Slogging Through the Mud

Today we are in the midst of the exciting climax of the soap operatic confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The story is full of all the glitz, glamour, and sex of any “quality” drama. All the sordid accusations and denials currently are being exchanged on Capitol Hill.

The problem being, of course, that we are talking about the nomination process for the highest court in the nation. We naturally want the nomination and confirmation of such a high-ranking official to be above such ridiculous television dramas. But what should we expect from our current leaders? What should we expect from the schizophrenic, pussy-grabbing narcissist who occupies the White House? What should we expect from the hypocritical Republican Party, which is full of members claiming religious conviction yet kissing the ring, even If sometimes hesitantly, of said Narcissist-in-Chief? And finally, what in the world should we expect from the Democratic Party, that institution that is obsessed with fraudulent virtue signaling? The answer, obviously, is that we should expect nothing different. However, it is up to us to demand a change in course.

Our liberal democracy depends on the structure provided by our laws. They protect the abused while also guarding against persecution by accusation. Our democracy depends on everyone having a fair hearing. A fair hearing means that you take both accusations and denials seriously. At the end of the day, if there is evidence, you reject the nomination and convict, if evidence is sufficient. If there is no or very little evidence in the light of counter-evidence or testimony, then you declare a person not guilty and approve them for office, in this case.

The accusations against Kavanaugh should be taken seriously. Furthermore, it is highly legitimate to question the morality, particularly in regard to sexual matters, of nominees chosen by the president who once boasted that he could grab pussies without consequence. For any Trump fan to be incredulous at the lack of confidence in the morality of Trump appointees is absurd. Of course the morality of Trump’s nominees should be suspect! Trump is the type of person who tends to attract sycophantic apologists who share his loose employment of an ethical compass. Now, of course, this is not everyone around Trump, but he seems to attract a greater share than most people. While a person whom Trump nominates may have had a long career without any ethical stains, just a mere association with Trump invites political attack from Trump opponents looking for a window of opportunity through which to thwart his administration. That is the type of political scrutiny that was invited by all those who voted for Trump. Those voters should not be surprised.

Sadly, the sycophants supporting Trump are not limited to his administration; they permeate the country, including Congress. Thus, it is only natural to doubt the thoroughness of Senate Republicans’ examination of Kavanaugh’s record and personal background and the seriousness with which they take accusations against him. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did no favors to the credibility of Kavanaugh’s confirmation process when he stated, in advance of the hearing on Ford’s allegations, “In the very near future, Judge Kavanaugh will be on the Supreme Court.” He should be committed to an impartial process, not a rubber stamp. In similarly dismissive fashion, Senator Dean Heller called the accusations a “hiccup.” Senator Orrin Hatch flatly said of Dr. Ford, “I think she’s mistaken.” He further went on to dismiss the stain of the supposed attempted rape on Kavanaugh’s current moral character. It would be highly preferable for Hatch to actually weigh the accusations and responses to them after having both people questioned more thoroughly. Shooting off judgements like this does not help the process. Unfortunately, the list of fawning support of Kavanaugh and dismissal of Ford goes on. Thus, doubts about Republican’s capability and/or willingness to handle the confirmation process in a fair manner are well justified.

That said, expecting competency and fairness from the Democrats is foolish. In a vibrant democracy, we should welcome and expect political scrutiny. However, that opposition must be credible to be of any benefit, and that is lacking. They are doing everything they can to sell the righteousness of their cause. The problem is that they are frauds.

Senator Feinstein, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, withheld information about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s attempted-rape accusation against Kavanaugh until the practical last minute of the nomination process. That action wreaks of a political stunt and served no purpose to protect Ford, despite Feinstein’s claims to the contrary.

Calls made by Democrats for an FBI investigation smack of being just a distraction and delaying tactic. Back during the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in the midst of the Anita Hill accusations against him, then-Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Joe Biden (somewhat of a prominent Democrat) dismissed the relevance of the FBI investigation that was done at the time. He recognized then what Republicans are asserting now: the Judiciary Committee is fully capable of conducting investigations into these matters, and it is the Judiciary Committee that will make a recommendation to the full Senate, not the FBI.

Democrats are proclaiming that women accusers should be believed, a very politically advantageous line of attack that totally undermines the rule of law. The just, moral course of action would be to take all accusations seriously but also insist on proof to back up those claims. Believing accusations without evidence just leads to modern-day witch hunts. We would have each party persecuting the other whenever they were in power, and likely eventually, one would take power and never let go of it.

Of course, the proclamation to believe all women accusers is one that Democrats routinely ignore when it is not to their advantage. U.S. Representative Keith Ellison, who is Deputy Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has been accused of domestic abuse by a couple former girlfriends. He also happens to be running to be attorney general of Minnesota. Where is the chorus of Democrats denouncing Ellison and forcing him to resign from all his offices due to the accusations against him? There is none. The 800-pound sexual transgressor in the room is good old Billy. Bill Clinton has been accused by multiple women of sexual impropriety, including violent actions. Juanita Broaddrick’s allegations against Bill Clinton are highly credible. Even still, she generally is dismissed by most Democrats while Bill Clinton is still accepted as a hero by most of them.

