July 8, 2019

"Kavanaugh had been deluged with advice until the end. His Bush friends, by and large, told him ... not to show too much emotion. But he received calls from a few senators encouraging him to show his righteous indignation."

Fox News reports on what's in the forthcoming book "Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court" (by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino). Most of what's in that link is material I knew from following the hearings. There's a bit of behind-the-scenes about Kavanaugh's preparation for the hearing.

The Daily Caller has "New Book On Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Has Incendiary Allegations About Christine Blasey Ford," which seems to offer something more revealing, but I'm so dubious about Daily Caller headlines. I'll read this, though (and it can be a test of whether The Daily Caller is as bad as I think it is). Incendiary Allegations?
In “Justice on Trial” authors Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino say unnamed peers accused Ford of drinking to excess and accosting boys with some regularity as a student at the Holton-Arms School, a contrast with press accounts that cast her as innocent and naive during that period.
Press accounts cast her as innocent and naive during that period?
“Female classmates and friends at area schools recalled a heavy drinker who was much more aggressive with boys than they were,” Hemingway and Severino write of Ford. “‘If she only had one beer’ on the night of the alleged assault, a high school friend said, ‘then it must have been early in the evening.’ Her contemporaries all reported the same nickname for Ford, a riff on her maiden name and a sexual act.”
I'm supposed to think of sex words that rhyme with "Blasey"?!

“They also debated whether her behavior in high school could be attributed to the trauma of a sexual assault,” the authors added. “If it could, one of them said, then the assault must have happened in seventh grade.”

The anonymous sources who shared those accounts were reluctant to come forward because “hostility to Kavanaugh made them fear for their livelihood if their names were attached to the stories,” the authors wrote.

Holton-Arms yearbooks the authors obtained provide a contemporaneous narrative about the school’s social scene. Like Kavanaugh’s own yearbooks from Georgetown Preparatory School, the Holton-Arms annual is replete with sexual innuendo and explicit references to underaged binge drinking, among other debauched themes.

“The pages that follow contain references to ‘Playboy Bunnies’ and things that are ‘X-rated’ as well as pictures of beer and rum,” Hemingway and Severino write of the 1982 yearbook. “The same volume boasts a cavalcade of off-color jokes about ‘furburgers vs. Cheeseballs,’ ‘6 Caucasian females, one Caucasian male,’ and ‘Halloween-whores,’ as well as a lewd riff on the ‘tube snake boogie.'”

“This depiction of Holton-Arms as Studio 54 on the Potomac may be nothing more than adolescent posturing, and only the alumnae can judge how accurately it reflects their social life in the early 1980s,” the authors write. “But it is clear that a lack of vigilance by the yearbook’s faculty adviser and bacchanalian extracurricular activities were by no means unique to Georgetown Prep.”

Kavanaugh’s Georgetown Prep yearbooks were subject to intense scrutiny in the press and before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy asked Kavanaugh to explain the “drinking and sexual exploits” described in his own yearbook entry during Kavanaugh’s second round of testimony. Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse followed on with more probing questions, asking Kavanaugh to explain references to “boofing” and “the devil’s triangle.”...
Interesting evidence to counterweight some of what was used against Kavanaugh — private school yearbook stupidities — but hardly "incendiary." It's evidence that could have been used but that wouldn't have proved enough to be worth the new troubles it would have opened up. The Daily Caller did a good job of showing us the actual quotes from the book. I'm irritated by the headline, but I'll give the Caller some credit. That was worth reading.

I can see why Kavanaugh and his advisers chose not to use that material, and the fact is he won. He won by defending himself strongly, not by attacking her. Whether attacking her was a losing strategy, we can't know for sure, but I think he was smart to reject that. If she were attacked, then her supporters (his antagonists) would have shown anger and outrage on her behalf — and it could have overshadowed the anger and outrage he was using in his defense. The anger and outrage on her behalf would have resonated with something that was already being used against Kavanaugh: The difficulty of reporting sexual assaults when victims find themselves turned into the accused.

81 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I'm supposed to think of sex words that rhyme with "Blasey"?!

Mulva?

Michael K said...

I especially liked the video of the guy paying demonstrators interrupting the hearing.

That certainly confirmed her seriousness in making accusations.

Ann Althouse said...

@Ignorance is Bliss

Yes, that's exactly what I thought.

Ann Althouse said...

Mlasey?

richlb said...

Delores!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

It’s “balls-deep” ... Christine Balls-deep.

purplepenquin said...

They didn't say it was a rhyme, they said it was a riff.

Perhaps "Blow-job Blasey" (NTTAWWT, of course)

robother said...

