Partisanship is a hell of a drug.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Yeah, I see my the irony in my screen name but if I ever become this cultish please shoot me. There's this gentleman at the gym who is retired LAPD. He's also a Trumpist. I treat him with respect because he's old enough to be my dad. I try to avoid talking politics with him for obvious reasons. We were discussing Bart O'Kavanaugh. I said Dr. Ford is alleging Kavanaugh pinned her down, tried to remove her clothes, and put his hand over mouth to prevent her from screaming for help. I said that has all the elements of attempted sexual assault. He dismissed it as teenage hijinks.


If I ever put politics over my basic humanity I would be ashamed.

[icaria]

1. You've got it right

Republicans' dismissal of Kavanaugh's assault is certainly driven by partisanship - I think they see the accusation as being one that was dug up by the Democrats for political use.

There have been multiple accusations against Bill Clinton that were ignored by many Democrats because the sources were dug up by Republican operatives. Partisan involvement in the accusation causes extreme skepticism.

Perhaps the #metoo movement will help fix this, and make the public more open and ready to listen, or it may trigger a backlash so conservatives routinely deny and dismiss any accusations. The Kavanaugh episode could affect society for many years to come.

[oberliner]

2. Do you ever fall victim to being blinded by partisanship yourself?