent.
I have no idea what he even means. The job is Supreme Court Justice, with the power to decide healthcare, voting, and immigration issues for 300 million people. So does he respect the role, respect the essential need to uncover the truth, and the consider the interests of the entire population (not just his old white male wealthy Country Club and Federalist Society friends)?
8
I am still astonished that no one recognizes or reports on the undisputed fact that Sen. Feinstein had and held onto the allegations for 45 days. A time in which the complete and thorough investigation everyone seems to be demanding now could have been done. But, with the critical mid-term elections in place and the slight hope to win democrat seats in the senate people want to have an investigation and delay the vote.
The lack of accountability by party leaders regarding Sen. Feinstein’s inaction is inexcusable. We are an embarrassment to democracy. I can no longer support democratic candidates, since Bill Clinton there has been a downward spiral, full of deceit and lies which we have all tolerated.
32
@Maura Remember that McConnell blocked any hearing for Obama’s pick Merrick Garland, effectively stealing a SCOTUS seat.I trust you were outraged at that? Maybe enough to write a published angry missive you could direct us to? What Feinstein did was gamesmanship to be sure, but I’m frankly glad the Democrats have quit what I heard described as “bringing a covered dish to a gunfight.”
2
@Maura
Senator Feinstein says that she didn't come forward with the allegations because Dr. Blasey Ford wished to remain anonymous. But we can get an indication of how Republicans would have reacted by looking at how Republicans did react when Dr. Blasey Ford did come forward and ask for an FBI investigation on or before September 18th.
The Republicans delayed. They didn't agree to an FBI investigation until weeks later when it was clear that they didn't have the votes to confirm without an investigation. Even then, they put enough restrictions on the investigation that Dr. Blasey Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and dozens of others were not interviewed. They prevented an investigation of whether Judge Kavanaugh lied during his testimony.
There is no evidence that the Republicans would have authorized a complete investigation at any time.
2
Sswank - guess what. Even if the Obama pick was stopped improperly, two wrongs don't make a right. Especially when the current wrong devolves into character assassination.
As I often remind my kids, "you show who you really are when you're back's against the wall." In last week's hearings, Kavanaugh showed who he really is, and it's not someone who belongs on the Supreme Court.
325
Exactly.
2
"he had regrets about some of the things he said"
His regret is that his true colors as a flaming life-long partisan Republican hack, which he carefully disguised in his initial hearing, revealed itself, thus turning many patriotic and serious jurists against installing him.
This appears to be part of an engineered communication strategy, not a serious apology.
17
First the Fox News appearance, and now this. We expect our judges to be independent and above opinion- making or seeking. No one person, even the most qualified and experienced jurist, owns an entitlement to sit on the United States Supreme Court. A nominee should stand down and refrain from public comment, and allow a full inquiry into his or her qualifications and character. When that does not occur, there is reason to be concerned.
10
Oh, I see.
Mistakes were made.
OK. Thanks.
Anything else?
19
It's one thing to blurt out words you later regret and quite another to write down those words and have hours to think about them before reading them to the nation.
44
Kavanaugh is now and always has been a political hack. His behaviors as a teenager, young adult and now, do not warrant a seat on Supreme Court.
Justice Stevens spoke truth to power by stating Kavanaugh should NOT be confirmed. This to me proves beyond a shadow of doubt why.
49
Kavanaugh is not being evaluated as a "son, husband and dad," but as a dispassionate jurist with the potential to affect millions of lives for generations. His non-apology comes off as a pathetic attempt to save his own hide at all costs.
70
An op-ed piece by a supreme court nominee on the eve of the vote? Really?
And in a publication owned by Murdoch, no less.
77
How much different from the Ginsberg statement two years ago?
2
@Margo
Quite a bit different, actually, if you are referencing Ruth Bader GinsbUrg, who was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a vote of 96 to 3 without printing any op-eds.
One of the ads that the Republicans were running to boost 100 Keg Brett was a blonde woman who said she knew him for many years, and that she supported him. She said she was a teacher and a COACH (big emphasis on "coach").
It turns out she PULLED HER ENDORSEMENT of 100 Keg Brett (and those ads have thankfully disappeared).
Many of those who say they know him so well appear to end up being surprised by what he proves to be in public.
I too can say without fear of contradiction: "Brett NEVER sexually assaulted me. I did not think he would be capable of doing that." Oh, wait, ... I am an over 70 white dude who played defensive tackle in college football. I guess he is not attracted to my type. I must not have the right color hair.
25
While it is true that all Presidents nominate candidates to the Supreme Court that in some ways reflect their politics, Trump laid bare the GOP strategy of 'taking over' the Supreme Court to use as a cudgel to impose conservative values on the country. When he declared that any judge he considered would 100% overturn Roe, where was the impartial judicial consideration of whatever case come before the court?
So from the very beginning of this process, we have known that whoever was nominated would in fact NOT be impartial and rule on the law in question before them. To claim otherwise is to lie.
Kavanaugh's meltdown before the Senate last Thursday in fact cemented this partisanship with his ugly threats of payback based on conspiracy theory. He was in that way too honest.
Add in the fact that Trump is acting in pure self-interest by nominating Kavanaugh, the judge who will protect him from indictment, and we have every reason to reject his nomination.
Kavanaugh has as the phrase goes been 'bought and paid for' and when seated must deliver to his bosses. There is no impartiality at all.
