Observations on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford…
- Is it just me or did crotchety Chuck Grassley sound like crotchety Hume Cronyn reading his will in “Brewster’s Millions”?
- During a break in the Christine Blasey Ford hearing on MSNBC, I couldn’t help but smirk about the analyst Cynthia Alksne telling Brian Williams that memory is a tricky thing. He’s gotta be thinking, “You’re telling me, lady!”
- Every time Grassley says, “Without objection, so ordered,” he’s thinking, “Your side can put whatever you want in the record, but no one’s going to read it, and it won’t change the votes of anybody on my side. This is all just a charade that won’t affect the outcome.”
- Watching Rachel Mitchell ask questions that don’t seem to be leading anywhere, it seems the GOP’s old white men — some of them ex-prosecutors — wanted to have a female prosecutor in there, but not necessarily to show up Ford’s testimony as untrustworthy. Damage control.
- When “Saturday Night Live” starts its new season this weekend, Aidy Bryant is a lock to play Rachel Mitchell, but who will be Chuck Grassley?
- You know Trump is watching all of this on TV with nothing but disdain for Christine Blasey Ford. He doesn’t believe a word any woman says, except for Melania when she tells him, “For the 953rd time, I’m not having sex with you tonight — or ever again!”
- Dr. Ford admitting she flies a lot despite having a fear of flying doesn’t prove she’s a liar. It proves she’s brave. As does her coming forward with her entire story in the face of monstrous threats and political enmity all around.
And then it was time for Brett Kavanaugh…
- Nice to see that Richard Nixon’s old makeup man has come out of retirement to work on Brett Kavanaugh’s face.
- Kavanaugh said that no one saw his statement before he read it to the committee, but I’ll bet that Donald Trump and Bill Shine gave him advice on tone and content (“go angry, attack, and never admit anything”).
- Question that must be asked of Kavanaugh by a Democrat senator: “As a judge, how would you react knowing that a material witness to an alleged crime has not been called to testify or been questioned by law enforcement?”
- Retweeting this from @HGTomato: “If a woman gave this opening statement, she’d be described as angry, shrill, too emotional.”
- If Kavanaugh were the judge in a rape case, I’m sure he’d take into account letters from dozens of women who say the defendant was a really nice guy who never raped them once. Well then, not guilty!
- Kavanaugh kept saying he drank beer in high school and still does because — as he repeated a dozen times — he likes beer. Why isn’t the next question, “How many beers did you have before coming in here today?”
- Great point by Megyn Kelly (that’s a phrase I’ve never used before): “Not one Republican senator is coming to his defense today.”
- Next question for Kavanaugh: “Did you ever have any bad days in high school? Or did you ever spontaneously go to a party or hang out with friends? And if so, can you show us on your calendar where you noted the details of it?”
- After all of his ranting about how the Democrats in the Senate have ruined his life and reputation, how could Kavanaugh ever possibly rule in an unbiased fashion on any case involving politics that gets to the Supreme Court? For instance, on whether a president can be forced to testify under subpoena?
- Lindsay Graham: “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.” Unless, of course, you remember the name Merrick Garland, Senator.