I have an acquaintance on FB who keeps writing about disgusted he is by

[ProfessorPlum]

the Republicans, but also how disgusted he is by how Feinstein handled/timed the issue - waiting to report the issue and then using it as a delay tactic.

Is there something to that argument? I don't get it - to me, it seems like Feinstein was a) trying to protect Ford and then b) being smart and strategic about how best to leverage Ford's testimony to her (and everyone's) advantage.

He seems to be arguing that the more noble thing would have been to use Ford's testimony/story/allegation in a way that was less effective. That would seem to me to waste and dishonor her sacrifice and courage.

I don't know, is anybody else seeing this kind of shit on FB? It could be just the usual "a pox on both their houses" crap that people who don't actually pay attention to politics spout, but this guy is often pretty smart. I just can't figure out what the complaint is. TIA.

[ProfessorPlum]

1. After all, Ford's goal was to stop or harm Kavanaugh's nomination process

and Feinstein helped her to do, apparently to good effect.

[Blue_true]

7. I disagree.

She wanted her story to go on record and be considered. She was clear in her testimony that she was not out to damage him or stop his nomination, but that she felt that her story needed to be considered and given proper due.

[GeorgeGist]

13. Surely she didn't expect it to...

help him.

[Blue_true]

16. But her expressed intent was not to stop him, but get her story heard and considered.

Significant difference from what you claimed.

[ProfessorPlum]

38. her expressed intent was that Kavanaugh not get nominated to the SC

that someone else would get nominated in his place. And that he would not get there.

[Blue_true]

40. Ok. Then I agree. Kavanaugh is a partisan hack and a liar.

Do ANY of us want that on the highest court in the land?

[ProfessorPlum]

37. I think you are very wrong on this point

by Ford's own testimony, she wanted to let someone, anyone, know that they shouldn't nominate Kavanaugh for this seat - her goal was that someone else, perhaps less likely to be a rapist, be put forward, and that Kavanaugh would not be nominated.

She wanted to stop him from being nominated and placed on the Supreme Court. That desire motivated all of her subsequent actions and communications.

[Wounded Bear]

2. They try to complain about "politics as usual"...

but it never seems to include Repubs when they are manipulating the system.

Only Dems.

I wonder why that happens?

[TheBlackAdder]

42. The bagger down the street: Dems dirty politics, Reps with Gorsuch & Kavanaugh Well-Played Politics.

[samnsara]

3. it wasnt DF's place or info to share. If she had shared it she would have been called a leaker..

...and you know how much the GOP would have had fun with THAT! I have blocked almost everyone on FB. Im like the curmudgeon who yells at kids to Get Off My Lawn..cept I say Get Off My Timeline!

[MaryMagdaline]

4. I don't know. I believe Feinstein that she held it until confidentiality was waived

I so don't care about "the process" anymore. 2000 stolen election, Merrick Garland, you name it.

I personally don't care about an attempted rapist's complaint about process, or the legally or socially imposed "statute of limitations," whatever that is. Let the victim speak when the victim is ready to speak. Sorry if that knocks the abuser off his game.

[Hav]

5. It's irrelevant

Ford wanted to keep her name out of it, she just wanted to inform other people about it. Feinstein kept it confidential. Other journalists got informed by other sources, not by Feinstein. Ford then came out as it became inevitable.
But besides that, the timing is irrelevant and a distraction. The important thing should be to find out the truth, regardless of when it was made public.

[appleannie1943]

28. That is how I feel.

[Progressive Jones]

35. Agreed.

The information had to get out. And I believe every word of Dr. Ford's testimony.

[redstateblues]

36. It's whataboutism

[dlk]

6. Bogus Bothsiderism- Tnis is a Faux Issue About an Artificial and Arbitrary Deadline Manufactured by

Republicans. There was no true deadline. Also it’s always so much easier to ramp up anger toward women than it is toward men. We have far to go with women’s equality.

[MontanaMama]

8. Dr Ford sent her letter before Kav

was nominated. She sent the letter when she found out he was on the short list of candidates and hoped to prevent the nomination. After he was actually nominated, Dem leadership did everything in their power to respect her anonymity but Ford had also reached out to the WaPo and I believe it was the newspaper that revealed who she was. Reporters started showing up at her home and work and the cat was out of the bag. At least this is my understanding of events.

So speaking of FB garbage...I don’t use it personally but we have a FB page to promote our business and one RWNJ messaged us a video of Dr Ford’s lawyers being secretly handed a wad of cash by someone at the hearing. It is all manufactured of course, but’s that’s the kind of crap that’s out there. Wait for Alex Jones and QAnon to scream bloody murder about that...🙄

[wellst0nev0ter]

41. Actually, Ford wanted to remain anonymous

But the piece by The Intercept September 12 reporting on how Feinstein was withholding an letter describing an "incident" in high school. The Intercept's publishing of the existence of the letter ultimately forced Ford's hand.

Then the White House got a hold of the letter, with Ford's name redacted, and the Senate Judiciary committee got the letter too. And since you know how repukes leak like sieves, members of the media started learned the contents of the letter and started connecting the dots, so Ford decided to go public and get ahead of whatever smear campaign will come out.

Anyways, this quote from Ford's lawyer is all you need

Katz said she believes Feinstein honored Ford’s request to keep her allegation confidential, but “regrettably others did not.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/california-professor-writer-of-confidential-brett-kavanaugh-letter-speaks-out-about-her-allegation-of-sexual-assault/2018/09/16/46982194-b846-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?utm_term=.1d3f28f0a91d

[Azathoth]

9. Assuming it was pure politics on DiFi's part, it pales in comparison to what the GOP has done

They've deliberately hidden thousands of pages of documents, covered up for Kavanaugh's lying, and created an absurd artificial deadline to ram him through before the election. They've abused every last bit of power they have to run roughshod over both Democrats and the confirmation process.

Democrats fighting back with a procedural ploy that achieves nothing but a short delay pales in comparison to that kind of corruption.

[Fresh_Start]

10. Di Fi and her staff did not release her name

Di Fi honored her request to not name the accuser

The events escalated after newspapers outed the accuser
Nothing to blame Di Fi for.

[diva77]

11. Your friend has fallen into the rethug trap of framing the whole process as 'being delayed by Dems'

I'm not sure, but I think there are still thousands of docs that have not been released regarding KKKavanaugh. Even if they have all been released, there has not been enough time to review them and thoroughly vet the candidate. For all focus to be on when Feinstein came forward with Dr. Ford's testimony is to fall into the rethug snakepit.

[ProfessorPlum]

12. that's a really good point

the delay is really because we don't know enough about the guy - good or bad

[Totally Tunsie]

18. IMO, we know enough now.

We know that Kavanaugh is a partisan hack in the republiCON stable, with no "judicial temperament", and unworthy to sit on the SC.

I can't imagine what the current Justices must be thinking about the possible addition of BK to the Court.

[ProfessorPlum]

39. oh, totally

if it were up to me there are too many things that disqualify K. at this point to count.

Torture advocate
warrantless surveillance defender
entitled frat asshole
black out drunk
incredible perv and sexual hypocrite
partisan operative
emotionally unfit

not to mention a more-than-likely rapist and sexual assailant.

[lame54]

14. Let's say that is completely true...

Way to go Diane

[ProfessorPlum]

22. Right? That was my reaction, too

It's time that the Democrats got strategic and ruthless when it comes to stopping this cabal.

Just because the Gang Of Predators were crying about it doesn't mean it wasn't respectful of Ford

[lame54]

15. It's like guerrilla warfare...

Use their own weapons against them

They don't like it one bit

[JI7]

17. sounds like a sexist, misogynist type

[W_HAMILTON]

19. Look here:

Tell them that -- as requested by her constituent -- Dianne Feinstein kept her confidentiality pledge to Dr. Blasey. That is why no one knew of this story while it was circulating between Anna Eshoo (Dr. Blasey's congressional representative) and Feinsten.