In my (limited Catholic) experience, naming your daughter Christine puts her on the fast track to high school promiscuity.

Fen said...

The sad irony is, back when I was over at Legal Insurrection and defending Kavanaugh, I had a sinking feeling that he would turn out to be a wobbly Justice, like Roberts.

Seems to be the pattern. We go to the mat to get a "conservative" on the bench, and for all our efforts we get served the Diet brand instead.

Are you guys happy with his votes since he was seated? Lukewarm?

Wilbur said...

Interesting that his Bush friends told him not to show much emotion. How'd that work out for George W.? I like Trump's manner of responding to attacks and slurs.
Remember the leftists won't like you if you're nice to them

Gahrie said...

The anger and outrage on her behalf would have resonated with something that was already being used against Kavanaugh: The difficulty of reporting sexual assaults when victims find themselves turned into the accused.

And that difficulty only gets harder every time a woman lies about it. It gets harder still when she is rewarded for her lies instead of punished. It gets harder still when people of good will refuse to label her the liar she is.

Fen said...

The sense I get from Roberts is that he wouldn't overturn something like Roe v Wade on legitimate legal grounds if he thought the decision would upset social harmony.

J. Farmer said...

Fun fact: Mulva’s name in the script was Cloris. While warming up the audience, they took guesses on the name, and a lady shouted at “Delores.” They thought that was a better name and changed it.

tim in vermont said...

If he hadn’t shown emotion, they would have called him a psychopath.

Michael K said...

Are you guys happy with his votes since he was seated? Lukewarm?

Too soon to be sure but he looks like squish. Beaten up pretty good but his model should be Thomas.

The frenzy when RBG goes is going to be really nasty. I hope Amy Barrett is up to it.

traditionalguy said...

It is time to insert here the "Universal Hot Crazy Matrix, everything a man needs to know about women."

The cluster of data placed Blasey over the hot fun zone. She was definitely in the Crazy Zone.

Nichevo said...

Blowie?

Brandon said...

Christine Blowsy Ford

Fen said...

Kavanaugh's nomination was a classic case of conservatives turning a rout into an orderly retreat and declaring that a victory.

Yes, I know he was seated in the end, but it was a close thing, and he never should have been in jeopardy to begin with. It should have been a gimme put.

Here's hoping the next nomination team does a better job preparing. Like Micheal K said, Ginsburg's replacement is going to descend into total warfare. The attack on Kavanaugh came from the crowd that worships at the altar of Abortion. People who want sex so bad they are willing to kill for it are capable of the most monstrous things we can imagine.

Dave Begley said...

Purple and Mike have good guesses.

The template for CBF's story was right out of Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities." She's an innocent Catholic school girl; a scholar. That's how Wolfe portrayed the Bronx kid hit by the Sherman's car when, in fact, he was failing in school and had a criminal record.

It's all show business.

Dave Begley said...

Correction. CBF went to a private school; not a Catholic school.

Blow job Blasey is perfect.

Dude1394 said...

Low energy bushies, showing how to lose with grace. While the opposition curb stomps you. Thank goodness that “dynasty” is gone.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

For the record my wife also said Ford was lying, as did the body language expert we saw analyze Ford's testimony. For one thing the totally affected baby voice was a big tell. Women in their 50s do not speak like that naturally. Then there was her habit of reining confusion, even when the questions included terms in her alleged field of expertise, psychology.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Not “reining” but FEIGNING above.

rcocean said...

First, Kavanaugh clerked for Kennedy and I believe there was a deal, or a strong recommendation from Kennedy to nominate Kavanaugh. Second, Kavanaugh was on the list of Conservatives provided by the Federalist Society, maybe someone should re-check the list. Third, if Kavanaugh had been an Alioto type, Collins would never have supported him, and Flake would've flaked out. We barely won as it is. The loss of Sessions really hurt us, but who would've predicted that Alabama would've voted for a liberal D to replace him?

Finally, if Conservatives Really want to overturn Roe V. Wade I suggest they start organizing and being proactive instead of "Falling in line and supporting our commander in chief" over justices. Coulter sounded the alarm over Souter, Miers and Roberts and got sneered at by the same characters who later whined about how liberal and wobbly they were. Hugh Hewitt is one who comes to mind, plus the girly-men at national review.

Kevin said...

Interesting evidence to counterweight some of what was used against Kavanaugh — private school yearbook stupidities — but hardly "incendiary."

As it was basically the only evidence presented against Kavanaugh, it would have been incendiary to anyone’s career who brought it up.

Luckily Kavanaugh had his diaries.

rcocean said...

It was obvious at the time that Ford was a liar and a kook. She couldn't remember the house, the year, or who was at the party. BUT remembered she just had one drink, how loud the music was being played, what she wore, and snatches of dialogue. The book will probably show she was a total slut/drunk in school, but I think we already guessed that. When you claim you were assaulted 30 years ago, with no contemporaneous records, and you can't even remember where or when, your accusation is shit. That she was taken seriously, shows people are either intellectually dishonest, or just plain stupid.

Lyssa said...

This yearbook stuff is fascinating to me. I’m about 10 years younger then these two, and went to public school, and our mid-90s yearbooks were completely sanitized. The idea that a word like “whore” could even have been suggested in the yearbooks is unthinkable.

rehajm said...

But it is clear that a lack of vigilance by the yearbook’s faculty adviser and bacchanalian extracurricular activities were by no means unique to Georgetown Prep

My high school yearbook was filled with that crap. Also more than a few inappropriate zingers that targeted other students. Faculty advisors are sometimes stupid.

Mike Sylwester said...

Blowsey

Mike Sylwester said...

I am changing by guess to "Blow-Job Blasey".

h/t purplepenguin

tim maguire said...

Fen said...The sad irony is, back when I was over at Legal Insurrection and defending Kavanaugh, I had a sinking feeling that he would turn out to be a wobbly Justice, like Roberts.

Seems to be the pattern. We go to the mat to get a "conservative" on the bench, and for all our efforts we get served the Diet brand instead.


I'm fine with that. The court is well balanced. He was replacing a moderate so he should be a moderate. The story at the time was Trump picked him in part to encourage Kennedy to retire knowing he'd be replaced by someone not too different from him.

I like the "outrage" approach Kavanaugh went with in part because I think an innocent man would be outraged, but also I didn't want to see him attack Ford because I think Ford was a pawn in someone else's game.

TJM said...

Good news friends. Up to 12,000 journalists will be out of jobs by the end of 2019. 12,000 less Dem foot soldiers, propagandists, and cheerleaders for the left. Almost every industry is prospering in Trump's economy, other than the media and the welfare state!

Sydney said...

@Lyssa,
I'm the same age as those two and my yearbooks never had that kind of stuff in them, either. Maybe it's a public school vs. private school thing.

Mike Sylwester said...

The Daily Caller is a good website, which I look at every day.

One of the best reporters about the RussiaGate hoax has been that website's Chuck Ross.

rcocean said...

Blowsey Blow job seems right.

rcocean said...

None of the crap in her Yearbook or Kavanaugh's would've gotten past my HS teacher who was in charge of the Yearbook. In fact, she probably would've called up our parents and said, "Hey, did you know Blaisy wanted to put XYZ in the yearbook?". These rich DC Preppies lived in a whole different world.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

But all those rape rooms and rape parties. I believe all the women. Leftwing wimin would never lie.

Mr. Forward said...

“Up a Blasey river by the old mill run
The crazy Blasey river in the noon day sun
Cast some shade at Kavanaugh free
Throw away your troubles
Dream a dream with me

Fernandinande said...

That's how Wolfe portrayed the Bronx kid hit by the Sherman's car when, in fact, he was failing in school and had a criminal record.

No, that was the guy who was with the kid who got hit.

"friends, by and large, told him ... not to show too much emotion.
...encouraging him to show his righteous indignation."


Those "professionals" can't seem to agree on how to appear honest.

LTC Ted said...

My Dad's public high school in 1930s L.A. was definitely no "Ridgemont" or "Rydell". Nonetheless, some of the entries by pals in his yearbook were clearly sexual, reaching a zenith with "Don't eat snatch." Plus ca change. On the other hand, it was on the south side of Hollywood.

steve uhr said...

One could argue that she was targeted because of her reputation. It isn’t a defense to sexual assault

AustinRoth said...

Blowsey McBlowjob?

Known Unknown said...

"Kavanaugh's nomination was a classic case of conservatives turning a rout into an orderly retreat and declaring that a victory."

I disagree. I think Grassley kept handing the Democrats rope. People not in the political bubble got a glimpse of how far they were willing to go to destroy a man with dubious 'evidence.'

Narr said...

steve uhr@948--

One could, but why?

Narr
Just got here

Big Mike said...

Her contemporaries all reported the same nickname for Ford, a riff on her maiden name and a sexual act.

A "riff" is not necessarily a "rhyme." I assume alliteration, and thus the nickname would be the vulgar two-word synonym for fellatio.

Michael K said...

For one thing the totally affected baby voice was a big tell. Women in their 50s do not speak like that naturally.

