Confirmation Page #4

---

Members of the House are...

You're a public servant, George.

You don't have a right to privacy right now.

You need to delay the Senate vote on Thomas

- and hold a full hearing on these charges.

- (SIGHS)

Look, I'm just as upset

about this as you are.

- No, I doubt that.

- He's not the emperor.

He can't stop or delay a vote

on the Senate floor just because...

We know the damn rules, Joe.

Well, Pat, then you know you need

unanimous consent from the entire body.

If, if you want to try to convince

each and every one of these guys...

- Help yourself.

- ...be my guest, yeah.

Fine.

So much power, so little leadership.

(SIGHS)

You heard those phones ringing.

You know what that sound was?

It's the sound of 51%

of your constituents...

...saying if you vote for Thomas

without looking into this...

...they will not forget it.

We are not postponing this vote.

Just hypothetically, how long

would the postponement have to be?

A real investigation of these charges

would take weeks.

You can't hijack the process like that,

not when this woman had months,

years to speak up.

- (KNOCKING)

- If you're gonna allow her to have a platform

for what she's saying,

- you'll be raising rumor to fact.

- MAN:
Who the hell dug her up anyway?

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

We've lost too many.

Take the full Senate vote right now,

we'll come up short.

MAN:
Somebody leaked it.

MAN 2:
Yeah, somebody on your Committee.

Jim, I got your message and I want to say

I think you are making a mistake.

If a cheap move like this

can derail anyone's nomination, then...

All right.

I understand, Jim,

and I thank you for calling me.

We can take the vote today, but you'll lose.

Clarence, it's Jack.

It's not that they

don't want to vote for you.

They just don't feel they can with all

the heat they're getting on this thing,

so we need to delay the Senate vote

and hold a hearing.

- Air all this out. Get these votes back.

- (SIGHS)

The only way the Senate will approve

a delay is if you ask for it yourself.

(SIGHS)

Clarence, what do you say?

I...

I need an answer here, Clarence.

Tell me what we should do.

For love of Pete! Give me the damn phone.

Alan Simpson here, Judge. How you doing?

I can't take this, Senator.

I don't know why she's doing this to me.

Well, buckle up your guts, pal.

There's no time for self-pity.

Somebody did this to me,

I'll tell you what I'd do,

and if you can't do that,

I will not vote for you.

You are going to get back on with Jack

and tell him you will do whatever it takes

to clear your name.

Clarence? Tell me what you want to do.

JOE:
The Senate has agreed to hold

hearings on your claims, Professor.

We need to have you testify.

In fact, we're gonna

reconvene here on Friday,

Friday? Senator, that's in three days.

And I'm supposed to prepare and travel and...

Don't worry about any of that.

I got a great young staff,

who are gonna help you out with everything.

Logistics and your witnesses.

How many will be allowed to testify

on my behalf?

Well, Anita, I...

Professor, I think Judge Thomas has got

two colleagues that he'll be calling on.

He's already chosen his witnesses.

When did he hear about this?

Oh, kiddo, I feel for you. I do.

You're about to head into...

Pardon my French. A real sh*t show here.

I'll tell you, if I wasn't chairing

this thing, I'd be your lawyer myself.

You...

You have secured legal counsel, right?

When would I have done that?

I had no idea I needed it.

MALE REPORTER:
Good evening,

we begin tonight with a tidal wave of doubt

that swept through the Senate today.

There's been no official announcement

yet of a vote delay,

but that's only because

they're still trying to decide

how long it ought to be,

how long it will be.

JACK:
What do I hear every time

I walk on the floor?

"How's the civil rights bill, Jack?

"What are you doing for us

on your civil rights bill?"

Until this mess is resolved to my satisfaction,

I'm not doing one damn thing.

Delay the vote a week?

Full Senate vote next Tuesday.

- That's not ideal.

- What about this is?

This is only to examine the charges

before the Senate vote.

We do not revisit the Committee vote.

That stands.

Of course! Of course!

Nobody wants to go backwards on this thing.

Joe, I have known Clarence Thomas

for 17 years.

I know him to be a man of integrity.

If he tells me this never happened,

it never happened.

Sounds to me like

you got nothing to worry about then, Jack.

This is Emma Coleman Jordan,

Georgetown Law Center.

She's putting together a legal team.

She's called harassment experts.

- Supreme Court experts, litigators.

- Great.

I also included my old roommate

Sonia Jarvis. Very smart.

What about Charles Ogle tree?

He's an amazing litigator.

Emma tried him. He can't do it.

He's up for tenure at Harvard.

Controversy doesn't go over

too well at Cambridge.

Mmm-hmm.

KEN:
There's only two

possible scenarios here.

One, she's lying,

or two, she's telling the truth,

in which case the President's an idiot,

and he nominated a pervert

to the Supreme Court.

Obviously, the second scenario

is unacceptable.

We lost Judge Bork.

We need to use every resource at our disposal

to prove the first. Now...

Absolutely cannot lose Judge Thomas.

We're not losing anybody, Senator Thurmond.

Polls are coming in 50-50,

people who support him versus her.

Okay, so we have half a nation to convince.

I've been in touch with the networks.

We'll be live as long as we're in session,

and we're bringing in a busload

of supporters from Georgia. Women.

KEN:
It's a strong visual support.

The TV cameras will eat it up.

(CHANTING) We support Thomas!

You put me down and the White House down

and our administration down as 100%

for Clarence Thomas

without wavering in any way.

RITA:

They say you should make a TV address.

What are these things?

(CHUCKLES)

Come on, Rita.

(REPORTERS LAUGHING)

Tim, Senator Jack Danforth here.

I hear you run the student Republican

Party there at University of Oklahoma.

Listen, I think the senators on Judiciary

here in Washington

need to hear from you

and other young Republicans

about this Anita Hill.

Well, call us or fax us

because here in DC,

we have no idea who this woman is.

None whatsoever.

I think it's a cruel thing we're witnessing,

a very sad and harsh thing.

Anita Hill will be sucked

right into the very thing

she wanted to avoid most.

She will be injured and destroyed

and belittled and hounded and harassed.

Real harassment.

Different from the sexual kind.

- Plain old Washington variety harassment.

- (REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Is it the truth, Ms. Hill?

How long did the relationship last?

Is it true? Is the story true?

MALE REPORTER:
Are you gonna

get a job on the Hill after this?

Sonia. What are you doing here?

I thought someone other than a bodyguard

should help you through this.

- Can I take that?

- I got a car for you.

Thank you.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes