25 September 2018 — 0147 mdt
Even crazier on the Kavanaugh front
We’ll survive the Kavanaugh confirmation, but it won’t make us stronger. At this point, I think the Senate’s Republicans, having polled the issue, have decided to take the hill and accept the casualties. They’re going to streamroll Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation because once on the U.S. Supreme Court, removing him would be exceedingly difficult. Another poll could change matters, but that’s where things now stand.
Meanwhile, many opponents of Kavanaugh are behaving disgracefully. Some are gathering by the thousands to support his accusers, chanting “we believe women,” apparently oblivious to the paucity of evidence corroborating the accusations. This frenzy approaches hysteria.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) talks as though she believes that men accused of sexual misconduct should be considered guilty until proven innocent. Comments on social media lead me to believe a lot of people, especially women, agree.
And left wing, direct action vigilantes are back. Last night, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a member of the judiciary committee, was set upon by a flash mob in a Washington, D.C., restaurant, and heckled until he left:
“We believe survivors,” the protesters yelled at Cruz, as seen in a video tweeted by Smash Racism DC. They continued yelling as Cruz and his wife made their way to the exit. “Beto is way hotter than you, dude,” said one protestor, referencing Beto O’Rourke, the Congressman surprising Cruz with a strong challenge in Texas.
That self-indulgent outburst of self-righteous lawlessness didn’t win any votes for Beto O’Rourke.
I’d like to believe that after this is over, our leaders will review the process and propose changes that will insulate the court at least a bit from the political process. That could include amending the constitution to limit justices to one fixed-length term, say 12–15 years.
Will the present ugliness provoke change that improves our political climate? I have my doubts. There are more hotheads and liars than ever before — one serves as Prevaricator in Chief of the United States — and they have more ways than ever before to amplify and distribute their calumnies, crackpot theories, lies, and divisive ideas. We shout more than we listen, and when we listen, we disagree. I do not expect significant improvement in the years left to me.