Agree, plus her lie about coaching the friend to defeat the polygraph.

Big Mike said...

@Lyssa and @Sydney, it is absolutely the difference between a public school and, not merely a private school. but a private school to which the obscenely rich and obscenely politically powerful send their daughters. Whatever trouble the girls get into, mommy and daddy have the political pull and hard cash to get them out, because after all, girls will be girls. (N.B., I lived in the Washington suburbs for almost fifty years. I met some of these kids and their parents.)

Big Mike said...

Agree, plus her lie about coaching the friend to defeat the polygraph.

And the obvious lie about being afraid to fly when she regularly flies out to the southern Pacific area because of her passion for surfing and flies out to the east coast to visit family and friends.

I note that her own parents and siblings refused to sign a petition declaring support for Blasey Ford's truthfulness.

Mary Beth said...

I'm supposed to think of sex words that rhyme with "Blasey"?!

Christine Blow-me

tim in vermont said...

One could argue that she was targeted because of her reputation. It isn’t a defense to sexual assault

By somebody, sure. That doesn’t get it any closer to being Kavanaugh, and the rest of her evidence fell through when the people she claimed were there had no recollection of any such party and doubted it ever happened.

Did she ever find a witness that put her and Kavanaugh in the same room?

tim in vermont said...

“Crazy Blasey” comes to mind.

narayanan said...

Trump may have practiced his theatrics on TV and WWE.

That was practice for the REAL world of President with life and death consequences from his actions as C-in-C that he has taken seriously so far.

tim in vermont said...

Weren’t they going to impeach Kavanaugh? What happened there? Oh, that’s right, the other side gets to cross examine!

Unknown said...

Mike (MJB Wolf) wrote:
"For the record my wife also said Ford was lying, as did the body language expert we saw analyze Ford's testimony. For one thing the totally affected baby voice was a big tell. Women in their 50s do not speak like that naturally. Then there was her habit of [f]eining confusion, even when the questions included terms in her alleged field of expertise, psychology. "

Also the strands of hair falling in her face & twisted in her glasses. And something about that huge bottle of Coke in front of her was phoney too. Intelligent, professional women don't present themselves this way, especially in situations as serious as this one.

Scott M said...

Mulva.

mockturtle said...

Dianne Feinstein is no fool. She knew bloody well that CBF's story was utter bullshit but she was convinced that it could fool enough people to deny Kavanaugh the position so, like a good Dem tactician, she deployed her.

Yancey Ward said...

Kavanaugh decision to not go after Blasey-Ford directly was a smart one, but he did have to show his indignation. I remember we had this debate about tactics in the threads the day of the big hearing. Had Kavanaugh gone with the no-emotion route, he would have been portrayed as a sociopath and his nomination would have been defeated, in my opinion.

I still don't understand how anyone could have believed Blasey-Ford's performance. The woman is a terrible liar, and I wrote that sentiment before aspects of her story were definitively contradicted.

dreams said...

I'm a big fan of Mollie Hemingway and I'm pretty sure she isn't any more bias than Althouse. It's important to know who to trust, I don't trust liberals, I don't trust their judgement.

dreams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bgates said...

Press accounts cast her as innocent and naive during that period?

Press accounts cast her as innocent and naive during the hearings last year.

Maillard Reactionary said...

"Easy Blasey"?

Clyde said...

Nowhere did it say that the nickname rhymed. I'm guessing BlaseyBlows.

Clyde said...

robother said...
In my (limited Catholic) experience, naming your daughter Christine puts her on the fast track to high school promiscuity.


If you REALLY want to mess your daughter up, name her Chastity. At that point, she can only be a nun or a hooker, depending on whether she lives up to or down to the name. The third option is to become trans like Chastity Bono did. No good real-life options there.

Birches said...

I'm so glad we're all thinking Mulva. Now I've got to check if it was on Jaltcoh's list.

Yancey Ward said...

I guess Chastity did get boner-fied.

Birches said...

Wow. It's the junior mint episode.

"That's good, Jerry!"

Achilles said...

The Daily Caller has "New Book On Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Has Incendiary Allegations About Christine Blasey Ford," which seems to offer something more revealing, but I'm so dubious about Daily Caller headlines.

The person that said this reads the NYTs and WAPO for news.

Achilles said...

Mike Sylwester said...
The Daily Caller is a good website, which I look at every day.

One of the best reporters about the RussiaGate hoax has been that website's Chuck Ross.


It is outside Ann's bubble.

elkh1 said...

"Yes, I know he was seated in the end, but it was a close thing, and he never should have been in jeopardy to begin with."