Then there are those Democrats that do believe accusations against fellow Democrats or know for a fact about admitted sexual abuse by other Democrats but choose to overlook it. Senator Corey Booker admitted in an article he wrote to groping a girl in high school. How dare he criticize Kavanaugh? Booker should resign if he would apply the same standards to himself. Senator Tom Carper admitted to slapping his first wife. Good grief! He should resign, as well. Now enters Bill Clinton back to center stage where we find that he had a young female intern suck his dick under his desk in the Oval Office. We were there when he wagged his finger at the nation and the intern while condescendingly referring to her as “that woman.” Where is all the outrage crashing on the head of Bill Clinton? His abuse of his position to manipulate a young woman employee should have seen him run out of polite circles if the #MeToo movement means anything.

This naturally brings us to Hillary Clinton, the biggest fraud the Democratic Party has trumpeted in recent years. She, of course, is seen as a victim of Bill’s transgressions. However, did she honestly not see what was going on all those years? Furthermore, Juanita Broaddrick also credibly claims that she was personally threatened by Hillary. Hillary Clinton is promoted as this big champion for women’s equality and power. Give me a break! The message there is that you should stick with a man no matter how disrespectfully he treats you or treats others to get ahead; forget about your own talent and self-respect and forget about the worth of others. On top of that, you should turn a blind eye, publicly demean, and intimidate other women whom have been abused by such a man. It would have been a travesty for the advancement of women in society if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, and as the father of two daughters, I would have been ashamed. (Sadly, given the 2016 election results, I also am ashamed of our current president. It was a truly horrible no-win situation.)

We now come back to the primary actors themselves. Dr. Ford’s accusations are serious and should be treated as such. Rape is a threat that any of us dread for ourselves or loved ones. We must give those allegations their due consideration. However, thus far, all four people whom Ford has identified that could corroborate her allegations have instead cast doubt over her claims. One of Ford’s friends posted a ridiculous Facebook post saying that she remembers everyone talking about something happening at the party. Vague gossip is not evidence. That does not mean that Ford is lying or mistaken in her memories, but it definitely is an indication that she possibly could be. Kavanaugh’s other accusers that have come forward face similar problems. Key parts of their stories have been cast into doubt as supposed witnesses contradict the claims. Other accusations are wholly anonymous, raising huge red flags as to their legitimacy. Nevertheless, the accusations are serious, and it is worth finding out how much truth, if any, there are to them. Further examination is necessary.

Brett Kavanaugh, the focal point of this entire process, has not been helpful, either. He has flatly denied all allegations, which if true, is wonderful. He went so far as talk about his extended period of virginity, holding it up as a supposed example of his virtue. However, this morally pure projection of himself has come into question as comments from old schoolmates, in old yearbooks, and in a speech he made about his high school days have come to light. Those comments strongly suggest that a significant amount of alcohol was consumed by Kavanaugh in school and that he might have been less than chaste in his interactions with women. Now, most reasonable people do not expect their government officials to be morally pure, but when a person strongly suggests that they are in light of strong counterindications, a reasonable person cannot help but wonder about what that person is hiding. Further examination is necessary.

The only way to restore some sanity to this process is to try to inject some level of objectivity. All sides should be questioned and heard in today’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee. Everyone should then take the time to consider that information for more than just one day before a recommendation vote is held in the committee. All other current accusations also should be considered as information continues to come to various senators on both sides of the aisle. Finally, the FBI, as per Democratic suggestions, should be asked to do a thorough examination of the accusations that have come forward so far and any that come forward in the next 30 days.

Republicans are now howling in disgust at these suggestions, particularly about the FBI examination; however, it is the correct thing to do for several reasons. While it is true that the Senate is capable of doing all examinations that the FBI could do, the FBI has the reputation for greater objectivity. Having the FBI on the job can add assurance to the public that this confirmation is being handled in a fair manner. The pause in the hearings produced by the FBI investigation would last through the upcoming elections and make the nomination process less of a political football. Of course, it always will be political, but the pause could make it less political, at least temporarily. The image of all parties involved could substantially be improved by a demonstrated willingness to go through reasonable, objective processes to uncover the truth as best as possible. Additionally, while it is possible for the Senate to gather the same basic information as the FBI, the more intimate, non-partisan nature of an FBI investigation could likely produce some greater cooperation from witnesses and, thus, a bit more information. That could be enough to add shades of meaningful context to an otherwise he-said, she-said fight. Furthermore, an FBI report that bolsters Kavanaugh’s credibility would make Democratic objections out as political hackery, while a report that bolsters the allegations against him should be viewed as welcome information to Republicans who could dodge a political bullet of confirming a sexual predator. I am sure Republicans would prefer having the opportunity to confirm a different person for the job than to have the specter of an impeachment of a sitting Supreme Court justice should allegations be proven true after a Kavanaugh confirmation. Finally, taking this step back and bringing in the FBI can demonstrate to the public that the Senate is pursuing a compassionate and fair process in this age of greater awareness and intolerance of sexual assault. It would show that all accusers will be treated with respect but so will the accused. In that way, the Senate could set a pattern for a gradual healing of the wounds caused by sexual assault and show that our nation truly must be one of justice for all.

So, let’s come at this with clear heads. Take a step back and think how you would want to be treated if you had been harmed, how you would want to be treated if you had falsely been accused, and how you would want your loved ones to be treated if they were in either situation. If we do that, and we tell our politicians to do the same, then we can develop a better society in which to live. I hope that we will do this in this Supreme Court nomination process. If we do not, then we must do it soon before our socio-political dialogue goes from horrible to catastrophic. I know that there are enough people out there willing to come together to restore our national community, so let’s make it happen.

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