48
One has to wonder why Kavanaugh, if innocent, would not take the high road, and invite - in fact, welcome - a full and complete investigation in order to clear his good name. The fact that this very limited and highly directive investigation by the FBI is being used to satisfy the Senate and supposedly is not only insulting to women and to all Americans, but is just another reason for Trump to laugh and crow at his opponents. Here in Canada, we are watching and waiting for Americans to finally stand up and be counted, for godsake. Do not take this lying down. We look forward to the Dems taking back the house in November and restoring your country to a semblance of sanity.
74
@RebeKah
I will vote for that (both literally and figuratively).
3
During moments of stress is when a person's true character is revealed.
50
@Dan88
I watched his testimony and thought he was going to breakdown at any moment. Would you want this guy as a pilot? as a cop? as a surgeon? Would you want him on your team? Would you want to work with him in your office?
5
Has there been another Supreme Court nominee who has published an opinion piece in a major newspaper begging to be appointed? His whining desperation was dripping off the page. Who was the piece aimed at? Not the public, surely. We don't elect him, though he certainly seems to be campaigning. Kavanaugh is truly a justice for the Trump age--a brash and insulting man who feels entitled to the position. His self-pity certainly mirrors Trump's own, as does his evident talent for lying. And, now we find that he has the delicate sensibilities of a Victorian maiden--so embarrassed to be asked questions in the presence of his wife and parents that he becomes hysterical. I have no doubt that he will end up on the Court, as Mitch McConnell did warn us that he intended to "ram" Kavanaugh through, but it will be a Supreme Court that few Americans respect, as partisan as Congress and with all the luster of traffic court.
76
Well put. It is scary to think that the country may truly not recover from the GOP destroying a third pillar of our democracy, just as it hss destroyed the Congress at the national level, and the “Kavanaugh” Court will now be able to lead the way, deciding cases to benefit the wealthy and the white men and the fascists among them. 1984 has arrived.
3
@Kathy---------------And don't forget another very important project: to put women back in their place where they belong.
@Ms. Pea-------------Miss Pea, thank you for your perfectly wonderful comment.
If sincere, than Mr. Kavanaugh should ask to delay the vote so he could have another opportunity to testify and clear the air.
21
@Neil - Agreed, but to be more specific, he should be required by the Chairman to answer the questions he evaded, as well as any questions raised by the sworn testimony before the Committee of the impeachment and rebuttal witnesses whom the FBI has failed, or been directed not to interview.
13
In his Senate rants, Brett Kavanaugh *did not* speak or behave like an innocent person wrongly accused. Rather, Brett Kavanaugh spoke and behaved *exactly* like a guilty person whose crimes have been exposed.
If you, an innocent person who had never done what he is accused of doing, were accused of groping and silencing a struggling 15 year old, you would be shocked. You would be troubled. You would be astounded. You might be embarrassed. You might squirm. You would scan the crowd for sympathetic eyes.
But you would be assured of your own innocence, and you would know that if you spoke rationally and calmly, you could convince your accusers of your innocence. Brett Kavanaugh had every chance to do that.
But he didn't do that. He behaved *exactly* as exposed abusers behave. He raged. "How dare you, you lesser being, question my private little indulgences? I have compensated for my Mr Hyde peccadillos by being Dr Jekyll, a model citizen. I coach girls' sports! I am nice to female law clerks! I attend mass!
I have paid my dues! I have paid the price for my minor little adventures into the dark side! How dare you introduce these tawdry facts into my immaculate public persona!"
This man, like many abusers, has two sides. He has cultivated an all but perfect good guy persona. And he has kept his dark side well hidden, and acted out his dark side only against the weak.
44
@Danusha Goska Spot on, and articulated beautifully.
2
@Danusha Goska
recall that dick nixon said--'I am not a cook'.
3
Or: "Look what you made me do!"
Message: my behavior is your fault, not my responsibility.
Which of the 12 steps is apologizing?
How many women have heard speech before? "I am sorry". "I didn't mean it". It won't happen again." "Give me another chance."
Just like a mean, abusive drunk Kavanaugh revealed who he is. He can pretend to be something else, but his true feelings and self were shown to all. Like a meltdown at a Christmas Party.
60
@Marie -- it's step nine.
2
A “son, husband, and dad” who did not want his family to know what he had done, and who he was, when he was younger. But we, the American people, needed to know that—and now we do.
35
This is a phony "apology" for highly evasive, bordering on outright lying, angry, flawed nominee. The true Brett Kavanaugh showed the world his true colors last week, a partisan hack who lacks the temperament to sit on the Supreme Court. In fact, his display of anger, hostility, and conspiracy peddling shows he's unfit for any judgeship. He should be impeached based on his false testimony that dates back to his 2006 as well as during his present hearings. He also demonstrates an inability to be impartial. Senators should vote "no."
47
@Adam
There is ample ground for impeachment. He lied under oath. There's also the 90% of documents that were withheld during the nominee process, and they'll find even more lies and grounds for impeachment in them.
2
Judge Dread performs, again. This time, to reassure the GOP that he's a REAL Judge, and can appear sober. When necessary.
The Betty Ford Clinic, or similar. ASAP.
NOT the Supreme Court. Final Warning.
16
He should not have said these things because as a justice he should not think these things. This country needs less divisiveness, not more.
65
it was inappropriate for him to be "there as a son, husband and dad.” he should have been there as a judge. the only reason he acted inappropriately as he did is because that's what his boss wanted. he has revealed himself to be a devotee of the current occupant of the Oval Office which makes him unqualified to be a non-partisan member of the highest court in the land. this may be what this "president" wants but it's not what the American people want.
31
He also knows that peers he really might care about - the Law Professors who signed the letter in the Times yesterday condemning both his behavior and appointment to the Supreme Court , because of it - will be watching him closely.
