Staying angry. after the Kavanaugh debacle

WARNING: THIS IS AN ANGRY OPINION POSTING!

This is the face that voters will remember come November 6.

LAST WEEK WAS THEN. Today is now! Tomorrow is ours!

The Republican shenanigans in the U.S. Senate in gaining a confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh is the best reason to vote the the GOP senators out of office in every state where they are vulnerable.

(Let's not even talk about the fiasco of how the Republican-controlled Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused to even hold hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.)

Republicans rushed to get a new Justice on the court before the mid-term elections. They were afraid that it was quite possible that they would lost the House, and possibly the Senate. If that were to happen, the Democrats would not allow a conservative justice to sit on the bench.

The Supreme Court was the third leg of government -- executive, legislative and judicial -- wisely created by the founders of this country, to balance each other out. With Kavanaugh's appointment tilting the court to the right, all three branches are now controlled by Republicans. 

Kavanaugh's appointment was a punch in the gut. Any opposing voice might seem like shouting in the wind.

A lot of the anger that drove voters to register Democrats in record numbers over the past year has been dissipated by the Kavanaugh vote. The growing feeling of uselessness and disappointment in the democratic form of government works in favor of the Republicans.

The Democrat Party's Chair Tom Perez acknowledged the danger of voters giving up. He's going around trying to rally the troops who were hoping for a Blue Wave this November. "Don't agonize, Organize!" he exclaimed. "Don't mope. Vote!"

In recent times, Democrats have been too nice. They hoped that compromising with the Republicans would bring them around to governing from the middle. President Obama conceded and conceded and gave them everything the Republicans wanted. The best example of his eagerness to compromise is the health care plan that carries his name,

Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is basically a Republican plan modeled after the Massachusetts plan that was adopted under Gov. Mitt Romney. Gone were the plans for a single-payer plan or universal health care plan advocated by his advisers. Instead, Obamacare was flawed from the get-go and Obama acknowledged that. He wanted to add to it, to mold it to bring it closer to the plan experts preferred.

But Republicans, refusing to compromise rejected their own plan and as soon as Trump came into power, are trying to kill it by pits and pieces.

The art of compromise was the old way of doing things. The Republicans, under Newt Gingrich threw out those rules, according to a new book by MSNBC's political numbers expert ben Bernake. The good old days of collegiality when Republicans and Democrats could go out for drinks after work are gone.

Being nice and seeking compromise was playing into the Republicans' hands. While Democrats were playing with the old rules, Republicans had thrown those rules out and were playing a new brand of politicking/ The Republicans' no-holds-barred, win-at-any-cost strategy has given them the advantage even though they represent a minority of voters.

Obama's flaw was that he was too nice in his dealings with the Republicans. Democrats -- the nation -- can't afford to play with the old rules of politics.

To those who seek change because they are afraid about the direction the country is going, keep organizing, keep registering voters, keep fighting. Keep knocking on doors. Keep making those phone calls. Early voting is going on in several states.The midterms are less than a month away.

"What we saw was (with the Kavanaugh vote) the exercise of raw power," said Sen. Kamala Harris, who is doing her best to lift the Democrats' spirits. "if we want to correct the course, we need to take the power."

For you people of color who are afraid that MAGA really means MAWA; for you women who believe you are not being heard; for all of you who believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford; Stay angry!
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Connie Chung reveals she was sexually assaulted in letter to Christine Blasey Ford

Christine Blasey Ford, left, inspired Connie Chung to recount the time she was a victim of sexual assalt.

CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD'S public testimony accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has opened the doors for women to reveal long-held secrets of sexual assault in their pasts.

Television journalist Connie Chung is the latest to talk about being sexually assaulted , 50 years ago when she was a college student.

In an open letter to Blasey form, Cung wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, She wrote: "I, too, was sexually assaulted — not 36 years ago but about 50 years ago. I have kept my dirty little secret to myself. Silence for five decades."

Republican senators and Kavanaugh supporters like Donald Trump have criticized Blasey Ford for not talking about the alleged assault that occurred 36 years ago. They don't know or understand the traumatic impact of the assault, the shame and the cultural environment that blames the victims.

For three decades starting in 1976, Churng was one of the most recognizable Asian American journalists on television. During her long career, she has worked with ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC.

Chung says she was molested by the same doctor who delivered her in 1946 so she thought he could be trusted. The assault occurred in the doctor's home office when Chung was undergoing a gynecological exam. The doctor, who she ddn't name, has since passed away.

She was in a state of shock after the assault that all Chung could do was dress and and leave as quickly as possible.

Chung explains to Blasey Ford, as well as those who can't comprehend the horror of being assaulted, that she also didn't report the assault.

“I think I may have told one of my sisters. I certainly did not tell my parents. I did not report him to authorities. It never crossed my mind to protect other women,” she wrote. “Please understand, I was actually embarrassed about my sexual naivete. I was in my 20s and knew nothing about sex. All I wanted to do was bury the incident in my mind and protect my family.”

“Christine, I, too, am terrified as I reveal this publicly," continued Chung. "I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Can you? If you can’t, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can’t even cry…Will my legacy as a television journalist for 30-plus years be relegated to a footnote? Will ‘She Too’ be etched on my tombstone instead? I don’t want to tell the truth. I must tell the truth. As a reporter, the truth has ruled my life, my thinking. It’s what I searched for on a daily working basis. I wish I could forget this truthful event, but I cannot because it is the truth. I am writing to you because I know that exact dates, exact years are insignificant.

“We remember exactly what happened to us and who did it to us. We remember the truth forever,” Chung wrote, reinforcing Blasey Ford's testimony before the U.S. Senate Judciciary Committee.

