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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (1092432)

10/9/2018 7:58:47 AM

From: Brumar89

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1588098

Why is Brett Kavanaugh a bad choice for the Supreme Court?

Dan Redekopp, Criminal Defence Lawyer (1992-present)

Answered Oct 2

Brett Kavanaugh is a drunk.

I ought to know. I’m a drunk. Even though I have been sober for many years, I am still and always will be a drunk (I despise the cop-out word “alcoholic”).

His responses to questions about his drinking came right out of my play book.

First, never deny - minimize. Turn it around to characterizes my drinking as “normal”. Call passing out “sleeping”. Deny black-outs (that’s easy, because how would I know?). Point out the fact that I still hold a job and that I am very successful at it. Finally, and most important, take offence to the implication and holler as loud as I can about how unfair it is that I’ve been singled out when everybody does it. Classic.

He is exactly the privileged, pseudo-intellectual, arrogant, reckless and (worst of all) unapologetic drunk that I was. Now, I am a sober drunk that is still coming to terms with my behavior when I was actively drunk. That is not an easy task and my mind is a myriad of shameful memories because of it. But, I am under no illusions that my past behavior should be somehow forgiven or forgotten because of my choice to drink to the point of gross stupidity. In short, I still own my behaviour.

I am certain that he has committed some very egregious acts while he has been drunk. His “memory” of his drunken exploits cannot be trusted. Nor can the memories of his drunken cohorts. I speak from experience.

Even if I were otherwise qualified, I should not be on the Supreme Court of any country. There are plenty of qualified people that do not have the demon of drink haunting them. Because, contrary to what Mr. Kavanaugh’s pickled brain might think, drunkenness is not normal and it is certainly not acceptable. Especially from Supreme Court jurists. Your country can do better.

So yes, he is a bad choice for the Supreme Court.

If he embarks on some meaningful soul searching about his drunkenness, then maybe we can talk. But that’s going to take a very long time and he appears to be uninterested in doing such a thing.

Addendum October 3, 2018:

I purposefully did not address the sexual assault allegations on Mr. Kavanaugh because that has been covered thoroughly in other answers. However, it has some bearing on my point.

The SCOTUS, like the apex court of any country, requires that its jurists be held to the very highest standard. That is: not only must justice be done, it must be seen to be done.

Drunk men are notorious for over stepping their boundaries with women. Mr. Kavanaugh’s previous frequent participation in purposeful drunkenness (such as “drinking games”) gives the appearance that he was likely to have overstepped those boundaries. That leaves him vulnerable to even false allegations that have an air of reality. (please note that I am not giving any opinion on the credibility of the present allegations against him)

Again, there are plenty of qualified jurists that do not have that baggage.

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Angela Stockton

Oct 2 · 175 upvotes

Amen, brother. My husband of 46 years, who died in August, was an alcoholic for the first eleven years of our marriage. I knew he was a veteran, but it was years before he admitted to me that he'd served in Vietnam. He was always adamant that he did not drink because of PTSD and that alcoholism ran in his family. The latter was true, and there was no point arguing with him about the former, but I still think it was PTSD that led him to drink.

Regardless of the cause, he had the classic behaviors of blackouts and defensiveness about his ever-increasing consumption. He finally quit cold turkey when, he said later, he realized he was on the verge of losing everything and everyone he loved. Watching Kavanaugh's tirade in front of the Judiciary Committee was like seeing my husband during the last year before he turned sober.

Marcus Lester

Oct 3 · 38 upvotes

Thank you. I am also an alcoholic, saw the same in Mr. Kavanaugh, and I’ve spent more than 30 years bailing out my foundering little ship and righting my defects of character. Baby steps. Sounds like you guys had some good years after all. That’s the important stuff.

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Marcus Lester

Sat · 7 upvotes

You have an interesting view of me and Mr. Kavanaugh. My beer drinking is a “personal weakness,” while his is a “habit” that he “got over.”

I did not blame Kavanaugh for my character traits of all kinds. He is engaged in a political process of being nominated to a high office in the Justice Department. It is reasonable for both you and me to question his qualifications. It is inappropriate for you to suppose that my abilities to ask those questions are less capable than yours, or that my judgments are less perspicacious and valid than yours are.

One thing I have learned in life is that if a person cannot answer the hard questions, then they either do not know what they are talking about or they are covering up the truth. Mr. Kavanaugh repeatedly refused to answer questions, minimized his activities, lied transparently about his activities, or attacked those who were asking the questions. All these things violate judicial canons. Period. Why do you think so many law professors have gone on record as opposing his nomination?

Now, if you have a substantive argument to make that does not attack me and focuses on Kavanaugh’s demonstrated character flaws — then I’d like to hear them.

Céline Campeau

Oct 3 · 28 upvotes

I agree…There are “functionning alcoholics or drunks” if you prefer while they haven't delt with their alcoholism, they minimize, deny or justify their behaviors with their achievements…They are deffensive about their drinking trying to normalizing it to others..

My mother was an alcoholic and my sister is…