SAY WHAT?: Kavanaugh-Ford, Thomas-Hill – Déjà vu All Over Again

Say What is the segment of Liberty Nation Radio where we unveil some of the most wacky, astonishing and damnable things uttered by politicians and the chattering class.  Here is the latest episode:

Tim Donner: If the last-minute accusations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by a leftist professor seem like deja vu to those of us over the age of, say 35, that's because they are. The whole course of events is strikingly similar to 27 years ago when a black conservative, Clarence Thomas, was in the final stages of the confirmation process when all of a sudden, here comes a black law professor, Anita Hill with downright shocking allegations, which could well have derailed the nomination in the last two minutes of the game. We take you back to how this thing was reported in 1991 by Judy Woodruff, then on PBS.

Judy Woodruff: Senators investigating allegations of unwanted sexual advances by a Supreme Court nominee have waded out into uncharted and often seamy waters, hoping to arrive at the truth. Judge Clarence Thomas had appeared to be within days of confirmation to the Supreme Court when the Anita Hill story broke.

Tim: It's as if you could take the names Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, substitute Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Ford, and you would hardly know the difference. Anita Hill pulled no punches in graphically describing to the United States Senate, in a nationally televised hearing, her allegation of sexual harassment against then Judge Thomas.

Anita Hill: His conversations were very vivid. He spoke about acts that he had seen in pornographic films involving such matters as women having sex with animals and films showing group sex or rape scenes.

Tim: And much like the current imbroglio pitting Judge Kavanaugh against Professor Ford, Thomas defiantly denied every charge made by Anita Hill.

Clarence Thomas: I deny each and every single allegation against me today that suggested, in any way, that I had conversations of a sexual nature or about pornographic material with Anita Hill. I think that this, today, is a travesty, is a national disgrace. And from my standpoint, as a black American, as far as I'm concerned, it is a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves.

Tim: Powerful stuff. And going into the final stages of that hearing, Thomas looked like a shoo-in, likely to get more than 60 votes and become just the second black Justice ever on the Supreme Court, but Anita Hill boxed democrats into a corner, forced many of them to change their votes and Thomas did get confirmed, but barely, by a vote of 52 to 48. Again, striking similarities. A last-minute charge out of left field, by the left. A conservative Supreme Court nominee possibly derailed. Yogi Berra said it best, "It's deja vu all over again." Meanwhile, the left has tried to throw the kitchen sink at Judge Kavanaugh. Among the things they've dug up, beyond Christine Ford, is this statement by Judge Kavanaugh in a speech three years ago.

Brett Kavanaugh: Unfortunately, we had a good saying that we've held firm to this day, as the dean was reminding me before the talk, which is "What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep." That's been a good thing for all of us, I bet.

Tim: Now, as soon as that statement was unearthed, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts shared a clip of Kavanaugh making that joke, and sent out a tweet, saying "I can't imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what American wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?"

So, is it boys will be boys, especially when they're 17-years-old, or an incident that seems like it really happened and is shameful? Other than hardcore "Never Trump" Republicans like Senators Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, both of whom are retiring in the face of plunging poll numbers, the two sides are divided strictly along partisan lines as a week of judgment looms.

But as usual, there were other notable SAY WHATs this week. It seems Barack Obama's Secretary of State, John Kerry, has, by his own admission, been playing footsie with his friends in Iran, the ones he worked with on that Iran nuclear deal, which Trump has trashed. And current Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, delivered a rare rebuke for his predecessor's interference in U.S. foreign policy.

Sec. of State Mike Pompeo: What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly, and unprecedented. This is a former Secretary of State engaged with the world's largest state sponsor of terror and according to him, right? You don't have to take my word for it, these are his answers. He was talking to them. He was telling them to wait out this administration.

Tim: Indeed, Kerry said on Fox News, "I think everybody in the world is sitting around talking about waiting out President Trump."

But we saved the best SAY WHAT for last. President Trump making an appearance honoring those people he supposedly hates.

 President Trump: I'm really thrilled once again to welcome so many of my friends to the White House to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. That's a big month. That's a big month, right? Today we come together to honor the incredible contributions Hispanic-Americans make to our communities, our culture, and our country every single day. You know it. We have created more than 4 million new jobs since the election, and the Hispanic unemployment has recently hit an all-time historic low in the history of America. I don't know, I don't know how you beat that in an election.

Tim: That's a big month. A big month. Yuuuge. But left-wing Hispanic activists absolutely can't believe that 30% of Hispanics voted for Trump in 2016, and that number is likely to only get larger in 2020. And if that happens, Trump will almost certainly get four more years.