Chung is the second prominent Asian American woman to go public with the long-held secret of her assault. Inspired by Blasey Ford's courage in describing Kavanaugh's alleged assault, Padma Lakshimi, host of the cooking competition Top Chef, told how she was raped when she was 16, but kept the attack secret until her New York Times oped published last week.

In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

FBI to reopen Kvanaugh probe; Hirono and Harris play key roles

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Christine Blasey Ford was sworn in before being questioned in the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing.

UPDATED Sept. 28, 3:15 pm: To include breaking news.

Additional reporting by AsAm News

THE HYPOCRISY of the Republican Party was on full display … and now the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court could be in trouble.

The Senate’s Judiciary Committee voted early today to advance Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate. The committee voted despite riveting and credible testimony from Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the justice-to-be of sexual assault when both were in high school 36 years ago.

But here’s the surprise.

Senator Jeff Flake, R-AZ, threatened to vote Kavanaugh’s confirmation down unless the FBI begins a time-limited one week investigation into Ford’s allegation. The Republican leadership has agreed.

Shortly after the judiciary committee vote, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she supports Flake's condition. Without the two Republican senators support, any attempt to rush a vote on Kavanaugh without the probe, would likely be defeated.

 This afternoon, Donald Trump has ordered a one-week FBI investigation pushing back the vote in the full senate on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

In the middle of the Washington cultural and political brouhaha were two Asian American senators, Kamala Harris, D-CA, and Mazie Hirono, D-HI.

During the committee’s vote to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination, both Harris and Hirono were among those Democratic senators who walked out in protest.

“Democrats are not being heard. They’re pushing through this process. This is a failure of this body – to do what it has always said it’s about, which is be deliberative,” said Harris.

“I’m here standing with my colleagues because it’s very clear that the Republicans will break every norm, every rule, to get this person on the Supreme Court,” said Hirono. “Where he will be there with a cloud – he will weaken the court, and this has got to stop. So I walked out. I’m not going to participate in this charade anymore

For a full year, the GOP-dominated Senate refused to hold a hearing on Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, but are now willing to rush to a vote to seat Kavanaugh despite the dark cloud of sexual misconduct still hanging over his head.

By the time you read this, the Senate's Judiciary Committee will likely have approved Brett Kavanaugh to be voted on the full Senate. The committee is slated to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Friday (Sept. 28) morning after hearing from Kavanaugh and Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the justice-to-be of sexual assault when both were in high school 36 years ago.

“The credibility is there for her. So I believe her,” Hirono told The New York Times earlier this week.

“This whole idea that the Republicans have, that women just sit around making these things up, that is not borne out by the reality,” she added, referring to the dozens of comments from Republicans questioning Blasey Ford’s story.

On Thursday, Hirono chastised sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell brought in specially to grill Blasey because the 11 Republican men on the committee didn't want it appear that they were ganging up on the woman victim. Hirono criticized the Arizona prosecutor for "asking these questions all to undermine the memory and basically the credibility of" the accuser.

"Mr. Chairman. is it your intent to cede all Republicans' time to your prosecutor rather than they themselves ceding their time to her?'" Hirono asked as she targeted committee chair Chuck Grassley.

"Yes," Grassley replied.

Hirono then said, "We all know that the prosecutor, even though this clearly is not a criminal proceeding, is asking Dr. Ford all kinds of questions about what happened before and after, but basically not during the attack," Hirono said.

In contrast to the hired prosecutor's attempts to weaken Blasey's claims, Harris used her five-minutes to sooth the "terrified" California psychology professor. "You are not on trial," Harris told Ford. "You are not on trial."

"You are sitting here before the United States Judiciary Committee because you had the courage to come forward because as you have said you believe it was your civic duty," Harris said bringing Ford on the verge of tears.

"You have passed a polygraph and submitted the results to this committee. Judge Kavanaugh has not. You have called for outside witnesses to testify and for expert witnesses to testify. Judge Kavanaugh has not. But most importantly you have called for an independent FBI investigation into the facts. Judge Kavanaugh has not and we owe you that," Harris said.

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Christine Balsey Ford, 'you are a true profile in courage at this moment in time in the history of our country." 

- Sen. Kamala Harris

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In her powerful closing statement, Harris told Ford, "You have been a true patriot in fighting for the best of who we are as a country. I believe you are doing that because you love this country, and I believe history will show that you are a true profile in courage at this moment in time in the history of our country."

In the afternoon, Kavanaugh didn't give any ground, giving an angry, tearful statement, almost shouting his statement in stark contrast to the Blasey's sincerely emotional and soft-spoken statement and responses.

Kavanaugh took the Trumpian approach to controversy by doubling down and going on the offensive, rudely interrupting the senators' questions and throwing the question back to the Democrats. 

He strongly denied the allegations of Blasey Ford and the three other women who claim to have seen Kavanaugh dead drunk and belligerent. Except for Blasey Ford, none of the other women, including a key witness, Mark Judge, to the alleged assault on Blasey Ford, were brought in by the senate committee for questioning and/or corroboration of either Blasey Ford's or Kavanaugh's statements.

He consistently avoided answering Democrat's questions if he would ask for an FBI investigation to move the incident(s) beyond the he-said, she-said situationi facing the committee members.

In the end, probably no votes of committee members changed, Blasey Ford came off sounding sincere and credible and Kavanaugh came off as emotionally unstable, petulant and a sure bet his nomination will go to the full Senate as quickly as possible before another woman might come forth with a story of Kavanaugh's earlier days ... and before the Midterm elections when the GOP might lose the majority in the House and/or the Senate.

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