Daily Kos

Staged Tears

by formalist

Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:21:55 PM PDT

I ask everyone to review minutes 2:46:00 and 2:47:00 of "Samuel Alito Supreme Court Justice Confirmation Hearings - Day 3, Afternoon Session (1/11/2006)".  This is available at C-SPAN.

Join me in the extended body.

I also ask everyone to view the 2:09 video clip entitled "Alito's Wife Tears Up" at Yahoo News.  Please pay particular attention to seconds 26-30.

During this portion of the hearing, Lindsey Graham enumerates the names of Congresspeople who were members of various Princeton eating clubs.  Because Graham was challenging Democrats who claim Alito's affiliation with CAP disqualifies him from serving as a Justice on the Supreme Court, this act was utterly gratuitous.  For an eating club is not a club one voluntarily joins after graduation.  But as he is wont to do, he charges his diatribe with a bit of humor, noting how he will investigate his House and Senate colleagues for their affiliations with these eating clubs, and he predictably elicited laughter from those in the audience who felt Kennedy and others were exaggerating Alito's troubled and sordid past.  So much for Lindsey Graham's base humor.

But I note this humor, however inappropriate it may be, as it did in fact lighten the charged atmosphere of hearings.  Graham proceeds to question Alito about the extent of his involvement with CAP, and he again jokes about Alito's denunciation of that organization's statements, stating in his typically jocund manner that Alito deplores those statements because he desires a seat on the Supreme Court.  Again, more audience laughter, more Lindsey Graham irony.  And Alito's wife, who can be seen in the clip available at Yahoo, has a grin plastered across her face.

Then Graham suddenly asks:  "Are you a closet bigot?"  Alito replies: "No sir, I'm not."  We are eight seconds into the Yahoo clip.  Alito's wife at this point glances to her left, nods, and then proceeds to stare at Lindsey Graham.  She seems relatively pleased, and she listens intently to Graham expatiate on why he believes Alito's affiliation with CAPS is irrelevant.  But 23 seconds into the clip, when Graham says the word "reems," she begins to cry.  

This cry, in my opinion, is staged.  Yes, I believe it is planned.  Notice Graham, now twenty-seven seconds into the segment on Yahoo, has "lost his quotes."  And the wife begins to cry.

Alito's wife and those interrogating him know his wife is always captured in the frame the moment Alito occupies the entire screen of any television or computer.  She is reliably above his left shoulder.  And we also understand Kennedy's relentless persuit of Alito's affiliation with CAPs will be exploited by Republicans and others as an example of Democratic desperation and hostility.  Also keep in mind that there was a break between the line of questioning including Kennedy and Biden and that which included Graham.  And why the glance to her left?  And why did Lindsey Graham pause?  And why were the tears so sudden?  And how can we justify them if in fact Graham was peppering the atmosphere with what many would call humor?

And even worse, why is this considered news?  Why are news organizations discussing the tears of Alito's wife?

I believe this is staged, and I am asking for your opinion.

Again, focus on minutes 2:46:00 and 2:47:00 of C-SPAN's stream, where Alito's wife is not captured within the frame, and pay particular attention to the first 34 seconds of the clip available at yahoo.

THE TEARS OF ALITO'S WIFE WERE STAGED.

Tags: Samuel Alito, SCOTUS, Lindsey Graham (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 42 comments

  •  I wrote (4.00 / 17)

    this diary in haste.  I must eat and read.  

    Support five Democratic women of integrity in 2006.

    by formalist on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:23:10 PM PDT

    •  Great Diary! (4.00 / 2)

      And thanks for the link.

      Maybe Ms. ScAlito can get a gig on a "reality" show or a soap opera since she has the ability to cry on cue!

      And did you notice that Sen. Graham is already working on the Republican defense for the Abrahmoff Scandal?!

      What a load of crap!!

      by Ranting Roland on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:31:28 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  sorry, (4.00 / 2)

      i confused right and left in my description of the video clips above.  but that glance and nod reveal she was receiving some kind of cue or signal.  watch that glance.