With a bit of luck , banishment from their ranks, may be more important to him than the GOP hacks and the Federalist Society who are so keen to install him on the Supreme Court. His esteemed colleagues will not be fooled by sophistry masquerading as sound judgment.
They will be watching him and he knows it. Whether he cares or not , is another matter.
18
Dear Judge Kavanaugh,
Events, such as your testimony and the prior testimony of Dr. Ford, define a time. Corrective measures, as your words now hope to be, only serve as bookends for the bookshelf filled with transcripts of your appearances before that committee as well as that of Dr. Ford's testimony. The recent chapter in your tome is clearly in great contrast to hers.
However, if we look at the entire picture, the session you are attempting to correct now is just another session that confirms how incorrect your being granted this honor would be. In the earlier sessions, you are overtly bent on telling "your facts" using complete sentences made up of well crafted words - when addressing those who you regarded as favorable to your appointment. With someone, who you did not regard thus, you were cautious, dodging, forgetful, and calculating. From just watching your eyes, it was clear that you could not find your way to the real truth. This was abundantly clear when you were pressed by female senators in the last session, but present throughout earlier sessions.
These performances have now defined you for the rest of your life. You were given a mission by like-believers, and you may well succeed. But these days of prevarication will follow you for the rest of your life as, I am sure, many others do from your past that you also regret.
A sign of great character is much more submission to the truth and improving oneself. Prevarication is a sign of great weakness.
33
Dear Judge Kavanaugh
Your apology is accepted. Thank you. It suggests you can recognize your mistakes. This is a sign of intelligence and wisdom.
That intelligence would serve you well in the private sector. You could make a lot money out there - working for clients of all types. You could defend people like Weinstein or Trump! Be a "David Boies" - get rich!
Or, you could start up a "think tank" that does a lot of research on why sexual predators seem to have memory loss. You could team up with Dr. Blasey Ford - she has the education and the experience!
There is a great future for you out there - just not on the highest court of the land where propriety, honesty and impartiality are treasured.
17
Kavanaugh was not speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in particular the Democratic Members, as a "son, husband and father".
He was there as a Judicial Nominee, period. He proved by his "performance" that he is not Supreme Court material.
Be a man, Kavanaugh, and step aside so that someone more temperamentally fit and impartial can be approved.
Your Editorial in the Wall Street Journal is not convincing. All that comes across as you being convinced that you can get a free pass because you wrote it.
Step aside.
53
Agreed. And PLEASE. STOP using your family - particularly the women in your family - to excuse your behavior. Women have held all the equivalent roles forever and still had to do their jobs. Without having tantrums. So just stop.
7
“ a calculated and orchestrated political hit” intended in part to exact “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” He also accused Democratic senators of “lying in wait”
These are JUST NOT the comments of a man who will be an impartial judge. And that is giving him a pass on everything else he is accused of (which I believe).
Never have I seen such a circus over one Supreme Court judge. And he adds to it as if he were running for office. Perhaps, Kavanaugh was inspired to write this after seeing himself so accurately depicted by Matt Damon on Saturday Night Live.
There were many other worthy candidates without this shroud of controversy. He should have recused himself if he was “so concerned over his reputation”. The taint of this appointment will shadow every decision for decades if he is appointed. It is sickening.
21
It seems clear that if he did not commit perjury, Judge Kavanaugh at the very least misrepresented himself, his history, during his senate testimony. For that alone, if he is truly the man he wants us to think he is, he would withdraw his name from consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court.
14
One can go on and be enraged in public, and later apologized, and voila!!! Everything is forgiven and forgotten. If thousands of judges and legal professionals are expressing their opinion stating... this man is unfit to be a Supreme Court member. Well, he must be, all those minds I don’t necessary believe they could be partisan or hold grudges towards this man.
9
If the judge was not consumed by ambition tantamount to a lust for prestige and power ....fueled by a sense of entitlement... he would he would realize that his appointment would damage the court and the country and,if he had the decency to do so,he would withdraw.
He is now a pale image of Trump..tarnished past,resentful and plaintive and vowing retaliation against opponents. One Tump is too many.
29
This is a pattern abusers use. Now he is manipulating us with excusing his disgusting behavior as a "nobler" cause and that he was defending his family. Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeh. I was married to someone who did that once I'd left after he nearly killed me. First, the outrage and how he couldn't help himself because I'd made him do it. It was my fault. Second came the noblest of reasons - it was that his honor was impugned and the relationship had become just too undignified. He didn't know what else to do, but he would never do it again.
Rinse.
Repeat.
And no apology.
I believe Dr. Ford. I don't understand how her testimony could ever be swept under the rug and what this GOP has done to her is indefensible.
And to Kavanaugh, we heard your pre-written "What goes around comes around" threats.
We should not allow you to ever threaten us again.
66
Does nobody at the Wallstreet Journal know any Latin. Mr. Kananaugh refused to explain the word "Alumnius", when asked about it. “Renate Alumnius” involved either a typographical error (missed by himself and his editor/advisor) or a witty portmanteau punning on legal Latin jus = law, right and the English word “use.” Alumnius (the Latin root alumn + ius would then be an example of Bill Barbot’s “a little bit of fun with commemorating inside jokes”; it would mean “the right of the alumns” and refer to that notorious example of legal Latin IUS PRIMAE NOCTIS (‘right of the first night’), familiar to all lovers of Mozart’s" Don Giovanni".
