Sept. 27 Open Thread: Kavanaugh Personifies Class Privilege
The Brett Kavanaugh saga has exposed the ugliest side of America — its upper crust. As Chauncey de Vega notes, Kavanaugh has benefited at every step of his life from the fact that he’s a support network of class privilege.
The problem isn’t what Brett Kavanaugh did as a youth, Josh Marshall says. It’s that he’s demonstrably lying about it now that shows he’s unfit for the position.
Amanda Marcotte says Kavanaugh will be confirmed not despite the allegations but because of them — she sees this as a Republican attempt to break the entire #metoo movement. I disagree, because I don’t think the movement is that fragile.
The Kavanaugh case has put a spotlight on male bonding rituals of the upper middle class, and while it isn’t pretty, it’s all too common for males to bond over the humiliation of a woman. In the vernacular, bros before hos.
Democrats are learning an alarming truth this cycle: They are not popular with older Hispanics, not in Texas (where they lost a special election in a majority-Hispanic district they had held for decades) and certainly not in Florida, where Rick Scott holds a commanding lead over Democrat Bill Nelson among Hispanics over 50.
I was stunned by this story not just because Texas has a law requiring children to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, but because it’s actually going to court against a child for failure to comply. And some people think we’re becoming more like the Nazis. Wake up, sheeple, we’re already there.
Why do so many colorless centrist Democrats fail to understand that their appeal is, um, becoming more selective? John Hickenlooper, anti-marijuana governof of Colorado, is the latest self-deluded contestant for the Martin O’Malley Trophy, awarded to the presidential cycle’s most ineffectual candidate.
All I can see in that link on the Texas Pledge of Allegiance law is that the student was expelled, the expulsion was reversed, the student brought a civil lawsuit in federal court, and the Texas attorney general has moved to intervene in the civil suit, presumably for the customary purpose of defending the existence of one of his state’s (admittedly silly and most likely unconstitutional) laws.
That’s a far cry from criminal prosecution.
Yeah, you’re right, Dan. Thanks for the catch. I guess all the spittle on the screen blocked my view. It’s been amended.
The law is not most likely unconstitutional. It is plainly so. This has been settled law since 1943, decided by the Supreme Court in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. Forced displays of patriotism are not allowed by public institutions, although private entities can make such a demand.
Are you really under the impression the Constitution still matters?
Never did in Texas. A friend of mine who lived there for a while said a valid murder defense in Texas is “he just needed killin’.”
“The Brett Kavanaugh saga has exposed the ugliest side of America — its upper crust.”
Well whether it wins the ugly contest or not, it certainly is in the top 5 or 10. Regardless, I don’t think there was much exposition involved. The Andrew Sisters were singing “Them that has, gets” with Les Paul in 1946. And further back, legend has it that (untrue BTW) that Marie Antoinette was opining “Let them eat cake.”
Both the peasants and the privileged classes have long known about the class system. This is no surprise. Socialists want to eliminate it. Capitalists want to be part of it. And ultimately humans, in general, include being better off than others in their evaluation of their self worth. There are few who would reject the class system because membership has it’s privileges.
There may be no greater example than the state of Delaware where social capital, whether in Greenville or Rehoboth Beach is the determining factor in the outcome of elections and business.
“There may be no greater example than the state of Delaware where social capital, whether in Greenville or Rehoboth Beach is the determining factor in the outcome of elections and business.”
No truer words have ever appeared on this blog.
Takin’ a breather across from the Court. Just read this Dave.
What can’t some of you useless fuckers be more like Dave?
The conservative view on free speech:
Racism = GOOD
Showing anything less than utter obeisance to the flag, the state, or the military = BAD
Tom Carper voted for Kavanaugh
It might enlighten some of you that Texas and Texans gave birth to ROE v. Wade and the legal team that argued it successfully. There is a powerful, though minority progressive movement there and has been since the birth of it’s Populist movement.
There were nice people in Nazi Germany, too. We will solve the problem of Texas only once we give it back to the Mexicans.
Idiot.
Oh, hell, looks like Kavinaugh is going to make it out of committee. I would advise you guys to break out the pussy hats and poster board at this point.
If you could keep the violence to a minimum, that would be nice.
Wow, what a shock. Only everybody on earth saw that coming.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jiveDurkey/status/1045669527491694597/video/1
Just because RSE is a fucking coward doesn’t mean we all are. He was FBH, now RSE. Still a gutless weakling and an anonymous scrotelick.
From me personally to the anonymous you. Fuck you scumbag.
Prefer Cumspiggot, better fit and description.
Also a good one.
Hypothetically, it’d be cool to roll up a placard inside a pussy hat and let the highest female bidder shove it straight down RSE’s fucking throat.
Since he is an anonymous coward this will remain unfortunately a hypothetical thought experiment.
Don’t waste your energy. When the women take over, guys like him will be wailing the loudest.
From CNN’s Elizabeth Landers.
CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty broke that news [on Flake’s yes vote] to Sen. Coons in the hallway as he walked into the hearing.
Coons said, “Oh fuck,” then choked up, “We each make choices for our own reason. I’m struggling, sorry.”
I’m going give Coons a pass today. (Just today).
https://mobile.twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/1045668429364187136
Jeff Flake, like all never-Trump Republicans, is ultimately useless. The enemy of your enemy is not your friend. That saying, and philosophy, comes from the Arabs, and you can see where it’s gotten them over the millenia.
I posted this on Facebook:
I live near the Delaware beaches, an area frequented by Kavanaugh and his buddies. I don’t know Brett Kavanaugh, but I do.
When I was in college I worked in the ER at a local hospital. I’ve seen plenty of Brett Kavanaughs come through the door during the summer, in the middle of the night. They would come over to Mommy and Daddy’s beach house, get into the liquor cabinet, or get it some other way, get drunk, injure themselves in various ways, and then come to see me.
Invariably they would think that their cut or sprained ankle should put them at the front of the line, ahead of people who had had serious medical issues. They wanted to skirt the rules and thought that they could somehow get over on me to get what they wanted, because you know, I was just a dumb guy from a little beach town and their parents were “important government officials.”
I used to take great delight in calling the parents of these privileged punks to get permission to treat them, since they were invariably under 18. I’d be willing to bet that Kavanaugh made plenty of his own trips over here without his parents. Maybe he saw the clerk in the ER, too, but by that time I would have been gone from there. From what I’ve seen and heard from him so far I have a feeling that he’s one of those people who was ruined because his parents simply didn’t pay attention to what he was doing.
So if you want to know why I’m sick of Kavanaugh and his whole act, it’s because I’ve seen it, multiple times, multiple years when these overprivileged fucks show up every summer and act like they are in charge of everything and everybody.
Coons will be holding a Town Hall at the Delaware City Fire Hall this evening at 6pm.
What a way to spend your Friday night…
I’m not going. 🙂