But if the other party treat the president as their enemy, to thwart him for whatever he does. They would vote down anyone he nominated, i.e. whoever nominated would be in jeopardy. The only thing Republicans could do is to fight them.

Don't forget the bonus of the fight: they lost a couple of senators who opposed K in competitive elections.

The Vault Dweller said...

but also I didn't want to see him attack Ford because I think Ford was a pawn in someone else's game.

If Ford was a pawn, she was a willing one. Obviously I can't know for certain, but I strongly believe that she was knowingly lying. I think whenever there is a high stakes political situation, people can easily convince themselves that it is a matter of utmost importance, and more importantly, a clear matter of good versus evil. These feelings make it much easier for people to do certain things they never would in different circumstances, because they still feel like they are the good guys when doing it.

But politically you are right about not attacking Ford. In fact one of the better lines was when nominee Kavanaugh remarked how his 10 year old daughter said she was going to say prayers for Ms. Ford. (Sorry I generally only use Dr. for MDs) Luckily for Kavanaugh as well, the other Republicans knew well enough not to go after her, but instead paint the democrats as using her and letting her retain her victim status. All that being said I hope this book has interesting facts that more clearly spell out possible motivation she may have had to lie as well as any other inconsistent facts with her testimony. Just so Justice Kavanaugh's reputation can be defended in history. Seeing that some people still believe Anita Hill's garbage story, is worrisome.

Krumhorn said...

Floozy

- Krumhorn

D 2 said...

A story of an assault and
Up rose Kavanaugh's blood
A lie bring pinned to his name
At a party somewhere in the dark
(No one else remembered their part)
In the eighties was the claim
Unclear in which year in her brain
But she can't be blamed
She's only a pawn in their game

The pundits all preach of the evil white men
You all have it coming, don't complain
Believe all women, they've been born without sin, they explain
And the accused's name
Is used, it is plain
His fate predetermined as rain
To burn in the flames
From a lie that was quite lame
He's only a pawn in their game

The hearing is over but the screaming is not
Theres still lots of shit yet to fling
But when the shadowy ones put you under the gun
Or If not you, maybe your daughter or son
You'll turn cold as the grave
And realize the pain
Of throwing due process away
For political gain
Only a pawn in their game

William said...

I don't know the facts, but she certainly didn't offer a convincing tale. Interesting that she remembered the name of the supermarket where Kavanaugh's friend worked and their encounter there. What was interesting was the fact that Kavanaugh's friend named that supermarket in a book he wrote about his high school years. She did some research....Democrats have a protective escort in the media. There must be legions of women with sordid tales to tell of JFK, MLK, Bill Clinton, John Conyers, et al. but they know enough to keep their silence. There's no profit to it. Who wants to achieve fame as the "portly pepper pot".....With Republicans, it's just the reverse. The protective escorts are the shock troops. Any story, not matter how tenuous or fragile, will be received with sympathy and credibility. The woman who tells the tale will achieve instant Joan of Arc status.....If the Bergdorf martyr had told such a tale about Bill Clinton, dozens of the people in her circle would have come forward to claim how wild and exaggerated her stories were. An ex boyfriend would tell about the time she tried to give him a blow job in the Brooks Brothers changing room.

William said...

What's the current status of Ethel Rosenberg? She definitely lied about her activities, but receiving the death penalty for typing up some notes was probably extreme. Was it extreme for the government to execute her or was it extreme for her to lie about her activities to perpetuate the myth of martyrdom?....At any rate, it does show that activists with a cause are willing to lie. It happens with fair regularity.

RigelDog said...

My money is on "Sleazy."

wildswan said...

I'd be cautious about believing anything written about sex, drugs or drinking in a high school yearbook. As a literary form it is a combination of experimentation, boasting and gossip that isn't the high road to truth.

Ray - SoCal said...

It changed my opinion of Feinstein, I was shocked at how partisan she went.

And my guess is a lot of Catholics were disgusted by how Kavanaugh was treated.

There is a lot of hidden anger and fear in the middle class over false sexual harassment accusations.

I was surprised the Dems went to the mat over him, where he appears to be a slightly better Kennedy ideologically.

Dem senators that voted against him, and lost:

Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota,
Joe Donnelly of Indiana,
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Bill Nelson of Florida

Manchin won re-election probably due to his vote for Joe Manchin.

I don’t think the anger about how Kavanaugh was treated will impact 2020.

To many other crazy things going on.

Jason said...

The German word for "blow job" (to give) is "Blasen."

#TheMoreYouKnow

wbfjrr2 said...

SoAlthouse doesn’t think Ford’s supporters showed “anger and outrage”?

Dan said...

Floozy