16
If this obviously bitter partisan is confirmed to the Supreme Court every single decision against anything that could be remotely described as "liberal" will be suspect, and open to future courts (composed of, God willing, actual "judicious" and impartial judges) to overturn based purely on his statements during the hearing. As a liberal myself facing decades of a federal judiciary and Supreme Court unfairly and un-democratically packed with hard right judges it's possible to view this as good news - that there is such an obvious taint to the whole thing. But as a country, this is clearly something we should try to avoid. The only reason to press forward with his nomination now is to service the illegitimate corrupt President's personal hubris and Mitch McConnell's unending quest to personally remake the judiciary. Neither impulse is healthy or valid. Vote him down.
31
He really likes the first person singular pronoun! Not sure that he realizes his confirmation is not about him as “I”, but about him as a justice. Furthermore, he’s already had his “job interview”, so why does he think he should get a second chance to clear things up, and why did the WSJ think they should give him that opportunity?
31
It's an admission by Kavanaugh that he is unfit for the Supreme Court. Half the country disrespects him. If confirmed Kavanaugh will undermine the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. A new generation will learn to disregard and disrespect the Supreme Court.
15
You WERE too emotional. Much too emotional to be a judge.
23
Once again, Judge Kavanaugh misses an opportunity to even give the appearance of demonstrating impartiality, bipartisanship or as an individual who doesn't hold a grudge. He could have easily placed his editorial in the NYT or WA Post. By following up his first PR stunt (FOX interview) with an op-ed in the WSJ, he again shows his pettiness and inability to work with both sides. He needs a better PR representative for his next job interview.
41
He "regrets" lying to the Senate because he knows it categorically disqualifies him from the Supreme Court.
34
Just another reason he’s unfit to serve there’s nothing worse then an silver spoon over reacting emotional temperamental judge who passes judgment and then regrets it.
14
I don’t see an apology. I see an excuse. I see shifting blame. Abusers do this -
Deflect
Attack
Reverse victim and offender
#kavanaugh will now claim HE is the victim of our not accepting his excuse/apology. @SenMajLdr will ACCUSE democrats of harming kavanaugh further 3,2,1
40
In reading Kavanaugh’s opinion piece in the WSJ, one thing was made clearer to me than all he has been accused of and all the accomplishments he has touted. This is a mediocre man.
34
First, a majority of the American people inherit a gold-plated president, through no vote of their own, who has done nothing but defile and desecrate the highest office in the land.
Now, a majority of the American people, through no voice of their own, are inheriting a gold-plated supreme court justice who will go on to defile and desecrate the highest court of the land.
Heaven help us.
62
@PeaceForAll
re the comment:"gold-plated" president, "gold-plated" supreme court: That clearly is "fools' gold".
1
Some things cannot be unsaid, Mr Kavanaugh. We all saw how just like your promoter Mr trump that in the end, it is all just about you and your feelings, your heightened sense of injustice at this hiccup in the progression of what you perceive as your entitlement.
Never mind anyone else-you did not even have the courage or decency to listen to Dr Blasey Ford, probably too wrapped up in your faux outrage at that dastardly Democrat plot to get one back for Hillary.
You were pathetic Mr Kavanaugh, you will never have either the respect or gravitas that a man in the position you seem to think is so rightfully yours would come to regard as natural.
I hope that there are at least a few Senators with the integrity to vote according to what everybody else would recognise as a sense of common decency and I hope that you fail.
37
Contrast all of these machinations with the two Nobel peace prize winners. Makes one weep!
24
Really, NYT? You are going to continue to play Kavenaugh's game? His "apology" is, of course, anything but. His outrage during his testimony was feigned, his "tears" were feigned, and his "regret" over the indignant screed he delivered (after padding every word for a week) is now feigned. In fact, he will do or say anything to get, as Trump himself has described, a seat on the Supreme Court that he was "born for". It's a done deal. It was always a done deal. Do you think that a Republican Party that would steal a SCOTUS seat would let a little thing like sexual assault and false testimony block their way? They have made it a trifecta - all three branches of government are illegitimately formed. The only left is to come up with a new name for the country. It certainly is not the one that existed for the 235 years prior to this group overthrowing it.
22
Let’s not forget the big deal he made about preparing those remarks all by himself. Not he doesn’t mean it? Please. I’d have more respect for Republicans if they just said “No, we don’t think the masses should have a say. We do know what’s best and we’re a bit sick of you ladies yappin’ away trying to bring us down. WE’RE MEN. RICH POWERFUL ME, so sit down and shut up open your legs when we want and speak when we tell you too.”
14
I’m often “dismayed” also after I’ve angrily spewed things from my mouth.
Rarely in a prepared statement written the night before.
21
@Marybeth Zeman
The best point made! Kavanaugh was reading from PREPARED STATEMENTS.
4
Part of the problem is that this was published by the WSJ opinion page. If he is going to be a Justice for all Americans, shouldn't he reach across the media aisle and publish this in the NY Times? Perhaps he could explain himself on MSNBC or have an interview with Ray Suarez on PBS.
This is part of my frustration with Trump and his appointees. They don't even bother to talk to half of the country.
17
@db But they sure to denigrate Hillary for not visiting the Rust Belt!
2
The Republicans have shown themselves for the frauds that they are. They do not care about process, or proper review of a clearly flawed nominee. They just want what they want, power. How they get it is irrelevant, as long as they get it.
Hopefully, they are in for a big smackdown in the near future, say November 6th.
Vote a straight Democratic ticket, top to bottom, federal, state and local.
Vote as if our democracy depends in it, because it does.
