He Was Oh So Close and Then…

The carefully choreographed processional leading up to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court was going according to plan and then … it wasn’t. Allegations of sexual misconduct have arisen that will delay the coronation. One of the ladies accusing Kavanaugh has asked the FBI to investigate her claim before she testifies. I feel certain she reasonably fears that what happened to Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings will happen to her. If that is her fear, she’s not wrong. She has already been vilified and threatened and she hasn’t even testified. Her life will never be the same. I have to respect someone who is willing to walk directly into the line of fire when she knows it has no chance of changing the outcome.

The first reaction of Chuck Grassley, the Republican Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was to go forward with a vote without even hearing the testimony. I suppose this shows us how important this confirmation is to him or how little he cares about even the appearance of fairness or how little credibility he intends to grant to the unheard accuser or… just how stupid or senile he is. Other Republicans, however, didn’t like the “optics” of not even hearing the testimony. Grassley changed his tune. There will be at least a show trial of sorts before Kavanaugh is voted favorably out of Committee and then confirmed by the Senate, all on a party-line vote.

The hiatus in the procession did give Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, the time and opportunity to accuse Senator Diane Feinstein of being sneaky and underhanded because she waited until the end of the hearing to reveal the accusation. This claim of foul play comes from the same man who refused to even grant a hearing to Justice Merrick Garland, who was nominated by President Obama 11 months before the end of President Obama’s term. Sometimes the hypocrisy of politicians is so bad you have to hold your nose.

The evangelical and socially conservative factions have weighed in on behalf of Kavanaugh. Speaking through leaders such as Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress, they threaten not to turn out to vote for Republicans if Kavanaugh is not confirmed. No Republican is likely to ignore that threat. The alliance of the evangelicals and Trump is strange in the extreme. It is a marriage of convenience, but it will ultimately come at a cost, probably a high one.

Photo Credit: Researchgate.net & AFP/Getty Images