      Support five Democratic women of integrity in 2006.

      by formalist on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:36:22 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Come on, now. (none / 0)

      It is natural to cry when someone shows a bit of empathy.  I'm just guessing that Mrs. Alito felt attacked and was grateful for Senator Graham's kind words.  Why is that so hard to accept?  

      I don't think it serves progressive ends to be so petty.  We shouldn't get into the habit of discarding (or explaining away) inconvenient facts like the Republicans do (e.g. Mrs. Alito crying makes Dems look bad so that means she was faking it and, if she wasn't faking it, she's a weakling and a loser).    

      So she cried.  Lots of people cry.  Women who are forced into pregnancy cry.  People who are spied on cry.  Black students who attended Princeton knowing people like Alito didn't want them there probably cried too.  

      by artaud on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:45:06 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Yeah, it's staged (4.00 / 5)

    I posted about Martha Alito's tears in another diary. Yesturday, if you watched, she had this snootty little look on her face. And some caller from CSPAN remarked about her arrogant expression. Today, she's all tears and can't control her emotions.

    by wisconsin girl on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:41:23 PM PDT

  •  Jeebus (4.00 / 2)

    Kay Bailey Hutchinson has got the whole Republican establishment doing it.

    -6.00/-7.18

    by TarheelDem on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:54:20 PM PDT

  •  Does anyone have a link ... (none / 0)

     ... to the videos?  A simple link.  I can't get CSpan to work, and even when I could, it didn't let me jump to a point in the broadcast.

    Thanks.

    I saw it live, and I watched NBC and CBS to see if they would lead with the crying, which they did.  (Alito wasn't the top story on CBS, but the crying was the lede for the Alito segment.)  Every time I saw it I thought it inexplicable.

    Two war crimes make 'the right', not 'a right'. Defeat the liar John McCain.

    by Yellow Canary on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 06:58:48 PM PDT

  •  I Think I Heard Somebody Yell "CUT!" (none / 1)

    When the door closed.:-]

    by Ky DEM on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:01:03 PM PDT

  •  Staged or not (none / 0)

    I think that she suddenly came face-to-face with the fact that her husband is a bigot. And the colossal jackass Lindsay Graham orly made it more real.

    No matter how cynical I get, it's impossible to keep up.

    by Flippant on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:01:17 PM PDT

  •  Wow (none / 1)

    Her reactions make no sense to me as genuine.  Her husband had been put on the spot, and she survived that.  Then, when someone was building him up, she could no longer take it?  I had the same thought before reading any comments about it.

    by fathom on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:03:55 PM PDT

  •  The other diary on this topic (none / 0)

    Graham and Alito's Crying Wife -- Set up ahead of time?

    --
    Laughing as I go... <- My blog...

    by kraant on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:05:51 PM PDT

  •  Why she was REALLY crying (4.00 / 2)

    Since the tears did not fit the context, maybe...

    • After listening to hours of testimony, she was forced to admit to herself what a sleazebag weazel she had married.

    • She was previously totally unaware that her husband belonged to a group that tried to keep females out of Princeton, and she suddently realized it was HIS handwriting on the death threats she received when she applied there in the 60's.

    • All the talk about "defense of marriage" called to mind how she dreams every day of running off and opening a riding school with her female tennis coach, but with her hubbie on the bench make endless "smear the queer" rulings, that will never, never, be possible.

    by daulton on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:14:15 PM PDT

  •  Staged? (none / 0)

    I don't know, but she walked out just as Graham was talking about being sorry his family has had to sit through this... pretty dramatic, but really not important in the long run.

    The rethugs have been using the 'terrible to put a family thru this process' for a while... remember the filibustered judges?  There were all kinds of claims that good people wouldn't want to go through the confirmation process.

    There was background noise during Robert's confirmation, too.  If it was not staged, it sure fit nicely into their talking points anyway...

    we're neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know. -- Candide

    by tc59 on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:25:16 PM PDT

  •  this reminds me of a relative (none / 0)

    who always draws attention to herself with a lot of boo-hoo ala Tammy Faye Baker. It's one thing to cry over a great loss, but this just struck me as dramatic.
      If Mrs. Alito is that emotionally sensitive, she should have stayed home.  Unless, somebody thought the tears would be to their advantage...