25
For all those Republicans chiding their Democratic colleagues for bringing up things in front of Judge Kavanaugh’s wife and daughters, at least his family members will now have a clear picture of the types of boys they should steer clear of when it comes to dating in high school.
23
The man behind the curtain was him and is him.
14
Too little too late. This is just begging the undecided senators to vote for confirmation.
18
too little, too late, Mr. Kavanaugh. Your performance coach surely approves of your hearing statement last week, as well as your petulant behavior. I was reminded of a name calling line uttered by countless schoolyard bullies: “I know you are, but what am I?”. Your actions seemed more authentic when you allowed your seething anger to pierce through that choir boy countenance you wore for the Fox News interview. Please heed the growing outcries for the cancellation of this nomination; there are many, oh! so many of us who have no lingering faith in your abilities to remain honest or impartial.
10
We now have a nomination process that includes the nominee writing op-ed pieces in the WSJ and appearing on FOX television to defend himself. Is he auditioning for the apprentice?
30
@Rich
The mask came off Brett Kavanaugh to reveal the Bart O'Kavanaugh underneath.
8
Um....no, I don't buy into hindsight contrition. The polished in age of that's not me doesn't work. That was him on the stand, the same manipulative, entitled elitist Dr. Ford met up with decades ago. He didn't get his way then and he shouldn't get it now, hissy fit notwithstanding.
13
Mr. Trump, who has personally fended off accusations of sexual misconduct with aggressive denials, praised Judge Kavanaugh’s forceful testimony as a “powerful, honest, and riveting” performance that “showed America exactly why I nominated him.”
Powerful and riveting, certainly. Honest? No, some of it might have been frank but it was certainly not not honest in that it tried hard to denigrate the honesty of his questioners of his questioners. Frankness and honesty are not at all the same thing, even if a large segment of the English-speaking population are ignoring of this distinction. Once again the odious current occupant of the White House exploits his voting base's ignorance.
13
From the “I know Brett” ads by his junior league friends run before the confirmation hearings to his appearance on feaux news to his own defense in Murdoch’s other enterprise, it is all too much. Campaigning for a seat on the Supreme Court is pathetic.
18
The emerging excuse is that Kavanaugh's outbursts were coached by the White House and do not represent his thought or demeanor.
This again fails. A Supreme Court justice should have a sufficiently strong character NOT to be quickly swayed by outsiders. He should not cast aside his 28-year legal career to adopt a partisan's argument.
23
They'll vote him in, that's a forgone conclusion, because they don't care what we think. Protests, scteaming, letters, tweets, emails, don't matter because they don't care. They will continue to ram their radical right agenda. The only way to stop this and reverse the damage done is to go vote as if your lives depends on it. Vote!
27
@Mr Peabody All decent, patriotic Americans must not only vote for all democratic candidates, but actively support them and give them money NOW.
3
Mr Kavanaugh:
The problem is that one has to close the barn doors BEFORE the cows get out.
After, not so good.
25
Since when do nominees run a "campaign" to sit on the court? When Kavanaugh has to publish a rebuttal and explanation for his behavior in a hearing, he might as well be running for office. If this process is politicized, the nominee has made it so, first by speaking in partisan terms and then seeking to sway opinion with his "apology." For these reasons alone, not withstanding the lies and hedging of the truth, he does not belong on the Supreme Court.
22
Since when? Since the concerted effort to thwart a sitting presidents choice for Supreme Court Justice using every means possible, including some very shaky unverifiable complaints from when the choice was a minor.
1
Now maybe it is time for Ford and the other false accusers to be held responsible for their wild and unsupported accusations? Or maybe they must be protected from their irresponsible actions for gender reasons, that is, "female privilege"?
2
I'm expecting that there will be consequences - karma will occur. There will be natural justice, we may not see it or find out how, but it will happen.
1
@Eduard C Hanganu
You have just accused them of lying with far less evidence then they have against Kavanaugh.
Trump supporters eschew logic at your own peril.
1
We don't get it.
Trump's base doesn't care about any of this - not the sexism nor his tax issues nor his despicable remarks nor his dismissive attitute toward our allies' leaders nor . . .
Forget the women and the senators who are retiring - what about the other Republican senators? Who is putting pressure on them to vote NO? Unless they take Ambien by the bottle, how do they sleep at night?
12
I can almost hear his excuses should he make it to the high court. Unlike trump, he at least tries to feign an apology.
2
In his rant against what he called a hit job, he said one thing that caught my attention: he talked about a conspiracy fueled by "outside money". Forgetting for a moment the non-judicial behavior of this tirade, what is evident is that he is using phrases from partisan political campaigns, railing against his opponent by implying that the opposition comes from outside one's district or state.
I think that this frame of mind (by the way, he made a point of stating that he wrote the material himself) is indicative of what he is, a political operative who thinks it is a hit job to ask him about his behavior when he, under Starr, wanted to inflict as much pain on Clinton as possible,
In any event, what he does not recognize in his partisan mind is that in his case there is no "outside money" because he is about to take a job that affects every single person in the country. Hence there cannot be outside money. The more you listen to him to more one comes out thinking that his appointment will be as devastating for the country as Trump's presidency. And for what? So that he can make abortion illegal, vote against workers and for more money for the wealthy.
48
I think there is at least $1 million in those crowd-funded accounts - who exactly put that money there? So easy to hide in plain sight.
1
"I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad.”
Well we can all see that being a dad is not that important to him as he brought all the late night caricatures upon himself. It was his choice to behave the way he did. This is how he will go down in history. I feel sorry for his daughters.
20
It is not appropriate to blame the abusive behavior of late night television on their subjects. They're all going a bit too far these days.