Feinstein forwarded the letter to the FBI, which then forwarded it to the White House. It was only at this point that people began to uncover Dr. Blasey's identity and the increased presence of reporters -- both at her home AND place of work -- was what prompted Dr. Blasey to come out and tell her story herself.

Note that the author of the original story that first reported publicly the existence of this letter DENIES that it came from Feinstein or any of her staffers and explains how it subsequently spread like wildfire among those in the media:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[ProfessorPlum]

23. thanks for those

that's really important

[mercuryblues]

20. Dr Ford

had tried several different ways of getting this info, while leaving herself anonymous, to deter him from getting nominated to begin with. to no avail. With her wish to remain anonymous there was little DiFi could do, except redact Ford's name and send it to the FBI, who then placed it in his file, without investigation.

Then this all leaked out. The WH had this info, as it was in kavenaughs's file.

[Hoyt]

21. Believe it would have been better to come out weeks earlier, but since it didn't,

it needs to be investigated now. I can also understand Ford hoping Kavanaguh would be eliminated without her having to testify under such circumstances.

[flotsam]

24. Here's the thing

The support letter from the 65 other females was already in GOP hands. They knew of this accuser and they knew there were other accusers and their decision was to try to speed up the process to appoint a man they knew was unfit. After acting like a scumball you don't get to complain about how the other side opposes your evil acts. It's just that simple.

[ProfessorPlum]

25. agreed - I'm not sure what's up his butt about this

Opposing K helps all of us

[CentralMass]

26. Is seems to be a GOP talking point. I heard the same from a coworker.

[betsuni]

33. It is. The conservative airhead on "The View" went into a rant about both sides

being hyper partisan, she's frustrated that everything is partisan and about fighting each other, this was handled terribly from the beginning.

Then of course she launches the partisan attack that it was all Democrats' fault because they had the letter, they leaked this letter, blah blah blah. Other panelists corrected her, but I'm sure she believes Fox News.

[samnsara]

27. well yes of course!! DiFi was supposed to give HIS team the advantage...

...and dare she!

[Lithos]

29. People stop not when they get to the truth, but to the Truthiness of the situation

It feels good for this person to believe that the Democrats are there to somehow magically stop the God-given GOP agenda.

We all know facts do not support this. There was a huge resignation among Democrats this was going to be a rubberstamp Federalist.

The only problem was that Trump and his team, per normal, failed to do any due diligence - accepting the Federalist society's list without any thought. If they were smart, they would have picked another Gorsuch - someone so bland and unimpressive that even a few Red State Democrats would have no cover to vote no. But they didn't.

I believe the real Democratic tactic was to get Kavanaugh to resign so at least someone who can at least fake the job properly and without embarrassing themselves can be brought forward.

[ProfessorPlum]

31. Democratic tactic

[Lithos]

32. Noted

And corrected...

[EarlG]

30. Just ask him if he thinks that

Brett Kavanaugh should be on the Supreme Court, knowing everything we know about him.

If he says no, then agree with him that regardless of how the information came to light, Kavanaugh is unfit to serve.

If he says yes, then he's a lost cause anyway so forget about it.

[Lithos]

34. I have the same issue on FB as PP

And someone did ask that question - making the case quite strongly...

Two lawyers who are arguing about this, the starter article was the American Bar Association's position on doing the background check.

The lawyer asked this question thinks this is nothing more than pure "Demoncrat" conspiracy to not only shame the proceedings, but to tarnish the record of a good man.

The other lawyer is only advancing the position that what he saw in the hearings makes Kavanaugh unfit due to temperament. No way Kavanaugh can push aside emotion to argue the law - a major acid test for a fit judiciary.

There is an impasse and one which is not to be done.

I have other FB friends who are turtling up - the idea that this might be about something bigger than Republican/Democratic divisions - but addressing

People have drawn their conclusions - it's a case of "truthiness" - they stop when they have achieved a suitable emotional acceptance to their own world views.

L-