What We’re Up Against

The following is an excerpt from an article on Politico where a reporter interviewed different women in Charlotte NC on the topic of Brett Kavanaugh and the allegations by Christine Blassey Ford against him.   

This part involves a woman named  Deborah King and her mother, Anne.  

Deborah King says she has voted Republican in the past but won’t do it now. “Their behavior shows a lack of understanding of how men and women interact.”

Her mother Anne weighs in on this.  

“My husband served in Vietnam. He was a communications officer, which meant he had to undergo an FBI investigation. So for Mr. Kavanaugh to get to this stage, he’s had to have an FBI investigation. So for some people to be calling for an FBI investigation at this point in time—he’s already had one.”

It’s partisan, Anne says.  “The lawyer for her is a Democrat supporter. It’s true.”

“That doesn’t make her claims unfounded,” Deborah replies. 

“I didn’t say that,” Anne says. “But if a senior Democrat member of the committee has had it for six weeks, why is it just now coming up?” Anne says she’s not dubious of the claim per se, just the timing.

Anne thinks Trump is doing a great job. Obama?

“He didn’t even respect the flag,” Anne says. “I think currently now the president and the Republicans are respecting … ”

“How did Obama not respect the flag?” her daughter asks, interrupting.

“Look at the policies that he did.”

“What does that have to do with respecting the flag?”

“I don’t think he respected the flag!”

“You think Trump—OK, OK,” Deborah says, giving up.

The argument stops before it can pick up momentum.

“It has to,” Anne says. “We’re family.”

Sigh!

It’s partisan, Anne says.  “The lawyer for her is a Democrat supporter. It’s true.”

“That doesn’t make her claims unfounded,” Deborah replies. 

“I didn’t say that,” Anne says.

Well, no, you didn’t say that but you’re leading with that. Red flag: Dr. Ford’s lawyer is a Democrat. Be very, very suspicious.   

Anne continued:  “But if a senior Democrat member of the committee has had it for six weeks, why is it just now coming up?”  Anne says she’s not dubious of the claim per se, just the timing.

The timing of the revelation of Dr. Ford’s allegations is a frequent talking point for Republicans and the Fox News pundits to cast doubt on the validity of Dr. Ford’s claim and the supposed duplicity of the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Anne’s concerns about the timing is a perfect echo of these talking points. 

In fact, the timeline from Dr.Ford’ first efforts to contact her congressperson to the exposure of her allegations and her identity have been documented. The short answer is that Dr. Ford knew something about Brett Kavanaugh that she thought the Senate Judiciary Committee might want to know about but that she quite understandably did not want to talk about. 

Anne thinks Trump is doing a great job. Obama?

“He didn’t even respect the flag,” Anne says.

I got to give Anne credit: she knows her lines in this drama really well.  The idea that Obama was disrespectful to the symbols of America is a frequent point of contention in right wing media even in the absence of any evidence of Obama disrespecting a flag. I think during the 2008 campaign, he didn’t wear a flag lapel pin once and I think that one instance is the foundation for that allegation of not respecting the flag. 

“How did Obama not respect the flag?” her daughter asks, interrupting.

“Look at the policies that he did.”

“What does that have to do with respecting the flag?”

“I don’t think he respected the flag!”

Deborah makes a go at this and immediately runs into a wall. 

Anne apparently has issues with Obama’s policies which is her right but how exactly does that translate to not respecting the flag? Anne does not have an answer. She states…

“He didn’t even respect the flag,” Anne says.

As an emphatic fact. When pressed to defend that fact, she switches to this…

“I don’t think he respected the flag!”

Which is an opinion, not a fact.  Anne is entitled to have opinions but she’s still not backing it up.  Anne is repeating what she’s been trained to repeat. When pushed to defend what she is repeating, she can’t do it.

This is not unique to Anne. This is a common theme of Trump supporting Republicans who know what they know and feel no compunction to defend what they know other than to repeat it. 

This is why it’s impossible to win an argument with a Trump supporter. You can come along with your empirical data, facts, objective observations, details, numbers and more and it doesn’t mean a damn thing. They know what they know and no amount of reason or even reality will alter that.

It’s bringing the proverbial knife to a gun fight. 

“You think Trump—OK, OK,” Deborah says, giving up.

We’re all giving up, Deborah. We will never convinced them. We can only hope to out number them in November. 

________________________________________________________

 Out there in America, what we're up against are people who are not constrained by facts and continue to deny the reality of what kind of low life scum Donald Trump really is.


Inside the halls of power in Washington, what we're up against are people who are not constrained by truth and continue to deny the reality of what kind of low life scum Donald Trump really is.
 


White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders climbed out of the smoke and brimstone of the hell pit where she dwells to defend Trump's mockery of Christine Blasey Ford.

"The President was stating the facts, included in the report. Stating facts that was in the testimony."

Oh fuck no, she didn't.


Yes she did. Sarah Sanders lied (again) and her lies are easily refutable. 


Trump on Tuesday: "How many years ago was it? I don't know."

Ford in her Senate testimony: "In the summer of 1982..."



*****
Trump on Tuesday: "Upstairs, downstairs, where was it? I don't know."

Ford in her Senate testimony: "Early in the evening, I went up a very narrow set of stairs leading from the living room to a second floor to use the restroom....


******

Trump on Tuesday: "But I had one beer. That is the only thing I remember."

Ford in her testimony:

Sen. Durbin asked, "Dr. Ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you?". Then Dr. Ford answered, "One hundred percent.”


Yes, there were things that Dr. Ford admitted were not certain in her memory but Trump claiming that she didn't know when it happened, where it happened or only remembering she has one beer, these are nothing more than lies and it's bad enough that Trump traffics in this bull shit but Sarah fucking Sanders dares to stand behind a White House podium, all smug in her Christian self righteousness and traffic in those same falsehoods by claiming they were facts?!?!?

This is what we're up against. We can be armed with truth and we are still losing?!?!