I imagine Mr. Kavanaugh does regret letting his true nature slip out into the light; I'm sure he wishes he didn't perjure himself via statements that, unfortunately, most Senators didn't think were worth considering. I'm sure he wishes that his nomination had happened before the #Metoo movement. I'm sure he would like a re-do of his appearance before the Senate so he could present the sort of polished, elite-ivy league-prep-school facade that has whitewashed too many other such persons.
But, that is what these hearings are for. To try to strip away the facade and to understand the timber underneath. And what we saw was ugly, decrepit in its self-deceit, and unworthy. Regret that he was thusly uncovered doesn't change what we saw.
17
Kavanaugh has exhibited the extreme arrogance of someone that thinks they can sit in judgement, but never be judged.
Kavanaugh is a judge. Every day, people accused of doing bad things come before him, and his main concern is not how embarrassed they are at the accusations, but disposing of the case.
If someone came into his court angrily yelling that their case was a political hit job, a conspiracy by the Clintons, and then lied about numerous known facts in the case, he would not put up with it.
A Senate hearing is a politician circus. It is the nature of the beast and he knew that. But it wasn't his job in that hearing to be part of the circus. It was his job to show that he could rise above the circus and remain dignified, composed, logical, unemotional, and a-political. He failed on every count.
Before that hearing he wrote opening statements that drew on his experience, not as a judge, but as a political actor as he was during the Starr investigation and Bush Administrations. He didn't meet the accusations head on with facts and candor, but with unsubstantiated accusations of his own, meant to distract from the issue at hand. He lied about known facts (e.g. saying that everyone in the room said it never happened, when they said they didn't remember it, which he knows is not the same thing).
Trump always puts himself above We the People, and is unfit for office, and especially unfit for naming Justices to the Court, as this nomination proves.
Take the Streets!
13
The diatribe has done more to harm this country's political environment than anything I've seen lately. Democrats did poorly in handling Ms. Ford's story ... there is no way they should have told her they could keep her identity protected. However to point to a conspiracy for which no real evidence exists is irresponsible.
5
His testimony before the committee, regardless of its tone, did show one unassailable fact. Kavanaugh is by no means his own man. He is completely controlled and does whatever he is told. That, in my opinion, is not the stuff Supreme Court Justices are made of. They are above all else, independent thinkers. Sure, it has never been completely true that they were apolitical. But Kavanaugh is nearly as complete and perfect a partisan drone as has ever been considered for the bench. We don't need a choir boy or girl, but we need an honest, independent thinker. That is not Kavanaugh.
37
@JW
Even as a teenager Kavanaugh was the type of guy who would go along, who would do anything, if egged on by the other guys. He is not an independent thinker.
1
@JW
Yes, in his acceptance speech, he mouthed the obvious Trump statement that her was on of the most vetted nominee ever.
This excuse-laden self-justification is very much of a piece with the larger portrait Kavanaugh has already offered us of an alcoholic in denial about his drinking problem. It is truly unseemly for a 53-year-old man to claim he lost emotional control because he was asked questions in the presence of his wife and parents. (It's also odd, and revealing, that in the pages of the WSJ he should refer to his parents as mom and dad, the vocabulary of childhood .) But of course these are the people before whom he most needs to be able to claim that his alcoholism is not a problem. (I very much doubt his sad-faced wife agrees.)
All the testimony the FBI was instructed to ignore, but which has erupted into the media, especially into the pages of the New Yorker, but also the NYT, WaPo, and other respected news organizations, tells us Kavanaugh has long been a heavy drinker with a history of boorishness and sexual aggression. We also know he made an effort in advance of his hearing to secure the silence on this point of some Yale classmates. So he wasn't blind-sided. And there's every reason to believe he wasn't wrongly accused.
At the very least a man of judicial temperament should have prepared and maintained a decorous self-defense. But he couldn't. He doesn't have that level of self-control. Alcoholism is a character-destroying disease. He's very far down its dark, miserable path.
18
@Portia
They should open an investigation into his alcohol problem.
1
@Portia
It seemed to me that he was actually more than a little buzzed during his testimony, losing it and getting weepily sentimental at his mention of ‘Dad and the calender’. All that water gulping was an attempt to sober up quickly. He was the messy belligerent drunk on full display with his insulting behavior toward the female Senators Feinstein and Klobuchar. He looked spaced out by the end of it with his flushed cheeks, It was unsettling to watch.
3
For the life of me, I can't figure out how anyone could be "on the fence" about Kavanaugh's fitness for the Supreme Court. His opening statement was not unrehearsed or impulsive--he read it from a script that had, presumably, been carefully written and approved by a legion of White House lawyers and handlers. Whatever one believes about Blasey Ford and her accusation, Kavanaugh has demonstrated his inability or unwillingness to treat all people with respect. He was vengeful, hostile and emotionally unhinged. If he is confirmed, our SCOTUS will have given up all pretense of impartiality. When that happens, the rule of law will be in jeopardy.
18
This is a lifetime appointment, Brett, and you knew exactly what you wanted to say before you walked into that room last week. Supreme Court Justices should be without even the hint of scandal or impropriety before they take the position. They should also be able to make judgments without towing a party line. If behavior like Brett’s last week is tolerated by any majority political party, then our constitution won’t protect us from poor behavior on the part of any Justice after they are confirmed. We would be better off amending the constitution to do away with lifetime appointments all together and making Supreme Court Justice positions time limited, if not voter chosen.
9
@M.H,
There have been many TV commercials here in Maine backing Kavanaugh as forcefully as though he was being voter chosen which he was not. This may be a first for our state and one hopes the last.
