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The Screaming Moderate

Who's telling the truth?

9/19/2018

1 Comment

 
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who is accusing Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh of a sexual attack is being attacked herself for many things. A short list:

  1. How can she remember 35 years later whose drunk body was grinding against hers as he tried to remove her clothes and she was trying to fight him off?
  2. If she can sign a letter opposing President Trump’s southern border policies, of course she’d accuse someone of sexually attacking her as a way to get back at him.
  3. What took her so long to all of a sudden remember this episode?
Those are just a few. Never having been the victim of such an attack, let me try logically to answer those questions:
  1. Who could forget?
  2. Because I can oppose a politician’s position without coming up with a sexual abuse lie as a way to get back at him and ruin my life in the process
  3. Traumatic events have traumatic effects and she remembered this alleged attack long before the last few months
But this is what it’s come to in our society. Over the last few days at least one Facebook friend has been posting whining about the information coming out on Kavanaugh, even the more ridiculous left-wing media stuff, and snarkily responding about what teenage boys do or probably did as if that makes it okay. (I once was a teenage boy. I never tried to rape someone.)

I believe the left-wing media as much as I believe the right-wing media – they angle stories to appeal to their readerships, be they on the left or right. They want clicks. They want eyeballs. They care less about the truth and fairness. than they care about clicks.

And for those who say in response “oh yeah, what about CNN or The New York Times?” I say…Lord, really? If you really think men and women sit around the Times and CNN all day and make up stories to further a political agenda…then there’s no use trying to get you to open your mind to Dr. Ford possibly telling the truth. You’re too far gone already. And, I don't believe they do that at Fox either. I think Fox's problem is the talking heads they have pretty much support Trump, and that's where the misinformation comes from. The same may be said at the other cable news networks -- but for all of them, that's talking about folks paid to give their opinions. The people paid to get the news try to do it as fairly and accurately as they can. And, yes, they do make mistakes.

And readers such as this Facebook friend pick it up and repeat it. All the while not thinking, apparently, for one minute that maybe Dr. Ford is telling the truth, just knee-jerk being against her. If she is telling the truth, do you want a man who attempted to rape a 15-year-old, whatever his age was, on the Supreme Court? Do you want a man who lied about it to the U.S. Senate while testifying to be approved to the Supreme Court?

I don’t know who is telling the truth here. I tend to lean toward Dr. Ford because it’s hard for me to believe anyone would put herself out in public with this information for a bunch of reasons ranging from what she knew would happen – death threats, threats against her family,  attacks on her integrity. Why ruin your life to try to ruin another’s?

Maybe it was someone else who attacked her but it’s hard to believe she’s making up the attack. Because … well, why? And not liking Donald Trump, I’m sorry, is not a good enough reason. Who would do that and for what purpose? To stop a Supreme Court nominee knowing that even if Kavanaugh withdraws, the next nominee likely will be more to the right of center than he is? It just doesn’t make sense to make up this type of story.

Therefore, it needs to be investigated.  The accusation cannot be ignored. And if that stalls a vote on a lifetime appointment, so be it. I'd rather we not confirm someone who doesn't deserve to be confirmed. And if I were Judge Kavanaugh, that's what I'd want to. No cloud over my lifetime appointment. 

And if it isn't appropriate for the FBI do conduct that investigation (though I don't know why not) then hire outsiders to do it. One named by the Democrats and one by the Republicans, if necessary.

I have to/want to believe there are enough people in this country – from the left, right and center -- who want to get to the bottom of this. 

1 Comment
Thomas McNamara
9/19/2018 10:58:47 am

I would like to know the truth... wouldn't we all?

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    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

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