Dr Christine Blasey Ford I salute you

Makes me angry but I'm supposed to be watching my blood pressure....

I know, and that’s my point!

I don’t think she should be allowed to do this in this realm without it having first been through the criminal process.

I say that as a survivor. I believe her.
But surely we can’t circumvent process like this.

There’s no win here that i can see, and that makes me so very sad.

It's not a criminal case, Cardigan. It's a job interview for a lifetime appointment.

IF the GOP were acting ethically, witnesses would be called. BUT they're not and haven't been acting ethically on judicial appointments for a very long time.

They're stacking the courts.

I just find it bizarre that the other women and this guy who was allegedly in the room don’t HAVE to be called before this thing can be concluded.

That’s not enough though, is it.

Believe me, for her sake i wish it was but there has to be some actual evidence.

I don’t understand enough about how these things work, so maybe I am missing something.

The bit about the FBI looks pretty suss. The whole republican attitude has been to rush it through. Every d.a, lawyer, judge etc knows time needs to be spent finding and questioning witnesses, obtaining evidence etc to build a case. The republicans have been "hurry along, nothing to see here!"

There is a named eyewitness, Mark Judge, the GOP has refused to call.

Mark Judge wrote a biography naming his drinking until blind buddy Brant (or something) Kavanaugh.

The GOP has refused to call him, and he's doing the Trump defense -- "It's not my fault! B_hes they lie, and Hillary too!!"

Should tell people all they need to know.

I believe her.

But surely without a criminal trial of some kind the only outcome can be that they find in his favour here? Otherwise surely due process hasn’t been followed and the implications of that going forward are pretty scary.

Could do without seeing Kavanaugh's wife and supporters crying in the background.

Is he sobbing, sniffing and angry because he's innocent? Or guilty? He certainly doesn't seem to be able to hold himself together. At all.

It's perfectly possible to list loads of times when you've done things, behaved well, people who like you but be guilty on that one occasion.

Looks like it would be one of those her word against his if it weren't for the machinations of the US political and legal system.

The issue is there is a paper trail and witnesses for Kavanaugh's behavior, but the politics of the GOP says "don't look, we want to ban abortion to keep those right wing Christian dollars coming in.

There is no paper trail for Ford. The senate could choose not to believe her, but prosecuting is harder.

Oh no Iwunderwhy. Trump has to ask for an investigation. If Kavanaugh wanted one he could insist, but some of the stories coming out about his more recent behavior indicate why he doesn't want people digging into his drunken closet.

Plus, the whole issue about whether he lied about his role in promoting torture at Gitmo --- if the vote is delayed til after November, the GOP may not be in position to get him approved. Further he could be investigated at the Senate behest then.

Dems may or may not take the Senate as well as the House, but that's a maybe.

If Ford lied under oath before Congress -- well, that's the same as it would be for Kavanaugh, but harder to prove unless they found evidence that George Soros, bogeyman of the rightwing, handed her marked dollar bills to perjure herself and was spied upon by witnesses who saw him hand her a briefcase of cash on a foggy street corner in Menlo Park. But, I digress....

for Dr Ford. Absolutely awesome bravery and integrity from her.
How very much easier it would be for her never to have to stand up in front of the whole country and talk about this.

Ah shouty angry Brett.... even if they confirm him, this (the allegation and his response) can't be playing well for the midterms...?

Isn't true that all Kavanagh has to do is call in the FBI and say go investigate because he has nothing to hide, and if it's a lie then Dr Ford would go to jail? Instead he's straight out of the gate frothing. I don't get it!

As for her comment about the forensic interview, yeah an interview could have been useful, but that's a back peddle - an attempt to shift blame for the utter lack of an investigation to Feinstein for referring a lawyer who ordered a polygraph instead.

Thing is IMO, the GOP has its head so far up Trump's rectum, they didn't ask for a forensic interview because they don't want to know.

People are saying she's faked her fucking polygraph by doping.

This is what she is dealing with.

You just kind of have to put the calls into perspective. Originally the game was to say the F word on live teevee....

Watching CSPN is very useful at times. News doesn't always cover things, or sometimes CSPN is where you can watch w/out talking heads popping in every 5 seconds.

They hired the "female assistant" as a beard to ask Dr Ford questions because she's a girl and they're not. I think they will extend the fig leaf to Brett, but at least it spares us listening to Ted Cruz.

I just wish they'd let Kamala Harris take him apart. Best prosecutor in the place.

Thanks Lilly that’s really useful - I’ve heard of C-SPN but wasn’t sure what it was. The call in has blown my mind, I’ve never heard anything like it in my life.

Also, the prosecutor standing in for the republicans - did she have a point? I’m not sure what on earth she was trying to get at.

Will she be questioning Kavanaugh too? Could be interesting, given I’m sure she’s supposed to go easy on him, or will the r-dudes be doing it themselves?

What kind of people turn up to protest a hearing in favour of a man accused of sexual assault by multiple women? What the actual fuck is that about?

I can’t believe how awful the news format is there, separate phonelines per party, interrogating callers on their own sexual assault, not putting callers right on statute of limitations when they say she would be filling charges if it were true, etc.

And there is no FBI investigation because Trump. Speculation about why he's insisting on Kavanaugh is K's opinion that Trump can pardon himself (not really but close).

Trump's base are the kind of people calling CSPN on the Republican line. Most people know them from the Internet, but these types have been trolling CSPN a lot longer.....

Republicans trying to manipulate perception by hiring a woman to ask their questions, all in a bid to avoid optics of being old white misogynists.

The irony is, the lady is a 'sex crimes prosecutor'. Her questions should be directed to Kavanaugh.

CSPN isn't a regular news station. It's a feed paid for by cable news networks to cover Congress and speeches just by broadcasting.

CSPN callers, well, they have a cult following for ticking people off.