4
Hiding behind the family as an excuse for his outbursts is typical behavior for the member of "the family values" party. Those of us who didn't have the wisdom to choose the right parents can only watch in horror as the country continues its slide into oligarchy.
23
@Restless Native
Well you don't have to "ONLY watch in horror," at this corrupt nomination by a corrupt president.
You can go to your Senators office or the Senate, and hold up a sign and explain to passersby exactly why this nomination should not go through.
His emotions ran high, no doubt. My greatest concern was his lack of respect for Blasey Ford, lack of respect to the panel questioning him, especially Amy Klobuchar. He showed zero respect for the process. To go on Fox News and then publish in the WSJ is over the top. I worry about a man who feels so blindly entitled to this position. I don't believe he will be partial. His behavior demonstrates he has a lack of self control and capacity to be fair.
33
At this point you only know what was in that meeting, you do not know how those senators conducted earlier meetings.
@Barbara Schaefer
The Republicans have given up on Constitutional processes altogether. Everything is about power, perception, and results now.
The Confederate States saw that democracy was not going to let them expand slavery into the new territories, so instead of accepting the will of We the People as required by their ratification of the Constitution, they formed an army and attacked our Union.
The former Party of Lincoln is now the Party of Trump, which rushes to protect monuments to traitors who attacked our Union, while taking the side of a hostile intelligence agency against our own national security.
For over forty years the Republicans have been calling our government, "the enemy," flying Confederate flags, and opposing the plain meaning of the Constitution.
Article I clearly authorizes Congress to tax and regulate trade to spend money. That is what governments are for. The preamble says we should promote Justice.
Justice is expensive. It requires investigations and evidence and prosecutors and defense attorneys. But Republicans don't want to pay taxes, so they replace Justice and Tranquility with law and order, and nominate "justices" who believe justice is for those who can afford it.
The Republicans are arming themselves, attacking the Constitution, and readying for civil war. Trump promotes torture, calls for punishment of his political enemies without due process, attacks all of the institutions of our Republic, and wants to be "president for life."
1
You can add to the list of reasons why Judge Kavanaugh should not be on the Supreme Court the fact that he has now been reduced to groveling for the job. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt by assuming he was directed to do so by his handlers. That makes his op-ed piece quite ironic - writing about his alleged independence at the insistence of the politicians who nominated him. But come on, Brett. If you're going to end up on the Supreme Court at least go there with a little shred of your dignity still intact. It's time for you to act like a real man (I mean person) and not a puppet.
32
This is the only position for LIFE in our government! Long after the political careers of the enablers are over , Kavanaugh will still be here deciding your life,and future! This is the gist of the decision. Please think past the next election!
15
The entire piece is combination of self-promotion and " I am the victim here". He describes himself using words like "hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good". He also talks about respect. None of which were on display in the hearings.
It is shocking to think this person might be on the highest court in the land and it is depressing to think the GOP could not find anyone else.
18
If this were a reasonable, rationale process, a nominee with the all the questions associated with Judge Kavanaugh (sexual assault?; drinking?; truthfulness?; judicial temperament?; objectivity?; partisanship?) would not have been nominated, let alone confirmed. A rejection will not cause him to be incarcerated; he will continue his prestigious appointment to the D.C. circuit. A confirmation is a lifetime appointment with no chance to reconsider. Surely there must be other distinguished conservative judges or attorneys who could be nominated and confirmed.
23
@RB
We do have a chance to reconsider.
Kavanaugh testified to numerous provable lies under oath last week.
Congress should move to impeach him on the grounds of perjury.
Contrary to what he said, Kavanaugh wasn't at the hearing as " a son, a father, and a dad." He was there as a candidate for the highest court in the country. His demeanor and temperament were on display for all to see. If Kavanaugh were being interviewed for any type of job, and if he had insulted the interviewers in the way that he did, he would have been shown to the door.
18
No federal judge has ever shown so many Americans what rank partisanship and defiled impartiality look like. He did enormous damage to the integrity of the federal courts. He did so deliberately, writing and practicing his statement. The courts have rules against such conduct. They need to enforce them. The WSJ piece, a week late, was not an apology but an excuse.
21
It is good to know how and what judges think and feel since emotion and logic are not the same. Saying you believe women are equal is not the same as feeling they are. Most public people say all the right things and even pretend to believe them but often in their hearts they feel the opposite way. When a person has power their emotions will influence their behavior so it is good to know how Kavanaugh really feels deep inside. Would you want this man judging you?
27
@tom hickie
"Would you want this man judging you?"
Kavanaugh is a judge. People often come before him, accused of bad behavior. It is embarrassing for them. He is not uncomfortable sitting in judgement over them, even when there life hangs in the balance. But when it is time for him to be accused and judged, it is somehow unfair.
And by the way, the directive from the Bill of Rights that we are innocent until proven guilty is for those that are charged with crimes and facing punishment. The standard for being a Supreme Court Justice is higher than the standard for staying out of prison.
The same people that defend police who kill unarmed suspects, because they are "obviously criminals," demand convictions based on coerced testimony with little or no corroborating evidence, and scream "Lock her up" about political opponents, instead of demanding due process, are the same ones that think we would have to have video tape of these alleged assaults, call standard investigative techniques "Gestapo Tactics" when used against the president's self described "fixer," say that flipping should almost be illegal when their allies are flipping, and think that their nominees should be seated to the Highest Court in the land no matter how many accusations of assault, or how many times he lies under oath.
If consistency is indeed the "hobgoblin of little minds," (an assertion I take exception to as a mathematician), then Trump and his Party have the biggest minds ever.
2
Judge Kavanaugh's penning of an op-ed piece, no doubt at the direction of his political handlers, in which he claims that he will be an impartial judge, reminds me of the old joke about the guy who dies and goes up to get into the gates of heaven and sees signs for two lines - one for husbands who have been henpecked by their wives and one for those who haven't. He goes and stands in the non-henpecked line. When he is finally called, he realizes he's the only man in that line. When the guardian of the gate asks him what he's doing in that line he says: "I don't know. My wife told me to stand here."
5
This guy thinks the same way as Trump, I'm perfect and the problem is with everybody else.
That attitude alone means he shouldn't be on the court never mind being president.
14
There is no retracting words, demeanor, or testimony.
Not in court.
32
@Lee
And not under oath in front of the U.S. Senate, on TV.
When I read the WSJ piece, I was hoping for a glimmer of genius and some compassion for women -- namely for Dr. Blasey -- to shine through. But there was nothing of substance, nothing we didn't know that would further explain his behavior, nothing that would endear him to us in any way or help us to further understand. It was a nothing.
Judge Kavanaugh's performance on Fox News, his opening statement at the follow up hearings and now his WSJ have been unhelpful, to say the very least. Don't judicial candidates usually have handlers to help with this?
6
Lobbying in right wing publications like the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal isn’t at all appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee. Puff piece interviews on a right wing propaganda network (Fox “News”) isn’t at all appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee. Repeated lying under oath why testifying isn’t at all appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee. Openly and angrily spouting right wing conspiracy theories and threatening Democrats with retribution why testifying under oath isn’t at all appropriate. Committing sexual assault and lying about it isn’t at all appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee. Hiding 90% of your papers from your White House work to evade legitimate scrutiny isn’t at all appropriate for a Supreme Court nominee.
Kavanaugh has no place on the Supreme Court — or any court for that matter. He needs to be rejected.
12
Sorry, but he lost me with the Clintons reference. There’s a chair in the panel at Fox & Friends waiting for him.
37
So funny. There have been references to his work with Starr in just about every comment section... usually following the idea that if he demanded answers about Bill Clintons sexual escapades then he should have to come up with, presumably, his own. Revolting, but there it is.
1
Why did Mr Kavanaugh choose The Wall Street Journal to print his apology? That paper was already on his side. It would be similar to the neighborhood bully apologizing to his own mom who adores him anyway for beating up a younger girl from the school next door.
15
When the NYT publishes an "opinion" piece by a paid political operative celebrating the elevator actions towards Senator Flake - sure, why not?
So he's saying he went too far? Isn't that Dr. Blasey Ford says too?
31
"When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time" Maya Angelou
37
I’m sorry you made me hurt you. I won’t do it again. Just don’t make me angry. Let’s face it. It was really both our faults. Yours more than mine. If you hadn’t provoked me, this never would have happened. I apologize for letting you make me mad. I’m so mad. This is all your fault. But I’m apologizing because I’m a good person. It’s not my problem if you can’t understand that. Please don’t break up with me. It won’t happen again.
49
@Ilene, that sounds awfully realistic. "I'm sorry I thought the actor we were watching on TV was handsome and that you were lusting after him. Even though you said he was completely unattractive, I still had to hurt you."
Maybe he should have went with the Delta defense (slight modifications from original)...
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did. [winks Chuck Grassley] But you can't hold a whole political party responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals.
5
He disliked the Senate hearings so he gave himself license to commit perjury, and felt self-ritgheous committing perjury. At his core, he is lawless. He has no business being a judge of any kind. He will never be respected. He will never be trusted. He will always be a stain on the Supreme Court.
13
It has become so easy to tweet or to blurt out exactly what one thinks and feels at any moment. It can all be retracted or even apologized for. Instant television and press reporting give support to this, and in some instances issues become so confusing that truth is "truth."
1
Judge Kavanaugh was VERY CLEAR that his remarks were all his own, he wrote them, they were his words and, consequently, how he felt.
It was a partisan screed, President Trump loved it. It may have kept his nomination going. And it also may give him the seat he so desperately wants. But it also makes him obviously unfit for that job.
20
I'm sure he does have regrets, but that horse has left the barn. What we witnessed was Brett in the raw. We were given insight into his temperament and demeanor, how he acts under pressure. A lawyer/judge should display far better restraint and discipline. Anger would be understandable under questioning, but he came out swinging long before the questions even began. I can't help but wonder if he received coaching from DT himself. I read that DT criticized his performance on Fox, stating he looked weak. The partisanship and conspiratorial accusations were also deeply troubling. How does he adjudicate cases with impartiality? There are plenty of other highly qualified judges to choose from that wouldn't be this controversial or forever stain the highest court in the land.
7
Yet again this main demonstrates that he will say anything in service of his personal ambition. When there were concerns about his partisan affiliations early in the process, he pontificated about how strongly he believed in a non-political judicial. But after Dr. Ford testified and news leaked that Trump thought her testimony devasting, he threw all that out the window in order to impress Trump and gain his sympathy, by launching into Trump-like vindictive at the Democratic Senators. Now that THAT performance has spurred the law professors and Stevens to speak up and put things again in doubt, voila, this opinion piece appears in the WSJ.
Who is the REAL Brett Kavanaugh? Who knows at this point. All I know for sure at this point is who he should *not* be: a Supreme Court justice.
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@MadManMark
Who is the REAL Brett Kavanaugh? His name is Bart O'Kavanaugh, and his behavior was documented in "Wasted".
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