Just two kids having a frolic
Lordy lordy lordy – even Radio Free Tom, who is normally…sensible, at least.
Whoa. One was accused of as a continuing behavior while a senior supervisor at a Federal agency. The other's been accused of an incident of drunken assault at 17 years old. Both are terrible things, but they're not generically the same.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 16, 2018
It's giving me the willies to go back to "this happened between minors at a party in high school" as a permanent disqualification for anything. This is a powerful weapon that will be deployed again, and I think in ways that will have drastic and unintended consequences.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) September 16, 2018
ARGGGHHH! It did not “happen between two minors.” A minor male did it to a minor female. It wasn’t a mutual sex act, it was a teenage boy assaulting a teenage girl, while another teenage boy stood ready to provide backup.
It never ceases to amaze me the way some men – even apparently liberal men – just cannot see or imagine the point of view of women.
Tom Nichols is a Republican of the sort that thought George H. W. Bush just didn’t get a fair shake after the wonderful Reagan years; it does not surprise me that he’s engaging in this kind of oleaginous hairsplitting. As though holding an already-lifetime-appointed judge to a ceiling just below the highest court in the country for attempting rape as technically a minor were the thin edge of a big wedge that would lead to keeping youthful jaywalkers from being able to get jobs at McDonald’s.
Republicans: “We have to get tough on juvenile crime! Start prosecuting these teenage thugs as adults, and send them to adult prisons!”
Also Republicans: “Who among us didn’t do a little attempted rape in high school?”
I also have obtained exclusive info on the latest Republican Senate caucus meeting:
Mitch McConnell: “Look people, this rape thing changes nothing. We haven’t been waiting 40 years to overturn Roe v. Wade only to give up now when we have a chance to confirm the 5th vote!”
Susan Collins: “You know, I’m sitting right here.”
McConnell: “Oops, sorry, Susan. I meant, ‘only to give up now when we have a chance to confirm an independent-minded judge who has tremendous respect for settled precedent.'” (pauses, then breaks out laughing) “Oh … ha ha… I’m sorry, I just can’t…. ha ha….”
Collins: (joining in laughter) “Imagine how tough it is for me! I have to do this ‘I’m pro-choice’ shit with a straight face EVERY DAY! Why, yesterday I had to pretend to be outraged that people were using money to influence politics!”
Seth – oh that’s who he is. I had a different impression of him, no doubt because in this age of Trump everybody who isn’t in bed with Trump looks liberalish.
To be fair, if the average Republican voter (or elected official) were aligned with him, we’d both probably respect Republicans and conservatism a lot more.
PZ Myers quoted from a WaPo article:
‘By late August, Ford had decided not to come forward, calculating that doing so would upend her life and probably would not affect Kavanaugh’s confirmation. “Why suffer through the annihilation if it’s not going to matter?” she said.’
And that’s just it, isn’t it?
Here is a link to a USA Today article penned by ol’ Tomboy that reveals his oiliness, which nonetheless is an infinite step up over the fascists that have actually animated Republicanism for his entire life.
A few select quotes:
That was the opening paragraph. The party full of Jesus freaks and culture warriors, the home of logic and prudence. Yeah, Tommy boy, go ahead and pull the other one.
Because it’s not Republicans’ fault for voting for Trump, it’s Democrats’ fault for daring to nominate an icky evil shrew of a bitch-faced woman.
Speaking of those Republican voters, they’re actually off the hook doubly, because
Yeah, I take back my claim that we’d respect Republicans more if they were this oily and spineless. Sorry about that.
I quoted that bit too, in the “If her story” post.
Ick. God. Why did I ever think he had sense? Dislike of Trump, no doubt.
The enemy of my enemy, an easy trap to fall into.
Yes, you did quote that bit, and I missed it. I am sorry. Yet, the weary understanding of her comment is…well, it’s the honesty of hell.
@Seth #6 – thanks for that, it was really interesting.
Just… did anyone else end up reading that article in Jeff Daniels’ voice?