I was very sympathetic to his initial remarks, angry and passionate, even indignant, he spoke in very much the way I would have if I had been unjustly accused of terrible crimes I was innocent of. But he overdid it, his interactions with the Democratic committee members became increasingly more partisan and confrontational, and less and less to do with refuting the charges against him and establishing his innocence. On the Testosterone Planet, bullying and aggression is frequently mistaken for courage and determination.

If I had been in his shoes, I would have sounded like he did early in his testimony. But only if I had been guilty would I have shifted as he did later, to putting on a show for the benefit of allies in the committee and the audience. In other words, he was overly hysterical and emotional, even “feminine”, precisely the demeanor the Majority was probably expecting from Dr Ford.

I realize my comments refer more to the rhetoric and not the substance. I would not expect my opinions to carry much weight before an impartial jury. But I have encountered that same snarky rhetoric before; right here on the Zone, and I am perfectly familiar with the bullshit behind the bluster.

I listened carefully to Kavanaugh’s and Ford’s testimony. Both were very convincing, I’d be tempted to believe either one without reservation if I had not heard the other. She was calm, deliberate and very moving. She came across as someone who had indeed suffered the events she described and was determined to tell the truth. The judge’s reaction was very different, angry, emotional, indignant, butprobably very much what my reaction would have been if I was in his shoes and innocent of the charges I was accused of. In short, both witnesses were highly believable and even convincing. “Credible” is the term I have been hearing a lot lately.

But there was one major difference. Kavanaugh seems to be convinced, or at least, he seems determined to convince his audience, that he is a victim of some Liberal conspiracy to destroy him and all the Right. That seems to be the typical response of all Conservatives today, on any controversy. And of course, Lindsay Graham immediately pushed the exact same buttons in his impassioned defense of Kavanaugh (or should I say diversionary attack on the Democrats). Frankly, I’m sick and tired of hearing their conspiracy theories. There is only one true conspiracy, and Hillary Clinton identified it years ago, the “vast right wing conspiracy” inspired by businessmen who don’t want to pay their taxes.

Compare with Dr. Ford’s testimony. There was no attack on the judge’s politics. She knows, as do we all, that sexual abuse is politically neutral, that a rapist is just as likely to be a Democrat as a Republican. She did not feel it necessary to attack the politics, or even the gender, of the person she accused, Judge Kavanaugh did. By implying the charges against him were politically motivated, he immediately accused Dr Ford of being part of that political agenda. That is something Conservatives have had a tendency to do lately. The tactic was invented by Joe McCarthy and they’ve been refining it ever since.

In every single area where we have political controversy, the Conservative knee-jerk response is to accuse the Liberals of some conspiracy. Even the climate controversy and the health care debate are solely the result of the Liberals trying to take over the world.

I don’t have all the information I need to make a judgment here. No one has, and we may never get it. But if I had to bet my life on it, if I were forced to pick one over the other, I’d say the judge is lying, and the lady is not. He just whined too much, and too predictably. He gave himself away.