On Thursday, much of the nation
watched a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Brett Kavanaugh, the current nominee of President Donald Trump for a seat on
the Supreme Court, and allegations of sexual misconduct in his youth. My impression is that people saw the
proceedings colored by some combination of political views and personal
experience.
Democratic supporters see the
need to investigate the allegations.
Republican supporters see it as a political show where suddenly these
allegations surface just before the Senate needs to vote on the nominee.
Women who’ve been raped or
sexually abused (and those who know these women) may be suffering again through
the horror of that experience. Men may
be worried that some forgotten event in their teens or twenties might be
dredged up and now it’s a he-said-she-said situation.
While I could comment on all the
above, I’m wondering if the trump card isn’t Kavanaugh’s demeanor both in his
statement (a diatribe against the Democrats) and his emotion and anger. If I were his lawyer, I wouldn’t want him on
the stand. If I were on the jury, I’d
suspect he’s hiding guilt behind this offence of blame, accusations and anger. As a juror, I’d probably vote “guilty as
charged!”
I don’t think anything will stop
the majority Republicans in the Senate from seating him on the high court. I also suspect that the party in part sees
him as red meat for the base: he may be
finally the vote that overturns Roe.
Think of that for the Republicans in the mid-terms and 2020: the short shelf life for Roe added to the tax
cut, beating up on trade partners, defense of the National Anthem, severe
reduction in immigration, etc. So much
red meat for the base.
Kavanaugh is the poster child for
the party of the angry white man!
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