    Why did we bother to beat the Soviet Union if we were just going to become it? Molly Ivins

    by offred on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:25:22 PM PDT

  •  what world do the Alitos live in? (none / 0)

    ooh, somebody may have called your husband a bigot?

    and you cry ?!?

    my young students wouldn't burst into tears  if someone said something mean about their families.

    I hope this is fake/staged!

    At the risk of pulling a Frist, Martha Alito is crazy or unbelievably sheltered.

    by texan in exile on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:27:42 PM PDT

  •  Sorry to disagree but... (none / 0)

    I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I think she was simply exhausted. And she isn't the one on trial here, so let's give the woman a pass. Truth to tell, no matter how hardened anyone might be to politics, it's got to be tough to sit there passively and hear your husband called a liar and a bigot.  (Even if we think he is.)    

    Most scientists believe human brains aren't fully formed until the early 20s. -AMA

    by miriam on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:41:21 PM PDT

  •  Anderson Cooper 360 (none / 0)

    did a story on this. Cooper said Graham was using "his old prosecutor tricks" when he asked Alito point blank, "You're not a closet bigot, are you?"  At this point, Mrs. Alito cried and left the room.  

    This was the first time I saw this.  My reaction: I didn't feel Mrs. Alito's tears were staged.  I think, on a human level, I can understand that the hearings must be a difficult process to go through.

    Of course, I will be crying when the nomination goes through, but that's another matter...

    by turning blue on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:41:37 PM PDT

  •  "decent, honorable man" (none / 0)

    Sam Alito's wife's emotional reaction began exactly at the moment Graham said "decent, honorable man."

    I think her reaction was caused by the dissonance in her head between what she knows her husband is and has become, versus the absurdity, to her, to hear the words that he is a decent, honorable man.

    Quint: The thing about a shark, it's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's
    eyes. When it comes at you it doesn't seem to be livin'... until he bites ...  -- JAWS, 1975

    "Even a little dog can piss on a big building." -- Jim Hightower

    by watou on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 07:54:36 PM PDT

  •  Keep in mind... (4.00 / 5)

    that Lindsey Graham was part of the "murder court" sessions to prep Alito for the hearing.

    by bvac on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 08:27:27 PM PDT

  •  She's a sideshow (4.00 / 4)

    I posted this comment under Armando's Lindsey Graham Made Mrs. Alito Cry diary but I think my comments are more pertinent here. I hereby plagiarize myself:

    The only video of the hearings I've been able to catch was Kennedy's questioning about Alito's CAP involvement just before Kennedy made his subpoena request to Specter.  

    As Kennedy talked to Alito, the camera showed Alito with his wife in the background. As Kennedy asked the question, she rolled her eyes. "How disrespectful! Who is THAT?" I wondered at time. Clearly, she was planted in that seat to be on camera. And now with this crying episode, I have to believe she was coached to behave in a manner that would distract from the hearings.  

    In this Adminstration whereby everything is staged, I think she's part of the theatre.

    For a good laugh in the middle of this tragedy, a funny one from a commentator on John Cole's website:

    "Perhaps she sheds a last tear for The Republic..."

    We're in a culture that increasingly holds that science is just another belief. - Alan Alda

    by sawgrass727 on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 08:46:06 PM PDT

  •  Remember Tammy Faye Baker? (none / 0)

    Whatever drug she was on? Sone of that will enable you to cry on cue whenever. And schmear your mascara. Wah! Wah! That's what a repuglican wife says when she doesn't get the diamond tiara for the country club Chrsitmas party. The horror!

    The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

    by easong on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 08:57:33 PM PDT

  •  Nope. (none / 0)

    I watched the video a couple times and I don't buy it. I agree with someone who said she'd have to be a Meryl Streep to pull that off. I'm an emotional crier and I could see the signs as it came on her. Yea, she smirked because she was probably trying to ward off the embarrassing outbreak. You can see her throat tighten and her breathing start to speed up just before it happens. I know I'm not going to dissuade you but as someone who has been in similar emotional situations, I think it was genuine and not scripted.

    What we can ask is why is this news?! Substantive stuff is going on and we focus on this momentary emotional reaction? Of course it's a stressful situation. The reaction isn't surprising to me. Chill. Back to what's important.

    tragically un-hip
    ..- .... --..-- / --- -.- .-.-.-

    -5.88, -6.82

    by Debby on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 10:04:46 PM PDT

    •  I have watched (none / 0)

      the clips multiple times, and I do not see a gradual contortion of her facial features.  In fact, the outburst was very spontaneous, and occurred after she acknowledged some signal to her right.  Watch both clips, observe her facial expressions, and notice the lack of transition between laughter and tears.  Also acknowledge how she did not exit the room until after she performed for the camera.

      Support five Democratic women of integrity in 2006.

      by formalist on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 10:18:09 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Obviously, (none / 0)

        I'm not going to change your mind, and I've only seen the clip a few times, but as I said, I'm an emotional crier. I cry at weird things and for weird reasons. I recognize in her things I go through at those times. If this doesn't happen to you, you won't see it or, obviously, even believe it. It's the way her throat swells and when she takes breaths. You see her getting a signal from somewhere off camera; I see her eyes roaming the room, looking for something else to concentrate on so she doesn't break. You see a smirk; I see a bravado grimace, again to hold back tears. I think you're wrong, I think you're misinterpreting her body language though I allow that what you're proposing could happen (never put anything past this administration). I'd love to hear that you could see my view of it as well.

        And why tie up so much energy in this? Will you ever prove it? If you can prove Ms. Alito was with her husband during pre-interviews? They'll just say it's normal and what's the big deal? Let's fight the perception that Dems made her cry or even that her tears should be news! That's something more achievable and worthwhile!

        tragically un-hip
        ..- .... --..-- / --- -.- .-.-.-

        -5.88, -6.82

        by Debby on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 11:13:11 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Hear, Hear (none / 0)

          The real issue is not that she may or may not have faked crying, been coached into doing it, or purposfully provoked into crying "on cue", but rather, why is the fact she cried news?

          Weren't we supposed to be talking about Judge Alito?

          Shrapnel was invented by an Englishman of the same name. Don't you wish you had something named after you?
          -- Vonnegut

          by ew73 on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 04:50:00 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

    •  they plan to try to use it (none / 0)

        CNN.com QUICKVOTE
      Created: Thursday, January 12, 2006, at 08:30:56 EDT  
      Are Democrats being too tough on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito?  

      Yes      41%  26378 votes  

      No      59%  37597 votes  
      Total: 63975 votes  

      Gore/Feingold "08"

      by NeuroticBlonde on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 07:58:59 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  A choreographed charade (none / 0)

    Yes, I believe it was staged. The Republicans are very good at setting something like that up.

    by xerico on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 11:27:06 PM PDT

  •  Raw Story has linked this (none / 0)

    Diary.

    It's Obamazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

    by Chamonix on Wed Jan 11, 2006 at 11:38:25 PM PDT

  •  I had the same thoughts... (none / 1)

    Even if the tears were real, Senator Graham's comments were meant to do exactly that.  No Democrat called Alito a bigot.  Surprisingly, the Democrats are trying to do their job and ask the important questions that the American people need, or should want to know.

    by elizm on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 03:45:57 AM PDT

  •  reems? supposed to be "reams"? nt (none / 0)

    McCain is not a moderate, a maverick, or a man of integrity.

    by marjo on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 08:17:22 AM PDT

  •  Maybe she just realized... (none / 0)

    her outfits suck.

    The Multinationals and the Religious Right have identical goals: Profit from war, ignorance and fear...and the GOP is their Party.

    by dj angst on Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 09:12:59 AM PDT

Permalink | 42 comments